CFL - FB - Transparency, openess and control

[tangent4ronpaul]

Transparency – who is on the staff, in what positions, an organizational chart, and a broken down accounting of where every penny was spent (including salaries) posted on at least a monthly basis.

An at least monthly report of the status of every project the CFL is working on as well as announced plans. They can start with what happened to the $70,000 donated to inform voters how their Congress critters voted on the bailout and why no newspaper ads were placed. Also, why they failed to adequately publicize the effort or have a ticker up for donations with contributors names.

Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots. A good start would probably be firing the lawyers and giving the control freaks that are running things an attitude adjustment.

-t

 

[tonesforjonesbones]

I agree...put the minutes on the site and put the treasury report on there too. tones

 

[Austin]

Transparency – who is on the staff, in what positions, an organizational chart, and a broken down accounting of where every penny was spent (including salaries) posted on at least a monthly basis.

An at least monthly report of the status of every project the CFL is working on as well as announced plans. They can start with what happened to the $70,000 donated to inform voters how their Congress critters voted on the bailout and why no newspaper ads were placed. Also, why they failed to adequately publicize the effort or have a ticker up for donations with contributors names.

Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots. A good start would probably be firing the lawyers and giving the control freaks that are running things an attitude adjustment.

-t

Agree -- Disagree

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

Agree -- Disagree

Could you elaborate on why disagree?

-t

 

[Austin]

Could you elaborate on why disagree?

-t

Given the legal complications that come along with the 501(c)4 organization, I think it would be unwise for the CFL to purge themselves of legal counsel.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

I think I was thinking about THAT legal counsel. It's always been a case of "ask the lawyers first" before anything can happen and it almost always comes back as the most restrictive and careful interpretation possible. That's a serious handicap.

But the really important part was BEFORE "fire the lawyers" - what do you think of the first part of the proposal:

"Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots"

-t

 

[Austin]

I think I was thinking about THAT legal counsel. It's always been a case of "ask the lawyers first" before anything can happen and it almost always comes back as the most restrictive and careful interpretation possible. That's a serious handicap.

But the really important part was BEFORE "fire the lawyers" - what do you think of the first part of the proposal:

"Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots"

-t

You'll have to be more detailed. What exactly do you mean by "us vs them"?

 

[Sandra]

Isn't CFL 501 status still pending or did it go through?

 

[constituent]

Transparency – who is on the staff, in what positions, an organizational chart, and a broken down accounting of where every penny was spent (including salaries) posted on at least a monthly basis.

l<edit> must remember to play nice </edit>

 

[Austin]

Isn't CFL 501 status still pending or did it go through?

Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office and claims no
responsibility for the actions of individuals or groups of individuals who use the Campaign for Liberty logo or name or who may claim to act as
representatives of the Campaign for Liberty without prior written consent of the Campaign for Liberty.

From the CFL web site...

 

[Austin]

Mr. Ward didn't touch this thread... lol

 

[Andrew Ward]

Transparency – who is on the staff, in what positions, an organizational chart, and a broken down accounting of where every penny was spent (including salaries) posted on at least a monthly basis.

We are developing a FAQ which should address all of this. It's almost done. I've worked quite a bit on it . We will have annual reports of where money was spent and how much the top 5 salary earners in the organization made. Expect a more thorough "About" section here.

An at least monthly report of the status of every project the CFL is working on as well as announced plans. They can start with what happened to the $70,000 donated to inform voters how their Congress critters voted on the bailout and why no newspaper ads were placed. Also, why they failed to adequately publicize the effort or have a ticker up for donations with contributors names.

I don't know about official monthly reports, but I'll try to keep everyone updated on what's in store.

The big push Bailout caught us off guard. I think the staff did what we could given our situation and the time and resources available to us. We sent out email alerts directing people to Congressional information, but errors with the new website and mailing system didn't help that effort :o. Radio ads were developed and played in certain states, including North Carolina. I don't know why we didn't or couldn't get newspaper ads. I'll ask John Tate for more details and get back to you. I have a lot on my plate so please email me to remind me

We hope to be in a better position to combat the Federal Government's abuse of power in 2009.

A ticker with donations and contributors is something we want to bring back.

Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots. A good start would probably be firing the lawyers and giving the control freaks that are running things an attitude adjustment.

We're an official organization. Unfortunately, we need lawyers.

 

[Andrew Ward]

Mr. Ward didn't touch this thread... lol

I'm sorry, I have a lot of people to help. I don't anticipate I'll be able to get to every (CFL) thread on Ron Paul Forums (even though I'd like to). If there is something you would like answered please feel free to email me.

 

[MRoCkEd]

We are developing a FAQ which should address all of this. It's almost done. I've worked quite a bit on it . We will have annual reports of where money was spent and how much the top 5 salary earners in the organization made. Expect a more thorough "About" section here.



I don't know about official monthly reports, but I'll try to keep everyone updated on what's in store.

The big push Bailout caught us off guard. I think the staff did what we could given our situation and the time and resources available to us. We sent out email alerts directing people to Congressional information, but errors with the new website and mailing system didn't help that effort :o. Radio ads were developed and played in certain states, including North Carolina. I don't know why we didn't or couldn't get newspaper ads. I'll ask John Tate for more details and get back to you. I have a lot on my plate so please email me to remind me

We hope to be in a better position to combat the Federal Government's abuse of power in 2009.

A ticker with donations and contributors is something we want to bring back.



We're an official organization. Unfortunately, we need lawyers.

That sounds great.
Thanks for replying to our suggestions/concerns.

 

[Austin]

I'm sorry, I have a lot of people to help. I don't anticipate I'll be able to get to every (CFL) thread on Ron Paul Forums (even though I'd like to). If there is something you would like answered please feel free to email me.

Oh I'm just giving you a hard time bud.

I appreciate that you're even here in the first place.

 

[WRellim]

Transparency – who is on the staff, in what positions, an organizational chart, and a broken down accounting of where every penny was spent (including salaries) posted on at least a monthly basis.

I don't think you will EVER see anything like this.

In fact, I think one of the PRIMARY motives behind the choice of 501 status was specifically to AVOID the transparency required of political organizations. (FEC requires disclosure of ALL income and ALL expenses... and the RPPCC staffers definitely did NOT like the level of scrutiny that was able to be applied to their reports.) By choosing to be a non-profit, they can essentially pick-and-choose what level of transparency they offer, and can otherwise avoid scrutiny (and the accompanying potential for being held accountable for waste and malinvestment). And all of that DESPITE the fact that the organization is OBVIOUSLY and rather BLATANTLY political in nature. (Thus obeying the "letter" of the law while denying its "spirit" in a rather scofflaw-ish fashion.)

Ironic, isn't it? An organization that is purportedly founded by Ron Paul -- who is a constant advocate for transparency of financial matters -- CHOOSES to form itself in a way that allows it to remove itself from virtually all such transparency requirements. (In other words... do as I say, not as I do.)

An at least monthly report of the status of every project the CFL is working on as well as announced plans. They can start with what happened to the $70,000 donated to inform voters how their Congress critters voted on the bailout and why no newspaper ads were placed. Also, why they failed to adequately publicize the effort or have a ticker up for donations with contributors names.

Now you're getting to nitty gritty details that will be "gamed" and "spun" by those in charge of the org.

In our current age, such demands will always be dismissed as "playing the blame game" and that instead we need to "move forward instead of looking back" etc, etc... ad nauseum.

Get rid of the “official” everything and us vs them approach to the grassroots. A good start would probably be firing the lawyers and giving the control freaks that are running things an attitude adjustment.

-t

Well, if they are in fact "control freaks" then do you really expect an "attitude adjustment" to have any positive or permanent effect?

Seriously?

This is just more BELTWAY crapola. All that has been built with the remaining campaign funds is yet another beltway bureaucracy... of, by, and for more beltway bandits.

And alas, it will achieve NOTHING of any value towards liberty.

 

[tangent4ronpaul]

We are developing a FAQ which should address all of this. It's almost done. I've worked quite a bit on it . We will have annual reports of where money was spent and how much the top 5 salary earners in the organization made. Expect a more thorough "About" section here.

Please NOT anually - but MONTHLY! - and not just the top 5 - but ALL!

I don't know about official monthly reports, but I'll try to keep everyone updated on what's in store.

The big push Bailout caught us off guard. I think the staff did what we could given our situation and the time and resources available to us. We sent out email alerts directing people to Congressional information, but errors with the new website and mailing system didn't help that effort :o. Radio ads were developed and played in certain states, including North Carolina. I don't know why we didn't or couldn't get newspaper ads. I'll ask John Tate for more details and get back to you. I have a lot on my plate so please email me to remind me

Riiiiiggghhht! - $70,000 donated, radio ads claimed in 2 areas - only one of which was verified - NOTHING else? - Must have been REALLY EXPENSIVE radio ads - hu?

A ticker with donations and contributors is something we want to bring back.

Like that isn't something you haven't done many times before and KNOW how to do!????

 

[Austin]

Regarding the ticker, they previously used Terra Eclipse.. I don't think they have any plans to use their services anymore.

Still, the fact that they act like these simple features (ticker, auto-login, email) are some huge obstacles bugs the crap outta me.

 

[newyearsrevolution08]

Regarding the ticker, they previously used Terra Eclipse.. I don't think they have any plans to use their services anymore.

Still, the fact that they act like these simple features (ticker, auto-login, email) are some huge obstacles bugs the crap outta me.

As well as the so called "price tags" on these so called features to be built.

 

[Andrew Ward]

By choosing to be a non-profit, they can essentially pick-and-choose what level of transparency they offer, and can otherwise avoid scrutiny

We couldn't do this if we were for-profit?

And all of that DESPITE the fact that the organization is OBVIOUSLY and rather BLATANTLY political in nature.

As a 501c4 we can be political in nature. We cannot endorse candidates or political parties without a 527.

An organization that is purportedly founded by Ron Paul -- who is a constant advocate for transparency of financial matters -- CHOOSES to form itself in a way that allows it to remove itself from virtually all such transparency requirements.

He founded the Board of Directors. We are skeptical of the government and government licensed institutions such as the Federal Reserve for not being transparent in financial matters. However, they are public institutions and we are private.

This is just more BELTWAY crapola. All that has been built with the remaining campaign funds is yet another beltway bureaucracy... of, by, and for more beltway bandits.

We received a donation from Ron Paul to help us cover the costs of the Rally. We did not receive the PCC money. We currently rely on donations to fund our operations.

$70,000 donated, radio ads claimed in 2 areas - only one of which was verified - NOTHING else?

I've asked for an executive summary of what we did during the bailout. Also, I have been informed that we did pay for newspaper ads. More information to come.

Still, the fact that they act like these simple features (ticker, auto-login, email) are some huge obstacles bugs the crap outta me.

They aren't "huge" obstacles. They are seen as low priorities compared to other larger priorities that need attention (including a lot of State Coordinator and Precinct Leader functions). Remember, it's basically one person doing this.

As well as the so called "price tags" on these so called features to be built.

We didn't initiate an email notice system due to concerns about how much it would cost. But right now it looks like we're moving ahead with it.