🚀 go-pugleaf

Any one who wanted Ron Paul must really feel retarded now.



$4 Million on Hand, Ron Paul Looks for Ways to Spend It
by Associated Press
Sunday, April 27, 2008

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.





http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/27/cash-in-hand-ron-paul-looks-for-ways-to-spend-it/