Big News for RedState
By krempasky Posted in Miscellanea — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Some of you may have heard, but RedState has some exciting news to share, and you can be a part of it.
Since RedState was founded this summer (and through the planning process several months previous), the goal has always been for RedState to be more than a blog. Writing articles, building content and traffic - all are laudable and important steps - but not the end, just the means.
Our real end has always been to build RedState into a political vehicle for conservative Republicans to organize online and make a difference "offline." When looking across the landscape of online politics, we saw this as a hole we could try to fill. But one thing was clear, we'd need the right legal entity to make it work. We'd need to make sure our t's were crossed, our i's dotted. And we've done so.
And now we can announce that RedState.org is now incorporated in the Commonwealth of Virginia and registered with the Federal Elections Commission as a non-connected political committee, more commonly known as a 527. We held our first board meeting a week ago here in Washington, DC - and we're rearing to go.
We can look forward to elections in 2005 and beyond, and RedState will be an active player - endorsing candidates, helping campaigns to be more effective online, and helping you make a difference.
And to do that - to get off on the right foot - we'll need your help. Many of you have offered support, and now's your chance to be a part of this venture.
Like any campaign, we need your financial support. There are so many expenses - from infrastructure like phone lines and webservers to direct contributions to campaigns (more on that a little later), and we've got an ambitious budget and a plan to get there. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by May 2005, to set the stage for our future growth.
We'll have the ability to accept contributions online in the next week or so, but it was important that we make this pitch now. Donations to 527's are limited by calendar year, not election cycle - so that gives you just over two weeks to get your contributions in right now.
One reason our need is so urgent is simple: to even write this post and begin operating our brand new 527, we've had to take down the RedState advertisements, and since we had to end them early - we're refunding those revenues in full. So it's a bit of a leap of faith we're taking. We're giving up a proven and reliable revenue stream because we know we can depend on you to keep the lights on.
So, if you like what you've seen over these last few months, and like the idea of continuing and expanding what we as a community can do - please take a moment, get out your checkbook - and send your most generous contribution today.
Contributions are not tax deductible. Contributions should be made payable to RedState.org, Inc. The Federal Election Commission requires that you provide your name, address, occupation, and employer. RedState.Org, Inc. is not affiliated with any candidate or political organization. Paid for and authorized solely by RedState.org, Inc., a Political Not For Profit 527 Organization.
Update [2004-12-22 10:22:28 by krempasky]:Now you can contribute online!
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Big News for RedState 17 Comments (0 topical, 17 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
over on that other blog has proposed a clearing house of sorts for conservative news and he sounds like he's thinking similarly as you are. It sounds exciting. Good luck!
Will we be told who Redstate is supporting, or will the community have a voice in choosing what candidates get our support?
That makes all the difference as to how far my wallet opens up. :)
- we will absolutely take input from the community.
- once RedState supports a candidate - you'll be able to give to either our efforts broadly, or directly to those you especially support.
Can we get a few more details about what being a 527 means?
I recongize we can endorse and raise money for candidates. But we did that before.
What types of "offline" activities are we going to be promoting? Meetups?
What are our goals and purposes? Are we trying to create an online activist community?
Are we conservative, Republican, or conservative Republican?
I am looking forward to the coming months and following the campaigns on your site.
I will donate as soon as you let me know how to change my Name from trader52 to BurbankErnie... or maybe you could do that for me now??
Any ways, Congratulations and keep up the good work.
We join the elite status of other infamous 527s such as MoveOn.org and the Swifties for Truth.
Seriously, I'm not all that pumped. Will RS change now that real money is involved?
Excited to be a part of redstate (just joined and donated tonight!
Note that I'm one of the 0.3% who voted libertarian last month in response to the huge budget deficit and the medicare giveaway. There may be more than 0.3% next time if spending isn't reduced soon (Ross Perot got 19% flogging the same issue). So please strongly consider fiscal responsibility (Club For Growth, Citizens Against Government waste, etc.) when picking candidates to endorse not just look at social issues.
You need to emulate in some ways (but learn from the problems of) your polar opposites over at liberal daily kos.
One Good idea from kos: You want to have some sort of vote of registered members before selecting candidates or nobody will feel very invested in your choices. They were very successful at getting many people to donate small amounts.
Another Good Idea from kos: Avoid donations to the candidates that are already raising huge amounts of money. Redstate won't be bundling $1,000,000 donations so best to focus on candidtaes where $20,000 radio buys purchased by redstate will not just be a drop in the ocean.
The Bad ideas to avoid from Kos: picking far out of the mainstream candidates or those with no chance is not gonna do any good. All 14 of kos's selections lost their elections. We need to use Heart and Head when picking candidates. Over 80% of house districts are completely unwinnable by the party not in power so focus your attentions on winnable seats. We all hate Hillary Clinton but if she runs for re-election to the Senate she's going to win in ultra-Blue NYC and redstate.org money spent on her hapless opponent would be better spent somewhere else more productively. Bang for the Buck!
Mr Lib(ertarian)
Until you have to explain the digs to potential interns.
Our past selections, Dr. Tom Cobrun, Hermain Cain, John Thune, and Jim DeMint went 3 for 4. We raised several thousand for each. You are definitely correct that we won't be a big percentage of the money raised for any Senatorial/Presidential candidates. Hopefully we will also have the ability to create and sustain momentum for candidates we like and we can assist in getting information out (see. Thune v. Daschle) to help candidates.
I encouraged people in states that weren't close to vote Libertarian for the same reasons you did. Sadly, Mr. Badnarik was not on my ballot in Oklahoma so I voted for the President. As the list of candidates endorsed in this cycle should show, we have a track record of picking fiscally conservative candidates. Dr. Coburn was chosen based on his fiscal principles in the House and many of our members took issue with his more outlandish social stances (I ran an unofficial blog on the campaign and I definitely have problems with his views on homosexuality).
We can't do everything Kos does. For one, we don't want the vile and hatred that their site encourages. For two, we are in power right now and thus have less things to fight against. Nevertheless, media and campus bias are both large targets for action. The Spectre incident also brought online activity into the fore.
Glad to have you onboard. Look forward to hearing more of your ideas.
I tried to write Krempasky with some questions over a week ago but haven't received a response. That is a "gmail" account right? not some gee <space> mail thing that I've never heard of?
Because of the Medicare bill, Health Savings Accounts are a possibility now, at least that is my understanding.
I have been looking for health insurance, and if I weren't in a somewhat ambiguous employment situation, I would have probably gone the HSA route. And according to the information provided by Anthem (aka Blue Cross/Blue Shield), HSAs are available because of the Medicare bill.
I'm sure the Medicare bill wasn't perfect, but HSAs are a big step forward to Americans taking back some control of their healthcare.
because now he has to mow the lawn. :):)
I always wanted to live at a corporate headquarters!
(Though I had imagined such a thing being a bit more posh.)