42,000 individual donors. 'Nuf said.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Vernon Robinson
17 July 2006 vrobinson@triad.rr.com (336) 499-4370

Challenger Vernon Robinson (R) shatters fundraising records and trounces incumbent Brad Miller (D), for the second FEC reporting period in a row, in the race to represent North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District!

NORTH CAROLINA – According to second quarter disclosure reports just filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) -- for the second consecutive reporting period -- fundraising has skyrocketed for challenger Vernon Robinson and stagnated for incumbent Brad Miller. Indeed, the fundraising race during the April 13-June 30 reporting period was not even close.

Robinson, a nationally-prominent conservative who enjoys phenomenal popularity, raised nearly $200,000 more ($561,087 versus $362,427) than Miller, a sophomore Congressman with an ultra-liberal voting record (e.g., a 0% approval rating by the American Conservative Union and a 100% approval rating by the Liberal Americans for Democratic Action).

Through the second quarter, Robinson has now received more donations from more people (42,000 American citizens since 2003!) than any other House candidate in the history of the United States. Not surprisingly, one pundit now calls Robinson the “all-time grassroots fundraising champion.”

n During the second quarter, “a grassroots army of more than 11,000 skinny cats” made a contribution to Robinson; by contrast more than 61% of Miller’s money ($221,400 out of $362,427) was contributed by “a rogue’s gallery of 216 fat-cats” (i.e., $49,250 from 105 lawyers and 4 lobbyists plus $172,150 from 107 special interest PACs) that exemplifies the “pay to play culture of corruption in Washington.”

n During the second quarter, Robinson raised more than twice as much money ($370,000) in unitemized contributions (i.e., less than $200) as any other House candidate in the nation; Robinson received only two PAC donations -- $1,000 each from Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC6) and former Rep. Bob Barr [note: the $1,000 contribution from Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC5) is a personal donation].

Robinson said, “I am humbled by the realization that voters have responded our positive message for a strong America. My values reflect those of the average voter in the 13th District of North Carolina while my opponent, Brad Miller, represents the extremist “values” of San Francisco. Miller’s report shows that he is trolling for special interest fat cats, trial lawyers and lobbyists who are destroying this country. By contrast, my report demonstrates that I represent the thousands of skinny cats whose donations averaged $35 like the unemployed stock clerk who sent a $15 contribution. Brad Miller is out touch, and soon he will be out of Congress.”

Robinson has more North Carolina donors (4900+) than Miller (or North Carolina’s other 12 members of Congress for that matter) and Robinson obviously has more donors than Miller in each of the other 49 states. Indeed, Robinson has more individual donors (nearly 900) in the seven counties out of which the 13th District is carved than Miller has in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties.

The only place where Miller has more donors than Robinson is the lobbyist enclave on and around K Street in Washington, DC. As for Miller’s North Carolina donors, in a recent email to his supporters Brad Miller described his typical non-PAC donor as an “arts-loving, environmentalist lawyer.”

To put the numerical disparity between the candidates’ supporters in perspective, consider that Miller’s donors are too few in number to fill the bleachers at a typical elementary school gymnasium. By contrast, only HALF of Robinson’s donors would fill up every single seat at the Dean Dome to 100% capacity. Indeed, Carter Finley Stadium is the only local venue that can accommodate a seated assembly of all of Robinson’s 42,000 donors.

Robinson has been able to attract unprecedented financial support from rank and file voters in the 13th District (many of whom have never made a contribution to a candidate before) with a straight-talking positive message that contrasts his mainstream, common sense positions on the issues with Miller’s radical, out-of-touch voting record.

Not surprisingly, national media attention has been showered on Robinson’s Twilight Zone television ad and Mariachi radio ad (which features Miller’s votes for gay marriage, flag burning, open borders, and amnesty for illegal aliens, and Miller’s sponsorship of the Foreign Homosexual Importation Act – a bill that would grant marriage visas to the foreign homosexual lovers of homosexual Americans). Robinson’s campaign ads have been covered by the Fox News Channel, MSNBC, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and dozens of radio talk shows including Rush Limbaugh.

Robinson is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy who majored in Middle East Affairs and served as a Missile Combat Crew Commander and Intelligence Officer for 13 years. After working as a college business professor for 10 years, Robinson served on the Winston-Salem City Council for 8 years. Robinson has been called “the next black GOP Congressman” by the Wall Street Journal and “a rising star” and “the new face of the Republican Party” by the Fox News Channel. Rush Limbaugh told his audience that every Republican candidate for the House or Senate should “talk like” Robinson if he or she wants to win this November.

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