Paul has a novel idea for his campaign leftovers

[0zzy]

Lawmaker might start for-profit publishing firm, testing bounds of finance rules

WASHINGTON — Ron Paul failed to translate an impressive fundraising operation into widespread support for his 2008 bid for the presidency, but the Lake Jackson Republican still may end up hitting pay dirt.

To further Paul's Libertarian-leaning agenda, his campaign is exploring a novel way to use millions of dollars in leftover donations: setting up a for-profit publishing company that would focus on free-market economics and personal liberties — causes the Texas congressman holds dear.

Political finance experts say such a business venture funded with some $4 million in political cash would test the bounds of federal campaign finance regulations.

"I've never heard of anyone taking their campaign money and putting it into a for-profit corporation," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an organization that advocates campaign finance reform.

Houston Chronicle

 

[OptionsTrader]

Fine with me.

 

[0zzy]

If they have a publication company that is as good as Ron Paul's The Revolution: A Manifesto, I think I'd be a great fan!

Which reminds me, there is a pretty good publication company called Palgrave-Macmillan which just published Ain't My America: The Long, Noble History of Antiwar Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism by Bill Kauffman (and praised by Ron Paul), and publishes anti-imperial books known as the American Empire Project, which produced Chalmers Johnson's Blowback series.

And for you history buffs out there it's also publishing Pure Goldwater

 

[richardfortherepublic]

Good, I was hoping to see something like this since the beginning

 

[yongrel]

That is SO much better than blowing it on direct mail.

 

[Conza88]

That is fken hilarious!
Hahah =

I've never heard of anyone taking their campaign money and putting it into a for-profit corporation," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, an organization that advocates campaign finance reform.

Yeap, no-one quite like Ron Paul.

 

[ZzzImAsleep]

I'm all right with that.

 

[tonyr1988]

Crap! THIS IS HORRIBLE

The reading list on the back of The Revolution: A Manifesto will keep me busy for long enough, destroying any social life I had a chance at. Now he wants to start a publishing company? I'll never be able to do anything.

 

[yongrel]

Harry Potter and the Golden Standard

Published by Revolution Books

 

[0zzy]

Harry Potter and the Golden Standard

Published by Revolution Books

rofl

 

[Omphfullas Zamboni]

Harry Potter and the Golden Standard

Published by Revolution Books

(Toothy grin).

--Omphfullas Zamboni

 

[Razmear]

So do all us donors become shareholders in the company?
If so I'll gladly take about 700 of the 36 million outstanding shares

eb

 

[tonyr1988]

Harry Potter and the Golden Standard

Published by Revolution Books

You mean Harry Potter and the Standard of Gold.

But really, this is a really really really good idea, and could do wonders to spread the message. After I finish The Revolution, I'm planning on letting my mom borrow it to read (she's always complaining that she wants to get into politics, but doesn't wanna get overwhelmed - she has no excuse now ).

 

[TruthAtLast]

Personally, I'd rather him either spend it supporting Liberty Candidates, or in the remaining state primaries, or in a third party bid (if he decided to run).

He could send out a different email asking for our donations in this separate venture and he'd raise more than the 4 million anyway. I'd rather be a shareholder and have a vested interest in the new company. I'd donate 10 times what I did for the campaign.

But if he used campaign contributions to fund this new business it would be ethically questionable at best and illegal at worst. The supporters who donated to the PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN expect it to be used for that purpose don't get any piece of this new FOR PROFIT company.

 

[Tarzan]

Not just NO... but OH, HELL NO!!!

Houston Chronicle

OK... IF this is true... and that is a very BIG IF:

I am not happy about this at all. The biggest problem I have is who would be in charge. The article says "his campaign is exploring a novel way to use millions of dollars in leftover donations".

So, who is going to run this FOR PROFIT company setup by "leftover" donations? The people running the official campaign? Based on what we have seen from their abilities to market a product (RP for President) and the results they achieved with the millions YOU donated... I say HELL NO!!! If you were a business owner would you hire these people to run a company setup with $4 million dollars of YOUR money? I know my answer would be HELL NO.

Then there is the little issue of "leftover donations". If Ron Paul is going to continue through to at least the GOP National Convention shouldn't we get what we paid for? A genuine presidential campaign effort? If the people running the official campaign had any notion of achieving some real objectives they would be helping us by providing information on how the delegate process works in each state. They would be providing information on how the State & National GOP structure works and helping us take control of the GOP. It appears to me they are busy trying to figure out how to stay employed once the campaign does a final wrap... and are hanging onto as much money as possible to launch their new endeavor. Leftover Donations... there should be little or nothing left and Ron Paul should still be out there campaigning.

I know... someone is going to tell me that Ron Paul has several media appearances scheduled... that he IS still campaigning. I know I am gonna get a lot of flak for this... but the timing of these appearances if very suspicious. Based on RPs campaigning activities over the past several months we now see a sudden spike in activity... just as his "Manifesto" has been released for sale. This seems suspiciously like a book sales tour in the guise of a campaign tour... the YOUR donations are being used to pay for that book tour. I have some serious mixed feelings about this and it does not leave me with a good feeling.

This is the same "technique" the campaign used in Texas when they ran TV ads preceding the primary in Houston... Houston, within easy broadcast range of RPs congressional district. Funny, no one I know or have heard from saw any in Dallas, Ft. Worth or San Antonio. But the presidential campaign donations were used to run ads in Houston... and the folks in his congressional district had the opportunity to see those ads. Perfectly legal... but not the highest in ethical standards. I wonder if they ran any presidential ads in OH, VT, MS, PA... but I am pretty sure of the answer.

The money now belongs to the Ron Paul for President campaign. They have several options for using the money if he loses or drops out. One suggestion has been to donate it all to one of Ron Paul's PACs... the ones he mentioned several weeks ago... one specifically for helping Ron Paul Republicans gain office. We were told this would be part of the "next phase" of this movement. After all these weeks this site has not changed... not one candidate is listed... and, last time I checked, the email address does not even work. Go look for yourself Liberty PAC. I have the same issues with this idea. Who would be running these PACs? The people who are running the official campaign? If that is the case then I say HELL NO!

This looks like a lame plan by the people running the official campaign to create a "soft landing" for themselves using our donations. We could all contact the campaign and demand a different course of action. But they have been consistently unresponsive in the past and I think that will continue... especially now that they have dollar signs in their eyes... maybe they did all along.

Quite a few Ron Paul supporters made some serious personal and financial sacrifices for this campaign. I wonder how they feel about the money they donated being used to setup a for profit company... run by the same people who gave us the pathetic results and materials we have seen from the official campaign?

All I can do is shout an indignant "OH, HELL NO!!!"... but no one at the campaign will hear it... they certainly won't listen.

 

[mdh]

I have some reservations as well, but didn't want to be the first to speak up negatively. When people contributed to the national campaign, there was a reasonable expectation that their contributions would go towards promoting Ron Paul's candidacy. At worst, it might go to some other campaign (congressional, perhaps, or even an issues campaign) which Dr. Paul chose to run, or even to a candidate whom he endorsed. These funds were, after all, earmarked for promoting political victories for the cause of liberty. The notion that some of the people who ran this mess of a campaign will now walk away with the money and use it to further profit seems in very poor taste. I'd be fine with it, honestly, if they'd won the presidency. At that point, it'd be earned, deserved even, by those same people. At this point however, this seems downright slimy. How would everyone feel if I took the hundreds of dollars contributed to a PAC I run to go off and start a company to keep myself well paid rather than promoting pro-liberty candidates and issues?

 

[TruthAtLast]

I have some reservations as well, but didn't want to be the first to speak up negatively. When people contributed to the national campaign, there was a reasonable expectation that their contributions would go towards promoting Ron Paul's candidacy. At worst, it might go to some other campaign (congressional, perhaps, or even an issues campaign) which Dr. Paul chose to run, or even to a candidate whom he endorsed. These funds were, after all, earmarked for promoting political victories for the cause of liberty. The notion that some of the people who ran this mess of a campaign will now walk away with the money and use it to further profit seems in very poor taste. I'd be fine with it, honestly, if they'd won the presidency. At that point, it'd be earned, deserved even, by those same people. At this point however, this seems downright slimy. How would everyone feel if I took the hundreds of dollars contributed to a PAC I run to go off and start a company to keep myself well paid rather than promoting pro-liberty candidates and issues?

+1

 

[mdh]

Personally, I'd rather him either spend it supporting Liberty Candidates, or in the remaining state primaries, or in a third party bid (if he decided to run).

He could send out a different email asking for our donations in this separate venture and he'd raise more than the 4 million anyway. I'd rather be a shareholder and have a vested interest in the new company. I'd donate 10 times what I did for the campaign.

But if he used campaign contributions to fund this new business it would be ethically questionable at best and illegal at worst. The supporters who donated to the PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN and expect it to be used for that purpose don't get any piece of this new FOR PROFIT company.

I really must question the voracity of the report in the OP.

The fact is, it is illegal. And not just at the federal level, either - most states require dissolution clauses for non-profit entities that prevent this sort of thing. Actually, every state I know of does not allow a non-profit to do this. I'd be surprised if any exceptions existed.

Anyone know in which state the PCC is incorporated?

 

[Rhys]

OK... IF this is true... and that is a very BIG IF:

I am not happy about this at all. The biggest problem I have is who would be in charge. The article says "his campaign is exploring a novel way to use millions of dollars in leftover donations".

So, who is going to run this FOR PROFIT company setup by "leftover" donations? The people running the official campaign? Based on what we have seen from their abilities to market a product (RP for President) and the results they achieved with the millions YOU donated... I say HELL NO!!! If you were a business owner would you hire these people to run a company setup with $4 million dollars of YOUR money? I know my answer would be HELL NO.

Then there is the little issue of "leftover donations". If Ron Paul is going to continue through to at least the GOP National Convention shouldn't we get what we paid for? A genuine presidential campaign effort? If the people running the official campaign had any notion of achieving some real objectives they would be helping us by providing information on how the delegate process works in each state. They would be providing information on how the State & National GOP structure works and helping us take control of the GOP. It appears to me they are busy trying to figure out how to stay employed once the campaign does a final wrap... and are hanging onto as much money as possible to launch their new endeavor. Leftover Donations... there should be little or nothing left and Ron Paul should still be out there campaigning.

I know... someone is going to tell me that Ron Paul has several media appearances scheduled... that he IS still campaigning. I know I am gonna get a lot of flak for this... but the timing of these appearances if very suspicious. Based on RPs campaigning activities over the past several months we now see a sudden spike in activity... just as his "Manifesto" has been released for sale. This seems suspiciously like a book sales tour in the guise of a campaign tour... the YOUR donations are being used to pay for that book tour. I have some serious mixed feelings about this and it does not leave me with a good feeling.

This is the same "technique" the campaign used in Texas when they ran TV ads preceding the primary in Houston... Houston, within easy broadcast range of RPs congressional district. Funny, no one I know or have heard from saw any in Dallas, Ft. Worth or San Antonio. But the presidential campaign donations were used to run ads in Houston... and the folks in his congressional district had the opportunity to see those ads. Perfectly legal... but not the highest in ethical standards. I wonder if they ran any presidential ads in OH, VT, MS, PA... but I am pretty sure of the answer.

The money now belongs to the Ron Paul for President campaign. They have several options for using the money if he loses or drops out. One suggestion has been to donate it all to one of Ron Paul's PACs... the ones he mentioned several weeks ago... one specifically for helping Ron Paul Republicans gain office. We were told this would be part of the "next phase" of this movement. After all these weeks this site has not changed... not one candidate is listed... and, last time I checked, the email address does not even work. Go look for yourself Liberty PAC. I have the same issues with this idea. Who would be running these PACs? The people who are running the official campaign? If that is the case then I say HELL NO!

This looks like a lame plan by the people running the official campaign to create a "soft landing" for themselves using our donations. We could all contact the campaign and demand a different course of action. But they have been consistently unresponsive in the past and I think that will continue... especially now that they have dollar signs in their eyes... maybe they did all along.

Quite a few Ron Paul supporters made some serious personal and financial sacrifices for this campaign. I wonder how they feel about the money they donated being used to setup a for profit company... run by the same people who gave us the pathetic results and materials we have seen from the official campaign?

All I can do is shout an indignant "OH, HELL NO!!!"... but no one at the campaign will hear it... they certainly won't listen.

-1

A war of words takes words

 

[LibertyEagle]

I game my money freely to Ron Paul to use as he saw fit. If this is how he has decided it is best to use part of that money, it's fine with me.