The Cynics Are Proven Right
Ron Paul's presidential campaign turns out to have been a means to get a huge mailing list for further fund raising after all.
Libertarians, My Libertarians!
Cruel to be kind means that I love you . Because, while I think you are mistaken, your hearts are in the right place -- yes, even you, Silas -- unlike some people . This Breitbart fellow (discussed in the link above), by all appearances, deliberately doctored a video of Shirley Sherrod to make her remarks appear virulently racist, when they had, in fact, the opposite import. I heard that at a recent Austrian conference, some folks were talking about "Callahan's conservative turn." While that description is not entirely inaccurate, I must say that a lot of these people who today call themselves conservative give me the heebie-jeebies.
Well, I'm no cynic, and I think it's an important advance in libertarian endeavor. Consider that when Harry Browne launched Project Archimedes, he made tangible promises of what the program would achieve, such as a specific number of new LP members. That meant that, down the line, observers had benchmarks by which to judge Archimedes a success or failure.
ReplyDeleteThe Campaign for Liberty is making no such mistake! Aside from promising to fill the arena in Minnesota with 11,000 people on a certain date (and where is one more free than in the audience of a gigantic auditorium?), all the elements of the "Mission" of CFL are kept prudently nebulous. That means there never needs to come the awkward time when donors and observers point out that CFL has inarguably failed to meet some goal. So Paul never has to worry about the kind of "I notice you totally failed to meet your benchmarks" carping that so bedeviled Mr. Browne.
I salute Paul's innovation. Admittedly, the organization will need strong guidance. Fortunately, I believe several members of Ron Paul's family and his friends like Lew Rockwell have considerable experience managing large money-raising operations. I hope and trust they will provide the appropriate guidance to this one.
Gene:
ReplyDeleteAll political organizations, libertarian or otherwise, try to organize supporters and raise funds. What exactly are you criticizing Paul for? I have been worried that he wouldn't do enough to keep his supporters involved in politics after his campaign ended. CFL is a step in the right direction.
jim:
Whatever you think about Paul's association with Rockwell, you can't deny that LvMI and LRC produce and distribute a huge amount of material. If CFL is as active as those organizations are then its members will have no reason to complain.
"All political organizations..."
ReplyDeleteYou see, up until right now, I just was not aware that Ron Paul is a "political organization"... I had naively thought he was an individual running for the presidency.
By the way, just keep chugging down that KoolAid, WrestleAss man -- I'm sure it tastes good.
ReplyDeleteGene,
ReplyDeleteLet's put aside the newsletter stuff for a second. In your view, was Ron Paul allowed to run for president, even if he personally didn't think he had a chance of winning?
Next question, would he be allowed (in your book) to run for president, without ever saying to a reporter, "I don't have a shot of winning." ?
Gene,
ReplyDeleteI just want you to know how much safer I feel now that I know Ron Paul and Lew Rockwell will be out raising more money to protect the constitution.
Why without out these two modern day revolutionaires, who knows what could happen to our rights?
Without Paul and Rockwell, I bet the government would try to read our emails, we would have to fill out forms if we take money across the borders, banks would be obligated to turn us in if we look suspicious, we would be entangled in all knds of overseas military adventures.
I want you to know that sending money to Paul and Rockwell is the best investment I have made since buying a house in New Orleans with no money down and an adjustable rate mortgage, the week before Hurricane Katrina hit.
Sure I don't have much now because of the hurricane, but I bet you if I did, Lew and Paul would help me protect every last penny with their skilled defense of the constitutiion that just blows Supreme Court justices away. Why I'll bet you Scalia is secretly reading Ron's new book every time he goes to the bathroom.
Yes, you can laugh at Ron and Lew from your ivory garage but they have the consttution to defend rather than spend time responding to your vicious bouts of supposed reason.
Yes , I drink the KoolAid---non-diluted, BECAUSE IT IS FOR OUR CONTITUTION.
Sincerely,
Sidney--"A Ron Paul American"
Note: You think your tough, Mr. Smarty Pants? Well lets see how you are going to react to this: Please cancel my subscription and send the refund money directly to Paul and Lew.
Gene, are you suggesting that lovers of the Constitution and of liberty like Ron ought NOT to try to keep the momentum and interest that he generated with ordinary during his presidential campaign going?
ReplyDeleteThat he ought just to quit - as all our worries will end in November? And people who want him to keep going ought to do what, exactly, with their desire to keep the ball rolling?
Sincerely,
Tom
No, no, by all means roll that ball, especially if, as it rolls, RP can squeeze another 10 or 20 million out of it!
ReplyDeleteCallahan,
ReplyDeleteIs anything involuntary going on between Ron Paul and his supporters? By all legitmate means, they should be expanding their email lists. The more liberty followers the better.
It is marketing 101---or maybe they were going to teach that at LSE in the next semester after you bailed.
Aside from your displays at this blog of sophomoric humor and jealous rages at RP and LR, what have you done of late?
Grow up.
"Aside from your displays at this blog of sophomoric humor and jealous rages at RP and LR, what have you done of late?"
ReplyDeleteSorry, Murray, I realize I've neglected to get you the regular updates I promised on what I've been doing. Seriously, though, what would make you think you had any idea what I've been up to?
Judging by your blog. I know two things about you.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, you are going after two guys, Rockwell and Paul who have introduced more people two freedom than any other two I can think of, in the last twenty years.
And yet not a peep from you, say, for example, about the Stokely Carmichael infatuation by Michelle Obama. Or do you feel MSM has done a proper job in covering that curious intellectual strain. I wonder if she is collecting an email list you can rant about?
The only other thing I know about you is that you like to take pictures from curious angles, of uninteresting hedges in foreign countries.
If there is more to the publiic you, I have missed it, and again I must go back to the fact that Marketing 101 must have been taught at LSE in the period after you bolted.
Murray, perhaps this is the case: Whether or not you know what I'm up to holds absolutely zero interest for me whatsoever, and there is no reason in the world I would want to 'market' myself to you?
ReplyDeleteGene, if RP keeps up with his message, then I say more power to him and applaud his efforts to sustain the interest who have already sent money his way. (Maybe you can milk his gray train by writing economic pieces for his new organization?)
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, the guy stimulated alot of people with respect to important issues about how our government is running amok. Should he stop?