I just want to clear up, for the record, that a Liberty Movement candidate, no matter how many times you share his Facebook or Twitter page, “like” his content, or support his ideas, WILL NOT GET ELECTED WITHOUT MONEY. Do all my fellow Patriots hear that? He.Will.Not.Get.Elected.Without.Money.
You may throw up your hands at the cynical nature of this statement, but it’s true. It is what it is. And it’s far time the grassroots, conservative movement get that through our thick skulls.
Let’s take a “small” state representative race. I say “small” because most people, who aren’t political junkies or involved in the day-to-day minutia of a campaign, don’t think state races are that big of a deal. Putting aside the fact that most (like, 95%) of all our Liberty Movement candidates must first prove themselves on a local and/or statewide level before ascending to a national level (they don’t just come out of nowhere, people!) , most people, even in conservative circles, don’t understand just how much money running a “small” state race takes. Generally speaking, we are talking in the hundreds of thousands. As in, of DOLLARS. And don’t get me started on a large county-wide race or state Senate race—we are talking big bank, fellow Patriots.
Yes, for one of those “small” state races, a candidate must either raise or provide from his own coffers the money to be competitive. Being competitive doesn’t mean a Liberty Movement candidate should forego door-knocking and town halls and radio interviews in exchange just for direct mailing or radio/television advertising, but he needs to have the ability to effectively, professionally, and widely share his campaign’s message to as many people as he can. That includes producing professional materials to present to voters. Throwing up a Twitter or a Facebook just doesn’t cut it when you have establishment, Strausian adherents willing to pony up what it takes to win a race—who have to spend a lot more money to lie about their backgrounds and beliefs than conservatives do to tell the truth about their backgrounds and beliefs.
Take for example the upcoming Senate District 24 race, near the Temple area. We already have a “conservative” named Dawn Buckingham who has willingly lent her campaign $150k right out of the gate. That buys a tremendous amount of propaganda, people. And who’s happy about this? Why, the people who will eventually pull her strings in Austin: the establishment.
That’s why it’s so difficult for conservatives to get a foothold in local and statewide (not to mention national) politics. Generally speaking, the establishment, those Rockefeller Republican types, have other interests than we the grassroots do. While conservatives espouse a free market, establishment types would like to see THEIR particular company or industry benefit from those in power—i.e., crony capitalism. That’s why you will rarely see the Chamber of Commerce ever financially support a true conservative. They know their interests will not be served by that candidate. An establishment candidate can be molded, bought, and paid for—and willingly by the candidate, I might add.
A conservative’s message, to an outsider, may not even seem that different from that of an establishment candidate. And why is that? Because, and this is key: the establishment candidate HAS THE RESOURCES to lie and make believe they’re the TRUE conservative in the race. They have the ability to blanket airwaves and mailboxes and cover yards in signs and cars in bumper stickers. How in the world can a true conservative compete among that type of overwhelming advertising if his supporters won’t pony up $100 each to help get his message to the people?
Two exceptional exceptions to the “it takes money and lots of it” rule—and they are notable: Sen. Ted Cruz and state Rep. Molly White.
When Ted Cruz came along, he was at 2% name recognition in the polls. Nobody gave him a chance against the David Dewhurst money juggernaut. But because Cruz is who he is (and again, this is a rarity), he was able to go above the heads of the establishment and beat them at their game. He made the sitting Lieutenant Governor Dewhurst spend millions of dollars on a Senate primary race that he ultimately lost. And conservatives rejoiced.
When Molly White announced she was seeking to defeat the horrific RINO Ralph Sheffield in the Texas House, nobody thought it possible. After all, Sheffield raised over $200 thousand to her paltry $20 thousand (approximately). He outspent her 10-1…a true David and Goliath analogy. But White prevailed because ENOUGH people heard her message—and sent her to the Texas House.
And that’s the moral of this story. We need our candidates, those stalwart conservatives who would join a Ted Cruz or a Molly White (among others) to have enough money to be HEARD—to register with voters that, yes, this is a professional running a professional campaign and the best thing of all is that he or she is JUST LIKE ME.
So get off your butts and get out your wallets. Find those conservatives who have the stones to challenge the establishment. Go to their websites and donate. Set up a fundraiser for them with your friends. Write them a check and have five people do the same. We conservatives need to start understanding that politics isn’t pretty—but it’s the system in which we must work. We must see every event, every speech, every appearance, every meet-and-greet as a chance for our favorite candidate to raise money. Because raise money he or she must. If we want more of our soldiers IN the battle, we need to arm them FOR the battle.
That’s the way we start truly bringing the establishment to heel.
