50-20 Plan: Period 1 Begins (4/18-5/7)

April 18th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

Period 0 of the 50-20 Plan has ended.  This was simply a start-up period to promote the plan with the video and get the word around about the website.  There were 39 donation pledges made within this brief period.  Here are the results:

50-20 ($50):  22 pledges

20-20 ($20):  17 pledges

Total amount pledged:  $1440

The Liberty Decides program results are updated weekly on Tuesday around noon.  Our first goal is to pass Mary Ruwart.  Last week showed some signs of promise:

                     4/8       4/15

Ruwart         $800     $830

Gravel         $355     $580

Taking the difference, we raised 7.5 times more than Ruwart.

 

Period 1 begins today (4/18).  There are 200 days and 10 periods to the general election.  Let's build upon our successes and work towards promoting the plan.  The website is easy to remember:

http://50-20.us

 

Here is a recommended fundraising goal for Period 1 (4/18-5/7):

 

$20,000

 

That's 400 pledges of $50 for the period.  Unlike Period 0, people will have time to save up money for the donation.  Remember that simple sacrifices like having water instead of a coke or passing on dessert can save a significant amount within twenty days.  One of Gravel's major plans is to transform us from a consumption nation to a savings nation.  That change begins now with us.  Small efforts on a large scale DO make a difference.  I think we are in a situation where the mental barriers are greater than the logistical barriers towards achieving progress.  Let's tear down the illusions!

 

Please promote this idea after you have made the commitment.  Its success depends on you.  Tell friends, send e-mails, incorporate it in YouTube videos, and find other creative ways of spreading the idea.  We have 200 days ahead.  Let's make the most of them.

 

There will also be a video contest this period in tandem with promotion of the plan.  One of the major goals of this contest will be to spread Gravel's ideas from his book Citizen Power.  Perhaps you can find inspiration for a video from one of his chapters.  Stay tuned for details next week.  Now is a good time to brainstorm for ideas.  I will be away this weekend at the Alabama Libertarian Party Convention, but I will be back on Monday.  (On side note, look for your state Libertarian Party's website if you haven't already.  You may still have a chance to become a delegate if your state convention has not met yet.  You must be a delegate to vote for Gravel at the national convention.)

 

 

‹ Plan to get Gravel attention on Youtube The Wisdom of Crowds and the National Initiative ›

Comments

I don't think i'm going to

Submitted on May 5th, 2008 by iiPwnYoo

I don't think i'm going to be able to donate my pledged 20 dollars.

 

I'm 15 years old but this doesn't mean i can't collect money. I did as Gravel suggested, stopped wasting my money on useless stuff.

Unfortunately i broke my phone and had to pay off part of it to get a new phone. I hope Gravelians still do as planned and donate their pledged donations.

 

Hey, I'm 15, too, and I

Submitted on May 5th, 2008 by rossl

Hey, I'm 15, too, and I understand where you're coming from.

 

I've gotten a few friends to donate $5 each to Gravel.  You could try to do that in order to make up for the pledge.

 

I pledged $50 and unfortunately could only do $35, but I'm going to see if I can get anyone to donate a few bucks to him.

Liberty Decides update (4/29)

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

Gravel $895

Ruwart $935

 

Getting close...

This time we raised $315, three times that of Ruwart.

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

Suggestion

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by parisd

I know the so called rebate checks are suppose to come out soon, how about if you can afford it, donate some or all of it to Gravel's campaign. Its for a good cause and in a way it is found money. I will donate a part of mine.

Good idea.  I think I'll

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by rossl

Good idea.  I think I'll make a short video about that.

I'll be getting some funds tomorrow, so I just pledged $20

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by Ripples

I hope money orders are okay. I've never had a credit card and don't have a checking account so that makes it a little more complicated, having to have cash on hand.

 

For the next period I'm going to ask for a donation to Gravel for my birthday, which is the last week in May. During the 2004 election I asked for a donation for Nader. Showing interest helped convince my sister to vote for him too. We even went to see him speak at the church our parents were married in, no less! And she got a book signed. And ordered us a bunch of Nader stuff.

 

So I'm hoping this year will go a similar route. Except for Gravel. ;)

 

 

@Ripples Money orders are

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by Hitsumei

@Ripples Money orders are perfectly fine (it's a good way of fighting the culture of debt of this country). Go to the nearest mailboxes etc. to get a money order and they can even send the donation to the Gravel campaign. ;)

 

 

 

Here's my philosophy

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

I wish I were a pro, but you got to make due with what you got.

I may suck, but I'll do my best to improve with what resources I have (and they're pretty limited, unfortunately).  This is about pulling a collective long term effort together to make something big happen.  So who's with me?  I suck, you suck, we suck.  If you don't suck, win the video contest and show everyone what a badass you are.  Then you can get Citizen Power for free and then you do not have to whine about it anymore.

I am just a poor graduate student of mathematics.  I didn't have much of an interest in politics until Mike Gravel woke me up and I certainly didn't know anything about graphics or video editing before I began following the campaign.  My life has been completely changed and I am doing everything I can to prove the naysayers wrong.  I have little interest in discussing the likelihood for success or failure, unless it yields a comparative discussion of strategies.  I just want to do something that makes an impact.  If you can't help me out with that, I have no interest at all in your speculations and vacuous criticisms.

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

I don't think I have any

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by rossl

I don't think I have any money to my name, Bama.  I still live under my parents' roof, and I'm still a minor.  I can't even drive yet.  And people take me much less seriously when they see how young I am.  But I still fight for Gravel.  I've dragged my parents to Gravel events, and gotten my brother interested in 3rd party politics, and forced my parents to donate for me, and done as much as I can to promote Gravel online and in the real world.  I'm not giving up just because I face some obstacles.

 

You know, after this election, I could see devoting a lot of my life to the Ni4D and ballot access and fair elections issues.  This has been a life-changing election for me, and a lot of people that got involved here at the Gravel campaign.  Thank you, all.

 

As for this video contest, I think I'm gonna make one.  If I win anything, please don't send me a signed copy of Citizen Power.  I already have one, and the last thing the Senator needs is to give away a copy of his book.  I will take that phone call with the Senator, though...

Hey, if you win it, I am going to send you a copy!

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

Then you will feel compelled to give it someone else!  :)

Seriously, if you find someone who feels strongly about his message, this would be an excellent gift.  This isn't about the money.  (I really didn't want this to turn into something like the Greg Chase contest, as well-intentioned as that may have been.  Besides I am no hedge fund manager with the money to do it.)  This is about spreading the message and passing the torch.  People who get an autographed copy for the contest have something special to hold onto, and can give their old copy to someone else.  I don't think Gravel has a desire to hoard his books anyway.

I am glad you're sticking in there.  We need to have a winning attitude if we're going to make an impact.  Thank you for promoting the 50-20 Plan.  I appreciate it and I wish more people would do the same.  We certainly need many people to promote this if this is ever going to work.  This is intended to be a grassroots effort and at present I don't intend to have future 50-20 videos posted directly through the official channel although they may be featured there.

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

What was the Greg Chase

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by rossl

What was the Greg Chase thing?

 

And whatever happened to Greg Chase?

Here's the short story

Submitted on April 30th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

a)  This is the video:

$25K Mike Gravel for President Video Contest

I don't know if anyone received the money.  Eyetreats won the contest; however, he may have cheated by artificially boosting views, so that may have been in dispute.

Greg Chase is a young hedge fund manager who put up a million dollars to get Gravel back into the debates.  He was completely ignored, despite putting up open letters in the newspapers.  Afterwards, he spent a good deal of his money independently of the campaign on newspaper ads and distributing signs around New Hampshire.

 

b)  I have no idea what happened to him.  One of his friends, Alwaysprime, put up a low visibility account of their campaign efforts on YouTube.  It's an interesting story and it's very unfortunate that they did not make a greater impact in the primary. 

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

Update on progress

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

We're midway through the period with 11 days having passed.  Here are the pledge results so far:

$50:  7

$20:  9

That's 16 total which is almost 1.5 pledges per day.  That adds up to $530 which is an average of about $48.18 raised each day. 

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

First donation...

Submitted on April 19th, 2008 by seventy-one

I just got my first ever checking account and I the first thing I spent using it was to donate to the Gravel campaign. $10, not much, but its more than I make in an hour of work...we need to all put our money where are mouth is, and get Sen. Gravel that LP nomination, regardless of what the pundits would have you believe about his chances!

Thanks, it's up to us to lead the way

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

Most of the people I hear from about donating are college students with little money to spare.  We are the future, yet the people with money waste it on corporate candidates who are along for the ride on this doomed imperialistic foray into oblivion.  What is wrong with you people?!

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)

I've been doing my part!

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by DebbieKat

:-) I donated $100 each directly to the campaign and to Liberty Decides during period 0.

 

I'll be attending the convention, so I'm not going to be able to afford a donation this time around (airfare, hotel and convention fees...) But I'm really excited to be going as a delegate.

I saw your comment on the website earlier

Submitted on April 29th, 2008 by BamaGravelian

We apparently had similar thoughts, because I did exactly the same thing!  You and Ross account for half of the people who have registered on the website.  Being a delegate certainly exempts you.  :)

I'd like to think that this explains the lack of response so far, but I am not that optimistic.  You and Skyla are the only other delegates I've heard from so far.  I am also excited about going.

 

"People will have to suffer a level of frustration and anger sufficient to reason their way out of this conundrum and reach for an "out of the box" solution to their own empowerment." (page 6 of Citizen Power)