Chapter Ten $1,000,000 by 2000
In early 1997, Harry Browne had identified two specific requirements for launching a good campaign: National Party membership needed to increase from 27,000 to 200,000. By January 2000, the Browne campaign needed to have a million dollars cash on hand for a significant advertising campaign.
At the end of 1999, Party membership was only 33,000. After mid-1999, membership stopped increasing. The Campaign’s membership requirement—200,000 by 2000—was not attained.
What happened to the second objective? What about the $1,000,000 target for the campaign launch? A short table based on Browne’s FEC reports tells the sad truth.
| Results for Year |
Cash on Hand Start of Year |
Income for the Year |
Spending for the Year | Cash on Hand Last Day of Year |
| 1997 | $0 | $83,367 | $64,290 | $19,076 |
| 1998 | $19,076 | $270,090 | $263,298 | $25,868 |
| 1999 | $25,868 | $561,030 | $542,228 | $44,670 |
At the start of 2000, the campaign had only $44,670 on hand, nothing near the $1,000,000 Browne had wanted. Money had been raised. It was spent almost as quickly. (Analysis of FEC reports is based in part on published work of Ken Sturzenacker.)
In 1997-1999 the Browne campaign had raised more than $900,000. Where did the money go? In short, they spent it.
During 1997-1999, the number of paid campaign staff and outside experts rose from three to nine. Staff salaries and expenses came to more than $433,000. More than 20% of all spending went to a single address: Perry Willis got $104,175, Willis’s Optopia firm got $29,788, and Willis’s cohabitant Stephanie Yanik got $41,000. Willis relatives received an additional $20,683. Browne Campaign web site provider Web Commanders and reported co-owner Jack Dean received $87,754, more than 10% of every dollar spent. Libertarian motivator and professional fundraiser Michael Cloud received $32,946 for travel and commissions.
Beyond these salaries, more than $75,000 (not quite 9% of spending), went to people associated with the back office. Another $101,500 went to Polaris productions, which in 1999 was producing a half-hour infomercial ‘The Great Libertarian Offer’. Most of the remaining money went for mailing services, printing and duplicating, and travel and event costs associated with Hotel based fundraising events.
There was also spending with ‘advertising’ as the identified purpose. This spending involved consulting, not the purchase of air time. This spending came to $1000, far less than I spent in my 1998 Congressional campaign. Of course, I also got four times Browne’s vote percentage in a near-two-million-dollar (as spent by my opponents) three-way race. And, unlike Brown, I had an hour debate on national television— CSPAN 2, coast-to-coast, 7PM EST, the Thursday before the election.
After all his money flew out the door, in January 2000 Harry Browne had less than $45,000 with which to launch his campaign. Let’s look at a timeline leading up to 2000. The financial information you are about to see became available in May 2000, well before the National Convention.
1997
In 1997, the Browne campaign raised $83,367 and spent $64,290. In a way, 1997 was the high water mark for the campaign’s effectiveness at accumulating funds. In 1997, more than 20% of the money raised by the campaign was set aside towards Browne’s goal. After 1997, less and less of each dollar raised by the campaign went into its cash reserve. At the end of 1997, more than 60% of the campaign’s spending had gone to staff costs, namely:
WHO AMOUNT PERCENT AND WHY
Jack Dean Consulting $37,600 (58%, phone and campaign services)
Stuart Reges $8,901 (14%, phone, supplies, and payroll)
Shannon Davis $5,178 ( 8%, data entry and printing)
Total: $51,679
Mailing and other expenses accounted for the rest:
WHO AMOUNT PERCENT
Diversified Mailing $5,520 ( 9%)
Harry Browne $2,197 ( 3%, travel, supplies, and phone)
Travel and Hotel $2,070 ( 3%)
There are modest expenses for producing and mailing, but no charges for list rental. Of course, Browne could have begun his campaign by mailing to his established donors.
1998
Writing on January 26, 1998, the Browne Campaign’s “A Personal Message from Harry Browne about the 2000 Presidential Campaign” laid out tactics for the next two years. His remarks included:
“When the mercury reaches the top (of my $1,500,000 campaign momentum thermometer) and when LP membership reaches at least 100,000, we’ll be in a position to run a first-rate campaign.
Will I announce then? No, we’ll do it when the timing is best, and when we have all the elements in place—when we have the people, the equipment, the test procedures, the literature, the media kits, the audio and video tapes, and the commercials.
We’ll do it when we’ve booked and paid for commercials in advance, so they can begin running on the very day….
I announce I’m running for President of the United States.
In order for this to happen, we must do the following things during the next two years….
Hold 100 fund-raising receptions around the country to move the mercury in our Momentum Thermometer higher and higher.
Produce a political book that will inspire libertarian activists everywhere to join our cause.
Spend very little money. Instead, we must stockpile money.”
The ‘campaign thermometer’ was a graphical gimmick seen on some Browne fundraising letters. It was a line sketch of a thermometer, graduated in dollars, the bright red ‘mercury’ creeping up the outline as Browne raised more money. To the author’s knowledge, the meaning of the mercury level was never specified. However, Browne said he wanted $1,000,000 in cash reserves and 100,000 or more Party members for the campaign. When Browne wrote of the thermometer, he said “…When the mercury reaches the top…and when LP membership reaches at last 100,000…”
A reasonable reader might well have inferred from the parallelism in Browne’s words that the mercury level symbolized the campaign cash reserve, the money set aside to launch the campaign.
A reasonable reader would have been wrong.
Good points. NOW I understand your concern. Like Heinlein said, “Every new member made it that much more likely that you would be betrayed. Wyoming, dear lady, revolutions are not won by enlisting the masses. Revolution is a science only a few are competent to practice. It depends on correct organization and, above all, on communications.” — Prof Bernardo de la Paz. We need Platform, voters, not drones.