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It’s Time To Get Into The Game

By: Loren Heal (Diary)  |  July 25th, 2011 at 12:43 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The United States is a center-right nation.  That means there are more of us than there are of them. 

Your neighbors, local businesses, and the parents at the Little League game are probably conservative by temperament. The media trains them to think that the liberal position is the traditional, reasonable one, while the conservative position is somehow radical and improper. When they hear the opposite from you, they will usually be relieved to know they aren’t crazy.

 Do you want your ideas to have influence? Knock on doors. It’s that simple.

But while talking with people at baseball games and in the break room at work is necessary, it isn’t enough. You must also go to where people live. You must go to their doorstep.

As ColdWarrior reminds us, blogging has its limits. Conservative activists, are you active in your own back yard?  You blog, you tweet. You put political stuff on Facebook, to the joy of your in-laws and high school friends, and post well-reasoned theses in the comments section of the major news sites. And that’s great, because we activists need to communicate with one another.

Keep in mind, however, that on Facebook you are talking either to fellow activists who have befriended you or to people who do not want your message. If you want to find conservative activists and groups, you can find several on Twitter:

These places are essential for communicating with other activists, but they don’t have 300 million users. My neighbors have never heard of them, even if they have heard of Twitter and Facebook. Few if any are engaged enough to be contacted that way.
Since your neighbors probably don’t read the blogs you write on, do they know you are so smart?

The best way to reach your neighbors is to contact your local political party. That may be tricky, because many of them act as if they don’t want to be found. They may have a web site, but contacting them is an opaque process that usually means getting on their mailing list.

But what you want is to contact the local party chairman. Probably your state party will have links to local party web pages or contact information. You may even have to call up a local elected official whom you know to be in your party and ask him or her — at their next opportunity — to give you the name and contact info of the county chairman or the best party official for you to reach.

Tell the chairman that you “want to help the local party”. Do not mention any specific issues or offer any criticisms of your party for now. You want to help.

For the cost of your presence at one meeting a month, with sometimes a fundraiser or parade, you can get plugged into the local political scene. You learn who is with you and who is against you. With a few phone calls and the odd Saturday or weekday summer evening walking around, you can take your political involvement to the next level.

Knocking on your neighbor’s door is how you knock on the door of real political activism: becoming a Precinct Committeeman. Here is a state-by-state list of how to become a Precinct Committeeman.

When you do those few simple and easy things,  the candidates come to you, hat in hand. They do that because they know you are out talking to voters and can be of tremendous influence. Candidates, including elected officials, will ask for and listen to your opinion on issues.

Have they done that when you blogged, tweeted, or whatever in the past? Odds are they don’t even know you exist.  But when candidates and officials learn that you are a precinct committeeman and you blog on politics, they will read what you write. Do you want the ideas you express here to have influence? Knock on doors. It’s that simple.

If conservatives were active in the local political parties, urging their friends to vote, we would not have a debt problem, and the current seemingly intractable battle over the debt limit increase would not be taking place.

If conservatives were active in the local political parties, and were urging their friends to vote, we would have conservatives in office. The time to fight bloated government and out of control spending is now, by knocking on your neighbors’ doors and asking them to vote for conservative candidates.

(And of course, follow me on twitter: @lheal)

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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.unifiedpatriots.com/ Brian Hibbert

    I’m Brian Hibbert and I’d like the Congressman to vote for Cut Cap and Balance will get them to take down your name and make a note of your issue. If you walk in with another person (say Mriggio) and say we’re both Precinct Committeemen and we’d like Rep. Schock to vote for Cut Cap and Balance gets a bit higher level of attention.

    I know this because it’s exactly what happened 2 weeks ago. I walked in a few minutes before Mark and just stated what I wanted. They were polite and took my information, but that was about it. When Mark walked in behind me and said “Oh by the way, we’re both Precinct Committeemen”, the guy perked up and seemed a bit more interested in our issue. He was also a bit more willing to chat.

    These guys know that PC’s weild more influence than some other Joe off the street and they DO pay more attention to your issues. It’s not a guarantee that they’ll vote your way by any means. It only means they’ll talk an extra minute to listen to you over someone else.

    And we weild that power BECAUSE we’re the people who knock on neighbor’s doors and talk to them.

    Oh, one more thing. I’ve gotten to be on a first name basis with local officials. I’ve helped them get elected and they know it. It can’t hurt to be friends with the local Sherrif, 2 or 3 judges, the state Representatives in the area, the county board members, etc. I won’t abuse that friendship by asking for favors, but I can and have voiced my support or opposition to various measures.

    • mriggio

      While being a PC doesn’t guarantee a congressional vote, it does get you a respectful hearing. The aide we spoke with did indicate that he and the office staff were personally investigating becoming Precinct Committeemen themselves, which sounds like a career-extending plan to me.

      Your point on local officials cannot be over emphasized. These folks REMEMBER who came out early on a Saturday morning on the weekend before the election, to walk the precincts, distribute their literature, and talk to their neighbors, supporting them. You’re right, it’s not an entree for favors, but once again, it earns you a respectful hearing on matters of import when needed.

      • http://teapartisan.wordpress.com Loren Heal

        … in many small races PC can act as a campaign manager / adviser for local, first-time candidates.

        • mriggio

          are eager for any/all advice & feedback on issues & approaches. It goes back to the grassroots idea. The same holds true on that respectful hearing point. It’s not in the same universe as personally asking for something or even offering one’s opinion–after all, the people in my little corner of the world elected me to upchannel their feelings on occasion as well. Even if you run unchallenged for PC, people still have to vote for you.

  • http://redmerrimack.blogspot.com/ charliebravoNH

    my Congressman on the phone and in person about the debt ceiling. It is good know I am not the only one around here saying hold the line on Cut Cap and balance. Being in the Party has it benefits.

    Loren you are definitely right about this. As a local Town Chair in NH who has gone door to door to talk to voters. I have been thinking about next year and how many people we are going to need on the ground not just to do the GOTV but the big job of “voter ID” of all the registered independents here. This is the time to get in the game, get some activist training from American Majority or the Leadership Institute.

    Boots on the ground is what we are going to need to beat the Obama machine next year. There is no excuse for anybody who calls them a conservative to be sitting out next year.

  • audax

    1.) GOP Precinct Committeemen elect delegates to the GOP District and GOP State Conventions.

    2.) Delegates to the GOP State Convention elect the GOP National Committeemen and State Party Chairman representing their State at the National level as well as Nominating Delegates to the GOP Nominating Convention held every four years.

    3.) Delegates to the GOP Nominating Convention elect The GOP Presidential Nominee. ONLY Delegates to the GOP Nominating Convention can vote for the eventual GOP Nominee!