At our début MeetUp for Missoula (Western MT) today, we all agreed that having a statewide volunteer website would be useful since Montana is so spread out and MeetUp operates city by city. We can easily scrape up the funds from within our group; that's not an issue at all.
However, how much organizing and spending can we do just as individuals before we run into FEC regulations or McCain's Big Ol' Campaign Finance Law? To start with, I think we plan to use it for local discussions like this forum, distribution of materials (e.g. buying in bulk and selling to individuals at cost), coordinating letters to editors and other media exposure, and planning regional events (possibly acting as a free alternative to MeetUp). We're all willing to do this as volunteers, as part of our contribution to Dr. Paul, but obviously we don't want to get him or us in unconstitutional hot water.
However, how much organizing and spending can we do just as individuals before we run into FEC regulations or McCain's Big Ol' Campaign Finance Law? To start with, I think we plan to use it for local discussions like this forum, distribution of materials (e.g. buying in bulk and selling to individuals at cost), coordinating letters to editors and other media exposure, and planning regional events (possibly acting as a free alternative to MeetUp). We're all willing to do this as volunteers, as part of our contribution to Dr. Paul, but obviously we don't want to get him or us in unconstitutional hot water.
