“Tom, would you happen to know if the LP makes its list available anyway? Last time I was dues payer I got on a lot of different mailing lists inexplicably (the JBS, some adventist group, anarchist poetry magazines) and this time I’m getting similiar junk.”

At one time, I think the LP rented its list extensively. Less so lately, I think — my understanding is that BCRA (McCain-Feingold) put a stop to a lot of that.

But, the presidential campaign would almost certainly be allowed to mail TO the list, even if it didn’t get to SEE the list … and anyone who sent money would end up on THE CAMPAIGN’S list. So, Viguerie could get a nice new, targeted, niche list out of it.

Not saying that’s the whole basis for Viguerie’s involvement, but … cui bono and all that.

Crane refused to pay the bill, and fired Viguerie, who slimed off to back LBJ’s buddy John Connolly for President.

Viguerie is bad news for Libertarians, and we need to keep him from getting any influence in our movement – and keep him away from the mailing lists.

y old news to many on this site, but I’ll post it in hopes that it might be informative for some.

In early 1965, in the wake of Goldwater’s electoral defeat, Richard Viguerie sat down in the office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives and began writing down the names of people who had donated $50 or more to Goldwater’s campaign – the equivalent of about $300 today.

By law in those days, federal political campaigns had to turn over to the Clerk the names and addresses of donors of $50 or more. Goldwater’s campaign had filed 15,000 names and addresses. Viguerie planned to write them all down and create a mailing list with them.

After a few days, he realized that he could not get the job done by himself. He hired some women to do this grunt work. Then, after they had copied 12,500 names, the Clerk decided that he did not like all this and forbade them to do it. Viguerie says he should have told the Clerk to contact his lawyer. But he was young and inexperienced back then, so he complied.

Those 12,500 names became the basis of a mailing list empire that changed American conservatism and, through Ronald Reagan, the world.

Who else benefited from these lists? None other than George Wallace, who used them to build a network in the 70′s. Viguerie had no problem renting them to Wallace or Reagan, because the price was right.

What does this man want from the LP? Money would be my first guess.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north538.html

http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/FTR/newright.html

He was essentially the inventor of and king of political direct mail for a long time … now it’s the Internet age. He’s trying to get deep into that data/reach area while the getting’s good. If “the Ron Paul fundraising experience” can be intentionally duplicated (it’s by no means obvious that it can), then there’s a gold mine there.

And then there’s still direct mail. I know people who would kill for Ron Paul’s list. I’ sure Viguerie would like to be able to add that list to his catalog … and the next best thing is trying to re-create the Paul campaign in certain ways, maybe with Bob Barr as the horse.

I’m back and forth three ways: No “takeover” going on at all, just competing campaigns; an ideologically/politically driven “takeover;” and a financial “takeover.”

Leaning toward “financial” at the moment. Think of the LP’s lists. Not just the current membership, but I think around 150,000 names of people who have popped $25 or more one time or another, many of THOSE names having in turn worked their way into the LP database over a six-year period in which the LP rented high-return lists from NRA to Reason magazine, etc.

The margin on direct mail may be low, but 100,000 names, 200,000 names, pretty soon you’re talking real money.

I heard plenty of bad shit about Vig months ago that I dismissed anyway – I don’t consider data-mining to be all that bad. The last few days have pretty much confirmed the allegations I heard at the time, and this pretty much seals it that they were true even then. I need to pop some foresight pills.

But the comments from Lew Moore are pretty telling on their own.

I renounce Satan, and all his works, and all his pomps.