Report from Silicon Valley Republican picnic

[jpa]

I attended a local Republican picnic here in CA, to rally some support in my area. I talked to 20-30 people this afternoon.

- The first thing I noticed is the age! 90% of the crowd was over 40, and atleast half over 60.
- Little to no support for Ron Paul from the life long party members here. They knew of him, and thought he was interesting.
- Mitt Romney is considered the favorite, with some people pulling for Rudy
- Most were not happy or excited with the candidates, lots of talk of lack of enthusiasm in 2006
- Fred Thompson was the butt of a lot fo jokes. Republicans out here are not taking him seriously
- Most don't know about Ron Paul's grassroots success or online domination. We need to figure out how to get the word out, and not just online or in the blogs.
- A lot people commented to me about not getting young support or the next generation.. We need to appeal to the party about how Dr. Paul pulls the next generation to the party
- most people get their news from Fox News. :(
- There was 1 paid cordinator, from Rudy's campaign. He was a real arrogant prick, and didn't really do a good job networking.
- He said they have 16 paid in CA, Mitt has zero, and they fully expect to take 55 delegates on Feb 5th
- They made 20,000 calls last week to republicans in CA (claimed personal, not machine)
- He said Rudy's planning on the nomination being over on Feb 5th. He kept gushing over Rudy, telling me how smart and articulate and what a great leader he was. And how much polling they do, and how they know they are going to win. Did I mention he was a prick?



Next up is a South Bay Republican Event called Rising Tide. It targets a younger crowd. I am also going to the SVGoP calling campaign, where all campaigns are invited to call local republicans.

[Brasil Branco]

- A lot people commented to me about not getting young support or the next generation.. We need to appeal to the party about how Dr. Paul pulls the next generation to the party

Just mention how he's #4 on Facebook, and #3 on Myspace among ALL candidates- these are social networking sites basically for young people (Myspace is 14-19, Facebook is about 17-30)! Basically, there are quite a lot of young people behind him as well. He is getting young support- moreso than the other Republican candidates.

Good job though! Nice report :)

[born2drv]

I attended a local Republican picnic here in CA, to rally some support in my area. I talked to 20-30 people this afternoon.

- The first thing I noticed is the age! 90% of the crowd was over 40, and atleast half over 60.
- Little to no support for Ron Paul from the life long party members here. They knew of him, and thought he was interesting.
- Mitt Romney is considered the favorite, with some people pulling for Rudy
- Most were not happy or excited with the candidates, lots of talk of lack of enthusiasm in 2006
- Fred Thompson was the butt of a lot fo jokes. Republicans out here are not taking him seriously
- Most don't know about Ron Paul's grassroots success or online domination. We need to figure out how to get the word out, and not just online or in the blogs.
- A lot people commented to me about not getting young support or the next generation.. We need to appeal to the party about how Dr. Paul pulls the next generation to the party
- most people get their news from Fox News. :(
- There was 1 paid cordinator, from Rudy's campaign. He was a real arrogant prick, and didn't really do a good job networking.
- He said they have 16 paid in CA, Mitt has zero, and they fully expect to take 55 delegates on Feb 5th
- They made 20,000 calls last week to republicans in CA (claimed personal, not machine)
- He said Rudy's planning on the nomination being over on Feb 5th. He kept gushing over Rudy, telling me how smart and articulate and what a great leader he was. And how much polling they do, and how they know they are going to win. Did I mention he was a prick?



Next up is a South Bay Republican Event called Rising Tide. It targets a younger crowd. I am also going to the SVGoP calling campaign, where all campaigns are invited to call local republicans.



Haha.... Well we have 4-5 solid months before feb 5th, i have a feeling in a month or 2 we're going to be making some headway into the MSM, it's inevitable because our support base grows every day.

Did you have literature to hand out to them? I think this is the best approach. I'm going to try and do some mass-mailings of my own with that founders flyer once i finish modifying it. i suggest everyone get some good literature, because when you talk to people you only have 2-3 seconds to capture their attention.... give them a line to reel them in and get them interested (like ron paul wants to abolish the IRS and eliminate all income tax), then give them the flier.

[princessredtights]

I think you did well! You took initiative to be a part of the process. I'm sure those seeds you planted will be fruitful some day.

[jpa]

Just mention how he's #4 on Facebook, and #3 on Myspace among ALL candidates- these are social networking sites basically for young people (Myspace is 14-19, Facebook is about 17-30)! Basically, there are quite a lot of young people behind him as well. He is getting young support- moreso than the other Republican candidates.

Good job though! Nice report :)

I was... remember these people have never heard of facebook or myspace

[billm317]

- The first thing I noticed is the age! 90% of the crowd was over 40, and atleast half over 60.
- Little to no support for Ron Paul from the life long party members here. They knew of him, and thought he was interesting.
- Mitt Romney is considered the favorite, with some people pulling for Rudy
- Most were not happy or excited with the candidates, lots of talk of lack of enthusiasm in 2006
- Fred Thompson was the butt of a lot fo jokes. Republicans out here are not taking him seriously
- Most don't know about Ron Paul's grassroots success or online domination. We need to figure out how to get the word out, and not just online or in the blogs.
- A lot people commented to me about not getting young support or the next generation.. We need to appeal to the party about how Dr. Paul pulls the next generation to the party
- most people get their news from Fox News. :(
- There was 1 paid cordinator, from Rudy's campaign. He was a real arrogant prick, and didn't really do a good job networking.
- He said they have 16 paid in CA, Mitt has zero, and they fully expect to take 55 delegates on Feb 5th
- They made 20,000 calls last week to republicans in CA (claimed personal, not machine)
- He said Rudy's planning on the nomination being over on Feb 5th. He kept gushing over Rudy, telling me how smart and articulate and what a great leader he was. And how much polling they do, and how they know they are going to win. Did I mention he was a prick?

Do you think this might be good to forward to the meetup group coordinators around that area? I think it might let them know what they're up against and possibly provide a bit of extra motivation.

[jpa]

yea, I am friends with the new meetup group leader for SV (waves to Dave). I think he is on this board too.

Our meetup group is going to the call campaign that svgop is hosting.

[LibertyEagle]

Just mention how he's #4 on Facebook, and #3 on Myspace among ALL candidates- these are social networking sites basically for young people (Myspace is 14-19, Facebook is about 17-30)! Basically, there are quite a lot of young people behind him as well. He is getting young support- moreso than the other Republican candidates.

Good job though! Nice report :)

The problem is, Brasil, I doubt these people have ever heard of Myspace or Facebook. I know it's hard for us to believe, but there are a heck of a lot of people out there who hardly touch the internet, other than for email or work.

I really think we're going to have to hit the streets and hand out literature to real people, to win this thing and get involved in Republican events and talk to them. They need to know that Dr. Paul does have supporters, that we are real flesh and blood and even kinda normal (:p ). Only then, will they start taking a real look at him. At least that's what I think.

I really think we're on the cusp of something here. If we all get outside of our comfort zones and take the lead of Sematary, jpa, quickmike, and others and get out there face to face with people, the tide could really turn in our favor.

[LibertyEagle]

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