Maybe it’s the computer geek in me, but I like to measure things and have real numbers for evaluating progress. Since we have gone to “zero dues,” it would be nice to see the impact. How many donors (i.e. people who have contributed money within the last twelve months) do we have now? How many subscribers do we have to LP News???
If I’ve got this straight, under the “zero dues” model, states can charge for membership then purchase LP News subscriptions for their members by giving $10 to the national party or people can subscribe to LP News by contributing $25 to the national party.
So I reviewed the FEC reports for this year. Money from political committees is reported on separate lines. This is the entire list of money that the LNC has received from political committees this year. It doesn’t look like many state parties think it is worth getting their members a subscription to LP News.
| 1/17/06 | LP of Wisconsin | $48.75 |
| 1/19/06 | LP of Wisconsin | $48.75 |
| 1/30/06 | Bruce Cohen for Congress Federal Campaign | $500.00 |
| 1/31/06 | Libertarian Reform PAC | $300.00 |
| 1/31/06 | LP Washington | $1,000 |
| 2/28/06 | LP Washington | $180.00 |
| 3/09/06 | LP Wisconsin | $48.75 |
| 3/20/06 | Badnarik for Congress | $500.00 |
| 3/23/06 | LP Wisconsin | $48.75 |
| 3/29/06 | Badnarik for Congress | $500.00 |
Now let’s say that a state wants to purchase a subscription to LP News for it’s members. Will the folks at LPHQ check for duplicates (a highly likely scenario) and refund the money to the state party? Are Life Members still going to receive LP News? Lots of questions. Too bad the LNC has never created a policy on this issue.