Matt Collins
Member
- Joined
- Jun 9, 2007
- Messages
- 47,707
Do you want to work for Rand Paul in 2016 on his Presidential Campaign (assuming he runs)?
First off, I am writing this post on my own, I am in no way officially connected to Rand's Senatorial office, his PAC, or his Senatorial Campaign at the moment. No one has asked me to author this, it is completely of my own volition; my motivations are explained below.
In 2012 on Ron's Presidential Campaign I was tasked with hiring about two dozen field staff with the only stipulation being that I was not allowed to advertise / broadcast the openings. Unfortunately I fell short because it was very hard to find individuals who were both qualified and known to us. Because of this I want to ensure that liberty activists who are serious about helping Rand do indeed become known so that if the time should come, there will be an army of trained and ready activists standing by to step up to the plate
So my advice here on how to get hired by Rand's 2016 Presidential campaign is coming from someone who has experience and perspective on exactly this. Many people have asked me about "what is the best way to help Rand in 2016?" so I feel obligated to write it down and share it with our community in the hopes of giving Rand the best possible arsenal of talent should he run for the Republican nomination.
If you do not live in an early target state, then the harsh reality is that you need to be willing and able to relocate for at least 6 months to a year. These locations one would likely be moved to would be DC, IA, NH, SC, NV, MN, MI, LA, CO, etc... If Rand's HQ is in KY then KY would be on the list. I am guessing HQ will be similar to Ron's HQ which was located in Springfield, VA just outside the beltway.
If you live in one of the states listed above, then you likely won't have to move out of state if you want to become involved. However you need to be laying the groundwork now. In most of those states a network already exists from 2012 which has groundwork laid out for 2016. If you want to get plugged in to that network and are not already, let me know, and I can connect you. The vast majority of the work prior to the campaign would be gaining influence within your local and state Republican Parties.
The best thing that an individual can do to help a potential run, is to first help themselves. This means getting trained and brought up to speed on how politics works and how to actually win an election (sign waving has nothing to do with it ha ha ha).
Therefore, one should seek to take every class offered by the two following organizations:
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/training/
http://www.facltraining.org/facl2/school-signup.htm
If you are under the age of 40, you will also want to join YAL which offers their own training and a huge talent network:
http://www.yaliberty.org/user/register?destination=user
Once you are trained you will want to try and latch on to a local or state campaign in 2014 for hands-on experience. Offer to be as helpful as possible. It is very difficult to get a paying gig in state / local politics but not impossible. Again, you'll likely be a volunteer but will gain invaluable experience.
If/when Rand launches a 2016 campaign for the Republican nomination most of the early staff will likely be brought on by those who are personally known to those doing the hiring. Remember most campaign work is monotonous tedium and not very glamorous. This means lots of phone banking and data entry. But if you are active in YAL or C4L, and have been trained, then you stand a much better chance of being offered a slot in a potential 2016 run.
A great deal of our staff originated from the ranks of YAL and C4L simply by being trained, active, and known.
Once the campaign begins, if you are not able to be known via YAL or C4L channels, your best bet is to move to a target state and spend your time volunteering in the field offices. A lot of other staffers started out as volunteers in our offices. I know of almost a dozen people who simply volunteered in our offices who went on to hold pretty significant positions within the PCC. Being known to people, being liked, and being trained is what it takes to get where you want to be. The best volunteers usually turn into paid staff.
Hopefully that gives a bit of insight of how the process works. Keep in mind though that because Rand appeals to a broader audience than Ron did, the potential talent pool is much larger. Of course I anticipate the PCC being larger too. Lots of our staffers were kids who had just graduated from college but had not landed themselves a firm job in their career yet. Many of those kids have gone on to hold some big time responsibility in other campaigns and such long after 2012 was complete.
If you have questions, feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to share what I can.
Onward, and upward!
First off, I am writing this post on my own, I am in no way officially connected to Rand's Senatorial office, his PAC, or his Senatorial Campaign at the moment. No one has asked me to author this, it is completely of my own volition; my motivations are explained below.
In 2012 on Ron's Presidential Campaign I was tasked with hiring about two dozen field staff with the only stipulation being that I was not allowed to advertise / broadcast the openings. Unfortunately I fell short because it was very hard to find individuals who were both qualified and known to us. Because of this I want to ensure that liberty activists who are serious about helping Rand do indeed become known so that if the time should come, there will be an army of trained and ready activists standing by to step up to the plate
So my advice here on how to get hired by Rand's 2016 Presidential campaign is coming from someone who has experience and perspective on exactly this. Many people have asked me about "what is the best way to help Rand in 2016?" so I feel obligated to write it down and share it with our community in the hopes of giving Rand the best possible arsenal of talent should he run for the Republican nomination.
If you do not live in an early target state, then the harsh reality is that you need to be willing and able to relocate for at least 6 months to a year. These locations one would likely be moved to would be DC, IA, NH, SC, NV, MN, MI, LA, CO, etc... If Rand's HQ is in KY then KY would be on the list. I am guessing HQ will be similar to Ron's HQ which was located in Springfield, VA just outside the beltway.
If you live in one of the states listed above, then you likely won't have to move out of state if you want to become involved. However you need to be laying the groundwork now. In most of those states a network already exists from 2012 which has groundwork laid out for 2016. If you want to get plugged in to that network and are not already, let me know, and I can connect you. The vast majority of the work prior to the campaign would be gaining influence within your local and state Republican Parties.
The best thing that an individual can do to help a potential run, is to first help themselves. This means getting trained and brought up to speed on how politics works and how to actually win an election (sign waving has nothing to do with it ha ha ha).
Therefore, one should seek to take every class offered by the two following organizations:
http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/training/
http://www.facltraining.org/facl2/school-signup.htm
If you are under the age of 40, you will also want to join YAL which offers their own training and a huge talent network:
http://www.yaliberty.org/user/register?destination=user
Once you are trained you will want to try and latch on to a local or state campaign in 2014 for hands-on experience. Offer to be as helpful as possible. It is very difficult to get a paying gig in state / local politics but not impossible. Again, you'll likely be a volunteer but will gain invaluable experience.
If/when Rand launches a 2016 campaign for the Republican nomination most of the early staff will likely be brought on by those who are personally known to those doing the hiring. Remember most campaign work is monotonous tedium and not very glamorous. This means lots of phone banking and data entry. But if you are active in YAL or C4L, and have been trained, then you stand a much better chance of being offered a slot in a potential 2016 run.
A great deal of our staff originated from the ranks of YAL and C4L simply by being trained, active, and known.
Once the campaign begins, if you are not able to be known via YAL or C4L channels, your best bet is to move to a target state and spend your time volunteering in the field offices. A lot of other staffers started out as volunteers in our offices. I know of almost a dozen people who simply volunteered in our offices who went on to hold pretty significant positions within the PCC. Being known to people, being liked, and being trained is what it takes to get where you want to be. The best volunteers usually turn into paid staff.
Hopefully that gives a bit of insight of how the process works. Keep in mind though that because Rand appeals to a broader audience than Ron did, the potential talent pool is much larger. Of course I anticipate the PCC being larger too. Lots of our staffers were kids who had just graduated from college but had not landed themselves a firm job in their career yet. Many of those kids have gone on to hold some big time responsibility in other campaigns and such long after 2012 was complete.
If you have questions, feel free to ask, and I'll be happy to share what I can.
Onward, and upward!
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