Msg from Jonathan Bydlak -- willing to answer questions

[JonathanBydlak]

Fair enough, I, too, should apologize for allowing latent anger to color my previous post... Rest assured that I will continue to work hard, to bring the kind of change we are all looking for, as soon as possible. I hope you are still around to join in the celebration...

You'll bring us change? Will you bring us hope, too?

Change and hope and hope and change and... ugh. Makes me sick to my stomach at this point. I know some of you didn't like my blog post on this, but whenever I hear the word "change" I automatically think "more government programs." Because I really think that's what everyone else in the race means.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

I can live with that...character and integrity still matter. That's what makes a good leader. Otherwise you get phoney fluff. If that's what sells, well, I guess I can see why Ron Paul wasn't "popular".

But, gosh, I don't remember Nixon being warm and fuzzy...

Well, remember, people don't necessarily want warm and fuzzy either. Scaring the bejesus out of people works extremely effectively, as GWB and Karl Rove have shown us for a long time now.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

I have been mulling this over in my mind and I just don't (respectfully) agree only because of precedent. I have a hard time imagining people really using the kind of logic you imply. The mentality is more like a high school football game - let our team win!

Huckabbe won Arkansas
McCain won Arizona
Romney won Massahusetts and Michigan (because he was born there).

People are still voting for these people who have dropped out so we can't blame it on the "dropping out" message.

Ron Paul should have swept Texas and should take Pennsylvania.

That's how people think - BUT - that's not how the powers-to be think.

Ron Paul's results just doesn't follow precedent - it just doesn't add up.

Let me end with - Ron Paul is up against some sinsiter stuff - I admire him for standing up to the establishment - I pray he is kept safe.

Yeah, I just don't agree. I think it comes down to the fact that many people do see elections as a "game" that they want to "win." That bandwagon effect is a really powerful tool for those who have it... and we were always battling to convince people that Ron could win.

 

[SteveMartin]

Steve - You recently posted that I was less valuable to the campaign then the office door (You used less flattering language, of course). Once you either apologize for this ad hominem attack or provide some basis for this observation, then I will be happy to answer your questions.

Also, my last name is spelled Rasmussen.

Identity established. OK.

Now, there are many people who have been in the campaign offices who have been saying this about you, Don. I have had no reason to doubt their word on things based on hundreds of conversations with people who I have come to know and trust in the grassroots, where most of the successes in this campaign were achieved. These people's observations have proven true, over and over and over again.

It seems that very few people with long records of established patriot activism were hired in favor of young, inside-the-beltway types---many of whom seem to have been of a certain sexual preference. Am I wrong?

 

[Don]

Identity established. OK.

Now, there are many people who have been in the campaign offices who have been saying this about you, Don. I have had no reason to doubt their word on things based on hundreds of conversations with people who I have come to know and trust in the grassroots, where most of the successes in this campaign were achieved. These people's observations have proven true, over and over and over again.

It seems that very few people with long records of established patriot activism were hired in favor of young, inside-the-beltway types---many of whom seem to have been of a certain sexual preference. Am I wrong?

I simply can't take you seriously. If there are any grown ups with questions, I will be happy to answer them.

 

[SteveMartin]

You better take me seriously, pal.

Answer the questions.

Thousands are listening.

It was our campaign too.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

I'm surprised nobody has asked more about "the newsletters" yet, since that was an unfortunate objection many of us had to deal with while spreading the word about Ron Paul. (Sometimes when people "googled Ron Paul" they found some pretty embarrassing stuff...!)

1. What impact, if any, do you think the newsletter story had on results in NH and beyond? Do you think we lost a significant number of supporters due to this issue, especially among youth voters?

2. Was the campaign prepared for this story to come out? Was a response ready or were you taken by surprise?

3. What would you have done differently -- pre-empt the story by coming clean about the issue before the TNR article hit? Provide more detailed information about who actually WAS responsible for the content and oversight of the newsletters in question?

Thanks

Well, the newletters came out on the day of the NH primary, so I don't believe that many people in that state heard about them. I think the effect there was minimal. But there's no question in my mind that it hurt us in other areas... granted the press wasn't as huge as we all think... but I'm sure it spread, and for people who knew nothing else about the name Ron Paul, I'm sure that's all they wanted to hear.

I can't really comment on internal debate on the matter... I have my opinions on how it should have been handled, but I don't know a whole lot about the discussions that were had. In my personal opinion, any knowledge regarding the newsletters should have come out immediately... maybe I'm just a little too honest for my own good, but I think what Ron said on Wolf Blitzer needed to come from Ron immediately, rather than a day or two later. But that's just my personal opinion.

One thing I will add is how disgusting this whole episode was. Regardless of how it was handled, it was clear that people with malicious intentions were out to get Ron -- and many of those same people are those who also call themselves libertarians. I don't mean that ina political sense, but I can tell you that there is no way that Ron believes the crap in those letters. And I firmly believe that many of those who were attacking him for it know that as well, but chose to attack anyway. Such is politics, but it blows my mind that we're more willing to eat our own kind (whether it's libertarians attacking Ron or supporters attacking HQ) than go after the bigger beasts. It's part of that mentality that's brought us one step closer to 100 years of the war in Iraq.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

This is the exact mindset that doomed the ad campaigns. Trying to cater to all groups was engaging in collectivism. The ad campaigns should have been designed to educate a populace that is starving for the truth.

Haha, see, I would argue that your mindset is what helped to make this movement less effective. While many of US may be "starved for truth," I don't think much of the American populace is. And so the question then becomes, "how are you going to reach those people, too?" To win an election, you need a coalition of people, not just a group of core supporters... and for whatever reasons, we as a group (hq and gr) all failed to put together that coalition.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Sure. Unfortunately, we never really found out what worked on TV, since the ads that ran didn't work. This is/was a unique campaign, with a unique candidate, that had the ability to reach new voters, or those disaffected with politics in general. Instead, the campaign seemed to target "likely primary voters" instead of emulating an extremely successful grassroots movement. "Likely primary voters" follow big media, and the media had it in for Dr. Paul from the start. I'm not sure how much more effective a different course would have been, but it's tough to argue something else would have been less successful.

Anyway...

Thanks for coming on and answering questions, Mr. Bydlak. I wholeheartedly appreciate it.

haha, well, thing is.. of course you target likely primary voters. Because those are the people who will be voting! You can't make ads that just appeal to core supporters, and I actually believe that a lot of the upsetedness from many people comes from that very fact... not understanding that the ads that appeal to many of us -- the minority -- simply won't appeal to others.

I think the bigger point you're raising, though, is that it's hard to know how effective any taken action is. Without spending a ton of money on focus groups, how do you know one TV ad is more effective than another? And is radio a better medium for political advertising than TV, or newspapers? These are all questions that I personally struggled with a lot. And I'm not so sure there are many people out there, except for some advertising execs, who really have good answers.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

All good points. I have a theory that Dr. Paul saw this campaign as an educational project rather than a winnable election from the beginning. When the campaign picked up steam he wasn't prepared to grab the tiger by the tail.

If he had made more personal appearances in Iowa, his supporters could have followed him into the little towns where a couple of hundred people demonstrating enthusiastically for a candidate would have made a BIG splash. (I know, because I saw the kind of rallies the "frontrunners" got. We could have kicked their butts.) Contrast that with the fact that several thousand people at a rally in Philadelphia was virtually ignored by the national press. Impact in Iowa? Zero.

His campaign went all over the country in the months leading up to Iowa as if he hoped to scatter the seeds of his message before the excitement died down.
Again a good strategy for disseminating information, but not a very good strategy for winning a nomination. I will always believe that he was fighting an impossible battle to become a household name by traveling around the country.

His only hope was to finish high enough in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire to force the MSM to acknowledge him as a contender. It also would have forced them to do what they wanted to avoid at all costs; talk about the issues that were appealing to his supporters.

I feel that I can speak with great authority about this based on one simple fact; I was probably an ideal voter to have been reached by the Ron Paul campaign. I live in Iowa, I already believed in 99% of what he was preaching, I frequent the Internet, I had the time and money to donate to his campaign. But I had not even heard of him until my brother emailed me about his candidacy just before the Nov. 5th money bomb!

Something obviously wasn't working.

Haha... I think it's funny that you're talking about us going all over the country, when another poster wanted Ron everywhere doing fundraisers! It was a lose-lose battle we were facing with all of you guys.

But as I said before, you're right that we needed more visits to Iowa. And Ron has spoken many times on his reluctance... seems reasonable to me that that affected things more than we'd like to admit.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Well I got up nerve to post this much, maybe the next time I will write something of importance. I'm new here and read all the posts and Jonathan"s answers. He did a great job of informing us and I for one really appreciate it. We seldom get news and this helps to squelch some unanswered questions.

Thank you Jonathan and good luck in your new endeavor.

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[JonathanBydlak]

If the other campaign staffers are really serious about the movement and not just in it for the short term thrill and money, they should come here and post their thoughts on where we should go from here.

Well, not really Primbs. I'm here under my own volition, but I don't think that I, or anyone else, am obligated to be here. To think anyone was in this for the money... my salary was cut in half by working on the campaign! And imagine if I had known I'd be called an "idiot" on the front page of the LA Times by a supporter... that had to be the highlight of the campaign for me!

And as I said earlier... you can rest assured that more word will come out with time as to what is coming next. I have little doubt about that.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

TROLL !!!

If he's a troll, then I want more like him...

 

[JonathanBydlak]

JB??? Did we ask stuff we shouldn't have???

You're free to ask whatever you wish, Steve. Of course, doesn't mean I'll answer

 

[SteveMartin]

I suggested months ago that RP should have gone ahead and named a running mate to act as a surrogate at many of these functions so that he could still work as a sitting Congressman, as well, without suffering total burnout.

Heck, we are a groundbreaking bunch, why didn't we just go ahead and even name a couple of the cabinet people and send them out as well?? They would have gotten a lot more "bang for the buck" then some un-(such)-designated "spokesperson."

 

[JonathanBydlak]

When you have had a chance to read some more, Jonathan, you will find out that the original takeover of the Republican Party was done by the Rockefeller family. They own the lion's share of Federal Reserve stock, 90% of the nation's refining capacity, and some analysts estimate more than $20 trillion in liquid assets. That's not something we can take on even in 3 election cycles without them also putting into effect their control of the military, and FEMA, and DHS, etc.

I used to believe in movements. I've been involved in several conservative movements. They are always infiltrated and defeated.

IMO, we have one last chance. And this cycle is it. If RP runs as an Independent who could "unite the clans" (all the 3rd parties) and give us something we've never had before--A country of our own! ARE YOU READY FOR A (real) REVOLUTION!!! (In the current police- state, election-fraud environment, everything else is just playing into their hands.)

Eh, and what happens if you don't win this time as an independent, Steve? What then?

Think about the past movements in the party... we can have some conspiratorial reason for them... or we can realize that they came from hard core organization. That's just my op.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Unfortunately, BILLION$ are needed for that movement, not 10's of MILLION$. The Republic is controlled by massive wealth... pulling the strings of the puppets in Washington DC. Democracy? WHERE?

Billions are needed, but to be trite, "the journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step"

Wow... that was cheesy

 

[JonathanBydlak]

An Independent run would also be marked by massive voter fraud. Hopefully, measures we would have in place would PROVE, however, to any honest observer that it had occured and that the "democracy" is over.

Ultimately, yes, we would probably be sparking a violent "restoration."

Eh, if there's violence, then count me out.

 

[JonathanBydlak]

Glad you're back Jonathon. Just FYI, in case you're involved with future fundraising on a national level...

I really wish we could have obtained a lot more of the prepaid donation envelopes. I helped staff the IL campaign office, and I can't tell you how many people wanted to come in and make a donation, even after the 10 envelopes we got from HQ were gone.

When we had the envelopes, I could help them fill out the form and then drop the envelope in the mail that day. After we ran out, I tried to get people to donate online from the office PC, but the older Conservatives aren't really "into" sending money over the internet.

That's a good suggestion, but you also knew about the ability to print off forms on the internet to have them fill out, right?

 

[amy31416]

I suggested months ago that RP should have gone ahead and named a running mate to act as a surrogate at many of these functions so that he could still work as a sitting Congressman, as well, without suffering total burnout.

Heck, we are a groundbreaking bunch, why didn't we just go ahead and even name a couple of the cabinet people and send them out as well?? They would have gotten a lot more "bang for the buck" then some un-(such)-designated "spokesperson."

I am completely smitten with that idea. If we're going to be unconventional, we should take it all the way, without being stupid.

It's too bad that it's too late for RP though, but it's not too late for a lot of other people running for various offices.