I am taking it upon myself to develop an extensive group/list of what to do better next for the Ron Paul grassroots campaign. My plan is delve into the large archive of Ron Paul Forums looking for your ideas to group together.
Please feel free to post any information you want about what you think can be done better. In 2012 we will be essential to the campaign in getting the word out and winning the primaries as we did last time. In 2012 we will be better prepared.
As far as layout I am going to try and keep it in categories; those are yet to be decided but they will cover everything from fundraising to canvassing to online materials. There is an enormous array of brilliant ideas from brilliant RPF activists. We can harness that brilliance -much of it has seeped to the back of the archives- and use it to our advantage!
Please help me make this a better thread.
Thanks
LBC
National Strategy: As far our nationwide strategy goes I think we can all agree that winning the primaries are the main objective. Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada will be essential to build momentum, win delegates, raise money, garner media attention, etc etc. We have little control over what happens nationally, but we as individuals, groups, meetups, etc can affect the overall outcome by working together.
Looking at the Howard Dean campaign in 2004, he had thousands of activists much as we do today, however, their campaign failed because they spent too much time online and not enough physical activism. This is probably rule number one of any modern day grassroots campaign.
With that said, there are thousands of activities and projects that one can engage in to affect that overall outcome.
Become a Precinct Leader
I think people need to realize soon that we will have to fight this battle long after this election. If we don't start setting ourselves up now, this will never go anywhere. NH was kind of a wake-up call for me. I had more faith in the American people as a whole, but I realize that we still have a long ways to go if we want to really make any changes. We have a lot more to fight for than just one presidential election.
Winning precinct elections are essential to a 2012. They have large influence collectively on local, state, and national nominations.
A county is divided into precincts. A precinct is an area that contains a maximum of 2,999 voters, usually with about 1000 voters within an area of several streets. The precincts are called the grassroots of the political parties. Each political party in each precinct is represented by a Precinct Chair (or Chairman/Leader/Executive/Delegate/Officer/etc, the position seems to be called by many names). The Precinct Chairs within a county make up a party
Central Committee. Through the Central Committee's powers the Precinct Chairs together are extremely influential in the county, state, and the national party. Political parties are set up like a corporation in each state.
EXCELLENT RESOURCES
An explanation about why the Precinct Chair/Executive is so powerful, a "power center of society":
http://www.networkamerica.org/most_powerful_office.htm
A 10-minute lesson in taking back the Precinct Chair/Executive offices:
http://www.networkamerica.org/10minute.htm
See page 8 for a chart of the powers of the Precinct Chairs and Central Committee, some info page 7 onwards:
http://peakdems.org/pdf/precinct_chair_handbook.pdf
The strategy for taking back the Precinct Chairs and Central Committee power center of society:
http://www.networkamerica.org/action_program_2008.htm
Much of the information is thanks to this wonderful site:
http://www.NetworkAmerica.org
PERMANENT POLITICAL PARTY ORGANIZATION IN TEXAS
http://www.mcrp.org/PermanentPolitical.html
Strategy of the Revolution, recruiting and spreading from precinct to county control:
http://freedomguide.blogspot.com/2007/11/second-american-revolution-victory.html
Inspiration:
In my County, 46 Ron Paul supporters filed to run for Precinct Chair. 32 are running unopposed, so we have in essence - alredy won those elected positions. We are replacing the old ideas with the new ones - the neo-con message is being replaced with the freedom message. Find out how it works in your county and get involved. Saving the country when you have to deal with the neo-cons is an ugly job, but realize that Ron Paul does this every day and that will inspire you. Not to mention that my name is now on the ballot with Ron Paul -- how cool is that?
There a thousands of opportunities to become a precinct leader. All across the country many of these positions are wide open waiting to be taken with just one vote. The power they hold is incredible.
You can be a precinct leader at any age.
Precinct leaders can have influence in the community. You are a community leader.
Example of a precinct letter to your neighbors. It is very low cost!
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=104023
Message from Official Campaign
1. Canvass, Canvass, Canvass! We are trying to win a nationwide presidential election, but the revolution will be won one precinct at a time. This country is made up of approximately 180,000 precincts, so the most important thing that you can do is take ownership of your own area. Remember, winning a majority of delegates starts in your precinct.
Winning elections is not easy. But Ron Paul has an invaluable asset that no one else has - YOU. If you work as productively as possible within your precinct, we can get out the vote as effectively as possible on Election Day. This means that canvassing, above everything else, is top priority. Take charge in your area and become the leader of your precinct now:
Mail for you Precinct tips:
1) Send one letter per house. Sending 4 letters to each family is a waste of money.
2) Look for the houses with the most voters first. Send letters to houses with 4 or more voters first before sending to houses with just one voter. Your letter may be looked at by the entire family in one shot.
From the experts
You find out who the registered Republicans are by calling the Ron Paul HQ and telling them you want to go door-to-door in your precinct. (Sign up as a leader first). They should have a list for you. Figure out who you are going to talk to. I would purchase some Ron Paul Slim Jims, and maybe a t-shirt to wear. Go door-to-door, keeping track of who was home and who wasn’t.
Those that are home, talk to them and ask who they support and why. Most conversations won’t last more than a few minutes. However, the important thing is to identify who all of the Ron Paul supports are, who needs more information and who is not a supporter. Document all of this on the list of names.
Walking a normal precinct may take 4 total hours, since many people won’t be home. Leave a slim jim on their door if they are registered republican or an independent. You can buy different Ron Paul slim jims that talk about different issues. Someone may be only interested in taxes or gun rights. Give them the appropriate Slim Jim and quickly explain Dr. Paul’s stand on the issue, which you can get from the Slim Jim. Annotate that issue that makes them motivated to vote. If you find a Ron Paul supporter, see if they would like to help volunteer like you are. Some will and some won’t. MAKE SURE that you stick to the issues the voter wants to talk about. You may be concerned about taxes, but the voter might be concerned about abortion. Stick to the topics the voter wants to discuss…that’s called staying on message. You can lose a voter quicker than quick if you start talking about issues they are not concerned about. Don’t argue or debate a person. You have more voters to contact and are wasting your time. Leave them with a Slim Jim and thank them for their time.
I personally used to go back a second time and try and catch all of those people who were undecided and that were not home the first time. You may only get 20% of the people home the first time, so going around again and narrowing who you talk to will shorten your time down and make you more efficient.The entire point is Ron Paul can’t get to every neighborhood, but his volunteers can. If a volunteer takes a precinct and "owns" it, he can let those voters know who Ron Paul is. No other campaign has the volunteers to do this. They are depending on name recognition, media coverage, rallies or advertising in most of the states. If the Ron Paul supporters do this, they are building his name recognition, advertising him, and finding out who is a supporter and who is not.
Something that we did before an election is to call all of the supporters of our candidate and ask them if they needed any help in getting to the polls on Election Day. Most will say no, but a few might need a ride. We thanked them, and told them that the candidate appreciated their vote and we look forward to seeing them on Election Day. This served as a way to tell them: 1) that we care, 2) the candidate appreciates their vote, 3) and that we expect to see them on Election Day. On Election Day we would call all of our identified supporters and verify that they voted. We simply asked if they had voted yet. If not, we told them the importance of the election. We also told them that the candidate really needs their vote today, so he can get in office to take care of whatever issue they were concerned about. We then followed up and asked if they needed a ride to the polls. If they did, either I or another person would pick them up. The important thing here is that the voter is contacted. Each republican voter at a minimum should be contacted. They should receive literature about Ron Paul, and identified as a supporter or someone that’s undecided or a non-supporter.
All supporters should be contacted on Election Day to ensure max Ron Paul votes. Those that were undecided can be contacted too by phone to make one last push in convincing them to vote for Ron Paul. You might be able to convince some of the undecided’s to vote for Ron Paul by calling them on Election Day.
If each volunteer does this than Ron Paul can win a lot of states. He can use his money and his time to advertise and go to the most crucial states. No other campaign can mount this type of grassroots effort. Ron Paul is the only one that has the volunteers. He needs the volunteers to do this since he can’t depend on name recognition or media coverage. Each of us needs to step up to the plate and do our part. First register to vote as a Republican, then go to the Ron Paul website and sign up as a precinct leader. Read through the leader material on the RP site and then put together your strategy for Ron Paul to win your precinct.
HOME MUCH SACRIFICE?
Really it is not a lot of sacrifice. How will the voters know who Ron Paul is and what he stands for if you don’t tell them? Sign waving and parades build name recognition, but it doesn’t answer the voter’s questions about the issues. Only grassroots efforts in each precinct can get the results Ron Paul needs. This is the most effective and efficient activity that any supporter can do.
This is how an unknown candidate that the media does not pay attention to can win each and every race. Iowa is a case in point. If volunteers would have done in every precinct what those in Jefferson County did then Ron Paul could have won Iowa or at least placed 2nd or 3rd. He did win one county where his volunteers did get out the vote. All that is being asked of you is an hour each day and a couple of hours on Election Day. Truthfully, it is little sacrifice. By committing an hour each day you will be helping Ron Paul win precinct by precinct.
DELEGATES
For all of those go getters out there, spend some time figuring out how to become a national delegate. The Ron Paul website shows what most of the delegate process is in most states. Remember in the end, it’s the candidate with 50% +1 of the delegates that becomes the nominee.
Ron Paul can’t win without us and this strategy. We have to take the battle to the streets. Our leader that we have chosen has asked us to step up to the plate - will we? If Ron Paul looses every state on February 5th, it is our fault for not spreading the message of freedom to each home. Is the Revolution dead? Can you have a Revolution without sacrifice? The time is NOW. Let all of us who will be free stand up and take our message of freedom and a new tomorrow to each and every home. My next article will cover some analysis of precinct size and how few people we each have to influence.
Precincting/Door-to-door/Canvassing and Etiquette (very important)
Look to the door-to-door guides on how to approach people... this is by-far more effective than just leaving literature! We've gotten democrats to look at Paul, Huckabee supporters agreeing that Paul is more electable, and the best thing is that YOU WILL DEVELOP A REPERTOIRE with your local voters and lock-in the delegate position. Just make sure to smile, be polite, and find issues you can agree on. Once you do, hand them the slim jim and indicate the website, and let them know to research it because they might find his other positions agreeable.
Even Giuliani, McCain, etc. supporters THANKED me for taking the time. A middle school teacher said that he was going to spend more time teaching the Constitution. It just pays off!!
Far and away, the elderly are more receptive, more likely to vote, and more likely to agree that America is heading for trouble. More often than not, they are lonely, so be careful of spending too much time. I've found ten minutes to be a reasonable compromise where I don't feel like I'm being rude - I politely interject and say that I must cut the conversation short because I have so many houses to cover in the precinct.
When new members come, make sure they know all of Ron Paul's positions, even if they don't agree with them. We don't want a voter converting one of our supporters.
Every bit counts. One of my meetup members mentioned that I looked more approachable wearing a yellow polo rather than a black one. Choose clothing that makes you look conservative and friendly!
*See this thread for important etiquette*
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=34488
DO NOT TRY TO CONVINCE PEOPLE THAT THEY SHOULD VOTE
FOR HIM
just tell them the primaries are very important, they
may have to register, etc, and that THAT'S WHAT YOU
ARE DOING TO VOTE FOR RON PAUL.
Most people will not be convinced by your words. They
very well may be affected by the simple knowledge that
YOU support him. So make yourself likeable, friendly,
and inform them he exists. Convince them to look him
up, and make up their own minds. Accepting Ron's
message comes from hearing Ron, not from hearing you.
3. GET HIM IN THE MAINSTREAM: HE'S NOT A 'FRINGE'
CANDIDATE
Just by getting out there and telling people -- 1 time
-- that you support Ron Paul -- gets this message out.
People by and large are not very independent thinkers.
Most will not support someone who will put them on the
'fringe' among those they talk to. But the more they
hear people support him, the more comfortable they
will be in considering it for themselves.
1. Sincerity
Eye contact, value the individual, SINCERE compliments
help, "beautiful flowers" -- but only if you really
think they are beautiful -- people know the
difference. LISTEN more than you speak, you should
even 'listen' while you are speaking.
The hardest part. Taking initiative and getting out the front door!
I went out this past Saturday for 5 hours and went door to door. I had some voter data registration information (extra room on the page to capture data), a pen, a list of my questions. I would knock on the door and if no one was home I would leave a Slim Jim that had a hole punched in it and was connected to a rubber band. Each Slim Jim I had was stapled with a piece of paper that had a Ron Paul supporter's contact information on it. This supporter lived in the precinct in which we were canvasing. If a person answered, I said my name and that I was a neighbor, and I was asking questions about the 2008 Presidential race, and the primaries that proceed it. I didn't say I was for Ron Paul straight up. What I was doing with some others was looking for potential Ron Paul voters. I live in live in Colorado which is a caucus state.
I confirmed their information, and first asked them who they would vote for today. I then asked next what 3 issues are important to them. Finally I asked if they were for or against the US war in Iraq.
With that information I decided on whether to mention Ron Paul to them and give a slim jim. If they are pro war Guilana types, I would thank them for their time and move on. You don't want to motivate your direct competition. If they were democrats, I would give them a slim jim and the pitch - if they are Democrats and are not going to switch then they can't hurt you in the primary. Some states you don't need to be registered to vote in the primaries, so vary your strategies accordingly.
It is out of one's comfort zone to knock on doors. It was hard for me. But once I did it, I found it was fun, and I could see that I was making a difference.
However I have a problem and I suspect others who are trying this now to do. Of the 90 people in the meetup group I'm in, only 3 people went out last Saturday. This isn't going to cut it.
I know its important to get face to face with people, but I don't know how to motivate other Ron Paul supporters to do the same. Any advice from those that have had success? Let's post some good ideas here to get people motivated. If you have had success on canvasing, please share!
As Ron Paul wrote today in an email to us , "What momentum we have! Please help me keep it up. As you and I know, and our opponents are only suspecting, we have Success on our minds, and in our hearts."
Face to Face is the way to convert people. Signs are good for piquing interest, but knocking on doors is what really educates people, and puts a friendly face on a nebulous and, to some people scary, campaign.
Canvassing Inspiration. Easy Fun and Effective!
I'm now a believer in door to door canvassing.
Today was my first day, and oh boy, I wish I'd started sooner. It was surprisingly easy too, and I've never done this before; I'm not a salesman.
It is also the MOST rewarding to get the word out.
So many people out there will support Ron Paul and had NO PLANS to vote in the Primaries.
GET OUT THERE PEOPLE. We have the NUMBERS. If every Ron Paul supporter who's active on the internet went out and did a few dozen homes, it will be a SLAM DUNK in the primaries.
We are a veritable ARMY. The only way to ensure victory at this point is to get as many supporters doing DOOR TO DOOR. That means YOU. YES, YOU!
We CANNOT rely on the mass media to do any honest reporting, nor can we rely on the Internet. DOOR to DOOR is THE most EFFECTIVE way for individuals to get the word out.
The Anti-Dean Way
FIRST! Research the Howard Dean collapse in Iowa in 2004.
Dean supporters turned off some Iowa voters in 2004. Obviously, we should learn from their mistakes, and not repeat them. It may well be that the complaints were over-reported, but we can combat that type of thing. Just don't cram anything down people's throats. For the most part, this is a get in, hand a flyer, get out operation.
Goals
1. Name Recognition
People need to know he exists. If they look into candidates, they will have him on his mind. MSM will not help here. So cram his name down their throats one time, give them literature, and be on with it.
2. FACETIME: Exposure of Ron Paul in Action
You have far less chance to convince somebody RP is the man than he does himself. Direct them to youtube, direct them to ronpaullibrary.com -- let them decide for themselves. If they are able to think, they will vote for Ron Paul.
We are a street team. We cannot offer celebrity status, or political standing, to endorse Paul. All we can do is say that we support him, and that others should look into him.
3. Door to Door canvassing and disemminating information is HOW CAMPAIGNS are won!
Ideas: Location, Location, Location
Gun Shops
Hunting shops
Head shops(paraphenalia dealers for the none pot heads)
VFW(remember Ron Paul supports all veterans)(mention the fact that any vet with PTSD is not allowed to even have a gun to hunt)
Shooting Ranges
Recording Studios(Free Speech/Free Expression)
Music stores
Concert Halls
pro-life conventions/rallies.
anti-war rallies
bars and restaurants (there is slim jim for the tax-free tips act).
Hairstylists & Barbers
Bell Boys
Health food stores
vitamin shops
alternative medicine and doctors
gyms
gas stations almost always let you put up slimjims on the counter
tattoo and piercing shops
progressive bars and clubs
Any biker hangout
Any place punk/hardcore/metal kids hang out.
Idea: Foreclosed Homes
The site below has information about foreclosures and auctions by zip code. It was a real eye-opener to see how many homes are up for auction near me.
RealtyTrac.com
Use this information about your area and push the point that Dr Paul understands economics and wrote about the bubble in the real estate market and the role of the Federal Reserve. This hits people where they live. None of the other candidates understand economics above a 5th grade level.
Gated communities/strict no soliciting communities
I unfortunately live in a very stuck up gated community with a very nasty Homeowners Association. My dad works for the HOA to boot, so I have to tread lightly. I posted about my recent battle over my RP lawn sign (they even tried to say we couldn't have a bumper sticker on our car) and the threatening of my dad's job over it.
That being said to set the mood of where I live, they also have a strong no soliciting policy. They threatened to oust a GIRLSCOUT'S family during cookie season a few years back. The girl was a Brownie for crying out loud.
So when I got my precinct list, I noticed that a good chunk of the power voters were located in my gated community. I can't go to their door and calling has less power. How do I handle them?
I'm going to mail them a slimjim and include a personal letter with my address and phone number and ask if they want more information to please contact me, the campaign office, or where to look on the web. I hate doing it, but if they invite me over, I'm not breaking the rules. I'll have my husband follow up with a phone call if they don't respond.
Advertising for Ron Paul and Meeting like-minded Voters
Organize. Find meetup groups, join the Campaign for Liberty, Liberty Caucus, etc etc. There are million organizations in your area. You are not alone. Finding others is an important step to covering your area with fliers and spreading the word.
Craigslist:
I put an add up on craigslist trying to get people organized here in Montana,
I got three people untill someone flagged my Add but hey thats three people and I will put the Add up every day they can keep flagging all they want, I thought I would just give everyone here the same Idea and I am VERY new to RP and with speaking to people about him. but if we all do this imagine how many Eyes we can open...
Sample Craigslist Ad:
Hello,
My name is (insert name). I am a conservative, libertarian, constitutional republican, republican, etc etc activist/individual looking for like-minded people/folks in my area. I would like to meet to discuss starting a group. It could include campaigning for local politicians, debates, discussions, and much much more. If you have a passion for politics, the constitution, and liberty as much as I do please give me a call or email me at.........(insert phone or email).
~the message can be this simple. people to read a few sentences and then either move on or email you back. You could also include your intentions to start a specific group such as "elect ron paul" "campaign for liberty" "committees of safety" "2nd amendment group" etc
I'll be back to continue updating. LBC July 1, 10:42 PM PST
There was hardly any signage or MSM adverts leading up to the vote, and plenty of AZ people never heard of RP till too late
