Blimp donations are spiking

[eric_cartman]

i think it's fine to e-mail the tea party list about this. i thought that if they wanted enough money, they would break down and use the list.

the only reason people care is that they used the list for the retarded rudy's reading list thing. that was a total failure in my opinion. it pissed people off, it distracted from the tea party. they got like half a million or something? when ron paul gets 100K every day anyways... the money raised on Nov. 30th would have paid for the blimp.

anyways... good to see that they'll be enough money for the blimp now. i think it's fine to use the tea party e-mail list for this... but it was very bad to use the list for the nov. 30th bomb, which was a bad decision that is coming back to bite us a bit.

 

[LukeNM]

Hey, a lot of us supported "V" when we thought it was not such a good idea. Get over it, support the blimp and stop looking for every opportunity to say something negative.

What advertising media can you get BIGGER than a BLIMP FCOL.

Once the blimp launches and the crowds roar you guys are going to feel like idiots – I love it!

The blimp is part of the revolution now!

 

[Abobo]

What is the problem with including an extra few sentences in the email? I really don't get why some people freak out so much. The teaparty site sends out updates regularly -- it would frankly be stupid to not include important information in it.

If you read the entire email they include a lot of information and news. The blimp is just ONE of many things listed that are connected to teaparty07

 

[cero]

exactly the Nov 30 bomb ended up costing the blimp some money...

 

[Trigonx]

You are misunderstanding what I am saying. I am not flaming I am stating real concerns that the blimp project should be thinking of. All it takes is one Huckabee fan getting spammed by the Tea Party about something that does not involve the Tea Party and they can legally sue. I am not saying they could win, I am saying there are grounds for a lawsuit and maybe criminal spamming charges.

That could sink the blimp.

yes because we are all forced to receive emails....oh wait you have to sign-up to get spammed with emails. No one is stopping people from removing themselves from the list, no one is stopping people from ever signing up to the list. If the email only said shit about the blimp then you can complain and what not, but the email only said shit about the blimp on the bottom of the email as a little note.

 

[Chibioz]

I don't see a problem with Trevor emailing about the blimp, the more grassroots that are informed about our projects the better. People can decide for themselves where to best allocate their resources.

 

[Abobo]

This wasn't just about the blimp. Here is the FULL email...

News

* The Ron Paul Blimp is just $75K away from launch! We’re at a critical point with the blimp. We need to raise the remaining $75K to get the blimp in the air and over Boston for the TeaParty07.com event. This will be a media spectacle! XMRadio loves the idea and just asked to be on the blimp, and so have many others in the mainstream media. Without your help this will not happen. Even Ron Paul has mentioned the blimp!! http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=48102 Please visit RonPaulBlimp.com and contribute today!


* Rand Paul will be speaking at the Boston Tea Party/Freedom Rally at Fanueil Hall in Boston this December 16th. Click here to learn more >>


Promotion Ideas

* Add TeaParty07.com to your email signature!

* Are you on Reddit? Please bump this story up! Reddit has also been a great source of traffic.

* - please add this profile as a friend and place it in top friends list. My space works!! ThisNovember5th.com received 1/3rd of it’s total traffic from people who spread the word on myspace.

* Contact your favorite media (online, offline, radio, blog, website, newspaper, etc.) and tell them about the event. Call in live to a radio station or send an email to other media types.

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Donation Day Details

* All donations are to be made at RonPaul2008.com without exception!

* You may make a payment over the phone by calling the campaign at 703-248-9115 (also see http://www.ronpaul2008.com/contact/) or at 877-RON-PAUL. Checks are welcome but will NOT be counted towards the December 16th donation day totals.


Other events/ sites..

Ron Paul Christmas Cards! What a great way to spread the word..

* - if you haven’t joined yet please do. Many great ideas have come from these forums (including ThisNovember5th.com and TeaParty07.com, be a part of the grassroots revolution!)

* Ron Paul featured in Republic Magazine get your free PDF at http://RepublicMagazines.com Republic magazine offers us a unique way to put the freedom message into PRINT. We must take back the media!

* Other great links.. RonPaulForPresident2008.com, LewRockwell.com, DailyPaul.com. (more to come..)



Sincerely,

Trevor Lyman

 

[RP4Pres2008]

I set aside my disgust for what this has turned into for the rEOVLution. I am more worried about what happens to the campaign and Dr. Paul.

I suggest everyone does the same.

 

[cero]

man this is getting tiresome if people sign up on the email list, its because they don't mind getting the emails, IF YOU signed up and DON'T like getting the emails, simply unsubscribe no one stopping you, but for FFS stop complaining. I swear I think some of you are the paid bloggers working for the huckleberry, PEOPLE don't give a damn about getting emails anymore, they have moved on I suggest you do the same and strop trying to stir shit up again!

 

[RockHoward]

eric, you are wrong on this one.

Before Nov. 30 the media was still rightfully skeptical that Ron Paul was going to reach his $12M Q4 goal. After Nov. 30th, there was no longer any doubt. It was that rush of donations, together with the great turnout of supporters at the Republican debate, that has kept Ron Paul in the mix despite the media enduced Huckabee surge.

The blimp has the potential to keep Ron in the news despite the current slow down in donations prior to the 16th. Those news reports will likely amplify the effect of the Dec. 16th Tea Party.

Finally, the for-profit nature of this venture is a useful story line if somebody in the press gets ahold of it. To think that people outside the campaign staff can actually make money while supporting Ron Paul. That has got to be a truly beautiful thing to freedom lovers everywhere (excepting, perhaps, those who are jealous of other people's success. Fortunately most of those folks end up on the socilaist playing ground.)

 

[tamor]

It is one thing to say we want a blimp. It is all together a different story to make it a reality. Thanks Trevor for helping make it happen.

 

[Trigonx]

It is one thing to say we want a blimp. It is all together a different story to make it a reality. Thanks Trevor for helping make it happen.

I agree, thanks Trevor, everyone else working on the blimp, and EVERYONE who donated(they are the real stars ).

 

[koob]

I think that this may discourage people from subscribing I think that people will still donate. They still want to help Dr Paul. I think people will be pissed at the people behind the idea, but no one can deny that the tea party is a good idea.

 

[AisA1787]

I agree with Abobo.

Regarding the fear that money for these other events will take away money from the Tea Party, I just don't get it. If the 30th took away ~$400,000 and the blimp takes away ~$350,000, what's the big deal? Even assuming that the people donating to these things will donate less to the Tea Party, which I'm sure isn't true across the board, you're looking at less than a $1 million loss to the Tea Party. So perhaps a 10% loss if things go well? That shouldn't affect media coverage of the Tea Party significantly. I think the extra early advertising in key primary states afforded by the 30th and the (totally awesome) blimp are more than worth it.

 

[Original_Intent]

He didn't "break down". He promised never to send an exclusive email about another project. He didn't promise not to include messages about other items of interest in his teaparty mailings.

Actually his promise:
(bolding by me)

I've thought about this a lot and in the end I have to agree there was a better way I could have informed everyone of the http://www.RudysReadingList.com event.

Rather than send a dedicated email about the other fund raising drive I could have offered a prominent link, just like I do for other events. I promise I'll only offer links to pages that contain information/letters from now on. That way if you don't want to hear about it its not in your face and the emails I send will always have relevant information for the drive you signed up for.
I hope that helps people feel more comfortable about being on the list and can end the email controversy that was going on here. I certainly didn't mean to make anyone angry, but to be fair I must consider the views of those who were offended regarding this issue.

Take it for what you will - I still have a ton of respect for Trevor and think the blimp is a great way for people to donate who have laready maxxed to the campaign. My personal feeling is that any money it is pulling away from the campaign in general and the TeaParty in particular is a negative.

In as much as Trevor obviously has other projects on his plate right now, it would be nice to have someone dedicated to the Tea Party in charge of it.

 

[fletcher]

graph: http://ronpaulgraphs.com/blimp_actual_total.html

and I know why...

Looks like he finally broke down and emailed the tea party list.

Disgusting, disgraceful, highly unethical, and possibly illegal.

 

[alexpasch]

Disgusting, disgraceful, highly unethical, and possibly illegal.

The amount of money Trevor will make from this endeavor will be pitiful.

I'm way younger than Trevor and I make MUCH MORE than $500 a week.

Hell I just donated $500 to the blimp.

Also, the blimp will be at the tea party, so it is related to the tea party fund drive.

If you don't [Admin - remove attack ] then I will not donate anything to the tea party (I have 1k earmarked for that one) and just give that money to the blimp.

 

[TooConservative]

What advertising media can you get BIGGER than a BLIMP FCOL.

I'm warming to the blimp now that they have a stated full-refund policy on the blimp site.

I am curious why you think a blimp is so magical? If it were, wouldn't Goodyear would be the only tire company left in America now? Goodyear has some really good tires but when I buy their tires, no thought of their lovely blimp ever goes through my head. Just how tough and long-lasting those tires are for me and how dissatisfied I've been with cheaper brands.

Maybe I discount too much this notion that the blimp could become an emblem of the campaign though. That kind of thing is difficult to quantify and anticipate. I like to see a blimp flying but it doesn't make me suddenly decide to spend money on things. But maybe other people are more easily swayed by blimps than I am.

 

[paulie]

People are acting like he is spraypainting a blimp on the side of their house. Its a blurb in an e-mail. It does not cost you anything, you don't need to read it, you don't even need to see it just auto-forward them all to your trash can. I get 100+ junk e-mails a day, and if I could donate every penny I win in the UK lottery or all those inheritances from my long lost African relatives I would...but stop overreacting. Stop being so dramatic. Its a paragraph in an e-mail that was already being sent for supporting RP. Get over it, and stop acting like tea party donors are so fragile that any distraction or minor inconvenience like reading about something other than the tea party will completely turn them off to RP...I highly doubt that is the case.

 

[Voluntaryist]

Fletcher...

...If you don't shut the fuck up, then I will not donate anything to the tea party (I have 1k earmarked for that one) and just give that money to the blimp.

PWN!