$4 Million on Hand, Ron Paul Looks for Ways to Spend It
HOUSTON — U.S. Rep. Ron Paul is considering using $4 million left over from his failed presidential campaign to start a for-profit publishing company that would reflect his Libertarian-leaning views.
The move could test the limits of federal campaign finance rules.
“I’ve never heard of anyone taking their campaign money and putting it into a for-profit corporation,” campaign finance-reform advocate Fred Wertheimer told the Houston Chronicle.
Former candidates have leeway in how they use leftover campaign money.
“There’s a provision that says you can use the funds for any lawful purpose, so long as it’s not personal use for the candidate,” said Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the Federal Election Commission.
Federal guidelines say the money can’t be used for things such as vacations, mortgage, rent or household items or to seed a for-profit corporation that benefits an individual or shareholder.
Paul, a Republican from Lake Jackson, about 50 miles south of Houston, has about $4 million in leftover campaign cash, said campaign spokesman Jesse Benton.
Among options being considered for the money, Benton said, are supporting like-minded candidates through Paul’s Liberty PAC; donating it to Paul’s FREE Foundation, which publishes his newsletter; trying to influence public policy through a new nonprofit group; or creating “something inventive and entrepreneurial” like a for-profit corporation to produce publications.
It’s not clear whether Paul would be able to form a for-profit corporation specifically designed for educational purposes.
Paul also has a potential gold mine in his mailing list, if he rents those names to interest groups or other campaigns.
Benton said the campaign has the names of 160,000 donors who have given an average of about $100 each. With people who signed up to receive campaign information, but have not donated money, the e-mail list grows to 400,000.
Presidential list are attractive because they include donors from across the country. Paul’s list also includes new participants into the presidential process, offering candidates a chance to expand their network to nontraditional donors.
On the market, the list of 160,000 donors would probably fetch about $135 per 1,000 names for each use, or about $21,600 a pop, estimated Kevin Shuvalov, a partner in Olsen & Shuvalov, an Austin firm that does fundraising and voter-contact mailings.
The Paul presidential campaign already has rented its list twice — once to his Texas congressional re-election committee, which raised $1.4 million, according to CQ Moneyline, a site that tracks FEC records; and once to incumbent Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., who serves with Paul on the Republican Liberty Caucus, a group of Libertarian-minded lawmakers.
How about doing something unheard of in a politician…giving the money back to the donors? Either that use it as seed money to start a viable 3rd party.
Too bad for Ron Paul. He was one of the only straight talking Republican candidates who made sense. Including what happened with delegates in Missouri, the Republican Party has been in a downward spiral. The GOP used to represent morality and discipline in government. Now it is the party of wasteful spending, corruption, and poverty.
Too bad for Ron Paul? More like too bad for America.
Why couldn’t he give the money back to the donors? Oh, and stop selling mailing lists.
Mr. Ron Paul,
I donated to your campaign because I agreed with your message of smaller government. Please don’t sell me to a telemarketer for 13 cents!
It’s an interesting story not because of the Dr. Paul is planning with the money, but the fact that he is one of very few if ANY candidates that actually has money left over, as it should be because he is the only candidate that practices what he preaches, as a true conservative.
What’s even more interesting is that you people never bothered to report on last nights GOP convention in Reno, where Paul supporters dominated, and the party decided to shut down the event when in became obvious that (Ron)Paul would get the majority of the delegates voted to the national convention in Minniapolis.
This of course is a pattern repeating itself in places like Washington and Minnesota and may keep repeating all over the union.
Keep up the fair and balanced reporting FOX, we’ll decide.
He should buy all of his supporters a Civil Flag of Peace if they promise to fly it. That would keep the buzz going about his politics.
he should be free to share it with his Ron Paul movement candidates across country. This happens with other so why not him?
I think he should use it to start a Liberty focused publishing/media company. Obviouly people are ignorant and don’t know what the Constituion is. If they do know then they’ve decided purposely against following it.
Charity? Charity anyone? There are 100’s of childrens’ hospitals that could use $4Mil.
How about veterns with disabilities from the war?
How about building a school in his state for poor kids?
I would be shocked by this if I believed it. I find it interesting that the GOP convention in Nevada was on Saturday, where Paul supporters really made their present felt, and today I see these accusations about what Paul intends to do with his left over campaign cash. If the article had used a direct quote from Paul I would have been shocked but, as things are, I am simply suspicious of the validity of the information in this article.
I love how Ron Paul complained for months about reform and here he is trying to walk a fine line between legal and illegal.
Who is going to get the profit?
I plan to vote for Ron Paul in the North Carolina primary coming up, and I donated to his campaign twice. But I wish that he had spent the money on campaign advertisements educating the public about the economy and the Fed. I think that would have been money better spent than on books only libertarians (who are already on his side) will read.
These monies should be used towards paying off the United States of America’s national debt.
OK, all you suckers who gave money to Ron Paul, please line up and be identified so that the rest of us can see what 160,000 idiots look like as a group. When you give money to a politician, consider it gone, with no return to the giver.
WHY NOT START A SCHOLARSHIP FUND FOR STUDENTS WHO ARE GOING TO COLLEGE AND WANT TO BE IN POLITICS
JayBoy:
It’s not like he started a movement or anything… What a waste his campaign was, having millions of new people become involved in politics and become aware about important issues.
What failed campaign? The money will be used by the time he becomes President Paul. I hope he uses it for infomercials between now and November when I will vote for him again. Why does anyone in the US want our country to become a fascist nation run by Bilderbergers? He gets rid of IRS and income tax and still runs a remarkable government with a stronger military, saving our economy, our jobs, our liberties. President Paul or we are busted. Educate yourselves and pass the word. Check CFR, Bilderberg, IMF, UN, NWO, NAU, Trilateral Corridor. The democrats will continue the war. Hillary threatens to obliterate Iran if they hit Israel. Israel would be glad to take care of themselves, if we would let them. Obama calls for change-exactly how?? McCain doesn’t know what the word “economy” means, but he can sing “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.”
How funny, you did not want to pay attention to the man when he was garnering the monetary support of hundreds of thousands of your peers, now you want to tell him he can’t use the money we gave him. I gave over $1500, I trust the man, I know he has more honesty in one pinky finger than that of the entire U.S. Congress and Senate COMBINED. Ron Paul may spend this money as he wishes, this revolution has only just begun and I can assure you of that. I am not yet 24 years old and I will be here to expose and show all of you that you too can join us in returning your country to the constitutional republic that it was meant to be, you do not have to fight us, as we are fighting FOR YOU and YOURS.
So many bitter people in regard to Paul and his viewpoints. Is returning to the founding document that our country was based on so bad?
Take a moment and reflect on what makes you so angry, because if it’s just the prospect of him starting a fund to help like minded candidates than you should take a closer look at those that have clearly broken the law, like McCain for instance (acceptance of public funding when his campaign ran out of money, and then reneging on it’s constraints when his campaign started to recover) and ask yourself why the anger.
Books that only Libertarians will read? His FREE foundation publishes books containing THE US CONSTITUTION and the DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
So if those are books that ONLY Libertarians will read, then what does that say about the sorry state of the country? I think everyone should read those. If they did, we wouldn’t have the mess we have now.
You believe this? Ron Paul is the ONLY candidate there with principles, he wouldn’t do ANYTHING illegal.
Whatever he does with that money is going to be towards something good, for sure.
If he is going to distribute what this article calls “libertarian” ideology (free copies of the constitution…uuu so libertarian), cool!
We need more people to know what their rights are, and what freedoms they enjoy and ought to protect.
Ron Paul is a hero, he is someone who really cares about his country, why does the media insists on smearing him, and making his honorable actions sound wrong?
Too bad Americans didn’t seize the chance to change their country for the better.
“Failed presidential campaign”. -Really? When 2 of the 3 “left” in the race lose will you call them failures too? They will go home. No changes will have been made. Ron Paul united a group that is still growing. He started a revolution that will go way beyond this election. He got into politics to make a difference. You’re the failure Fox News. You have failed to be fair and balanced in any of your dealings with Ron Paul, and even still you continue to try to soil his name.
Way to go FOX…some friends of mine have told me to stop watching your new programming, that FOX only shows the side of the story that FOX wants people to hear. ANYTHING BUT “Fair and balanced” is what they say. Now, after my reply has been moderated out of this list I have to believe them. I used no negative language, simply stated that I found the article a little unconvincing in that it came the next day after the results of the Penn. primary and had no quote from Paul. This is embarassing for me more than anything else because I have, at times, tried to defend FOX to my friends, much like I tried to defend the Bush administrations policy in Iraq when I was in Europe several years back. Oh please, so that I might still have hope that there was something in my reply that made it unable to be posted, oh please email me at the above address to let me know what was wrong with it…otherwise I will have to believe what some of my friends have been telling me all along, that this news organization is nothing more than a propaganda agency; a wolf in sheeps clothing.
Well, those profits would be used to expand the awareness of this organisation and so inform more people about their fundamental rights and powers as citizens. The usual thing that Ron Paul sets out to do.
I’m curious what they will come up with; the innovative way internet was used for their campaign was certainly something, well, ‘revolutionary.’
Why can’t FoX report on Nevada? Ron Paul came in second to Romney and the delegates wanted to go to Paul. The RNC is attempting to steal the delegates for McCain. Paul is the only conservative in the race. Massachusetts will be the same as Nevada. McCain has too much baggage with flip flops, Hagee and temperament to be electable.
Paul will raise more money on the book and supports candidates that bring sanity to the two party system.
I donated $2300 and hope he uses every penny of it for whatever he thinks is best. I got another $2300 waiting on him if he enters the general election. I would donate as much as I was allowed to the cause.
It seems to me the people who didn’t donate anything are more worried about what he does with the money than those who donated.
Anyway, considering the source I don’t put much into it at this point anyway. I quit trusting Fox News years ago.
Like others who donated to Paul’s campaign, I endorse his sane policies. And I trust his judgement in how to spend those monies, since he clearly doesn’t suffer from fiscal diarrhea like most of our other congressmen and senators. I would have preferred he used it on more advertising since, as he gets very little coverage from the corporate media in the US, he needs to buy time to get out his message. It’s a message that all sane, intelligent Americans endorse.
Yes, I said ALL.
ALL sane, intelligent people endorse: the US Constitution as the backbone of American law and the limitation of Federal authority, paying off national debt, eliminating the Fed and our fiat money problem that is destroying our economy, getting out of endless wars where our military is inappropriate and largely clueless as they die/risk death for nothing at enormous cost.
How could it be otherwise?
look ron paul DID NOT FAIL ! WHO CAN BELIVE FOX NEWS OR DEPEND ON THEM FOR ANYTHING
RON PAUL IS STILL IN THE RACE AND IS NOT FAILING BUT SUCCEDING :))))
Why is the news media reporting that Ron Paul is no longer running for president?
Do you really think Americans are ignorant enough to believe you?
On word for you liars: Nevada!
Now quit lying!
You should be commenting on the money McCain illegally borrowed from public Coffers to boost his campaign as opposed to the Campaign funds raised legally by a republican still in the race…..
YEAH!! All for it. Republicans for real for real. This is how the party should lean. Times up for the Neocons!
Im happy Ron Paul used some of my cash to eat at Burger King. Im actually honored.
I hope Ron Paul uses my cash to stimulate the economy by:
1. Getting elected
2. Starting a “for-profit publishing company”
Here’s to preventing the second great depression!
Ron Paul would be welcome to send my name to ANY like minded, freedom loving politician who wants to let people know that the cause of freedom is not dead in America. Fox News and the drive-by media believe they can influence everyone in the country with their Geobles style propaganda. They believe they can convince us to line up to enter the gas chambers of tyrranical government without a fight.
The propagandist who wrote this article wants us to ignore the fact that state conventions are being shut down by Republican Party leaders because they can’t get enough people to support John “Keeting Five” McCain. Wake up and smell the lillies, Fox. Your Neo-Con mind controlling days are over. Your propaganda isn’t working and why? It’s because people can see they are being turned into slaves by our oil company executive run government.
The price of food and fuel and electricity will bring this country to it’s knees.
Vote Ron Paul! He’s a man with a REAL plan.
I’m more curious as to what Rudy is doing with his “FAILED” campaign money…. love ya A.P. but give the bias a break… Maybe Rudy is doing what other New York politicians do with their money hmmmmmm j/k that’s biased
I would not call waking folks up to the truth a Failed Candidacy. You think Nevada Convention was a surprise? Just hang on to your seat, its gonna be a bumpy ride! Honesty and integrity will prevail in the end. All other candidates are the same as leaving Bush in office! God forbid
Ron Paul is still campaigning. I hope he uses the money to buy some media time and let America know what the Internet already does. Ron Paul would beat Clinton or Obama hands down.
Good for Ron Paul! I gave $350 of my money and i’m a poor student. I hope Ron uses the money I gave HIM to use as he wishes.
To the govenment and Mainstream media:
Get out of our lives and pocketbooks!
GIVE US LIBERTY!
It was not a failed Presidential campaign. It isn’t over yet, and even if he doesn’t “Win” in the traditional sense of the word, he is changing peoples views and starting dialog all over the country. This will be another election where most people will be voting for the “less of two evils.” Not me, I’m writing in Ron Paul.