I know I sure as hell would. Hell, I am right now!

Case in point: I understand that a dozen pro-liberty groups were invited to a county “summit” meeting in Chester County, PA.
Things on the agenda included sponsoring debates with all candidates included. The county LP was invited and never even responded to the invitation. So how hard is it going to be to convince the other groups to include the LP candidates in the coming debates?
If we don’t give a sh*t then why should the public give a sh*t about us????

Having amassed some political capital helps, too. Barr had some, for ex., with virtually no bought media other than a web presence. Howard Stern had notoriety. We’ve had a few others over the years, but mostly not.

A credible candidate with some credentials and real, plausible L solutions could both buy and earn media, but it requires some stars to align.

(BTW, it may seem that I’m defending Root, but I am being fair to the man. That doesn’t make me a Rootbot, though.)

Me, been there and done that in earning media–TV and radio interviews from tax protests and war protests, and even a fill-in gig as a drive-time talk radio host –not to mention a Xmas parade float that promoted the LP to 300,000 people–which had never been done in that town until then or since.

So, yeah, Tom B. there is a clear difference between earned and bought media.

Of course, if I know Beck, we will still be fighting “Islamofascism”and the only people that will have any privacy left will be those in solitary confinement, if it is up to him.

Freedom in our great great grandchildren’s time! Hoorah!

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/33398/

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/business/media/22beck.html?hp

No comment!

Now, if a LP candidate held a rally and thousands of people showed up, it would be newsworthy and positive coverage might be an example of earned media. Root regurgitating RNC talking points is hardly earned media. There is no groundswell of support for Root bubbling up from the masses that media is taking notice of. There is no unusual or newsworthy message being delivered by Root. Root is merely a fresh face delivering a message that right-wing media wants to hear. The only thing different about Root is that he is not a registered, partisan Republican. He is a “libertarian” with a “conservative” message. This is man bites dog media at best.

In the real world, “earned media” is the type of positive coverage a candidate receives for merely existing, but after having shelled out big bucks for paid media. The press suddenly notices those who spend money on advertising and they don’t like to offend clients by marginalizing them. Every press conference, press release and public appearance suddenly becomes “earned media” when the advertising department is depositing fat checks.

Welcome to America.

Arlen Spector pulled that stunt when he ran for president in 1996 as a self-described “fiscal conservative and social libertarian”. It didn’t work then and it certainly won’t work now.

Anybody can call themselves a fiscal conservative if they support a balanced budget amendment which would raise taxes to cover spending. You may get some spending cuts, but lots of fiscal conservatives will support higher spending if the revenue is there to pay for it. The only practical difference between “fiscal conservatives” (does anybody know any politician who wouldn’t describe themselves as a “fiscal conservative”?) and everybody else is they wouldn’t increase spending by as much as others. So instead of a 3.3 trillion dollar budget financed by deficits you get a 3.1 trillion dollar budget financed by raising taxes.

The “social liberal” stuff doesn’t fly either. Alot of libertarians, like Ron Paul, are closet dixiecrats who wrap themselves up in the cloak of “state’s rights” and we all know what that means. And if libertarians stuck to their principles they would probably find themselves on the opposite side of the fence from those social liberals who support gun control and expansive civil rights legislation, including laws prohibiting discrimination against gays and other minorities.

This whole idea is a nonstarter. Of course, lots of independent candidates, like Jesse Ventura, have gotten themselves elected as fiscal conservatives and social liberals without the baggage of being labeled or identified with any particular third party ideology.

Considering the perpetual problem of all non-D/R parties is bodies and cash, buying media isn’t much of an option, and we tend to focus on the earned media instead, and it can happen if done right and done consistently. Done it myself in the past, but it is a hard and ongoing process.

(Say what you want about Root, BUT…he has been working hard to get earned media. His problem was message and presentation technique.)

Also, because we always have the bodies and cash problem, we are forced to spend (no pun intended) a lot of time trying to obtain/recruit/get both. The D/R parties have the luxury of such of the bodies to get the cash.

For years I have suggested that we need to work on building the local parties. I haven’t had much success at getting thru to others but I persist. If that would happen we then would have a larger group to recruit candidates from.

Some states with large populations have a couple of small congressional districts where walking just might be possible and being in saturated media markets, TV and radio advertising is not an effective use of campaign dollars. Yards signs, and well developed door hangers might work much better.

‘Course you need a campaign that is not a clone of the R&D faction but that is specifically Libertarian in nature and positive as well based around Civil Liberties, the benefits of “Open Markets” and a non interventionist foreign policy and putting money back in people’s pockets.

Unfortunately I think I have a better chance of pushing a peanut up hill.

…” like a high school band that thinks they will become rock stars after playing one gig at the local skating rink on a Saturday afternoon….”

As a non LP with some Lib stripes may I offer the additional observations…..

[a] Libs need to get out of the Debating Society mode …..

[b] Libs need to embrace the real world, real people and their real problems ……

[c] Libs need to reach out to non Lib allies ……..

My only point is that without huge amounts of cash, LP candidates will never win an election to a national office. Therefore, LP candidates without huge amounts of cash should concentrate on delivering a libertarian message as opposed to trying to bullshit their way into office with nonlibertarian rhetoric they mistakingly think will catapult them into certain victory. The notion that winning elections without megabucks is so naive that it is the epitome of unprofessionalism. There is nothing professional, credible or pragmatic about going on a fool’s errand (like thinking you can win a congressional seat with a $5,000 warchest).

The LP is becoming more and more like a high school band that thinks they will become rock stars after playing one gig at the local skating rink on a Saturday afternoon. That shit is only in the movies. B-movies.

Finding those small campaigns that have a specific district where the candidate can walk it is best suited for what we need at the moment. Add a well designed door hanger, dress decently, answer all the inquires without being a smartass and start early. Don’t wait till Labor Day.

Btw it was a school board seat he was running for.

Think of it this way: There’s a continuum of professionalism–from a soapbox lunatic on the street corner reading FOR A NEW LIBERTY, HUMAN ACTION, and selected Long and Hoppe essays, to the Obama campaign.

All LP campaigns that I’m aware of fall somewhere in the middle of those polar extremes. The soapbox lunatic is all steak; Obama was almost all sizzle.

The lunatic may attract a few to his/her campaign, but methinks most will never hear his/her words, and those that do won’t stop to listen. Is that really “selling Lism”? I’d say no.

My comment was referring to the notion of split and multiple-candidate tickets, and the general calibre of candidates.

LP candidates will appear professional and credible when they start dropping the same amount of dough as their opposition in ad buys. This is what “earned media” is really all about. If you want positive coverage, spend large amounts of money on media ads.

My congressman, Bobby Scott, spent $500K in 2008 and essentially ran unopposed. The other half of my city is represented by Eric Cantor. He has an extremely safe seat, yet he spent $3.8 million.

It’s time for libertarians to get real. Even if a candidate for congress manages to raise $500K, the GOP and the Dems will make it as hard as possible anyway. It’s all about the money. It always has been and always will be.

All the sophomoronic strategizing, platform tweaking, tactical rhetoric, flag waving, and ear-hair trimming don’t mean shit without the cash. Lots of cash.

This is why a LP campaign should be about selling libertarianism, not “true conservatism” or neolibertarianism or social liberalism/fiscal conservatism. It shouldn’t be about anything else. Because, without the cash, no LP candidate is going to win and even with the cash, the odds aren’t good.

So, wake up goofballs. Go raise some money if you really want to play this fucked up little game and win. Would you take a roll of dimes to Vegas and expect to go home in a Brink’s truck?