Friday, April 03, 2009

Matt Collins Part III

For the DCRP Chairman candidate Matt Collins, fundraising begins at home.

"Two billing cycles ago I went over on my cell phone bill because I spend a great deal away from my home/office. Almost all of the calls in coordinating the local members, meeting with local officials and GOP members, making calls for votes, all of the planning, etc was done on my cell phone. Because I'm always on the go I was not able to do the majority of this work from home. In fact the first bill was $210. Normally it's $89. When I realized that I immediately changed my plan to "unlimited". However the creeps at Sprint have a clause in their service that says that any plan changes won't take place until after the current billing cycle. So last billing cycle was $344.

If I take the overage on the first billing cycle and the overage on the second billing cycle I have gone $376 total over my normal phone budget and because I've spent so much time on this race and not as much time working, it is breaking me. My income from other streams are down, my pay has been cut at my usual gig, etc. I'm dedicated to the cause of liberty which is why I am pursuing the chairman of the Nashville Republican Party but I am by no means wealthy and my income is indeed suffering due to my dedication to bringing limited-government conservatism back to the country. If you support what I am doing and have some spare cash I humbly ask that you consider donating to my campaign specifically to help me survive my cell phone expenses which are a direct result of fighting for liberty." (http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=15018)


I feel for yah dude, but if you didn't anticipate this...what might happen with the DCRP budget?

9 comments:

Lesstressrx said...

Do we have like requests from the other candidate or anyone else in leadership for the past two years?

Ed Zeagler

Matt Collins said...

I did indeed anticipate this but several things beyond my control and out of anyone's foresight happened virtually all at once.

1- I was moved to daytime at my job meaning I have to use my cell.
2- The race was supposed to be 2 weeks long. It has become 2 months long due to a long complicated story.
3- I have had to go out of town for work several times and of course coordinating required my cell phone.


Hopefully that clears it up a bit. But I am not going into debt, and any funds donated are voluntary. Unlike the government I'm not going to print the money or steal it from anyone. I can shoulder the burden but I am asking fellow limited-government conservatives who support what I am doing to help out. Is there a problem with that?


So Kay when was the last time you ran for office? When was the last time you were working for the cause of conservatism? I would like to know.



You are shilling for my opponent and lying about it; that makes you a liar.

These are the types of tactics that are part of the problem with the Republican Party; acting like Democrats. Using underhanded tactics such as this is exactly what the Party needs to get away from.


SHAME on you for purporting to be neutral when you definitely were not. The Party would be better off without you and people who use your methodologies.

Anonymous said...
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Buckley said...

Oh my. Matt, not only have you not done your homework, you've lost your cool. You don't grow a party or cause by calling folks liars and telling them they are part of the problem.

So what if she's got an agenda? She's vetting you. If you can't take the heat of a vetting process without calling people names and "shaming" them, you are not prepared for leadership.

ajiwac said...

Matt, I have met Kay personally. I assure you she is not the type to be a shill for anyone. You may consider trying to be gracious irregardless of you opinion of the person you are speaking to. Perhaps this is a good exercise for you to learn how to be gracious even to your opponents. This is a necessary skill when going into politics. Instead of personal attacks, you need to take the questions she is asking you and really work to trying to solidify your answers. Personal attacks do not do anything but expose your weaknesses.

Kay Brooks said...

I went to Matt Collins this morning after the election. I explained that my posts were not personal, that Kathleen Starnes had nothing to do with my posts, that I had actually campaigned for an office and that when someone asked Friday afternoon if Collins could call me I responded that it wouldn't change my mind at all and would be a waste of effort.

Collins accepted my handshake before and after our talk and I'm hopeful that our working relationship in the Republican Party will be good for Davidson County.

Matt Collins said...

Mrs. Brooks,

It was your mistake to decide against me without at least holding a conversation with me. This was offered as you mentioned several times by both myself and by a mutual friend.


Your actions of innuendo, smear, attack, and FUD against me were damaging to the Party and unnecessary. If you had asked me about the issues of which you raised I would've been more than happy to explain. I still maintain that you were working for my opposition, and being used by her camp as a tool or proxy, even if not consciously or knowingly.



But since you took the time and effort and have come to me in person I will take the next step forward in an effort to put this behind us. Because as I mentioned you and I probably agree on more than we disagree and we should work together to get limited-government conservatives elected into office so that we can fix the Party with the ultimate goal of fixing the country.

If you would like to delete all posts and comments in this blog regarding this subject I would be willing to support you in that. I see no reason why this correspondence needs to stand as it would only serve as a distraction from this point forward.

-Matt Collins
Vice Chair - Davidson County Republican Party
Vice Chair - Republican Liberty Caucus
Davidson County Coordinator - Campaign for Liberty

Kay Brooks said...

Matt Collins wrote: "If you would like to delete all posts and comments in this blog regarding this subject I would be willing to support you in that. I see no reason why this correspondence needs to stand as it would only serve as a distraction from this point forward."

You said this same thing Saturday morning when we spoke. I told you then, and repeat now, that every poster has the ability to delete their comments. You are welcome to do so at any time.

Matt Collins wrote: "It was your mistake to decide against me without at least holding a conversation with me. This was offered as you mentioned several times by both myself and by a mutual friend."

I don't know how you define 'several times'. I do know that you made an offer communicate here on this blog and then once late Friday afternoon through your 'intermediary'. Again, it would have been a waste of time. Getting to know you better would not have changed what I considered your lack of qualifications, your divided loyalties and your misuse of the NashvilleGOP.org website.

Instead of trying to edit this blog and blogging for Rand Paul at Campaign for Liberty you might want to put your Chief Information Officer hat on and spend your time updating the NashvilleGOP.org website to include linking to the latest press release about the convention results and updating the leadership page. Folks shouldn't have to go to AC Kleinheider's blog to find that information.

Matt Collins said...

I have not misused the NashvilleGOP.org website at anytime. Don't believe me? Ask the two previous chairmen, including the one who appointed me.

Also, I am no longer the DCRP CIO/Webmaster so it is not my responsibility to update the DCRP website any longer. I have given all of the access information to the current chair with an offer to keep it updated at her request in the interim; so far no response on that matter.


If you would be willing to delete your posts about me, then I would of course be willing to delete mine about you. I think that would be best.