One of my close girlfriends had a birthday a few months back. She invited me and 2 of her other closest girlfriends and her then boyfriend to join her for dinner to celebrate. Now admittedly all of us women have a professional background in politics to various extents but that is fairly common here in the DC area. So all the way through dinner the topic of politics, policy and current events was woven throughout the conversation. However, the then boyfriend does not have a professional background in politics. He works in the very respectable field of construction and is trying to start his own business because his six figure salary was drastically reduced after the housing market collapsed. Yet he doesn’t take the time to educate himself on what is going on in our country, how it impacts him or how he can work to improve these situations in a political manner. Later he told my friend that it was “stupid” that we had spent so much time talking about these topics and that politics doesn’t affect him or any other average person on a daily level. And my first thought was “Really? Because having your salary plummet sounds extremely personal to me. You no longer being able to afford insurance seems pretty personal to me. And the bureaucracy that comes along with the permits, taxes and paperwork of being a small business owner sounds rather personal to me.”
Last month, a different friend asked me why I and another mutual girlfriend were so interested in politics and current news when it wasn’t our job. Some of our other friends work in political fields so she understood why they paid attention. But because we didn’t, she was somewhat confused. So I made the point that all politics is personal! I pointed out how the Healthcare bill restricted her flex spending accounts, how it forced those who didn’t buy insurance to pay a fine, how it would penalize the Doctors, how those penalizations would impact her, how she would be taxed even further, etc. And that was just one bill.
These are just two of the more recent examples I have experienced of people not realizing that politics is personal. Now to some degree I am preaching to the choir. You wouldn’t be reading Redstate if you didn’t have an interest in politics and current events which stems from the realization that politics does directly impact your life. But it isn’t enough for us to intellectually know that politics is personal. We have to convey that message to our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow Republicans, acquaintances and strangers we meet. We know we can’t rely on the MSM to get out a conservative message. Nor can we reliably depend on the Republican establishment to get out the message of conservatism. Some of the commercials are great, and some well… some political commercials involve demon sheep. I don’t think anything else needs to be said.
Step 1: Get Educated
A) Follow your LOCAL news, in addition to National news. Yes, the National news tends to be more sensational, but you have to know what is going on in your hometown community so that you can educate others on how the big issues impact them on a local community and personal level. “This bill contributed to putting so-in-so out of business.”
B) Research your candidates and research your opponents. What are their strengths and what are their liabilities? You could have a situation like VA-02 where you have 7 candidates running in the Republican primary. And many of them have similar backgrounds. Find out who is the best conservative out of the selection of conservatives and moderates. And find out your opponents weaknesses and how to legally and ethically exploit those weaknesses. Now I would caution using what you learn carefully. Don’t lead off with your more sensational discoveries. These people have families and your candidate may have skeletons you don’t need exposed. And once you open that proverbial can of worms, there is no going back.
C) Take classes. The Leadership Institute offers great classes on how to be effective activists. (http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/Training/) Erick has recently mentioned the Post Party Summits (http://summit.americanmajority.org/), sponsored by RedState, SmartGirl Politics, American Majority and the John Hancock Committee. These summits will be offering workshops as well. Some Tea Party groups have started offering classes on blogging and activism. Some of the local colleges may offer political science classes you can take. Find the successful activists in your community and ask them to lead a workshop. If you can stand it, the DNC offers classes on political activism locally. Take what they teach you and learn to use it against them.
Step 2: Get Active
Morton Blackwell offers excellent step-by-step advice for conservatives to get active and become a party leader, “even if you’re starting from scratch,” in his article “The Life of the Party.” (http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/resources/files/The_Life_of_the_Party.pdf) Mr. Blackwell offers fantastic insight and suggestions. So please take the time to read his article and implement it, regardless of wherever you are in the leadership process. Below are my more generalized, humble suggestions to becoming active in making politics personal.
A) Get involved in your local GOP.
Become a precinct committeeman. ColdWarrior is much better at explaining the responsibilities of being a precinct committeeman. But it is my understanding that the primary responsibility of a precinct committeeman is to turn out the registered republicans in their precinct to vote. Therefore, the point of being a precinct committeeman is to be educated, opinionated and involved regarding political candidates and issues so that you can get the other republicans in your area educated, opinionated and involved about political candidates and issues.
Most voters don’t have the time, or interest, in local races to do the research needed. Life tends to get in the way. This is sad but true. So precinct committeemen need to: 1) build relationships with the republicans in their precinct, 2) do the research, 3) put the research into a format that is easily conveys and compares the platforms and voting records of the competing candidates (primary and general elections), and 4) distribute this in their precinct to registered republicans. Passing out the info personally to the conservatives in your precinct that you have taken the time to get to know will have the most impact but a letter or an email should be almost as effective, especially if you have develop relationships with the other conservatives. Remind the conservatives of when they are supposed to vote. Offer to organize carpools to get them to the voting locations. Recruit your fellow conservatives in your precinct to take part in taking back our party and campaigning.
You personally reaching out, educating and recruiting the conservatives in your neighborhood and precinct helps to personalize politics.
B) Get involved in your local campaigns! After you research your candidates and choose the Conservative that best matches you politically, make the time to meet the candidates in person. See if what they say matches to what they do. If the candidate proves to be the real deal, get involved in their campaign! VOLUNTEER! DONATE your time, skills and what you can of your finances! Recruit your family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. to help out in the campaign. Bring your kids and let them see and participate in civics being put into action. Maybe they’ll even get extra credit.
All campaigns require almost non-stop grassroot efforts. Talk up your candidate at church, your civic groups, your community events, your local businesses, on the local talk radio and music radio stations, etc. Invite your candidate to join you at church or community events so you can introduce them to people you know. Throw a party and invite the candidate so they can recruit potential supporters.
How many of us, or more importantly the non-political people in our lives, actually meet our candidates? By making those personal introductions between the candidates and the people you interact with socially and talking up your candidate honestly and organically, you are helping to personalize politics.
C) Get sound bites ready that you can use or work into every day conversation with people you come into contact each day. Bad/negative news is more often repeated than good/positive news. We only have to watch the local news to see that negativity captures attention. So prepare a few KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) statements about Liberals/Democrats for the week to use on your targets.
· “It really upsets me that the Democrats endangered (insert their child’s name) by providing Viagra to convicted child molesters in their healthcare bill! It’s too bad the Republicans were outnumbered by the Democrats when they tried to stop the bill and save children like (insert their child’s name).”
· “If Democrats are all about female empowerment, why did the Democrats insist on passing a Healthcare bill that provides rapists and sex offenders with Viagra? Do they want more women to be raped? It’s too bad the Republicans were outnumbered by the Democrats when they tried to stop the bill and protect women like (you, me, your daughter, your sister, your wife, etc.).”
· “It really saddens me that the Democrats eliminated the funding to send poor school children to the best private schools in DC to make the Teachers Union happy. It’s too bad the Republicans were outnumbered by the Democrats when they tried to stop the bill and help children the same age as (insert their child’s name) get a great education.”
My personal favorite target to use this method on is PETA. I’ll see a pet owner, especially the more liberal ones, and approach them about their pet. “Awww, isn’t it cute.” And then manage to work into the conversation how PETA kills on average 2,000 cats and dogs a year in VA. “Can you believe how hypocritical they are?! Why I just didn’t believe it at first but it is right there on the state government of VA’s website. Why they have public records showing where PETA murdered around 10,000 pets that were in shelters waiting adoption over the past 5 years. They even bought a huge fridge to store the bodies in before they can dispose of them.” The few friends that I have that were once sympathetic to PETA have long since canceled their memberships.
Step 3: Take Control
Once you get active in campaigns and your local party, opportunities to step up and take responsibility will emerge. After all, there are numerous other positions in addition to a precinct committeeman within your local and state GOP parties. Attend the meetings. Network and connect with other like-minded Conservatives. Then run for those other positions when they have openings. Don’t forget that if you held a different position previously, make sure to back fill your position with another Conservative!
Mr. Lane is known for saying something to the effect of all politics is local. Obviously, I agree. However, I think it goes a step further if we want to win in politics. All politics has to be personal to the voter! If it’s personal, they will turn out. The voters do have something personal to win or lose in these elections, whether they realize it or not. So it is up to us to make sure that we convey that message to our friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, fellow Republicans, acquaintances, the strangers we meet and most importantly to our fellow conservatives who aren’t politically active.
It is often quoted here at Redstate that we are the cavalry. While we are the cavalry riding into our own rescue, each of us also have to be our own Paul Revere. Warning our fellow patriots and spreading the conservative call to action throughout our precincts and personal spheres of influence!
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Dan Spencer
Jeff Emanuel
Neil Stevens
