Your Money at Work
By: BJ Lawson
It’s been a long and exciting week. Our online fundraising is allowing us to take things to the next level, and I wanted to share some of the results of your support.
First, last week we launched our print campaign in local newspapers, highlighting the diversity of our grassroots support throughout our district:
Next, the television advertisement below begins airing tomorrow throughout the Fourth District:
As you can see, we’re just trying to keep it real.
We have an introductory mailer that is going out as well, focused on our message of responsible government:
There’s much more to do, and we’re going as quickly as we can, especially since early voting starts Thursday!
In the next few days, we’ll share some additional excitement!
October 14th, 2008 at 1:03 am
Nice TV Spot. Thanks for showing us where our money went. I guess that’s a concept we’ll have to get used to when you make it to the Congress!
October 14th, 2008 at 5:10 am
Awesome TV ad. Nice job!
October 14th, 2008 at 6:54 am
Awesome ads! Keep up the great work guys!
October 14th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I’m glad to see the new efforts. The ad was catchy but it almost seems to pit your campaign as profiting from a crashing economy. I know that is not how you feel since you are a candidate with integrity. Even so, it has a hint of capitalizing on a negative event only to have a potential reversal of fortunes put you back in the doom and gloom camp. The Democrats have done this for years by highlighting the negative in order to gain power. Am I being naive here? Maybe. But that’s my perception. Reactions?
October 14th, 2008 at 7:25 am
great job bj keep it up!
October 14th, 2008 at 11:06 am
I’m proud of all of your efforts in your campaign. You are doing great work for the liberty movement. The advertising is fantastic! I’m glad it has become a possibility for you to get your message out through different media. I look forward to seeing more tv ads with a positive view of what you can do in Congress. My hopes and prayers go with you in your campaign.
October 14th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Price helped ram this bill down our throats in spite of overwhelming opposition from the people. I don’t think the ad leaves any impression of LFC trying to capitalize on a faltering economy. Price doesn’t listen to his constituents, he listens to his corporate puppet masters. And for this he, and other politicians like him, should be sent home.
October 14th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
I like to see that our money is going to good use. Keep up the good work.
October 14th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Nice ads, don’t underestimnate the intelligence of the People. Go after them with intelligent arguments and intelligent conversarion. Don’t dumb down the message or the campaign.
More intelligent tv ads needed on: Liberty, Constitution, War, Federal Reserve, Imperialism, Rights, Patriot Act 1 & 2, Military Commissions Act, Thought Crime, Taxes, Spending, Debt, NSPD 51, Protect America Act of 2007, John Warner Defense Authorization Act, Homegrown Terrorism & Violent Radicalization Act,
October 14th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
I heart BJ Lawson! You have proven to be by far the most professional candidate running for Congress with a true conservative platform. The ads are great, you are great, and if you get elected, North Carolina’s 4th district will be one of the greatest places to be!
Keep on keepin’ on! Never give up!
October 14th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Fred Heineman beat David Price once. Price is not unbeatable, even in this district. There is a strong anti-incumbent sentiment out there. Tap into it Mr. Lawson. There are three weeks left to go all out.
October 14th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Really good ads. Well done. I hope your campaign is the crest of a pro-liberty wave about to crash down upon all of Congress!
October 14th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I like the print ads in particular — a good use of my donation. Good luck in November!
October 14th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
BJ,
I love the new ads, they will really help get the word out. I knew that your campaign would put the funds to the best use, just like you will put taxpayer money to only the best use when you’re elected!
-David
http://www.davidcarlsonpolitics.com
October 14th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
woooo!
David Price is going to have a hard time falling asleep at night knowing his reign coming to an end :p
October 14th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Those ads look great. I’m glad to see that our contributions will be well spent.
-jcr
October 14th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Pure Political Genius!
The TV ad is perfect. The music will strike people as different, as something that they wouldn’t expect from a presidential campaign - they will think something is different about this campaign. Not only that but the demographic it addresses is democrats, independents and those under 40. It’s incredibly ballsy and I think it will work. The republicans were going to vote for Lawson anyway so going after the other demographics is one heck of a smart move.
I have not seen a congressional campaign run better than this. Even if Lawson doesn’t win, he will go so far above and beyond what any republican has done before in this district that it will be a victory anyway because he will easily get the nomination next time and have a base to start with.
I only wish that Lawson’s campaign manager were Ron Paul’s campaign manger during his run!!
October 14th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Michael, yes the ad is negative but people need to know this about price and stuff like this works. If they look anywhere beyond this ad at any of BJs campaign literature, they will be overwhelmed with positive concrete things that BJ is proposing. The negative ad will wake them up to the point where they can look.
Negative ads that take some arcane detail about the other person and twist it or attack them on a personal level are what people hate. When it is just a straight fact like he voted for this well known issue - there is nothing wrong with that. It’s called educating
October 14th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Michael, I think you’re off the mark. There’s no reason to give Price a walk for his complicity in the second-biggest robbery in the history of our country, and indeed letting him off the hook would be a considerable disservice to the public.
We know why the economy is going off the rails, we know what role Price played in that, and I would say those of us who do know it have a moral duty to tell others what we know.
-jcr
October 15th, 2008 at 5:17 am
Marvelous, straightforward ad. Keep up the great work!
October 15th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Run, BJ, Run!
Go, BJ, Go!
BJ! BJ! BJ!
October 15th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Michael- After watching the TV ad I was left with the impression that the ad was taking to task Price for voting against his constituents for a bill that bailed out the big banks but didn’t help main street and the economy like the proponents of the bill promised. I didn’t see the ad as trying to capitalize on the state of the economy by saying something like “Price killed the economy and BJ knows how to fix it.” But that was just my impression. I liked that ad as I find it inexcusable that they were sent there to represent the people and their vote was a direct slap in the face to these very same people.
October 15th, 2008 at 10:26 am
BJ, great ad and glad to see the transparency in your campaign and our return on investment. Keep up the good work as we in texas are sending you are positive vibes.
October 15th, 2008 at 11:53 am
I just wish I lived in your district. I’ve never contributed to a political race before this season. Now, I’ve given to two Congressional candidates that I can’t even vote for–Ron Paul and BJ Lawson.
Keep it up BJ!
We need new government!
October 15th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Good ad. It attacks him for his votes without seeming sinister. Most attack ads have very sinister music in the background with a deep voice claiming this and that. I imagine that’s a major reason why attack ads turn people off from politics. It’s important to at least have some portion of the ad (besides the candidate himself at the end) as uplifting, otherwise it may just keep voters at home.
Good use of the “Democrats (and Republicans) voted against it” with the video of Kucinich. He’s well-known enough among liberal circles and decently well-liked, from what I can tell. Then again, it’s not too hard to be on the side of the people on this issue…
October 15th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
Nick,
I’d have to say that just as Ron Paul is the only real Republican left in the congress, Dennis Kucinich is the only real Democrat in office today.
I have many points on which I disagree with Mr. Kucinich, but he at least reminds of of the time when Democrats wanted to take our money and give it to POOR people.
-jcr
October 15th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Make sure you get out the Chapel Hill/UNC vote and you can win. Price is our ‘Huey Long’ but BJ has the appeal to win in this quasi-libertarian/liberal district.
October 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Nice work! Thanks for sharing these with us. I found out about your campaign from Dr. Paul and I made a donation. It’s good to see the next generation is picking up the torch. If I were in your district, I would vote for you.
October 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
I like the newspaper ads and the introductory mailer, but to be perfectly honest I’m not as satisfied with the TV ad. I hate to be negative as I greatly support your campaign, but IMO it could have been better. To me, yhe overall message seems watered-down, mainly due to using statements that come across as more political then factual.
For example, “everyone opposed it” sounds like an unfounded political statement. I know it’s practically true, but perhaps saying “nearly everyone” and quoting actual numbers (perhaps putting them on-screen) would help. Also, “Bush and his cronies” comes across as a political name-calling tactic. I think just being more neutral and saying “Bush and his supporters” would be better in line with your character.
“The economy is still crashing” is kind-of weak, because one could easily brush that off as a premature judgment since the bail out hasn’t had any time to take affect. You could give a good concise reason why the bailout is fundamentally flawed and will never work, no matter how much time we give it. Also, instead of ending on a negative note with “fire David Price”, I think you could say “vote for principled change” or some other positive phrase that’s been used throughout your campaign. This would both be more positive and create a stronger link with your campaign.
Obviously, only having 30 seconds is very limiting, and I don’t think the ad is bad considering, but IMO it could still be more polished and more factual/objective. Anyway, I look forward to (hopefully) seeing you representing NC’s 4th District after the election!
October 17th, 2008 at 7:54 am
BJ:
I’m watching your campaign closely from Texas. This is the grass roots effort we need to get good conservatives back into government. Go!
Jimmy Fullbright
October 21st, 2008 at 9:57 am
Mr. Lawson,
Surely, the late Sen. Goldwater is taking time out from rolling over in his grave at the current GOP leadership to give you a round of applause. The NCGOP has made it clear that folks like me aren’t welcome in the party anymore, but you sir give me hope that it will change one day soon.
I live in the 13th District, so sadly I can’t vote for you. But I wish you great luck in your campaign and may you gain a great victory over Rep. Price.