YES!
This is exactly the case. I'm afraid too many people are getting wrapped up with the "let's set another record!" fervor and are forgetting that the goal here is to WIN, not to set records.
The campaign needs the money NOW. If all we want to do is set records with some moneybomb in December, we're going to lose. It's that simple.
Why not set records? I thought the purpose was to give Ron Paul more money, not less. These minibombs every 2 or 3 weeks is killing our donations. We need to wait before the next one. Have we not learned anything over the last 3 months?
Constitution Day pros:
1) Great theme. Everyone will be willing to give for the Constitution. I think this has the potential to have the appeal of another Tea Party bomb.
2) Gives people time to save up. If anything, we need to learn to stop being obsessive-compulsive about the moneybombs and stop abusing them. Yes, Ron needs money now, but he HAS money now. We will keep giving until Constitution Day if we can, but we are nowhere near tapped out on donations, and having a huge moneybomb day, IMO, would outweigh any negative effects of waiting.
3) It capitalizes on the depth of our donor base. We can't expect to abandon moneybombs and still tap out our resources as much as possible. This is a big moneybomb that would allow us to tap out much of our base and keep the campaign funded. I don't think it's too late, since it's only less than a month apart from the August 20th one. It's potential to make big bucks encourages people to spend as much as they can and will help us get as much out of our base of donors as we possibly can before moving into the fourth quarter which I believe will be big no matter what.
4) The added press coverage for raising a lot of money on this well-themed, well-timed moneybomb will only help.
cons:
1)doesn't capitalize on Ames momentum. Of course, this is if we win. We had better, and that's all I have to say about that. Personally, I think either of them will capitalize on the Iowa success, but I think the Constitution Day bomb is better because it gives us a little bump in donations after the victory at Ames and then a well-timed super moneybomb right in the middle of the month only a few days before our end-of-the-quater push, which is, of course, balls to the wall at that point.
August 20th pros:
1) Ron's birthday. Woot. But seriously, the age question is not attention we need to be getting for ourselves. It's just not a good idea.
2) It capitalizes on Ames success. See above about capitalizing on this. Either will work, but Constitution Day is better.
August 20th cons:
1) Ron's age problem. 'Nuff said. We don't want to make that a central issue in any event.
2) All it does is focus on the man, not the idea. That's why the Constitution Day serves the purpose so much better. It focuses on the idea. That was the thing about the two major moneybombs in the last election cycle. They focused on the idea. Let's not get all sentimental and lose that core value. Always focus on the right thing to do and make that the theme. Doing a birthday bomb is going a bit too far in my opinion.
3) It's too soon. We should have learned that we can't just keep doing these bombs willy-nilly and hither-thither as if we had no sense of self-control and couldn't stop doing moneybombs in the interest of a much more logical date like September 17th to encourage people to save and go big.
Don't eliminate the moneybombs, don't discourage them. Don't act like we need to have one every 2 weeks. It just won't work. It won't raise enough money, and the added press coverage can't hurt. Constitution Day is the best day. Count on it and pass it on.
Also, keep in mind that, in 2007, we didn't have ANY moneybombs until freakin' november. September is plenty early and serves the purpose quite well.
