The Free View - weblog of a presidential candidate

I'm about to post the first of two or three long entries about the Libertarian Party's 2004 presidential race, my time in the Russo campaign, and my opinions on the two candidates. They may not be of interest to those of you who don't follow internal LP matters, but they will probably be of interest to Libertarians who may be going to this weekend's convention in Atlanta, to choose (primarily) between Gary Nolan and Aaron Russo.

However, there's a strong likelihood that I will not be able to attend that convention, unless enough of you are able to help me get there.

This year has been a rough year for me financially-- very rough, frankly. It still is being a rough year, and while it should be gradually getting better, it's not going to be un-rough anytime in the immediate future, it would seem. I'll explain more about that (and the status of my company PeoplesForum.com) sometime later. Suffice it to say, I have no extra discretionary funds right now.

Mostly for that reason, I had resigned myself to missing the upcoming 2004 LP national convention. Well, that's not entirely true -- I've been wrestling back and forth with the idea -- but I had accepted as likely the possibility that I might miss it.

It's gnawing at me though -- the idea of missing the convention -- and I've decided I can't let it go without trying to raise the necessary funds. I checked for flight prices, and they are actually cheaper now than they were weeks ago when I first checked them out. That is the biggest expense, and the threshold I need to clear in order to decide to go. There are some other expenses -- hotel, convention registration, ground transportation, food - but there's a chance I can minimize each of those costs through various arrangements.

On the high end of things, the trip could cost $750. I can verify whether I can find alternative arrangements once I confirm that I am going. Such arrangements could cut $200 or more off of the costs.

The entry-level amount that I need to raise in order to book a flight and finalize my decision is $400, which I need to raise within the next two days or so -- the sooner, the better. That's not quite enough to cover even the full low-end trip, but it's enough to get the ball rolling-- primarily, to get a plane ticket before the prices get out of reach. I might be able to find a place to sleep for free, in which case I'd just need to raise a little bit more to cover the rest of the costs.

This is where you (hopefully) come in.

To my long-time supporters: I've never made a direct fundraising appeal like this before, and hopefully that means you've been saving up your financial goodwill toward the campaign, and are ready to make a deposit toward helping me advance liberty. If so, now would be a great time for that. :-)

To my fellow Libertarians: I've poured thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into works for liberty over the past many years -- as Chair (for 3 years) of my local LP; as creator of StopCarnivore.org, PNAC.info, and CampusLP.org and BillofRightsDay.com; as President of the UMass Cannabis Reform Coalition (back in the day); through innovative events like Medical Marijuana School, the Funeral for the Bill of Rights, the forum on law enforcement and the war on terror; and in lots of other ways. I'm not a perfect LP activist by a long stretch, but I'm a tireless and devoted one, without a doubt-- and I've given much of myself when I've been able to give. If you could help me out at this time, it will help to foster an ongoing mutually beneficial relationship -- and I will be sure to return the favor when the opportunity arises.

While donations of any amount would be helpful and appreciated, what I'm hoping for is some donations in the $50-100 (or more) range. The quicker this gets raised the better, because it will give me more time to call around and try to make alternative arrangements for hotel and ground transportation. There was even a way to work off the cost of the convention...I don't know if there are still openings for that, but it's a possibility that I can check once I am sure I'm going.

In the interest of full disclosure, I should warn LP members that I'm not certain if I will be able to be a voting delegate at the convention, because my membership lapsed at the beginning of May, and I haven't been able to afford renewing as of yet. I suppose that could make you decide it's not worth helping me get to the convention, and I don't want to mislead anyone. I'm not going for the voting-- I'm going to network and visit with my fellow Libertarians, to participate in the cheering and rallying, to learn (at breakout sessions, and in general)...and potentially, to defend or explain the claims I'll make over the next couple days, in my posts about the 2004 LP presidential race.

If you donate and I end up not raising enough to go, I will contact you and ask you whether you want your donation back, or how you would like it applied. If you use PayPal and I end up refunding your donation, it will be minus the PayPal processing fees for the transfers.

That notwithstanding, PayPal is by far the best way to donate in this case, if possible. That way the money arrives instantly, and the minute enough money is donated I can charge the plane ticket and commence tying loose ends.

You can donate via PayPal by sending "cash" to lance@freedom2008.com, via http://paypal.com .

The alternative to PayPal is to send a check. If you do send a check, please let me know that you are doing so, and how much it's for, so I can plan for it. Checks should be made out to "Lance Brown". Because I have not yet reached the FEC's $5000 filing threshold, I have not set up a formal campaign committee yet-- but I do have a separate bank account just for campaign funds, which is what the PayPal account is tied to, and where your check would be deposited.

The address to send checks to is 14204 Owl Creek Rd., Nevada City, CA 95959. Again, please let me know right away (lance@freedom2008.com) if you're sending a check.

If I haven't raised close to $400 at least by Wednesday, I will probably call this off. I will be making one more pitch before then, but if you'd like to help, please don't wait.

I don't think this is the most perfectly packaged fundraising request -- but it sure is honest, eh? Probably more honesty than you were looking for. ;-)

My next entry (about the 2004 race) is already written and will be out later today. I've decided I want to sleep on it and re-read it before I send it out, as it could be controversial and heavily scrutinized.

Thanks for your time and consideration -- and especially thanks to those who have been following along for years. You're a big part of what helps me keep moving forward with this, after almost ten years. :-)