Should HQ bring back Anita Andrews?

[Gadsdenfly]

I never saw Anita Andrews' presentation and I don't know much about her other than what I have read here but I do think the grassroots should definitely take advantage of any consultation from political pros hired by the campaign. I hope there is a great deal more pros involved in this campaign that can train all the grassroots energy into an effective army of ultra-persuasive, canvassing foot soldiers.

For years there has been a great deal of effort put into libertarian orientated persuasion by groups like the Advocates for Self-Government just to name one. I would like to see some great education going on from the campaign along these lines.

Just one more note. From an objective outsiders perspective I hate to say that the campaign still appears very motley and amateurish. A well educated and good intentioned conservative associate of mine continues to view the Ron Paul as "unelectable" even though he loves most of his message. Another very liberal friend says the same thing. These guys are turned off by what they see as "fringe" behavior by supporters and what they have conditioned to think as "extreme" views. However they both ARE extremely intrigued and agreeable on some things. The point is there is a diplomatic approach to persenting this message in a non-threatening, coherent and persuasive way. We all do this every day and every interaction can be toward winning. We all would be better to learn more about profesional campaigning because this is not the only election we shoudl be concerned with.

 

[liberty-rp08]

It sounds like Anita knows how to communicate with the common people. I guess it can't hurt to bring her back?

 

[ldevlugt]

I think Anita Andrews accurately reflected the immensity of the task at hand, at least the part I feel fortunate enough to have been trained in. I don't know the cause for her and the campaign parting ways, but I do think the strategy she suggested is effective.

 

[Opulen]

Why not hiring another personality who has the track record and experience in campaigns.

 

[Syren123]

Your probably right. The main people at HQ have shown themselves to be incompetent . Even the simple task of preparing a defense against TNR article was too much for them. they knew it was coming and yet they did nothing. With 2 5th place finishes I cant imagine this Andrews lady could have been any worse...

This is 'nothing'?

Ron Paul Statement on The New Republic Article Regarding Old Newsletters





FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Jesse Benton

January 8, 2008 703-248-9115


ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA – In response to an article published by The New Republic, Ron Paul issued the following statement:



“The quotations in The New Republic article are not mine and do not represent what I believe or have ever believed. I have never uttered such words and denounce such small-minded thoughts.



“In fact, I have always agreed with Martin Luther King, Jr. that we should only be concerned with the content of a person's character, not the color of their skin. As I stated on the floor of the U.S. House on April 20, 1999: ‘I rise in great respect for the courage and high ideals of Rosa Parks who stood steadfastly for the rights of individuals against unjust laws and oppressive governmental policies.’



“This story is old news and has been rehashed for over a decade. It's once again being resurrected for obvious political reasons on the day of the New Hampshire primary.



“When I was out of Congress and practicing medicine full-time, a newsletter was published under my name that I did not edit. Several writers contributed to the product. For over a decade, I have publically taken moral responsibility for not paying closer attention to what went out under my name.”



###

 

[Syren123]

Maybe thats because you don't win elections with "a good plan". You win with the tedious foot work of door knocking and personal one on one contact.

Finally.
Thank you.

 

[BlueAngel]

I saw Anita Andrews when she came to my city. She knew her stuff however right now, I don't think we have time for an Anita strategy, that's a longer term.

Short term, we need MADISON AVENUE.....NOW!!!!

 

[Matt Collins]

........

 

[McDermit]

What's this dating thing you speak of?

Haha. For real.

 

[Matt Collins]

Haha. For real.

He must be new here

 

[Peace&Freedom]

I saw Anita Andrews when she came to my city. She knew her stuff however right now, I don't think we have time for an Anita strategy, that's a longer term.

Short term, we need MADISON AVENUE.....NOW!!!!

No, No, she explained ideas that could be put together on a shoe string to create votes on short notice. Madison Ave. is what Romney did, complete with tons of money poured down into two initial contests, only to lose both. Andrews' method involved specifically structuring an approach to the issues such that they appeal to most voters who were not really into politics, as opposed to us hardcore people who do campaigning for Paul or write posts about Paul daily. We have a zillion websites for example, but almost none of them provide outreach to the unconverted, and fewer still are search-engine or link optimized to draw a non-Paulite to them.

I can't talk specifics about the implementation strategies for this approach (I'm also under the non-disclosure agreement); the NDA was put in place to protect the plan (hey, no other campaign is willingly sharing their plan with the public). But generally the tactics conform to the model of setting up a local HQ in the standard professional way, to do specific tasks. Couldn't hurt to bring her back to revamp the campaign. Maybe even Dick Morris could be brought in (he's worked for Republicans in the past).

 

[Matt Collins]

Maybe even Dick Morris could be brought in (he's worked for Republicans in the past).

Every time I see that dude on TV I just can't help but thinking "slimeball"

 

[austin356]

if all our grassroots just understood her concept of 5/90/5 then we would be a leader.

 

[Spirit of '76]

Yes. She was a campaign organizer, who tried to warn us that if we didn't move beyond political adolescence, we wouldn't win.

That's an excellent summation of her message to us.

 

[Matt Collins]

if all our grassroots just understood her concept of 5/90/5 then we would be a leader.

Very very true

 

[KingTheoden]

Bumping this post....

 

[Matt Collins]

Bumping this post....

Thanks

 

[WRellim]

Maybe thats because you don't win elections with "a good plan". You win with the tedious foot work of door knocking and personal one on one contact.

Actually not. You win with a good strategic plan that INCLUDES the tedious foot work, door knocking and personal contact.

You win LOCAL elections with those things alone (and by local, I include congressional races).

You win PRESIDENTIAL elections by doing and EMPHASIZING those things in the handful of EARLY primaries.

But with a SuperTuesday (and this year a SuperDuperTuesday) you cannot possibly win by visiting everyone in all 20+ states in the week immediately prior to the primary. To do THAT, you need the perception of "momentum" from the early states... AND a bunch of local people doing the door-to-door, AND a solid strategic PLAN for advertising and "image" projection to the masses.

We're pretty much sans the momentum right now.

We've got the *potential* manpower -- but it has to be motivated and realized.

And the image projection? Well... still waiting on that one.

Maybe the grassroots can turn around from the "revolution" and focus on presenting some "CommonSense" (http://www.manofcommonsense.com) and that SHOULD mesh and harmonize OK with anything substantial the campaign does... but to me the question mark is what (if anything) WILL the campaign actually be putting out for image?

Will It Blend? That is the question.

 

[WRellim]

I never saw Anita Andrews' presentation and I don't know much about her other than what I have read here but I do think the grassroots should definitely take advantage of any consultation from political pros hired by the campaign. I hope there is a great deal more pros involved in this campaign that can train all the grassroots energy into an effective army of ultra-persuasive, canvassing foot soldiers.

For years there has been a great deal of effort put into libertarian orientated persuasion by groups like the Advocates for Self-Government just to name one. I would like to see some great education going on from the campaign along these lines.

Just one more note. From an objective outsiders perspective I hate to say that the campaign still appears very motley and amateurish. A well educated and good intentioned conservative associate of mine continues to view the Ron Paul as "unelectable" even though he loves most of his message. Another very liberal friend says the same thing. These guys are turned off by what they see as "fringe" behavior by supporters and what they have conditioned to think as "extreme" views. However they both ARE extremely intrigued and agreeable on some things. The point is there is a diplomatic approach to persenting this message in a non-threatening, coherent and persuasive way. We all do this every day and every interaction can be toward winning. We all would be better to learn more about profesional campaigning because this is not the only election we shoudl be concerned with.

Sounds to me like the problem was WHO was supposed to be listening to this Anita gal...

Why was she out "instructing" the grassroots? She needed to be coordinating the "official campaign" instead!

If the official campaign was doing something that was AT ALL successful, then the majority of the grassroots would probably pivot on a dime and starting marching in step and creating things that "harmonized" with the campaign (rather than trying to fight against the flow).

IMHO, the reason the grassroots went off on a tangent is that there was a complete and total VOID, and they were trying their best (in an amateur fashion because they ARE amateurs) to come up with something appealing and motivating to FILL that VOID.

But the root problem -- the VOID -- is the fault of the official campaign.

 

[Matt Collins]

Why was she out "instructing" the grassroots? She needed to be coordinating the "official campaign" instead!

If I had to guess that os why they originally canned her - she was trying to tell them what they were doing wrong.