JimInNY
02-04-2008, 05:33 PM
I just got home after being in downtown Albany, NY today, where Ron Paul supporters from the Albany Meetup were gathered to counter a McCain gathering at some hotel.
I worked the sidewalks mostly, handing out slimjims and talking up the doctor to passersby. One group which I targeted were individuals standing outside office buildings having a quick smoke break. I talked with them about Ron Paul being the only candidate that supports freedom of choice and that he would never support a nationwide ban on smoking in public places, which is now being discussed in DC. They were VERY receptive.
But that is only one success, the other comes from inside the hotel where a few RP supporters handed out fliers:
Please forward this or the email below to your Meetups.
Today, the NYS State Republicans held a major political rally in Albany NY to
declare McCain the next presidential nominee to all the Republican state workers.
It was a who's who of the NYS GOP, including Joe Bruno, former Senator D'Amato, etc,
and it was standing room only of over 300-500 attendees. (Note, there is also a
similar rally in NYC where former governor Pataki will endorse McCain later today).
Of course, Ron Paul suporters made our appearance with large signs and passionate
enthusiasm outside the event. We did receive enthusiasm from traffic, and the news
crews did film our gang, so hopefully we will have a few seconds on TV. However,
that was not the success I allude to by my email subject line, as I do not believe
this will win votes.
The success I found were two items:
1) While I did see many gung-ho McCain supporters, I also sense major
dissatisfaction among the audience with the choice that their leadership presented
them. The leadership had to stress conservatism and needing to make compromises for
the party to be united. The GOP is confused because they are being led away from
their core beliefs in conservatism and its causing internal strife in the party.
2) When the event ended, two of us handed out flyers. One was the Ron Paul issues
and the other was the Reagan/Paul flyer I have previously sent you:
http://files.meetup.com/862616/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf and was saying
"Support the Reagan Candidate." Overwhelmingly, people took more flyers from me and
read it continuously as they walked on, while some dropped the Ron Paul issues
flyer. They were saying, sure I will read this and many were holding their hands out
to take the Reagan flyer from me.
Does this mean I converted their vote? No, as these are the state GOP and they have
to follow the parties direction. But they were very drawn to it and interested to
see something that actually reflects their value of conservatism. My point is that
if it has this amount of impact with McCain followers and leaders of the state GOP,
you can see the impact it would have with the undecided voter and the senior citizen
voter as they walk towards the poll to cast their ballot.
The reality is that up to this point, many of us were campaigning on the full
gauntlet of Ron Paul issues that attracts Libertarian, Independant, and Democrat
values, which helped bring in the mass supporters we now have, but not the voters.
By combining all these issues and underemphasizing the conservative issues and
emotional connections (Reagan/Goldwater/Taft) that are the core to the Republican
belief system, we lose our target segment... the Republican voter. Campaigning is
the same as marketing in business, you need to know who your customer/market is and
create a message that creates an emotional link with the product (Ron Paul) that you
are offering. Ron Paul is the most conservative candidate when you look at taxes,
limited government, Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Gun Rights, Immigration, Strong National
Defense, going after Terrorism, Federalism/States Rights, and Constitutional
Liberties. The issues of ending the wars, bringing our troops back,
removing the IRS/CIA, etc, has broad appeal outside the Republican party, but it
repulses or confuses the base we have been trying to convert for the past few
months. It may work for a 3rd party run, but not for a Republican primary, as
currently we only capture the 5-10% who are of Libertarian slant.
So the day before the primary, how can this possibly help us? Well, we use the same
tactic that the GOP did in Louisiana which in the last minute took away Ron Paul's
win towards a united front for a Pro-Life/Pro-Family Ron Reagan fictional candidate.
This time we use this flyer and have it connected to Ron Paul as they enter the
ballots. This is the emotional spark for the base Republicans that we have been
missing, but the other candidates continually use against us.
I ask all of you to re-read the email I sent out, which I included below. You have
been working hard for Ron Paul and you all do not want to see it go away. I am not
saying this will win it for us toorrow, but it will significantly raise the chances
of Ron Paul getting a much stronger showing and letting the world know that the
movement is not dream, but alive and GROWING EXPONENTIALLY.
Tomorrow you can go vote and do nothing more and watch as they win and see our
voices fade away, or you can take action and spread the word and see change happen
before you. The message will grow with your help, but ONLY with your help. If
there is one thing you need to do tomorrow, then save your country and fight for Ron
Paul.
For Freedom,
Steve
Thanks for the great report Steve!
The email to which he refers:
After canvassing here in NY (all of you have been canvassing of course, right?), I
came across the same thing over and over again: undecided and confusion over the
candidates. They simply do not know who to vote for. Over and over again, I hear
people say there is no Reagan conservative candidate. They are considering McCain,
simply because that is what the media is telling them, but they are smart enough to
know he is not a true conservative Republican. After setting them straight, I
realized this is an opportunity. I have longed pushed matching Ron Paul to Ronald
Reagan and even wrote emails to local GOP committees on it, but now I understand it.
Most people I saw (70-80%) did not do their own research and want the decision to be
given to them, either by the media or local Republicans. If they don't watch the
news or get a recommendation from friends, then they just go after the name they
heard before. More than issues right now, the way we can may a quick difference
before Super Tuesday is to go for the emotional hit. Every other campaign knows
this, they do not really talk issues but talk about "Change" or "Fight them over
there so we don't fight them over here" without actually showing anything to back it
up.
In Louisiana, they created a Pro-Life, Pro Family undeclared candidate for delegates
and it won because it had a picture of Ronald Reagan. Now McCain is airing new TV
ads called the Reagan Revolution. The psychology works, the professional campaign
managers are experts. Well, it time to fight fire with fire.
We have days to make Ron Paul = Ron Reagan = Conservative. Especially for the
senior citizens and the 70-80% of the undecided, this will be the subliminal kick
to vote for Ron Paul when they see his name first on the ballot on Tuesday.
I found this
RON PDF (http://files.meetup.com/637551/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf)
on Ron Paul Forums, and I think it does the job. Print these out and include them
with the lit you are canvassing with. Hand them out at events.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, hand these outside the poll all day saying "Vote for the RON
Reagan Candidate". Again, the subliminal message will hit their subconscious and
the impact will be the greatest on the older voter. Is this something Karl Rove
would do? Yes. Is this something that can work? It did in Louisiana! Do you want
Ron Paul to win? Yes.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Print at least 300-1000 copies (based on the size of your precinct polling
location) of this PDF:
RON PDF (http://files.meetup.com/637551/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf)
2) Find where your polling place will be (you were going to vote, right), by going
to your County's website link to the Board of Election. Remember, most states
require that you can not campaign within a certain distance from the polls (~100
ft).
Click on the link below and click on your county. Each county should list all of
its polling places.
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/portal/page?_pageid=35,1,35_8677:35_8685&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
3) Recruit friends to help. Meetup Organizers, help your group by assigning poll
stations to everyone in your group.
4) Optional: Print out your state's Election Law (In NY, 5-204.9)stating that you
can hand out material outside the restricted distance from the polls, in case
someone comes to you and says you can not do this. (They are wrong.)
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/download/law/2007NYElectionLaw.pdf (Page
87).
5) Polling Hours:
NYS Board of Elections Primary Elections
In New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange,
Putnam and Erie, POLLS OPEN AT 6 AM - CLOSE AT 9 PM. In all other counties, POLLS
OPEN AT 12 NOON and CLOSE AT 9 PM.
Come in early as many voters vote before going to work, and stay late for those who
vote after work. If you are working that day, then by going early, during lunch,
and after work, you will still hit the majority of people. (Remember to vote
yourself)
6) Bring Ron Paul Signs, friends, and kids to help.
7) Hand out this flyer and say "Vote for the RON Reagan candidate" or "This is the
RON Reagan conservative candidate." and that's it, don't say Ron Paul. They will
read it based on that alone, and by overemphasizing RON, the subconscious will
connect with Ron Paul when they see his name on the ballot.
This is it, people. Now is the time. If you are a true supporter of Ron Paul, this
is what you must do to turn the tide for Ron Paul, just like George Washington
troops after a brutal winter in Valley Forge. Its time for you to rise to the
occasion and become heroes to this, our United States of America. Many of you did
not join the Ron Paul army to canvass, finding the safety of the Internet to be
comforting while watching Ron lose in the real world. Well, its time to get out of
your comfort zone for one day and one day only, and RISE TO BE A HERO. SAVE OUR
COUNTRY.
This tactic of linking Ron Reagan to a candidate position worked perfectly AGAINST
us in Louisiana. It is brilliant because it is the emotional spark that the
Republican base is waiting for. LET'S FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE, and turn this battle to
victory. This is Midway, Waterloo, and Stalingrad all tied up in one. This is OUR
LAST CHANCE for a brokered convention, AND WE CAN ONLY WIN IF YOU ARE IN THE FIGHT.
For freedom,
Steven Vasquez
Thought tailored to NY RP supporters, the above will work anywhere. I will be at my polling place tomorrow with those handouts, you can be sure. :)
I worked the sidewalks mostly, handing out slimjims and talking up the doctor to passersby. One group which I targeted were individuals standing outside office buildings having a quick smoke break. I talked with them about Ron Paul being the only candidate that supports freedom of choice and that he would never support a nationwide ban on smoking in public places, which is now being discussed in DC. They were VERY receptive.
But that is only one success, the other comes from inside the hotel where a few RP supporters handed out fliers:
Please forward this or the email below to your Meetups.
Today, the NYS State Republicans held a major political rally in Albany NY to
declare McCain the next presidential nominee to all the Republican state workers.
It was a who's who of the NYS GOP, including Joe Bruno, former Senator D'Amato, etc,
and it was standing room only of over 300-500 attendees. (Note, there is also a
similar rally in NYC where former governor Pataki will endorse McCain later today).
Of course, Ron Paul suporters made our appearance with large signs and passionate
enthusiasm outside the event. We did receive enthusiasm from traffic, and the news
crews did film our gang, so hopefully we will have a few seconds on TV. However,
that was not the success I allude to by my email subject line, as I do not believe
this will win votes.
The success I found were two items:
1) While I did see many gung-ho McCain supporters, I also sense major
dissatisfaction among the audience with the choice that their leadership presented
them. The leadership had to stress conservatism and needing to make compromises for
the party to be united. The GOP is confused because they are being led away from
their core beliefs in conservatism and its causing internal strife in the party.
2) When the event ended, two of us handed out flyers. One was the Ron Paul issues
and the other was the Reagan/Paul flyer I have previously sent you:
http://files.meetup.com/862616/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf and was saying
"Support the Reagan Candidate." Overwhelmingly, people took more flyers from me and
read it continuously as they walked on, while some dropped the Ron Paul issues
flyer. They were saying, sure I will read this and many were holding their hands out
to take the Reagan flyer from me.
Does this mean I converted their vote? No, as these are the state GOP and they have
to follow the parties direction. But they were very drawn to it and interested to
see something that actually reflects their value of conservatism. My point is that
if it has this amount of impact with McCain followers and leaders of the state GOP,
you can see the impact it would have with the undecided voter and the senior citizen
voter as they walk towards the poll to cast their ballot.
The reality is that up to this point, many of us were campaigning on the full
gauntlet of Ron Paul issues that attracts Libertarian, Independant, and Democrat
values, which helped bring in the mass supporters we now have, but not the voters.
By combining all these issues and underemphasizing the conservative issues and
emotional connections (Reagan/Goldwater/Taft) that are the core to the Republican
belief system, we lose our target segment... the Republican voter. Campaigning is
the same as marketing in business, you need to know who your customer/market is and
create a message that creates an emotional link with the product (Ron Paul) that you
are offering. Ron Paul is the most conservative candidate when you look at taxes,
limited government, Pro-Life, Pro-Family, Gun Rights, Immigration, Strong National
Defense, going after Terrorism, Federalism/States Rights, and Constitutional
Liberties. The issues of ending the wars, bringing our troops back,
removing the IRS/CIA, etc, has broad appeal outside the Republican party, but it
repulses or confuses the base we have been trying to convert for the past few
months. It may work for a 3rd party run, but not for a Republican primary, as
currently we only capture the 5-10% who are of Libertarian slant.
So the day before the primary, how can this possibly help us? Well, we use the same
tactic that the GOP did in Louisiana which in the last minute took away Ron Paul's
win towards a united front for a Pro-Life/Pro-Family Ron Reagan fictional candidate.
This time we use this flyer and have it connected to Ron Paul as they enter the
ballots. This is the emotional spark for the base Republicans that we have been
missing, but the other candidates continually use against us.
I ask all of you to re-read the email I sent out, which I included below. You have
been working hard for Ron Paul and you all do not want to see it go away. I am not
saying this will win it for us toorrow, but it will significantly raise the chances
of Ron Paul getting a much stronger showing and letting the world know that the
movement is not dream, but alive and GROWING EXPONENTIALLY.
Tomorrow you can go vote and do nothing more and watch as they win and see our
voices fade away, or you can take action and spread the word and see change happen
before you. The message will grow with your help, but ONLY with your help. If
there is one thing you need to do tomorrow, then save your country and fight for Ron
Paul.
For Freedom,
Steve
Thanks for the great report Steve!
The email to which he refers:
After canvassing here in NY (all of you have been canvassing of course, right?), I
came across the same thing over and over again: undecided and confusion over the
candidates. They simply do not know who to vote for. Over and over again, I hear
people say there is no Reagan conservative candidate. They are considering McCain,
simply because that is what the media is telling them, but they are smart enough to
know he is not a true conservative Republican. After setting them straight, I
realized this is an opportunity. I have longed pushed matching Ron Paul to Ronald
Reagan and even wrote emails to local GOP committees on it, but now I understand it.
Most people I saw (70-80%) did not do their own research and want the decision to be
given to them, either by the media or local Republicans. If they don't watch the
news or get a recommendation from friends, then they just go after the name they
heard before. More than issues right now, the way we can may a quick difference
before Super Tuesday is to go for the emotional hit. Every other campaign knows
this, they do not really talk issues but talk about "Change" or "Fight them over
there so we don't fight them over here" without actually showing anything to back it
up.
In Louisiana, they created a Pro-Life, Pro Family undeclared candidate for delegates
and it won because it had a picture of Ronald Reagan. Now McCain is airing new TV
ads called the Reagan Revolution. The psychology works, the professional campaign
managers are experts. Well, it time to fight fire with fire.
We have days to make Ron Paul = Ron Reagan = Conservative. Especially for the
senior citizens and the 70-80% of the undecided, this will be the subliminal kick
to vote for Ron Paul when they see his name first on the ballot on Tuesday.
I found this
RON PDF (http://files.meetup.com/637551/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf)
on Ron Paul Forums, and I think it does the job. Print these out and include them
with the lit you are canvassing with. Hand them out at events.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, hand these outside the poll all day saying "Vote for the RON
Reagan Candidate". Again, the subliminal message will hit their subconscious and
the impact will be the greatest on the older voter. Is this something Karl Rove
would do? Yes. Is this something that can work? It did in Louisiana! Do you want
Ron Paul to win? Yes.
ACTION ITEMS:
1) Print at least 300-1000 copies (based on the size of your precinct polling
location) of this PDF:
RON PDF (http://files.meetup.com/637551/Ron_Win_One_For_The_Gipper.pdf)
2) Find where your polling place will be (you were going to vote, right), by going
to your County's website link to the Board of Election. Remember, most states
require that you can not campaign within a certain distance from the polls (~100
ft).
Click on the link below and click on your county. Each county should list all of
its polling places.
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/portal/page?_pageid=35,1,35_8677:35_8685&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
3) Recruit friends to help. Meetup Organizers, help your group by assigning poll
stations to everyone in your group.
4) Optional: Print out your state's Election Law (In NY, 5-204.9)stating that you
can hand out material outside the restricted distance from the polls, in case
someone comes to you and says you can not do this. (They are wrong.)
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/NYSBOE/download/law/2007NYElectionLaw.pdf (Page
87).
5) Polling Hours:
NYS Board of Elections Primary Elections
In New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange,
Putnam and Erie, POLLS OPEN AT 6 AM - CLOSE AT 9 PM. In all other counties, POLLS
OPEN AT 12 NOON and CLOSE AT 9 PM.
Come in early as many voters vote before going to work, and stay late for those who
vote after work. If you are working that day, then by going early, during lunch,
and after work, you will still hit the majority of people. (Remember to vote
yourself)
6) Bring Ron Paul Signs, friends, and kids to help.
7) Hand out this flyer and say "Vote for the RON Reagan candidate" or "This is the
RON Reagan conservative candidate." and that's it, don't say Ron Paul. They will
read it based on that alone, and by overemphasizing RON, the subconscious will
connect with Ron Paul when they see his name on the ballot.
This is it, people. Now is the time. If you are a true supporter of Ron Paul, this
is what you must do to turn the tide for Ron Paul, just like George Washington
troops after a brutal winter in Valley Forge. Its time for you to rise to the
occasion and become heroes to this, our United States of America. Many of you did
not join the Ron Paul army to canvass, finding the safety of the Internet to be
comforting while watching Ron lose in the real world. Well, its time to get out of
your comfort zone for one day and one day only, and RISE TO BE A HERO. SAVE OUR
COUNTRY.
This tactic of linking Ron Reagan to a candidate position worked perfectly AGAINST
us in Louisiana. It is brilliant because it is the emotional spark that the
Republican base is waiting for. LET'S FIGHT FIRE WITH FIRE, and turn this battle to
victory. This is Midway, Waterloo, and Stalingrad all tied up in one. This is OUR
LAST CHANCE for a brokered convention, AND WE CAN ONLY WIN IF YOU ARE IN THE FIGHT.
For freedom,
Steven Vasquez
Thought tailored to NY RP supporters, the above will work anywhere. I will be at my polling place tomorrow with those handouts, you can be sure. :)