We are the founders of a Reddit-based PAC trying to unseat SOPA co-sponsor Lamar Smith, and this is our first TV ad. AusA

I love the commercial, but doesn't censoring the name on the billboard defeat the purpose of getting him elected? I'm assuming that's the candidate that is supported. Also, I do get the joke.

First, this is a digital billboard, so we can change it at any time. We are currently gathering ideas for improvements in /r/testpac.

There are two candidates running against Smith... Richard M(organ) and Richard M(ack)...

You need to throw your support behind one or the other.... Supporting both helps Smith by fragmenting the anti-Smith vote.

The goal is to force a runoff.

How would forcing a runoff benefit you better than beating Smith in the original primary, or is that not the goal in the first place?

The thing is, that there are two alternative candidates in this race, and we can't change that. So, the "anti-Smith" vote is going to be somewhat split regardless. With that in mind, it makes more sense to lift both candidates as alternatives to Smith, to try to get them over the 50% hump combined.

You guys really need to study political science, this strategy does not work. People have a strong personal bias towards the front runner - especially when he's up by a lot. By splitting it, you are just insuring that Smith will be up by a lot going into the run-off, which will make low information voters support him.

Also, you have to realize people political maps aren't equal to you. Most people, despite your efforts, won't give a shit about SOPA and all that. My parents can barely use email, they don't care about internet freedom. Because of this, some of the people who originally supported one of Smith's opponents, may very well support Smith in a run-off if their candidate is knocked out.

Also, your billboard is really ineffectual. Name Recognition is super important, probably one of the most important things, to get candidate support. By not making your guys name the center of the billboard, makes it a complete waste (or even makes things WORSE because it increases the name recognition of your opponent)

Listen I want to donate money, but this has to get more professionalized. I'm not going to burn money on witty, but completely ineffective, billboards

TL;DR: Pick ONE an alternative candidate. Get a better billboard. Find a political consultant. There's tons of marketing/psychology research on this.

P.S. I'd get rid of the reddit symbol. If this takes off, it'll take Smith about 5 minutes to tie Reddit to jailbat and misogyny subreddits. "Smith opponents are supported by pedophile"

Great feedback. Thank you for this. In regards to the billboard, what would you suggest? One of the provisions is that the billboard can't be overtly negative of factually ambiguous. If you could give us some ideas over at /r/testpac that would be awesome.

Oh shit, is that billboard off I-10 by the 410 exchange?

Yup!

How frustrating was it for you guys when you received the less-than-stellar community reaction to the billboard? (I personally thought it was okay, btw)

It was a little frustrating, but like I said in another post, there will always be detractors, and sometimes you can learn from them. They are also usually the loudest. That thread got over 1500 upvotes and was on the front page of Reddit before the /r/politics mods took it down (that's another story...). So, needless to say, alot more people liked it than disliked it.

I'm curious as to why the /r/politics mods took it down.

Can you explain why?

They claim it was removed because it was a just picture and wasn't substantive. Quite frankly I thought it was BS. They removed it only after 9 hours and it hit the front page.

***I a word

I think it was removed because they are asking for donations.

Nah we weren't asking for donations.

Hows does the PAC work on an operational level? And what are the goals that testPAC hopes to achieve?

Great questions.

1. Aside from me, jeromie, and andy, the PAC has other officers for communications, graphic design, and media production. We have conference calls 2-3 times per week. We also have an IRC chat session weekly or bi-weekly (IRC channel & info is in /r/testpac sidebar

2. TestPAC will be whatever the internet wants it to be. Our goal is to be the voice of the internet in American Politics, more or less.

How many of the officers are women?

We've had two women involved with the PAC. Originally, our PR officer was female, but she got a new job and had to step down a few weeks ago. Currently, we have one female who helps with communications / social media. We'd love to have more women involved too!

Out of how many people total?

Also, how many are white?

There are 5-7 of us usually on conference calls. One hispanic, the rest white... I think... honestly most of us have never met so there are a couple people that I'm unsure of their race.

What are your plans following the primaries? They're over in what, June? Do you dissolve or start fundraising for the next election?

Great question. So, TestPAC was not formed for the sole purpose of ousting Smith. Our goal is to be the voice of the internet in American politics. Ousting Smith was merely the first objective voted on by our members. After the primary (or run off), we'll have a vote on what to do next.

What has been the most eye-opening part of the political process that you've uncovered through doing this? Anything we should know that we might not already...

Two things jump out:

1. It takes alot of time to do this right. If you're going to start a PAC, make sure you have enough time on your hands for the planning, organization, fundraising, promoting, and paperwork.

2. No matter what you do in politics, there will always be detractors. Sometimes, they have legitimate criticisms which you can learn from, so it's important to react in a balanced manner. Don't overreact, but don't disregard their criticisms just because they're negative.

I've always wondered.. How much do billboards cost?

Well, this one was $4,500 for 4 weeks, and it's a rotating digital billboard. The ad will get 410,000k impressions per week. It's at one of the busiests intersections in San Antonio.

I'm sure prices vary quite a bit based on a number of factors though.

Billboards are an incredibly ineffective communication tool.

They're great at generating publicity locally and online... and we've already begun to benefit from that.

TV is even better.

That's coming next!

Why did you feel a PAC was the way to go? Did you consider other avenues? And why did you pick Lamar smith first, didn't others write the bill too?

Great questions.

1. A PAC was the way to go because if you spend over $1,000 in an election, you have to register as a PAC. There is also alot of transparency in PACs, as everything must be reported tot he FEC. We thought that this was especially important since this is an online organization.

2. The only other avenue possible would be a 501c4, which is regulated by the IRS and, in my opinion, 501c4's getting involved in elections is part of the problem in this country.

3. The choice of Lamar Smith was actually voted on by TestPAC members (virtually anyone with a Reddit account can become a member by visiting [www.testpac.org](www.testpac.org)). Our major decisions are voted on by members.

Your url needs an http.

This is an actual picture of Scott (masstermind) whenever he tries to tweak the website or do something technical.

You couldn't find a picture of my dog doing that?

fixed... I think.

canadian here:

what happens if you guys raise a bunch of money, air the ads and get attention? let's say you get donations from 1000000 unique users. what happens when only 3000 were americans and the rest were canadians sending money to help support your cause, but are not eligible to vote in any election? i haven't gone over any of your material or information yet, and will shortly.

Well, unfortunately, PACs can only accept donations from American Citizens.

Did any of you actually read the draft SOPA text in its entirety? Just curious.

I have... but that's a complicated questions because the there have been many drafts of SOPA.

Just a quick note: You'll get more sympathizers if you say he tried to censor "free expression" or something like that instead of "the internet." A lot of people know just as much shit about the internet as they give about it, so you're best bet would be to use a broader term.

EDIT: Trollface... you sneaky motherfuckers.

I like that term, free expression...

This is a really interesting idea and regardless of complaints as to your specific methods or design layouts, the fact that you are spending your time to make substantive change is a praiseworthy feat. If only a quarter of the population was as ambitious, the country would be a different place.

Thanks I really appreciate that comment.

Whats the plan regarding building towards the primary?

Right now the #1 goal is to get this ad on TV as much as possible. We also have plans for a ground campaign, direct mailing targeted to GOP primary voters, and a 2nd TV ad. How much we can accomplish depends significantly on fundraising though.

That sounds like a great lineup.

I do have a followup question though - what would the ground campaign entail? I gather it would be difficult to organize as I assume most of the TestPAC members aren't from central Texas.

Andy (ajpos) can speak to this better than I can... definitely his brainchild.

Out of curiousity... what were the rates for the billboard? Did they sell that space on a weekly basis or monthly? Or some other timetable?

$4,500 per 4 weeks... 410k impressions per week.

Hey I'm a San Antonio native graduating this May. I'll be moving back to SA for a while after graduation. How can I help and get involved?

Hey man - please PM me your email address!

How do you regulate voting? What would you do if a bunch of trolls started skewing your votes to do ridiculous things?

In our bylaws, we have some minimal requirements of karma/time being a redditor, in order to register... but this hasn't been a problem yet.

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Check this out here: http://fec.gov/ans/answers_pac.shtml

Who did you hire to produce/create that ad?

Eddie Belaval, our Media Production Coordinator, did most of it. He did it free.

What if Redditors vote to persue an issue that is contradicts your fundamental political ideology? Are you prepared to go against your personal opinions and advocate the will of the community? To be extreme, if Reddit overwhelmingly voted that they wanted you to support Rick Santorum, would you honor that?

This is a great question. First, I really don't see this situation arising. But, let's say it does...

Like all things in life, there are shades of grey. Would I support Santorum, or something else I am strongly opposed to? No... I'd say that this community has become something that I can't support, and I'd step down. But, if it was an issue that I was indifferent to or had mixed feelings about, I'd probably be okay with it.

This all being said, I think Reddit is a smart, educated community that generally will make the right call on issues.

So you basically want to be "the voice of the internet" so long as it aligns with your opinions?

Great start guys.

That's... not what I said at all.

I'm going to overseas during that time frame. How do I vote? Yes, I register to vote.

Get an absentee ballot!

I feel really ambivalent about this. Despite the fact that Lamar Smith might well deserve an unseating, I dislike PACs and how they empower people with money (and friends with money) in elections. When I see a mud slinging/ anti-gay/ anti-evolution/ whatever nasty thing PAC doing its work, I can hardly think "yay for democracy". I guess it's a dirty game, but I'm not keen to be a dirty player.

Don't lump all PACs together. There is a big difference betweena PAC like ours and a "Super PAC".

What are your rules for donations? Do you guys go by the rules set forth before citizens united? I hope their is donation limits.

The donation limit for a non-connected PAC like ours is $5,000 per person. However, we self-imposed a $999 limit, as we don't think anyone should be allowed to donate $1,000 or more.

i live in san antonio and i personally know lamar smith. thought he was a good congressmen until SOPA. Normally he would not do something the people are so strongly against but this is all obviously lobbyist backed, and now im fine if he is out of office.

Would you be willing to help in a ground campaign against him (ie going door to door)? If so, please PM me your email address!