Check out the "Which State" debate and how many people argued that an Eastern state (especially a New England state) would never pull 20,000 movers. All of those things have come to pass. Here are more that weren't anticipated (or were mentioned by just a few):
-wish washy people. A lot of the more recent prospective movers have been generating excuses faster than we can respond to them.
-Some of us are trying to sell/recruit, while others are saying who needs them.
-jobs. Out west, jobs go to the most qualified. In New England, jobs go to friends of friends, family, etc.
-cold. Most prospective movers don't know about (or don't believe) the weather here on the seacoast. It's really not bad. We only have about 2-3 months on the coast that are worse than jacket weather.
-family. Split custody, sick parents, girlfriends/spouses, etc. These are all valid reasons, and some people can't leave family behind.
-medical. Extreme cold, access to specialists, and other issues keep people bound to one area.
-age. For various reasons, we have very few older movers. By far, most of the new movers have been couples, families, and individuals between 20-45, most at the age where they're looking to settle down somewhere permanently.
-moving back out. Many porcs have moved here only to leave. Some leave for just a few months, while others intend to leave for good. Some have become disgruntled about the movement, while others just lose interest.
-do-nothings. Or folks who do very little. Many of the folks who move here never lift a finger to do any recruiting. It's one of the most unusual things to see, in my opinion.
-introversion. Most libertarians are intellectual and/or introverted. They are either not too comfortable talking to strangers or they speak so many levels beyond John Q. Public that they never quite click with people.
-internal fighting and arguing. This one was predicted from the get go, but not on the scale that we've seen. Literally every effort I've seen by new folks to identify and solve problems has been met with angry flame wars and personal attacks. Many problems persist within the effort that cannot be solved because they are never even accepted by members.
-members are not members. Only the FSP Board has any say in the organization. Movers are not considered "members," and have no vote or say in anything that FSP Corp. does. This is not a member owned organization.
-substance abuse. Drinking (and other drugs) have been a major issue, in my opinion. Some folks have taken this to excess, and it inhibits their drive to do anything but hold the occasional sign or attend the occasional event. I am drinking a Blue Moon while writing this, so whatever, eh.
Basically, we don't have a winning, cohesive, united organization. Numerous attempts have been made to get lots of people behind a strategy, but you usually here something like, "You don't have a right to be dictator!" or "Everyone can just do what they want to." There are lots of strategies that would be successful (recruiting, free town projects, State House stuff) that have failed because the fsp is like ten year olds playing soccer. Lots of kids are running after the ball, but there's no cohesive strategy. The Board doesn't really consult the membership like winning teams do, and most folks in the movement don't believe in majority rule, anyway.
In other words, there's no pledge on pledgebank saying, "I'll agree to commit X hours a week to winning strategy Y, but only if 99 other people agree to do the same." If you suggest something like that, instead of getting input or discussion, you get something like, "Okay, FSP Mover XXX, why don't YOU do it."
That's why the counter is still in three digits.
