One reason that elections in the United States have become so expensive is that the duration of the campaigns is growing from cycle to cycle.

I believe that partially due to easy access to information on potential candidates even before they decide to run for office. Where before the duration of the campaign would be dictated by the deadline of official filing dates and the content of national newspapers such as the New York Times.

I’ll take the Liberty movement as a case study in this phenomenon of the extended campaign. Because this phenomenon is not exclusive to Presidential cycles but even now to midterm Congressional elections.

The importance of the upcoming money bombs (and general fund raising in the coming weeks) for potential Senatorial candidates Peter Schiff and Rand Paul already weigh heavily on the races that will not take place for over a year.

While the long campaign forces the candidates to raise more money, even in local Congressional races, it gives candidates who have national appeal (both Paul and Schiff do) more time to get the word out and raise money nationwide. These candidates’ primary opponents will be raising their money almost exclusively in state and thru the RNC and affiliated PACs.

This nationwide fundraising potential allows grassroots candidates that are outside of the mainline of the GOP establishment a chance to be competitive in the fundraising realm, strictly because their message resonates so deeply with their supporters.

And I believe that with the right candidates, the nation is growing closer to seeing the dominos fall for the Liberty movement in Congressional GOP races.

Rand Paul has raised $138,000 plus as of this writing and it is not yet clear how much Schiff has raised. Schiff who has only said that after one day of his exploratory site being online he had received contributions from 1500 donors.

Trevor Lyman, the mastermind behind the first Ron Paul money bomb back in November of 2007 has organized the money bomb for Rand Paul to take place on August 20th. The goal of the money bomb is for 10,000 supporters to donate $100 for a grand total of $1,000,000. The website for the money bomb is RunRandRun.com

The same goal is set for Schiff’s money bomb, which is set to take place on August 7th. In the week leading up to the money bomb Revolutionbroadcasting.com will hold a “Jerry Lewis style telethon” in the lead up to the actual day of the money bomb on the 7th. The Schiffathon.com website already is showing that 6130 people have pledged to donate.
It is important to point out that neither of these money bombs or their sites are organized by the candidates themselves, they are both strictly grassroots efforts, which makes the potential accomplishments that much more astounding.

These money bombs have the potential to get these grassroots driven candidates on even footing in the fund raising department with the GOP establishment candidates even before they officially announce their candidacy.

There is however an inherent risk in these money bombs. If they fail, they become easy targets for opponents and could discourage future contributors that have yet to hear the message. So there will be a lot on the line for both candidates on their respective day.

It will be an exciting time in the weeks and months to come.