Yes, but the grassroots have been very unrealistic. People expect the blimp to fly over games when clearly it takes months to get such clearance. They expect the crew who fly the ship (who are not ron paul supporters) to work on federal holidays. They expect the blimp to somehow ignore the weather problems that seem to have risen and fly it anyways.
We need to realize that carrying out such an operation is not easy. Yes, they could have been more upfront to us in the beginning, but much of the grassroots at the point was not listening and wanted to be at the Tea Party even though it was not possible. They did not lie to us. They told us that they hoped to be there for the Tea Party, but that weather issues could affect it. Was it their fault that the banner was delayed? No. Was it their fault that the weather grounded them? No. Was it their fault that the supporters had unrealistic goals? No.
The team who got the Blimp in the air should be commended for even attempting such a task, even if the road was bumpy. Point is, they got the blimp in the air. Did you?
So either support it and donate or leave us alone.
I have been a big supporter of the blimp. I still am. But I think that you have your facts mistaken. You write "Yes, they could have been more upfront to us in the beginning, but much of the grassroots at the point was not listening and wanted to be at the Tea Party even though it was not possible. They did not lie to us. They told us that they hoped to be there for the Tea Party, but that weather issues could affect it. Was it their fault that the banner was delayed? No. Was it their fault that the weather grounded them? No. Was it their fault that the supporters had unrealistic goals? No."
In fact, it was the Blimp Team (not the grassroots) that said that if we made a certain deadline by a certain date they would make it to the teaparty. That same team said that they would be in New Hampshire through the primary. Maybe Trevor and Elijah were a bit naive, but the blimp owner (who is making the money off of these efforts) surely understood the difficulty of flying his blimp in the New England winter. Neverthless, it was the Blimp Team that used the Teaparty and New Hampshire to solicit investments. The Blimp Team created those unrealistic grassroot expecatations. Don't blame the consumers for falling for the deceptive marketing.
The Blimp Team could have easily marketed it as a way to win Florida and South Carolina. People may have rallied to it the way they did for OLFD. As for the football games, once again, it was the Blimp Team that placed the Captial One Bowl and NFL playoff game on their itinerary. Heck, until recently they even had scheduled a day for the TV crew to get on the blimp to prepare for the game. I suspect that they have known for several days that they would not be broadcasting those games. Yet, only today do we hear that they will be only allowed to do fly overs one hour before and after the game. Again, the grassroots did not create this unrealistic expectation, the blimp team did.
One final point. I think that Trevor and Elijah are "dreamers" who should be commended for creating a wonderful thing. I want it to succeed. The problem is that if you create unrealistic expectations, and then fail to meet those expectations, you lose credibility. And when you lose credibility, it is very difficult for people to give you more money.
All of that said, The Ron Paul Blimp can help us win Florida and do well in South Carolina. It could be the start of an OLFD of those two states. That is enough for me to donate more money. But enough already with all the false promises, deadlines, and attacks on people who ask legitimate business questions about questionable business practices. You do want people with money to donate right?
