Msg from Jonathan Bydlak -- willing to answer questions

[stevedasbach]

It makes me glad the national campaign people are here on RPF. This helps us to put many rumors to rest and get some working order back here. I am sure many people would like to know what you have to say and 57 posts is probably more then any of us herd about the state of the movement outside of our local zone.

/raise a mug to Jonathan and Don

I'll drink to that!

 

[me3]

Jonathan,

1) Thank you very much.

2) The quality and honesty of your answers are the most refreshing I have read or heard from HQ. While I am somewhat kidding by writing this, it would have done wonders for morale if you had left the campaign after NH and come to the forums to share some insight.

3) Are you planning to get involved with other campaigns, now or in the future?

4) What did the grassroots do well (besides fund raising)

5) What could the grassroots done better?

Man, you guys just keep the questions coming...

....

Thanks so much for your insightful questions.

I'm also impressed by the insight (and respectfulness) of the questions, but your answers as well.

 

[TruthAtLast]

Where do we go from here?

Hello Jonathan,

Thanks for your time to shed light on these subjects. It has taken awhile to read this entire thread to make sure I wouldn't be asking questions that were already asked.

It is easy to look back and see what we would do differently and point fingers, but myself and many others are looking to see where we go from here. Here are a couple questions and comments that I may be asking on the behalf of many.

1. Knowing what we know now, what would it take to win in 2012? What could we do differently that would enable us to succeed where we previously failed?
   • You mention not having enough money EARLY in the campaign. It is hard to raise that kind of money quickly but what could we do with proper planning?
   • Would $100 million in funds prior to Iowa and New Hampshire help? We can raise the money, but we need goals to shoot for and a plan of how to attain those goals. I don't think people should underestimate what Ron's supporters would do if he would just ask them.
   • Professional advertising agencies etc?
2. Ron Paul talks about the "next phase" of the Revolution but is he planning to lead it?
   • Is the next phase going through his LPAC?
   • When are they going to update the site and really turn it into a serious tool for change? If this was the next phase, as he suggests, then why isn't he prepared?
   • Would the same people be running the LPAC as those who ran the National Campaign?
3. There are many liberty candidates running for Congress yet Ron Paul has only endorsed a couple. How do we know who to support?
   • Is Ron Paul planning on identifying "opportunities" to get people elected in certain districts where there are real opportunities to win?
   • Some supporters in these forums are running for Congress yet they have a hard time raising funds because some Ron Paul supporters are reluctant to donate to people Ron Paul hasn't endorsed. What would be your advice to these Ron Paul loyalists who are taking up the cause and doing exactly what Ron Paul wants them to do?
4. If Ron Paul doesn't run again in 2012, do we need to start grooming a potential candidate now?
   • Is there anyone in mind? Sabrin? Rand?
5. Does Ron really realize what he has gotten himself into and the power he has in pushing this movement forward? As much as Ron Paul has said that the Movement is bigger than one man, people still tie his name to this "Revolution" and respond to him and him alone. He sends an email asking for money and 24 hours later nearly $1 million drops into his Congressional piggy bank. He has access to these supporters from the donations list but if his intention is to step back and let the Revolution grow without central leadership, it leaves many Grassroots organizations in a difficult position of trying to reach these supporters that really only Ron can do.
6. Why has there been a lack of information on how the delegate process works in each state as well as how the RNC works? I know it is different in each state but a lot of time and energy has been wasted here in the forums by people aruging about how many "REAL" delegates we have, or who is bound or unbound, or where Huck's and Romney's delegates go, or how each state actually selects National delegates, or how we could covertly "take over" the convention with stealth votes.... it goes on and on, and this leadership and defacto information should have come from HQ.
   • Do you think that this knowledge is of vital importance in a future election?
   • Was there ever a "master plan" for delegates from the very beginning?
   • Ron Paul talks about not being able to win the nomination at this point but still suggesting that we go out and get as many delegats as possible. Some people here insist that we can still take over the convention. Could you shed some light on just what the heck the true goal is for HQ?
7. There are other Movements that support many of Ron Paul's beliefs and values such as Freedom Force, founded by G. Edward Griffin. They have endorsed Ron Paul and also believe in taking over the power centers in society to win back our country. Do you know how Ron Paul feels about some of these organizations? If not endorsing them specifically, does he want to work with any of them?
8. Clearly education is a major obstacle and it isn't easy for people UNBRAINWASH those that have been eating the Government's and MSM's hand for so long. After this campaign is over, and as we prepare for Congressional races and another presidential run, is there plans for a REAL campaign strategy to "wake up" America to these issues? Certainly the Grassroots people can do their job but a lot of times, BECAUSE there isn't a central leadership that at least provides basic direction, even the many Grassroots supporters who are spreading the message of liberty are spouting false information or just haven't done the research themselves? Ron Paul and you have proven the ability to raise money so I believe that significant funds could be raised for something like this if promoted properly. As you know, people need to feel like they are working towards a goal. They need to feel like they aren't just donating to donate, that it is a specific cause with measurable results. I guess my question is really.... how do we lay the ground work (other than just going to Republican meetings) so that the "message" would be better received in a few years?

 

[Ninja Homer]

Jonathan, thanks for answering so many questions in this thread.

I know that most of your answers are written with retrospective 20/20 vision, and a lot of it doesn't matter a whole lot now, except what can be learned for future campaigns in continuing the Revolution, but I still have some questions anyway.

Why oh why didn't the campaign ever make a DVD? Why why why? WHY?

(why?) I just don't see any downside to making a DVD. With a simple email like, "We need $300,000 to produce the DVD everybody has been waiting for. Please donate now." the campaign likely would have gotten the money to produce it in a couple days. Sell it from the online store, and now you're making money on it. Give reproduction rights, and supporters can make copies themselves and pass out as needed. Put it on Google Video and now anybody can see it online for free. An official DVD always seemed to be a no-brainer to me.

I don't mean to downplay the campaign's successes. I actually remain quite optimistic about the campaign. I think the campaign has been pretty miraculous so far, and I feel there are still some miracles to come. However, there are some failures that need to be pointed out and examined so the same mistakes aren't made in the future.

The campaign failed as a traditional business that spreads its popularity by purchasing advertising. Obviously, this wasn't a fair fight. The amount of money that Ron Paul raised was a drop in an ocean compared to the free media that other candidates like McCain and Huckabee got. I'd guess that even before Super Tuesday, McCain and Huckabee were getting $5 million a day in free media, and that's probably grossly underestimated.

It should have been recognized early on that the Ron Paul Campaign wasn't going to get any free attention from the media, and wouldn't be able to compete with the other campaigns that were getting this attention. At that time, the campaign should have shifted from purchasing advertising to a campaign built more like a network marketing business.

Set up tools, such as DVD's, training videos, web tools, etc., and then the established supporters could use these tools to spread the message much faster and much more effectively than any direct ad buys. Set up training sessions and conference calls to train supporters to convert people better. This is the only way the Ron Paul campaign could have competed with the other campaigns that were getting all the free media attention. I would guess that at least 3/4 of the current Ron Paul supporters learned of him by word of mouth. This is where the bulk of the money that was raised should have been spent.

Personally, I wouldn't have spent a cent on media advertising, unless there was a particular media company that gave fair time to Ron Paul. Then I'd be tempted to reward them with some advertising dollars, and put out a press release that they're getting some money from the Ron Paul campaign because they were the only ones who gave Ron Paul fair time.

Another way I think the campaign failed was shifting gears from a message campaign to an all-out presidential campaign. It never quite made that jump, and instead was almost like a Tancredo campaign on steroids. You've addressed this a little already in this thread, so I'll leave it at that.

The last way I feel it failed is actually Ron Paul's fault... I don't think he ever believed in the possibility that he could be President as much as we did. I don't want to second-guess him or put words in his mouth, but this is the feeling I get. Don't get me wrong, Ron Paul is my hero, and is the only hero I've had that isn't a fictional character, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him. However, from his mannerisms and the way he spoke about some things, it was apparent to me that he didn't believe he could be President, and that's something that people can sense nonverbally. Until he really believes it himself, it would be very hard for many people to believe in him. I'm not sure if I'm explaining this clear enough. At some point, Ron Paul needed to OWN this Presidency within his heart.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

IMO, launching a major national ad campaign in December, before any of the other candidates, initially using the funds raised in the money bombs, would have forced the MSM to take Ron seriously and generated the earned media we needed. Bottom line -- money talks, and if you are spending big bucks advertising on their networks, they are going to cover you. You may or may not like the coverage, but you'll get covered.

That's possible, assuming that there's enough demand from the American public to hear about Ron Paul.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Jon,

Thanks for your work at the campaign.

I have a question. Do you know what the campaign will do with the existing website? Before you leave I would recommend to Kent or Lew that the website be kept online and turned into an educational tool. The campaign should be able to allocate some funds to use it after the convention.

Also, if you don't mind telling, what is the campaign staff narrowed down to? IS Ron going to make it to PA to speak?

Thanks.

Yeah, I'm not sure how the website is going to be used. I'm pretty sure though, that everyone know's it's a valuable resource that should be put to some constructive use.

The HQ office has roughly 10 employees, and as far as I know, Ron will be going to Pennsylvania. From what I've head, he's very excited about doing campaigning in his home state!

 

[Kludge]

There have been a number of excellent grassroots DVDs already released... My personal favorite was "Ron Paul - A Man for All Seasons" which is set up very professionally and uses great clips (This was released well before the primaries).

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Jonathan, what's next for you?

Well, I'm not 100% sure if it's going to work yet, but I'm working on creating a market-based charity dedicated to education. If anyone has any interest in finding out more, just let me know. I could use some web development help, as well as someone with experience in non-profit law...

 

[JonathanBydlak]

That one I am sympathetic to you on. The media tried to marginalize Dr. Paul in every way. Even when Nader announced his run, Wolf Blitzer asked his viewers in a blog on how much time Nader should get, pretty much confessing the media decides who gets how much air time.

All I can offer is that the media's Prime directive is to bring the audience to the advertiser

They need stories that:

1. Do not require extensive investigation.
2. Are quick to compile to meet deadlines.
3. Easily verified to avoid lawsuits.
4. That will be “interesting” to the viewer/reader. This is why Britney/Lindsay/Paris stories are easy pablum as opposed to the stuff that makes people think.
5. Not jeopardize current or potential advertising contracts that may paint their sponsors in a negative light. Remember the White House spent 1.6 Billion of taxpayers dollars just for media relations/PR spin.
6. Not anger their editors or corporate owner’s views.

Couple that with your average voter being dumbed down over years and years of mass disinformation and manipulation tactics, they have been reduced to this:

Bottom line, they either like you or they don't. Remember that they have been saturated in the same pablum over the years and they actually think they are practicing quality journalism. For example, Ron Paul repeatedly stated that the money is printed "out of thin air". Now, I know what he means, and we on these forums generally know what he means, but where the hell was a reporter asking Dr. Paul the question, "Dr. Paul? Can you take a moment to explain to our [reader|viewer]ship to elaborate on that? What do mean "printing it out of thin air"?".


I know some personalities that went into journalism, and quite frankly, I found them to be intellectual vacuums.

In case I forget to say thank you.....Thank you!

Thanks... that's overall pretty insightful.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

National cable ads (Fox News, CNN, MSNBC) are a lot less expensive than you think. And, IMO, once people started seeing them, the money to run more of them would have poured in. This assumes, of course, that they were effective, powerful ads.

Targetted ads in NH were important, but they were competing with the ads from every other candidate. National ads would have been up against no competition, and would almost certainly have driven up Ron's national poll numbers. The MSM used those low single digit poll numbers as the justification for marginalizing his campaign. If he had been polling in the teens, it would have been much harder for them to deny him coverage. Ultimately, I think better national poll numbers and MSM coverage would have had more impact in Iowa and New Hampshire than targeted ads with low national poll numbers and little MSM coverage.

Makes sense to me. I'll admit I didn't see it that way at the time.

 

[Santana28]

Jonathan,

Just want to say thank you while i have the chance. I think you'd done an amazing job and you know you will always have our support.

 

[greenspj]

Well, if you want my honest opinion, I don't think there's much that "we" can do. I think it comes down to two things... what the media wants to cover, and shortcomings of Ron. The media wants news, plain and simple. Sure, there was bias against Ron, but that was minor next to the point that Ron wasn't attacking other candidates by saying controversial things (remember the one time Ron called out Huckabee's Christmas ad? We got news coverage everywhere because of that. Why? Because it was controversial.)

So, it's a sad indictment of our society when substance doesn't get you news coverage. But my personal opinion is knowing that, you have to play the game. And unfortuantely, Ron is too dignified to do that.

If I could be so bold as to add to John's response.

Politics is war by other means. If you bring the numbers and the brute force, the media will notice. I.e. by canvassing and becoming PCs, by getting elected to county central committees, by taking over the conventions, it doesn't matter if you're the media darling - you win.

We had a year to do it. Some caught on and gave 110%. Some more. We are still doing incredible things across the west in terms of penetrating and getting elected to state delegate positions and county central committees.. That's in progress still as I type this.

Ask yourself... when was the last county central committee meeting you attended? Are you a PC?

Again, we had a year to do it. A lot of people in the movement were self-styled national campaign experts, but wouldn't knock on their next door neighbor's door. Those who focused locally and got the grassroots work done had the best results by far in terms of penetrating the party and creating wins where they were needed in the central committees, caucuses and conventions.

Best Regards,

Jeff Greenspan
(formerly) SW US Regional Campaign Coordinator, currently in Reno preparing to kick *** at the Washoe county convention tomorrow where we will get at least double the proportion of state delegates than we received votes in in the caucus and the establishment is worried (because they are under orders from the RNC to not let one RP national delegate through to the natl convention!)

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Jonathan,

1) Thank you very much.

2) The quality and honesty of your answers are the most refreshing I have read or heard from HQ. While I am somewhat kidding by writing this, it would have done wonders for morale if you had left the campaign after NH and come to the forums to share some insight.

3) Are you planning to get involved with other campaigns, now or in the future?

4) What did the grassroots do well (besides fund raising)

5) What could the grassroots done better?


I'm also impressed by the insight (and respectfulness) of the questions, but your answers as well.

Sure, let me try my best on these. I'd love to get involved in other campaigns in the future, but it will really have to be a candidate that I believe is genuine. I think I mentioned in one of those press conferences that in this election, the Ron Paul campaign is the only campaign for me. We'll just have to see what happens in the future.

As I just said in another post, I'm currently trying to get a market-based non-profit of my own off the ground (unrelated to politics). It's geared towards trying to help students who need financial aid from college get what they need. I actually think a lot of people in these forums would find it quite interesting. That said, it's in the very early stages.

As far as what the grassroots did well and could have done better... Well, it's hard for me to be really specific, having been removed from the grassroots for quite some time. On the fundraising side, the internet organization that was done was extremely awesome, and of course, I see the way that Justine and Kent decentralized our social networking apparatus as having made all that possible. We had no idea how any of it would turn out, but man did you all make the most of it.

The general problem that I've had with many grassroots supporters is an attitudinal one. Sometimes, I think these forums have served as a sounding board for every one person's little gripes, and that resulted in pulling others into the negativity camp, rather than taking constructive action. It's sort of like group polarization theory in psychology, where groups discussing things often get pulled to the extremes and reach conclusions drastically different than what any individual might have decided otherwise. Reminds me of 12 Angry Men.... 40,000 Angry Forums Posters

I think things like sign waves were largely a waste of time. I'd be curious to know how many people spent their time going to Republican party meetings and working to get out the vote on election day. Not to be too critical, but I do think it's unfortunate that we have 250,000+ donors, but only 20,000 precinct leaders. And how many precinct leaders actually did canvassing?

But on the positive side, the grassroots also did something way more important that no one else talks about.. they gave Ron Paul brand recognition. People saw signs (though one critique I have heard is that they couldn't associate a face or even the word "president" when they saw "Ron Paul Revolution" signs), and they also saw Ron all over the internet. To people who cared, the grassroots provided lots of information online.

And let's not forget the turnout by supporters to straw polls, which got us a good amount of press... and text messaging polls... sure, these things aren't hugely important, but it was important in that it gave people a talking point about Ron Paul.

I think what needs to come next is learning what works and what doesn't work, and then going out and organizing to accomplish our mutual goals. It'll be a strong test of everyone involved in the revolution whether we can create the organization that we need.

 

[BUSHLIED]

If I could be so bold as to add to John's response.

Politics is war by other means. If you bring the numbers and the brute force, the media will notice. I.e. by canvassing and becoming PCs, by getting elected to county central committees, by taking over the conventions, it doesn't matter if you're the media darling - you win.

We had a year to do it. Some caught on and gave 110%. Some more. We are still doing incredible things across the west in terms of penetrating and getting elected to state delegate positions and county central committees.. That's in progress still as I type this.

Ask yourself... when was the last county central committee meeting you attended? Are you a PC?

Again, we had a year to do it. A lot of people in the movement were self-styled national campaign experts, but wouldn't knock on their next door neighbor's door. Those who focused locally and got the grassroots work done had the best results by far in terms of penetrating the party and creating wins where they were needed in the central committees, caucuses and conventions.

Best Regards,

Jeff Greenspan
(formerly) SW US Regional Campaign Coordinator, currently in Reno preparing to kick *** at the Washoe county convention tomorrow where we will get at least double the proportion of state delegates than we received votes in in the caucus and the establishment is worried (because they are under orders from the RNC to not let one RP national delegate through to the natl convention!)

Jeff,

Is the Anti-Paul bias that flagrant? What is like out west in terms of the RNC politics? What is your guess on the amount of delegates Paul will seat?

Thanks.

 

[steph3n]

Well, I'm not 100% sure if it's going to work yet, but I'm working on creating a market-based charity dedicated to education. If anyone has any interest in finding out more, just let me know. I could use some web development help, as well as someone with experience in non-profit law...

Hrm this is one of my long term desires as well, I am on the web services side of the market but my goals are really to help reform education to learning again, teaching to learn not teaching a book or teaching a test.

 

[Shink]

Right now, Ron Paul will be remembered as an armchair revolutionary who happened to start a movement but then didn't know what to do with it.

I think, among all the false stuff that occasionally has floated around on RPF, this is the falsest. Perhaps you aren't aware that "armchair" connotes 'do nothing,' 'useless,' 'false.' Ron embodies the opposite of all those things. It's easy to be frustrated, but it's even easier to be dead wrong while you're frustrated.

*To Johnathan: I absolutely thank you for standing at Ron Paul's, and thus mine and this nation's, side and fighting for this most important cause.

1. From what I can tell, you were screaming inside the whole time for the attack dog version of Ron to come out, huh?

2. What exactly can or should be done about the well-known media bias? Should there be some real coordination to attempt to come up with a TV network with a focus on fair news coverage/liberty-related themes, etc?

3. Just now I listened to Ron Paul on Alex Jones. (side issue: how many of the official campaign staff actually hold venom towards AJ and people like me and Ron Paul who oppose the New World Order openly?) Ahem.... Ron was asked if he would be setting up an organization after the campaign. Ron said yes but didn't go into detail. The question: COULD YOU GO INTO DETAIL? lol

 

[greenspj]

Something to think about for our the next run with the next liberty candidate. We need to win an early state to be considered legit by the MSM. Even at the expense of national fund raising, a congressional seat, etc...

Guys, there is no "we". There is only "I".

Did I canvass using best practices over a statistically significant sample size?
Did I train others how to do it in their precincts.
Did I recruit enough people to vote at the polls or support me at the caucus in my precinct?
Did I become a PC?
Did I get elected to the county central committe?
Did I recruit enough other like minded PCs?
Did I recruit enough other people to support me for my run at the county central committee and whom I could support in a run?
Did I go to my county central committee meetings?

If a bunch of "I"s don't do the above, it doesn't matter what "we" think with regards to the next liberty candidate. And the list above needs to start *now* (and I mean right now) for 2012.

Best Regards,

Jeff Greenspan

 

[Sandra]

It's wonderful that you are here answering questions. Sometimes this forum can get a bit hairy.

 

[JS4Pat]

he's already answered this, what works on youtube doesn't work on tv, time is pricey.

There is still no excuse for those HORRIBLE ads that ran in New Hampshire. I knew we had SERIOUS problems at HQs when those were rolled out. Honestly I was thinking sabatoge.

 

[NEPA_Revolution]

I have a question. I live in NE Pennsylvania, when will Ron be here. I have never seen him in person and would really love an oppertunity to do so.