If DU Edwards supporters donate $10,000 by Friday 11:59pm, I will....

Starting yesterday (Tuesday/New Hampshire Primary) at 12:00 AM, if DU Edwards supporters or anyone else donate $10,000 by Friday 11:59pm to the Edwards campaign, I will rescind my earlier commitment to support Obama in the Feb. 5th Minnesota caucuses if Edwards is under 15%. Leave a comment with your donation amount (and some kind of verification if his site offers some sort of code that does NOT give away your personal information).

Remember, John Edwards doesn't like a liar! So please make sure your honor is credible.

If $10,000 isn't raised by the set time, I will caucus for Obama if Edwards is consistently under 14% in the states between now and then and Obama is in dire need of help knocking off Hillary. And I will instruct the handful of people in the local party I have influence over to do the same.

<A HREF="http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=4000132&mesg_id=4000132">Reference</A>

Your vote is a valuable thing, but I dunno if anyone is gonna pay ten grand for it, there, pal.

Learn to read.

Your "exhortation" is frankly, lame.

Several DUers expressed dismay that I was considering voting for Obama if Edwards wasn't doing well. So, naturally and reasonably, I put up a challenge for them to make me reconsider: Put your money where your mouth is to support *our* guy. :)

not bein' bought...

Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:44:07 -0500
From: info@johnedwards.com
Subject: Thank you for your contribution

Dear friend,

Thank you so much for your support.

I never accept any money from lobbyists or PACs, so our victory depends on people like you pitching in. And that's the way it should be.

Your contribution will enable us to reach out to voters in living rooms, town halls, and on the airwaves. You're helping us build support for transformational change in early primary states and across the country.

Everywhere I travel, Americans are ready to join you and me in the great work ahead. To bring our message of real change to voters, we need offices in cities, organizers on the ground, and outreach materials to send in the mail.

Yes, the work of a national campaign comes at a cost, but truly changing America offers a far greater reward.

Thank you again for making all of this possible.

Sincerely,
John Edwards

of your goal

I am new around here. Do 100% of the donations go to the Edwards campaign, or does DU take a cut?

:wtf: are you talking about?

Please provide a source for that claim.

Minnesota Statutes 211B.13

BRIBERY, TREATING, AND SOLICITATION.
Subdivision 1. Bribery, advancing money, and treating prohibited. A person who
willfully, directly or indirectly, advances, pays, gives, promises, or lends any money, food, liquor,
clothing, entertainment, or other thing of monetary value, or who offers, promises, or endeavors
to obtain any money, position, appointment, employment, or other valuable consideration, to or
for a person, in order to induce a voter to refrain from voting, or to vote in a particular way, at
an election, is guilty of a felony. This section does not prevent a candidate from stating publicly
preference for or support of another candidate to be voted for at the same primary or election.
Refreshments of food or nonalcoholic beverages having a value up to $5 consumed on the
premises at a private gathering or public meeting are not prohibited under this section.
Subd. 2. Certain solicitations prohibited. A person may not knowingly solicit, receive, or
accept any money, property, or other thing of monetary value, or a promise or pledge of these that
is a disbursement prohibited by this section or section 211B.15.

1)I'm not receiving money/compensation
2)I'm not pledging money
3)I'm not soliciting the vote from others for compensation

I'm saying: If DU Edwards supporters prove their devotion by donating $10,000 in the above-stated period, I will stick with my allegiance to John Edwards in the Feb. 5th caucuses. That's beside the fact that I'm maintaining my original vote, rather than changing it.

So I'm addressing my own vote based on fundraising outcome which I have a constitutional right to do.

The statute says:

A person who willfully, directly or indirectly, advances, pays, gives, promises, or lends any money, food, liquor, clothing, entertainment, or other thing of monetary value, or who offers, promises, or endeavors to obtain any money, position, appointment, employment, or other valuable consideration, to or for a person, in order to induce a voter to refrain from voting, or to vote in a particular way, at an election, is guilty of a felony.

In other words, it says it's a felony if you promise to vote or not vote a certain way in exchange for money TO a person (not just for yourself). If you want to chance it, fine; but a felony is serious shit. I'd get an opinion from a lawyer who knows election law, if I were you. I wouldn't touch this.

...which I can do with as I please, so long as I'm not receiving compensation for my vote (selling it). All this issue is about is deciding for myself who I will support on Feb. 5th based on a fundraising success or lack thereof which tens of thousands do and have a right to do. The current law cannot be construed to prohibit a citizen from basing his/her vote on factors such as fundraising, nor would such a law be constitutional. Cheers, continue to argue with yourself if you wish, but it's a null issue.

The challenge isn't to get one person to donate $10,000. It's to get many people to contribute a total of $10,000. Get a clue.

Am I missing something?

You're saying (in essence) that if people donate enough money, you'll change your vote.

If Hillary has a million dollar fundraiser, rest assured some votes will change. If Obama does the same, the result is the same. If Obama gets a key endorsement (Kerry) which brings both credibility and money, that also can get voters to change their vote. It's called democracy. One has a right to change their vote for any reason or arbitrarily so long as they are not selling it (receiving money directly or indirectly) which I am not. So, as stated in another comment, I'm not going to address any more fanatical comments here, so if you or others wish to continue arguing with yourself, please do. Meanwhile, you'll have the effect of keeping this thread kicked and donations headed to Edwards.

Cheers.