January 31, 2011
Dear Friend of Liberty,
I hope you saw our video response to the State of the Union and Republicans last week. We got some feedback on that video, and it was overwhelmingly positive — positive that we need a teleprompter.
I’m serious — we actually do need a teleprompter. We discovered that it’s really difficult to give video presentations without one.
I know President Obama gets made fun of a lot for his teleprompter. But there’s a reason people use them — if you don’t, you look strange on TV. If you don’t believe me, watch the video.
In addition to the feedback on Facebook and the emailed responses we received, I got this response from our Chair, Mark Hinkle: "What does a teleprompter cost? We should get one for the future comments by you or anyone making a video statement from the LP HQ."
Our new staff videographer, Nigel Lyons, was quick to reply with a recommendation: "I used this exact one at my last job. Set it up myself and used for shoots all the time. It’s cheap but a quality teleprompter."
I agree it would be good to have a teleprompter, and it would improve our video presentations. The one listed above costs $789. Unfortunately, we’re already behind on fundraising for 2011. If you want to help us raise the $789 to pay for a teleprompter, please donate today and write "teleprompter" in the comment box. (We’re not going to set up a separate teleprompter fund, but I would like to know how much our donors are interested in this particular item.)
We do our best to raise as much money as we can, and to prioritize and spend our donors’ money effectively. Last December, we put out a call for donations to help hire video staff.
I am pleased that we reached an agreement to hire Nigel Lyons, and he is now on staff. He even brought thousands of dollars worth of video equipment with him.
The day before the State of the Union address, I challenged Nigel Lyons and the rest of our staff to see if we could write and tape a video response to the State of the Union and get it posted right after the address. We worked hard and late preparing our response, including the video, and we got it posted on our website and out to the press by 11:18 PM the same night. Last year, it took until the following day for us to issue a press release, and there was no video.
We have a staff of eight who work for the LP national headquarters, and each of us wears many hats. President Obama and the Republicans have far, far more resources than we do.
We work hard to provide quality, and to improve our message delivery, our websites, our publications, our customer service, and the tools we provide to our activists.
And while Republicans and Democrats often use such evasive language that they can’t be pinned down on any issue, I think it’s important for Libertarians to clearly and unambiguously support the Libertarian positions of minimum government and maximum freedom, across the board.
Anything we can do to improve our professionalism and marketing efforts, and to get our message noticed, is a good thing.
Please help support our video production quality by helping to fund the $789 for a teleprompter. Please contribute today and write "teleprompter" in the comment box.
Sincerely,
Wes Benedict
Executive Director
Libertarian National Committee
P.S. If you have not already done so, please join the Libertarian Party. We are the only political party dedicated to free markets, civil liberties, and peace. You can also renew your membership. Or, you can make a contribution separate from membership.
