Have you ever given one.

Not interested.

Do you just speak your mind?

Do you help with campaigns for student gov?

Local Gov?

National level?

----
There have been several threads on war protests & the idea of supporting the troops by bringing them home ect. Some people have said contributing $ is more effective than protests. So I was wondering how many people actually have?

3/30/2007 7:21:41 PM

ive made lots of phone calls, written letters, and stuffed envelopes but no money

3/30/2007 7:24:50 PM

I've done plenty of talk in the soap box, I've helped with campaigns for student gov in highschool & college level, but not a whole lot outside of that.

What prompted it is this e-mail, which is making me consider a donation.

Quote :

"In just over 24 hours, the books close forever on our first-quarter fundraising. Right now, the future of our campaign and everything we're working to achieve is in your hands. At 11:59 PM tomorrow night, the phones will start ringing off the hook with reporters asking if we raised enough money to stay in the game. If the answer is "yes!" we'll earn news stories across the country announcing that a campaign based on bold plans and real substance can still succeed in American politics. Millions of new voters will learn about the big goals we share and sign up to join the team. We'll be on the road to victory. Right now, as never before, your contributions have the power to shape the future of this campaign. Please dig deep and give whatever you can—knowing that every dollar you add today will have an unprecedented power to make the vision we share a reality. http://johnedwards.com/r/9116/813727/ If you support the big goals of this campaign, it's time to ask yourself: Who is going to pitch in at this critical moment? Who is going to step up to make sure we succeed? There are some people who want to escalate the war in Iraq and oppose any real plan to bring our troops home—it won't be them. There are some people who think America is just not ready for universal health care—it won't be them. There are some who think it's simply not their responsibility to worry about poverty in the streets of their city or in a village halfway around the world—it won't be them. And there are some people who are not interested in conserving energy and think global warming isn't a threat—it certainly won't be them. This is why most candidates don't get specific; they want to be all things to all people and not lose anyone's support. But I am getting specific because I know that to really achieve the transformational change we believe in, there's just no other way. If you share a commitment to ending the war, guaranteeing health care for all, stopping global warming and building a fair, prosperous economy for everyone, no one else is going to step up in your place to make it all happen—it has to be you. And with this deadline one day away, it has to be now: http://johnedwards.com/r/9118/813727/ Thank you for taking action today, John Edwards "

3/30/2007 7:29:16 PM

don't you already have your own little John Edwards thread?

3/30/2007 7:55:56 PM

I've given enough of my time and energy to campaigns to feel like I should never have to give a donation again in life.

That said, I'm probably going to make my first donation before the end of the evening.

3/30/2007 7:57:13 PM

I want to know how many people have given campaign contributions, especially the light of several protest related threads where people have said contributions are more important. I suppose this could have been a side tracking of one of those several threads, but I wanted to keep it more general than an edwards focused topic or a protests related topic.

That said, I'm probably going to make my first donation before the end of the evening.

3/30/2007 8:22:26 PM

Made my first contribution ever. It’s only a few hours work, I’ve spent more time online arguing positions similar to his, so its not too draining. Hope it helps meet the goal in time for their deadline of the end of march.

3/30/2007 8:33:21 PM

I contributed in '04.

I doubt I'll contribute for '08.

3/30/2007 8:41:35 PM

Contributing now might be more effective than contributing against an incumbent.

3/30/2007 9:23:28 PM

^ That would depend on whether the goal was to get behind someone you actually support... I think he actually believed in whats-his-name.

Not given one, Speak my mind far too much (especially around the office), no interest in student elections...

I'm kind of disappointed in myself. Incidentally, I'm interested in setting up a guerrilla marketing campaign to educate citizens about non-main party options... There was discussion about it a while back, I think '08 will probably be an opportune time.

3/30/2007 9:36:08 PM

i've done the 3 dollars during taxes towards a campaign fund but i think ti's split evenly

which actually brings up a point i like to make

what do you guys think of campaign finance reform plan like this:

no private donations/contributions
no corporate contributions
national fund, created from taxes. not new taxes, but cutting a percentage from everything, all bills, laws, plans, proposals, and distributing that evenly between the nominated candidates.

no political attack ads allowed. the only ads allowed are ads showcasing what your beliefs are, your stances on issues, and what you would like to do as president/vice president

all adds MUST include vote history, or a showing of a website that lists voting history in a clear and concise manner

i've been drinking but i think it might be an alright idea

3/30/2007 10:41:47 PM

I hate most of your ideas.

For starters: no attack ads? Is it your assertion that there could never be anything negative about a candidate that the voting public would want to know about?

Maybe they are a convicted fellon. Maybe they were convicted of graft and corruption. That some people abuse the freedom to attack their opponent does not negate the need to be able to do so.

And again: matching funds always benefits the incumbent which automatically has name recognition and cumulative recognition from prior election advertising. By making sure a challenger can never spend more than an incumbent means the incumbent should never lose without doing something worthy of an attack ad.

I don't feel comfortable with a 96% re-election rate. Back before any election regulations the re-election rate was quite low, I wonder if we can draw any correlation between pro-incumbent regulations and better incumbent performance on election nights?

3/31/2007 1:57:43 AM

When did these regulations go into effect, I wonder?

3/31/2007 2:16:13 AM

Midnight tonight is when they have to reach a certain level to stay in, so anyone who was planning on donating down the road, now would be a good time to keep a north carolinian in the race.

Some campaign contributions might be going too far, but I think one’s coming from someone making less than ten bucks an hour are just fine.

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 5:43 AM. Reason : I want Edwards-Obama at the helm more than Hillary, so anything to help keep him in the race.]

3/31/2007 5:41:22 AM

Quote :

"keep a north carolinian in the race"

3/31/2007 7:25:21 AM

Quote :

"Supplanter: Have you ever given one."

Nope

Quote :

"Supplanter: Not interested?"

Basically

Quote :

"Supplanter: Do you just speak your mind?"

In general yes. Sometimes also help with campaign strategy and ad planning.

Quote :

"Supplanter: Do you help with campaigns for student gov?"

Only if there are good candidates (e.g. James Hankins for SSP, Lock Whiteside for Chief Justice, etc)

Quote :

"Supplanter: Local Gov?"

Yes

Quote :

"Supplanter: National level?"

Only 3x -- 2 Virginia congressional races when I was in middle school, then Richard Burr's Senate race in 2004

3/31/2007 8:21:48 AM

The Edwards campaign is at 2.85 mil and they have to hit 3 mil tonight (from their online contributions) to stay in the game. I've talked a few other people irl into donating... still only about $200 between us, but this close to the wire & to the goal, I think any amount can help alot.

I know their fundraisers have done alright, and they've had a few random surges in donations after Ann Coulter calling him a faggot & the whole breast cancer thing... I wonder how many candidates will still be in the running on Monday at the end of the 1st quarter?

I mean Hillary & Obama obviously, and Edwards has always been part of the top 3. But I wonder if anyone else will make the cut. I’m sure a few will stay in just to keep their message “out there” but after tonight’s cut off will anyone else have the funds to be a serious candidate by Monday?

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 1:59 PM. Reason : .]

3/31/2007 1:57:31 PM

I was always paid.

why would he have to drop out if he didn't get 3 million? Things aren't adding up here.

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 2:02 PM. Reason : .]

3/31/2007 1:59:48 PM

Have you ever given one.
yes - but not to federal candidates. small amounts to local candidates
Not interested.
i dont know what you are asking
Do you just speak your mind?
sometimes
Do you help with campaigns for student gov?
no, but i have helped with young dem races and am currently in one
Local Gov?
yes
National level?
not really

**********

Quote :

"Midnight tonight is when they have to reach a certain level to stay in, so anyone who was planning on donating down the road, now would be a good time to keep a north carolinian in the race."

ok - i'm sorry, but not only is this absurd, but completely false. midnight tonight is a filing deadline. and is the first of what they call the "money primaries". they are hyped up my msm as a signal of the viability of a candidate (ie. who ever has raised the most money by midnight tonight is seen to be the strongest candidate at this time). HOWEVER, there is not a "certain level" a candidate has to reach to stay in a race. there is no money minumum....no one is going to be kicked out from running in a race unless people actually vote on it

3/31/2007 2:07:22 PM

Not drop out per se, but they set a reasonable minimum goal to be financially viable/enough to get free press coverage if they've hit that mark.

3/31/2007 2:09:10 PM

Just to clarify, that $3 million is online donations only...Hotline's projecting Edwards to raise between $13-17 million.

3/31/2007 2:12:52 PM

I cant believe yall claim him, he was one of the worse Senators we have every had...the day after he got elected, he started his run for the Prez....and unless something big happens, he aint gonna succeed at that...he is going to become the John McCain of the Dems......(always running, never will win)

[Edited on March 31, 2007 at 5:20 PM. Reason : w]

3/31/2007 5:19:35 PM

Something interesting to note...Edwards is noting his online contributions on his website: $3.2 million from 36k contributors (or, about $89 per contribution).

Obama's campaign is not telling how much they've raised online, but according to his website, 83k people have made 108k donations.

3/31/2007 10:11:18 PM

yeah - the obama campaign sent out an email the other day saying that they will be emphasizing the number of individual contributors rather then amount of money

Quote :

"But while others may set goals based on raising tens of millions of dollars, we're going to reveal two numbers that say more about what kind of campaign we're running: the number of people donating to the cause the number of donations we've received from them And we're not going to talk about the dollars raised until the reporting period is over. It's simple: get more people involved, more deeply than ever before. Those are our goals for the end of the quarter, and for the rest of this campaign. Whether you've given before or this will be your first time, you can make a statement that people count. "

3/31/2007 10:16:51 PM

Thats because even though the media will spend a month talking about the first quarter fundraising numbers, the strategy of Obama and Edwards is to pass Hillary by having lots of little donors who are willing to volunteer and do other staff, and who can give every month. Hillary will have a ton of max contributors, which will hurt her in the second and third quarter.

To answer the questions:
I have given in the past. Im giving a small amount monthly to Edwards right now.
I have done a lot of campaign work at all levels.

3/31/2007 10:21:57 PM

i saw Jesse Helms standing under a tree at the fairgrounds in Raleigh, right at dusk, during the State Fair, right inside near the east exit near the Kerr Scott building, next to a big sign for his campaign

im pretty sure this was 1996

he was standing there all by himself. it was def. him because he had been scheduled to appear in the Kerr Scott bldg earlier that afternoon.

it was kind of weird. i stared at him for a bit, he stared at me back, and then i continued on my way out the east exit.

i just remember thinking that he was lucky i wasnt a large, angry, black lesbian, because he didnt look like he could have defended himself very well, physically speaking.

what this has to do with your thread? just made me remember that for some reason. dunno why.




[Edited on April 1, 2007 at 1:14 AM. Reason : ]

4/1/2007 1:11:45 AM

i would like to have a system like Cherokee's, but it would never work. plus, people would run just to get the gov't money...

4/1/2007 3:37:42 AM

Hillary's going to announce her first quarter totals in a bit (2 PM).

4/1/2007 1:43:36 PM

She got 36 million. Got 10 million from senate campaign. Obama got 22.

DRUDGEREPORT

4/1/2007 1:58:40 PM

That's not the real number--she's got four campaigns funneling into her effort. I guess there's $11M coming from her Senate campaign.

I'd like to know how much is going to support her exploratory committee, her Presidential campaign in the Democratic primary and her Presidential campaign in the general election.

I'll wait and see what compliance turns out...

4/1/2007 2:29:06 PM

hahah you people donating to Edwards like he gives a flying fuck about you or your interests as a poor young person

4/1/2007 3:05:18 PM

says the guy who works for ron paul

4/1/2007 6:43:31 PM

http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/1255896/

Quote :

"Edwards Reports Raising More Than $14 Million in Early 2007 By MIKE BAKER Associated Press Writer Posted: Today at 5:40 p.m. Updated: 58 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards raised "in excess of $14 million" during the first quarter of this year - a sum that would have set a record if not for rival Hillary Rodham Clinton, who gathered almost twice as much. Edwards raised almost $3.3 million over the Internet, officials with his campaign said Sunday. The total was boosted by a strong fundraising surge in the final week, stoked by Edwards' announcement that his wife, Elizabeth, is battling an incurable form of cancer. "We're significantly above our budget for the year," said deputy campaign manager Jonathan Prince. "We're on track to be highly competitive." Since formally announcing his candidacy at the end of December, the former North Carolina senator has been touring the nation seeking both votes and donations, courting a base of fellow trial lawyers who helped him raise $7.4 million in the same period of 2003 during his first bid for the White House. Staffers bragged Sunday that some 36,000 individual donations came over the Internet, about three times more than at the same point four years ago. But Clinton collected $26 million over the first three months of 2007, and also transferred $10 million from her Senate account. That shattered previous records for first-quarter receipts. Republican Phil Gramm of Texas raised $8.7 million in 1995, and Democrat Al Gore of Tennessee totaled $8.9 million early in 1999. "We are completely overwhelmed and gratified by the historic support that weve gotten this quarter," said Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis. The campaign said $4.2 million came over the Internet. Edwards aides estimated that roughly $1 million of the campaign's total fundraising was earmarked for the general election, money that can only be spent if he wins the nomination. The Clinton campaign did not release a similar financial breakdown. Edwards' chief campaign fundraiser, Fred Baron, estimated in an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday the campaigns will need roughly $35 million to compete in the early 2007 primaries. But Prince repeatedly declined to say Sunday, after Clinton announced her total, how much the Edwards campaign would need to compete successfully against the New York senator in the chase for the Democratic nomination. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama did not release fundraising totals Sunday, one day after the first-quarter deadline. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson raised $6 million toward a primary campaign and had more than $5 million cash in hand as of the end of March, his campaign said. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, said on "Fox News Sunday" he had raised about $3 million. Biden also had about $3.6 million in his Senate campaign account that he could transfer. No Republican candidates had released fundraising totals Sunday. Federal financial reports are due April 15. Edwards' online fundraising spiked after the March 22 announcement that his campaign would continue while Elizabeth Edwards undergoes treatment for a recurrence of breast cancer. She was first diagnosed with the disease shortly before the end of the 2004 election. It has since spread to her bone, making it incurable. Online fundraising totals managed by the campaign tripled after the announcement. While it took Edwards about two months to raised his first $1 million over the Internet, it took roughly 10 days for him to rake in the next $2 million. "

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6516677.stm

Quote :

"Leading rivals Mrs Clinton's funds total will be measured against her leading Democratic rivals Senator Barack Obama and former senator John Edwards. "

Seems like BBC is only considering 3 people as true rivals for the white house.

[Edited on April 1, 2007 at 7:52 PM. Reason : .]

4/1/2007 7:29:49 PM

Quote :

"says the guy who works for ron paul "

if there actually was a politician that did give a damn about his constituents, I'd say Ron Paul would probably be the one that did


I didn't know I worked for Ron Paul though...

I'm sorry, I find it laughable that you people think that the democrats (or republicans) care about you or your interests... maybe they care about your vote as a group, but thats about it

no one on here has deep enough pockets or the political pull for ANY of these people to give a shit about you

4/2/2007 9:02:16 AM

Numbers are in for Obama--$25 million, with $23.5 million for primary spending. Of that, $6.9 million was raised online.

4/4/2007 12:56:31 PM

Quote :

"This is the moment of truth on Iraq. The veto we knew would come has arrived. Congress must now make a decision: cave in to Bush and extend the war, or send back a binding plan to end it. I asked my staff to create an emergency television ad that would bring the people's voice directly to Congress, calling on them to make the right choice. They worked late into the night and we now have a powerful message ready to go on the air in D.C. as soon as tomorrow morning. But I need your help: We need to raise $100,000 in 24 hours to air this ad. If you want to make sure every member of Congress, their staff, and the national press corps see this message at this critical time, I need you to chip in whatever you can afford right now, at: http://www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople Is it normal for a presidential campaign to drop everything and focus on pushing Congress to end a war? Maybe not. Is it normal for you to contribute money online towards running emergency ads in Washington, D.C.? Maybe not. But we don't have time for normal. We've got a few days—maybe less—to do absolutely everything we can to ensure this Congress responds to Bush's veto by sending another binding plan to end the war. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. I need you to pitch in $5, $50, $500 or whatever you can manage to rush this ad on the D.C. airwaves in the next 24 hours. You can see the ad and make your contribution here: http://www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople And there's another twist. I wanted this ad to be about the voice of the people. And that means I don't just need your help putting it on the air, I need your voice. We've designed the ad so you can actually add yourself in online. We hope that dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people will send in video clips of themselves echoing the message of the ad — "We the people" are asking Congress to stand up to Bush. If you have a video camera, or you can borrow one, please take a minute to send a clip of yourself saying "We the People" that we can put into the online version of the ad—and get your friends to do the same. You can see the ad, make your contribution, and send in your video clips online at: http://www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople Seizing this moment and ending this war is going to take every single one of us chipping in and adding our voice. But I believe we're up to the challenge. And with your help, I believe we'll succeed. Thank you, --John Edwards Wednesday, May 02, 2007"

5/2/2007 3:27:15 PM

5/2/2007 3:44:20 PM

Corporations don't vote, so why should they be allowed to give money to candidates? It's legalized bribery.

5/2/2007 3:54:47 PM

so that big name candidates, both republican and democrats, can each pad their funding to virtually assure that a 3rd party candidate will not win a major election...even if you have Perot/Forbes type bankroll

5/2/2007 3:58:44 PM

I believe this is the ad they are trying to buy air time for:

5/2/2007 7:06:10 PM

Quote :

"Send him the same bill, again and again"

sounds familiar

Quote :

"when bush vetos, we'll send him another bill that he'll veto...then we'll send him another bill that he'll veto...we need your help in keeping this neverending cycle going! "

5/2/2007 7:10:40 PM

The asian chick was pretty cute at least.

5/2/2007 11:58:33 PM

It looks like they raised the money & are playing it in Washington and are raising more to play it in Iowa.

5/3/2007 1:27:29 PM

I appreciated the sentiment behind running the ad in DC...I didn't think it was the wisest use of campaign funds, but I appreciated the interest in keeping pressure on Congress.

But running it in Iowa? That's just blatant pandering.

5/3/2007 1:44:40 PM

Quote :

"Dear Jake, With just over two weeks before the end of the quarter, it's time for us to talk as a team about what we need to win. The media is obsessed with the money race, and you're going to hear a lot about that. But we don't need to raise the most—we need to raise enough; enough to get our message of transformational change to voters in Iowa, New Hampshire, and other key states nationwide. If we can raise enough money to do that—we'll have what we need to win. We've done the math, and we need to raise $2.3 million online before June 30th to pay for all the town halls, phone lines, clip boards, TV ads and late-night pizza for the volunteers that we'll need to get out our message. That's a big goal, but it's real. And together, I know we can achieve it. Please get us started by contributing what you can today. http://www.johnedwards.com/action/contribute/form What we see over and over again is that when voters learn about the big, specific plans from our campaign, they get excited—they get to work. Some are working for universal health care, so we never again have to worry about our families getting the care they deserve. Some are working to stop global warming, so that our legacy for our children is not global catastrophe. Others are working to end the war in Iraq, so we can bring our loved ones home and once again offer moral leadership to the world. And still others are working to end the injustice of poverty in America. Because in our America, opportunity should be more than a dream. If we can reach all the voters who share our values, who are also ready to work hard for the America we believe in, we will win. But we need to raise enough to make that happen, and that's $2.3 million before June 30th. Help us get there by giving whatever you can afford today: http://www.johnedwards.com/action/contribute/form Thank you, - John Edwards June 14, 2007"

^If they come out first in Iowa, ahead of clinton, they will get all kinds of free media coverage and no longer considered just the bottom end of the top 3. And I think thats part of the reason why they aimed at Iowa. The Edwards campaign has put a lot of marbles into that basket, and its either going to be a huge pay off, or the end of their campaign. I may donate again before this quarter ends.

6/14/2007 9:37:40 PM

That's what you call lowering Q2 expectations.

6/14/2007 9:50:04 PM

I'm sorry, but if JE really gave a damn about the fucking war when he was posting all that bull shit about "rushing" to get the ad into Washington, DC in May, then why the fuck didn't he just pony up the 100K that he claimed was needed? Why did his CAMPAIGN have to raise that money for something that ostensibly wasn't for his campaign?

come on, supplanter, open your eyes. JE is a freaking tool and he doesn't give a damn about you. he just wants to use your money to further his own agenda without actually committing any of his own. really. 100K is nothing to Edwards. he just wanted to have something fancy that he could slap his campaign logo on, but he couldn't do that with his own money...

6/14/2007 10:30:19 PM

Most of the people running for pres are fairly well off financially. But it takes millions more than he has in personal finances to run a campaign for president.

Obama I've heard is in NC charging a few thousand a head to see him speak at you. Edwards charged $15 to speak with you. (i've not heard of any recent hillary visits to the state at all)

No one running for pres is perfect or knows about or cares about every individual individually, but as far as someone who can represent a liberal from NC there is no denying that this is the best choice.

6/14/2007 11:59:49 PM

care to address the "push" for the DC ad? prolly not. That his subsequent pleas for money all sound the same should also raise an eyebrow or seven...

6/15/2007 12:04:09 AM

Yes, my $400 haircuts were mistakenly paid for out of my campaign donations.

but as soon as I discovered the error, I immediately paid my campaign back.

--John my-daddy-worked-in-a-mill Edwards.


...


campaigns are ridiculously expensive to run. Obamas campaign charged a nominal $20 for people to attend a rally where he spoke. a few hundred dollars would be required to meet him personally. other candidates do the same thing. theres nothing wrong with that. whats wrong is the way some candidates think they can carelessly spend the money on personal bullshit.

[Edited on June 15, 2007 at 12:09 AM. Reason : ]

6/15/2007 12:05:03 AM