Ready, Ames, FIRE!!!

Second in fundraising.

Most individual contributions under $200.

The 2nd quarter is really a big victory for small-government, average Americans.

When you look at his opponents, the numbers look almost flipped... with most of their money coming from large donations, and the smallest amount coming from individuals giving less than $200. People who give big bucks are investing in a candidate from whom they expect to see a return. Ron Paul's supporters only expect freedom as a return.

Most average Americans don't HAVE the big bucks to drop. We feel like we're stretching ourselves to give over $200. But with Ron Paul, we feel it is truly worth it.

He can't be bought. Paul won't get the big money donors, so we have to make up for it with what we can scrape up. We did a good job of that in the 2nd quarter...

But, we have to do more.

The next quarter will really determine who spends the big bucks before the primaries. Dr. Paul will not waste our money. He is very frugal, so we have to give enough to inspire him to pop for the big campaigns. He's proven he will do it with the recent ad buys. We just have to give him what he needs to overcome the well-funded statists.

Last go 'round, we had homemade signs, volunteers who weren't a part of the official campaign making their own literature and spreading the word. This really motivated the base. It was inspiring.

But it didn't motivate the average voter who determines who to vote for from the little time he or she has to look into the candidates between work, family and other obligations. Many of them only heard of the candidates through television, radio and maybe a little bit of internet. They may have seen the "Who is Ron Paul?" banners, and meant to search it, but didn't have the time. If they even voted in the primary, it was because their favorite talk show host, or preacher named the person... or because they had heard positive things about the candidate.

We have to motivate these people. They are the backbone of our economy. They believe the same things we do. If we continue to let them think a Romney, Bachmann, or any of the other waffling ne'er-do-wells are going to help them, we are doing them an injustice.

I'm going to give my hard-earned money again, tomorrow, in the hopes that voters in Iowa will receive a political education with that money. If we perform well in Iowa, we will be exponentially better prepared to win the primaries. We won't win Iowa, though, without advertising, paid campaign workers and other outreach to the people of the state.