Just got back from Anita Andrews

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

First off, she has some good stuff to say and a lot of good training for those have never worked on a campaign before. I would encourage everyone to go.

However, there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

Basically,I got the idea that this was her first chance to consult a national campaign, so she took it. But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)

Also, she made a number of wierd statements:

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.


Anyways, I know there was alot of talk about her. Just my 2 cents.

[max]

First off, she has some good stuff to say and a lot of good training for those have never worked on a campaign before. I would encourage everyone to go.

However, there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

Basically,I got the idea that this was her first chance to consult a national campaign, so she took it. But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)

Also, she made a number of wierd statements:

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.


Anyways, I know there was alot of talk about her. Just my 2 cents.



Is there anything she said that you forsee your group utilizing right away to good effect?...

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

Yes!!!...her material was actually pretty good. Most of the plans seem like alot of work though, so I hope it actually gets done. But there is only one way to take care of that...do it!

[nullvalu]

Is there anything she said that you forsee your group utilizing right away to good effect?...

Dude didn't you read the post? He can't answer that or he'll get sued!

:D

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

Haha..yeah..hence my vagueness.

Apparantly she has sued in the past and will again!!!! so..well, haha.

[Chester Copperpot]

First off, she has some good stuff to say and a lot of good training for those have never worked on a campaign before. I would encourage everyone to go.

However, there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

Basically,I got the idea that this was her first chance to consult a national campaign, so she took it. But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)

Also, she made a number of wierd statements:

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.


Anyways, I know there was alot of talk about her. Just my 2 cents.

There are some strict FEC rules about campaigns and volunteers.. She probably has to be disassociated with the official campaign in some regard so things like the lawsuit threat seem like a veiled attempt at this.. to me

[nullvalu]

I just don't see how all this work can be accomplished if the only people who know about them are the few people who went to these meetings...

She said you can't copy/hand out the material, but can you disseminate some of the ideas contained within?

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

I just don't see how all these "hard" things can be accomplished if the only people who know about them are the few people who went to these meetings...

She said you can't copy/hand out the material, but can you disseminate some of the ideas contained within?

Honestly, I am not sure what the rule is. And I really don't want to push the limit in a public forum. Get in touch with one of the Florida meetup leaders, and I'd bet they can help. That said...secrecy was not a bad thing to her.

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs. For what thats worth.

[Cowlesy]

It's all good, I'm sure she was helpful! NYC gets to meet her next week, and we're looking forward to it!

RON PAUL 2008!

[njjack]

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs. For what thats worth.

Hmm i'm probably going to have a problem with that. Actually now that you mention it, I do remember some guys from Alabama saying at one point the official campaign will just have to get used to the revolution signs, they are not going away.

[inibo]

Someone who attended one of her seminars is going to be giving a training session next weekend at a MeetUp in my neck of the woods. I'm considering going because people who have had this training are raving about it, but I still have a nagging feeling that something is just not right.

[catwoman]

Hmm i'm probably going to have a problem with that. Actually now that you mention it, I do remember some guys from Alabama saying at one point the official campaign will just have to get used to the revolution signs, they are not going away.

I tend to agree with you. If we change over to all "official" signs then we are just another political campaign, just like Rudy McRomney. BUT this is more than just a campaign in my eyes. It really is a revolution. This movement has character that comes from the varying different signs. The others well, just don't have that.

[constituent]

yea, it is too late for an all-out uppityification of the campaign. i can feel where they're coming from... but the should have seized the initiative long ago.

i've heard ron paul praise the signs in his speeches, so i'm not sure what to make of the clear disconnect presented by this 'revelation'

[Kuldebar]

Ron Paul himself said that he likes the R[evol]ution signs, it was in a speech appearance he made during the last 2 weeks.

Anita Andrews may have great ideas, but she needs to get over the idea that this movement is going to be contained or managed. In fact, trying to do so will only cause grief.

[LibertyEagle]

Someone who attended one of her seminars is going to be giving a training session next weekend at a MeetUp in my neck of the woods. I'm considering going because people who have had this training are raving about it, but I still have a nagging feeling that something is just not right.

Well, Don Rasmussen from the campaign came on here last week and said it was up and up. You can do a search for the thread. He also said if anyone had any other questions, they could ask them there and he would get them answered.

[catwoman]

I view this whole deal like a tsunami. It is nearly imperceptible when it starts but once it gets going there is just no stopping it. It will come and it has a mind of its own.

[catwoman]

Well, Don Rasmussen from the campaign came on here last week and said it was up and up. You can do a search for the thread. He also said if anyone had any other questions, they could ask them there and he would get them answered.


I'm assuming we know for sure it was in fact Don Rasmussen.

[LibertyEagle]

Well, we now have word that they would like us to use the official signs more. So, does anyone have a problem with doing that? We can still continue on with the other ones too. We can just try to add in more official ones.

[Chester Copperpot]

I view this whole deal like a tsunami. It is nearly imperceptible when it starts but once it gets going there is just no stopping it. It will come and it has a mind of its own.

yes, I agree

[constituent]

this word is indirect at best. RP will drop what he wants to see before too long. he knows we're listening.

[LibertyEagle]

I'm assuming we know for sure it was in fact Don Rasmussen.

As I recall, someone also, besides me, contacted the campaign about her and this issue, which is why Don Rasmussen came on here to begin with. Look, let's not start this whole thing AGAIN.

If you have a question about her, please call the campaign first thing Monday morning. I once did also. I no longer doubt the fact that she has been hired by the campaign to do exactly what she is doing.

[max]

I'm sure she has some good ideas....but does she realize that 40,000 Meetup members really means only 5,000 actual Meetup members? If she is basing our capabilities on the 40,000 figure, she will grossly overestimate our potential.

But ditching the Ron Paul revolution and other homemade signs isn't a good idea. She sounds like a corparate stiff to me...but I'm sure she has good stuff to say as well..

Never underestimate your own ability and always filter the advice of people through your own common sense...For my money, I'd like to see HQ start buying TV ads instead of consultants.

[catwoman]

Well, we now have word that they would like us to use the official signs more. So, does anyone have a problem with doing that? We can still continue on with the other ones too. We can just try to add in more official ones.

I just don't want to get rid of the Revolution one. It is the signature of the movement if you ask me.

In addition to the official ones I think there should also be one about taking marching orders from the constitution. That has to be the best line of the entire campaign.

[Kuldebar]

Ron Paul brings up the R[evol]ution signs in his speech...reference:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showpost.php?p=162088&postcount=1

[LibertyEagle]

this word is indirect at best. RP will drop what he wants to see before too long. he knows we're listening.

They HAVE. Jesus Christ. Do you expect him to drop everything and tell you what to do? He hired a consultant to help us. If you doubt that, call the campaign and ask them.

[constituent]

calm down lady.

he's got a great way of incorporating exactly what he wants into what he says.

[njjack]

Oh well I don't mind everyone have a different style sign. Hell we do that already and if the official campaign is saying lets get some signs that look professional thats cool.

I'm just saying anyone (short of RP himself) tries stopping the ron paul revolution signs is going to have some trouble, he has said on numerous occasions he likes them and the message.

[specsaregood]

i've heard ron paul praise the signs in his speeches, so i'm not sure what to make of the clear disconnect presented by this 'revelation'

And on a sidenote, while out sermonizing to the people about Ron Paul today, I came across two hardcore christians evangelizing on the same street. They didn't know about Ron Paul (they do now and promised to search for his 'statement of faith' online.) anyways, they were went off on "Love" and how it was missing from society. I happily pointed at my rEVOLution shirt and asked them what do you think this is all about?! Long story short: they loved the logo and the subtle message it brought with it. And these two people were definitely not hippies.

[LibertyEagle]

calm down lady.

he's got a great way of incorporating exactly what he wants into what he says.

Hiring a consultant seems to be a pretty clear message.

[Kuldebar]

I'm sure she has some good ideas....but does she realize that 40,000 Meetup members really means only 5,000 actual Meetup members? If she is basing our capabilities on the 40,000 figure, she will grossly overestimate our potential.

But ditching the Ron Paul revolution and other homemade signs isn't a good idea. She sounds like a corparate stiff to me...but I'm sure she has good stuff to say as well..

Never underestimate your own ability and always filter the advice of people through your own common sense...For my money, I'd like to see HQ start buying TV ads instead of consultants.

I agree. I have no clue how much/if anything she is paid but I do think orthodox campaign methods do not necessarily and readily apply here.

I would rather people share ideas freely, try things, if they work or bring success those ideas will spread and be used by other people.

Perhaps Andrews is attempting to homogenize the appearance of Ron Paul's support...well on one level I can understand the desire but on the other hand I find it to be a rather "Uncle Tom" type thing to do.

[LibertyEagle]

I agree. I have no clue how much/if anything she is paid but I do think orthodox campaign methods do not necessarily and readily apply here.

I would rather people share ideas freely, try things, if they work or bring success those ideas will spread and be used by other people.

Perhaps Andrews is attempting to homogenize the appearance of Ron Paul's support...well on one level I can understand the desire but on the other hand I find it to be a rather "Uncle Tom" type thing to do.

Guys, guys... we're doing the speculation thing again. Just call the campaign Monday if you want to know, or leave a message for Don Rasmussen. He promised to check back to see if we had any other questions that he could get answered for us by the campaign.

[Ann Kobialka]

The last time we went round and round about anita someone concluded very correctly "She is trying to herd cats"
Hiring consultants is old school
The campaign and the good doctor have both publically stated they are trying to catch up with the grassroots and find out about things as we tell them.
Anita is paid help who is trying to catch up with us by yelling "stop what you are doing, wait up, listen to me" By the time she gets that out we are already gone
This is top down management and if it takes hold we will become another wanna be campaign and loose My 2 cents Ann

[constituent]

Perhaps Andrews is attempting to homogenize the appearance of Ron Paul's support...well on one level I can understand the desire but on the other hand I find it to be a rather "Uncle Tom" type thing to do.

truer words never spoken.

[constituent]

yea, i suppose the campaign could always hire abunch of mitt-witt style 'volunteers' to ensure the proper ratio of sanctioned vs. homemade
signs at a given event, it'd probably be cheaper than some high paid consultant...

where's that dotted line?

[LibertyEagle]

Here is the thread, boys:
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=15173&highlight=Rasmussen

Instead of conjuring up in your own minds what you think she must be doing and sharing it on this forum, why don't you go to the source and find out? Call the campaign. I say this, because to be doing this speculation about an initiative from the campaign (of which you have no knowledge) can be very dangerous to its success.

[LibertyEagle]

The last time we went round and round about anita someone concluded very correctly "She is trying to herd cats"
Hiring consultants is old school
The campaign and the good doctor have both publically stated they are trying to catch up with the grassroots and find out about things as we tell them.
Anita is paid help who is trying to catch up with us by yelling "stop what you are doing, wait up, listen to me" By the time she gets that out we are already gone
This is top down management and if it takes hold we will become another wanna be campaign and loose My 2 cents Ann

Have you attended one of her briefings?

[constituent]

Instead of conjuring up in your own minds what she must be doing and sharing it on this forum, why don't you go to the source and find out? Call the campaign. I say this, because to be doing this speculation about an initiative from the campaign (of which you have no knowledge) can be very dangerous to its success.

actually, that's not what is going on. what is happening is a discussion about the efficacy of wasting our grassroots time listening to some paid consultant who is still campaigning in the last century.

i'm sure the staff is competant and that's fine... but people will volunteer to do what they want to do... anything more than that and we're back to politics as usual, and they're back to whatever else they've got going on.

[Kuldebar]

Guys, guys... we're doing the speculation thing again. Just call the campaign Monday if you want to know, or leave a message for Don Rasmussen. He promised to check back to see if we had any other questions that he could get answered for us by the campaign.


My comments apply whether Andrews is in the employ of the campaign or not. What she seems to be doing is what we should discuss.

I don't dismiss her out of hand but I question authority on the complex matters of human interaction and the spreading of support.

I freely admit my "hackles' get raised when I get wind of suggestions to sand off our rougher edges. I feel very strongly that Ron Paul has made it clear that is is unbridled creative energy that drives progress, I apply this to my view of the grass roots effort.

Of Andrews efforts and the methods she espouses, the little I know of them, appear to be very confining and exclusionary.

[LibertyEagle]

actually, that's not what is going on. what is happening is a discussion about the efficacy of wasting our grassroots time listening to some paid consultant who is still campaigning in the last century.

i'm sure the staff is competant and that's fine... but people will volunteer to do what they want to do... anything more than that and we're back to politics as usual, and they're back to whatever else they've got going on.

It sounds like you have somehow decided in your mind what she is presenting. I'm curious how you were able to do that, without attending the briefing. Perhaps you should know what you are talking about, before starting to throw daggers.

[Ann Kobialka]

Liberty Eagle, no I have not been to one of her meetings,
I was going to go to the on in Orlando this weekend so called someone who had gone to a previous one and after the call decided not to drive from southern Alabama to Central Florida and use the time and money here locally. Ann

[LibertyEagle]

If You Guys Have Not Attended The Briefing, How In Hell Do You Not What She Is, Or Is Not, Doing?

[Kuldebar]

Instead of conjuring up in your own minds what you think she must be doing and sharing it on this forum, why don't you go to the source and find out? Call the campaign. I say this, because to be doing this speculation about an initiative from the campaign (of which you have no knowledge) can be very dangerous to its success.


The OP in this thread is specifically describing his visit with Andrews and about what her advice was to us...so I think that's pretty clear without any conjuration in regards to what Andrews prefers.

[LibertyEagle]

In the interest of preventing the disinformation and speculation that manifested itself on this forum regarding, for example, Anita Andrews and her role with the campaign, I have created a "Contact Me" link at the top of my blog so that questions such as this can be quickly and easily answered.

http://freemansburden.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to ask me if you have a question about staff, the campaign, or any issue relating to Dr. Paul. Understand that I am still bound by the constraints of federal law and propriety so my answers may not always be satisfying, but I hope it will be helpful in keeping everyone focused on the task at hand, helping Dr. Paul win this race!

I also want to take a second and thank all of you for your hard work and your efforts on behalf of the campaign and the freedom movement.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=15173

[constituent]

although the george bush debate tactic almost worked

since you couldn't possibly know what she said (otherwise some lady'd be suing somebody's ass)...

how dare you speculate w/out proof..

no you can't see that...

no no no... i'll sue you...

how dare you speculate?

[LibertyEagle]

The OP in this thread is specifically describing his visit with Andrews and about what her advice was to us...so I think that's pretty clear without any conjuration in regards to what Andrews prefers.

He said one frickin' little thing about the stupid signs. He also said he could not talk about the core of the training. Most of the people we have heard from about this training seemed to think it was very valuable.

All I'm saying is to please stop guessing what it is about, when none of us really knows, unless we have attended it. We won't be able to find out the content any other way, because of the NDAs that are signed.

If you have concerns beyond that, just call the campaign Monday morning. If you keep on with this, all you're doing is throwing daggers at something you really have no clue about and it can endanger the initiative from campaign headquarters. Do you really want to be responsible for that?

[Cowlesy]

What are all the people with between 1 and 20 posts going to think when they read this thread??

[Kuldebar]

He said one frickin' little thing about the stupid signs. He also said he could not talk about the core of the training. Most of the people we have heard from about this training seemed to think it was very valuable.

I think discussing what one person's opinions who actually attended the Andrews event is wholly relevant.

FloridaRonPaul2008 made a number of observations and comments:


...there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

...she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul.

...wierd statements:
-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs.

Those things merit discussing, regardless if Andrews is or is not a paid/highly paid/official/unofficial campaign worker/volunteer.

[njjack]

What are all the people with between 1 and 20 posts going to think when they read this thread??

That we are vigilant to the letter. Passionate about what we do, and do our due diligence on information about direction. It's our strength and they would see that we are supporters that think and have a wealth of knowledge in different fields and backgrounds that may bring brighter ideas to the table given the chance.

[LibertyEagle]

They will also see a bunch of people jumping to conclusions about an initiative from campaign headquarters, about which they have no knowledge. How do you know that someone is trying to squelch your "brighter ideas"? You don't. You're just jumping to that conclusion. What will it hurt to listen to the woman for a few hours? If you don't agree with what she says, no one is going to force you to do it. But, all this conjecture and then dissing what she is doing, when you really have no idea at all what that really is, is not constructive at all.

[LibertyEagle]

I think discussing what one person's opinions who actually attended the Andrews event is wholly relevant.

FloridaRonPaul2008 made a number of observations and comments:



Those things merit discussing, regardless if Andrews is or is not a paid/highly paid/official/unofficial campaign worker/volunteer.

Perhaps instead of airing the dirty laundry on a public forum in plain sight of ANYONE who might be viewing this forum, including reporters, staff members of other campaigns, etc., perhaps you should CALL THE CAMPAIGN!

[constituent]

naah... we own our laundry thanks.

[Kuldebar]

They will also see a bunch of people jumping to conclusions about an initiative from campaign headquarters, about which they have no knowledge. How do you know that someone is trying to squelch your "brighter ideas"? You don't. You're just jumping to that conclusion. What will it hurt to listen to the woman for a few hours? If you don't agree with what she says, no one is going to force you to do it. But, all this conjecture and then dissing what she is doing, when you really have no idea at all what that really is, is not constructive at all.

Nah, I like njjack's version better because it's far more in tune with the liberty message:


That we are vigilant to the letter. Passionate about what we do, and do our due diligence on information about direction. It's our strength and they would see that we are supporters that think and have a wealth of knowledge in different fields and backgrounds that may bring brighter ideas to the table given the chance.

If I had any desire to call and bother the campaign with a question about Andrews, a question that appears to have already been answered according to people that already called the campaign about Andrews...it wouldn't change a thing about what we may feel about the value of her advice.

[catwoman]

Just let it go folks and make your calls on Monday. I for one am satisfied now that things are on the up and up. I checked out Ron's official site and her name is on the list of staff members.

[nullvalu]

What are all the people with between 1 and 20 posts going to think when they read this thread??

Well, this was the OP's first post, so... :D ask him/her

[njjack]

They will also see a bunch of people jumping to conclusions about an initiative from campaign headquarters, about which they have no knowledge. How do you know that someone is trying to squelch your "brighter ideas"? You don't. You're just jumping to that conclusion. What will it hurt to listen to the woman for a few hours? If you don't agree with what she says, no one is going to force you to do it. But, all this conjecture and then dissing what she is doing, when you really have no idea at all what that really is, is not constructive at all.

whoa, LE I'm not jumping to conclusions I think your taking alot of peoples questions here as conclusions.

I plan to hear what she has to say, I never said someone was squelching anything.

[LibertyEagle]

naah... we own our laundry thanks.

Actually, you do not. You are sharing it with anyone and everyone who is reading this thread. For you to talk this way on a public forum about an initiative from campaign headquarters is beyond belief and it certainly makes me question your intention in this campaign. :mad:

[constituent]

w/ever... more of the same garbage from libertyeagle...

blah blah blah... i disagree so therefore i question your intention in this campaign..

get used to it OP... letcha know right now...

hey, did i find the source of the "consituent is a mole" e-mail? probably... but maybe not... some wanker though.

OP, the ignore feature is something worth looking into.

yea liberty, you're the one to decide what goes and stays in Josh Lowry's forum... i forgot, well you've shouted
me down once again (why do i get the feeling you voted twice for bush?), i guess i'll retire to my corner with the other non-in the know loosers.


edit: and we wonder why people are politically apathetic... look who greets 'em when they arrive.

[Kuldebar]

Actually, you do not. You are sharing it with anyone and everyone who is reading this thread. For you to talk this way on a public forum about an initiative from campaign headquarters is beyond belief and it certainly makes me question your intention in this campaign. :mad:

You are acting like an authoritarian concerning this discussion.

Whether or not the Paul Campaign has hired Andrews, the point is that the cats are already out of the bag, and it is a little late for any reasonable person to assume that those cats are going to be lined up in neat little rows and columns and sent marching off in lock step.

Advice is always welcome, if it's actually advice. Andrews is welcome to the movement, but her value is not automatically higher than any other volunteer.

Let her value be measured like any one else's via hard work and results. If her ideas work, those ideas will have self evident value and be welcomed.

[Cowlesy]

You are acting like an authoritarian concerning this discussion.

Whether or not the Paul Campaign has hired Andrews, the point is that the cats are already out of the bag, and it is a little late for any reasonable person to assume that those cats are going to be lined up in neat little rows and columns.

Advice is always welcome, if it's actually advice. Andrews is welcome to the movement, but her value is not automatically higher than any other volunteer.

Let her value be measured like any one else's via hard work and results. If her ideas work, those ideas will have self evident value and be welcomed.

Guys --- I am always on your side, but Anita Andrews has been proven and IS part of the RON PAUL CAMPAIGN. She's even on the freakin' website!!!!!

Call the Campaign if you really think there is some huge conspiracy---seriously. I'll be meeting with her with the rest of Avery Knapp's NYC team next week.

Before you all crucify her because she made some dumb "i'll file a lawsuit remark", let's just all see what she has to say. It's the bare minimum of what we can do.

Until then, let's continue to keep doing our own thing in parallel to whatever the campaign suggests, because clearly everyone is making an impact!

[LibertyEagle]

You are acting like an authoritarian concerning this discussion.

Whether or not the Paul Campaign has hired Andrews, the point is that the cats are already out of the bag, and it is a little late for any reasonable person to assume that those cats are going to be lined up in neat little rows and columns and sent marching off in lock step.

Advice is always welcome, if it's actually advice. Andrews is welcome to the movement, but her value is not automatically higher than any other volunteer.

Let her value be measured like any one else's via hard work and results. If her ideas work, those ideas will have self evident value and be welcomed.

All I am asking is that you wait until you know what you are talking about before dismissing what she is doing. I wouldn't be stressing this so much, but the campaign obviously thinks this training is important. Don't you think we should respect them enough to actually SEE IT, before making a judgment about it?

If you call that authoritarian, so be it.

[constituent]

then the best first move would have been to let the thread die rather than throw your two cents in...

just mine.

[Nash]

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.


I don't understand. She didn't fully disclose her credentials to you guys and then won't let you pass along the strategy she gave you on a message board?

Why did the campaign hire her again? What's the point of having this person if we can't even discuss the information she's supposed to be giving out?

By the way I'm not suggesting this person doesn't have something to offer, just all those caveats seem bizarre to me.

[Kuldebar]

All I am asking is that you wait until you know what you are talking about before dismissing what she is doing. I wouldn't be stressing this so much, but the campaign obviously thinks this training is important. Don't you think we should respect them enough to actually SEE IT, before making a judgment about it?

If you call that authoritarian, so be it.

No, I don't think what you just said is "authoritarian".

I just think you are missing my point in regards to checks and balances.

Let's say the Ron Paul Campaign believes and states that Andrews is best thing since sliced bread. OK, fine.

But, if people going to hear her lecture come away with opinions like the OP, it may be a sign of a problem.

We talk about out of control government and the lack of constraint or adequate check and balances. Well, view our liberty inspired grassroots movement as the ultimate check and balance system.

Every single one of us has a Bull Shit Detector, yes, each one is set differently and triggered by different things, but if the Campaign makes any missteps we are the only ones who can catch them before they fall. Not that we change their strategies but that we may choose to nullify what we don't like by taking our own path.

We are the safety net.

We can second guess, discuss, argue and passionately support whatever they do.

[LibertyEagle]

Yes, but please not on a PUBLIC FORUM. geez.

[Spirit of '76]

Somebody please get Ms. Andrews on this board to clarify things from her point of view and to get some advice from ours. :)

[MozoVote]

During the Josh Lowery dispute I was willing to say we should be willing to cooperate with the official campaign's wishes (don't call and harass the Iowa GOP about vote fraud).

This sounds like even less. We don't even know what we're debating.

Let it wait until Monday. It's not too much to ask... to just learn what her recommendations are, and to decide if they are something you want to incorporate into grassroots politicking. Remember, the campaign can't tell us what to do, or else we "are" the campaign and it brings in all kinds of FEC bugaboos.

[LibertyEagle]

Quote:
In the interest of preventing the disinformation and speculation that manifested itself on this forum regarding, for example, Anita Andrews and her role with the campaign, I have created a "Contact Me" link at the top of my blog so that questions such as this can be quickly and easily answered.

http://freemansburden.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to ask me if you have a question about staff, the campaign, or any issue relating to Dr. Paul. Understand that I am still bound by the constraints of federal law and propriety so my answers may not always be satisfying, but I hope it will be helpful in keeping everyone focused on the task at hand, helping Dr. Paul win this race!

I also want to take a second and thank all of you for your hard work and your efforts on behalf of the campaign and the freedom movement.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=15173

[micahnelson]

Legal Info:

1) If there is direction to the grass roots from the campaign, they will likely be in violation of FEC rules. Since we know that the FEC is becoming just another tool in the candidates arsenals against each other, we need to steer clear of this.

2) If a "mole" goes to an Anita Andrews workshop, takes our strategy or ideas and uses it, it could be negative to us. Using an NDA protects us from this sort of thing, as other campaigns may be scared to be caught doing dirty deeds.

3) Not EVERYTHING is a conspiracy.

4) If you don't like her ideas, don't like the mainstream signs, and don't want to be involved.... then don't be. Shes only as "authoritarian" as you want her to be. We are doing well in the nonmainstream style campaign, but some people need to be reached in a more traditional way.

If anita andrews was just another person on this board, you would support her effort and get personally involved if you agreed with her. Im sure not everyone donates or participates in every effort put forth here. Just treat it as that, another person getting involved.

She isn't going to try and "take over" the grass roots because legally she can't.

[njjack]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=15173

The contact me link leads to a hotmail account;

free2smooze@hotmail.com <free2smooze@hotmail.com>

um i guess they didnt want to give us a ronpaul2008.com email address to contact?

[Kuldebar]

During the Josh Lowery dispute I was willing to say we should be willing to cooperate with the official campaign's wishes (don't call and harass the Iowa GOP about vote fraud).

This sounds like even less. We don't even know what we're debating.

Let it wait until Monday. It's not too much to ask... to just learn what her recommendations are, and to decide if they are something you want to incorporate into grassroots politicking. Remember, the campaign can't tell us what to do, or else we "are" the campaign and it brings in all kinds of FEC bugaboos.

Entirely reasonable if we hadn't heard from one person concerning his thoughts after having attended an Andrews Event.

I agree, it's just one person, but we should be vigilant about this and keep our ears and eyes trained on a potential problem.

If the OP's statements are factual, then Andrews seems to have some deficiencies in regards to people skills and possibly some wrong headed ideas about interfacing with the freedom movement.

As the Campaign grows in success it becomes more and more likely that some missteps can be made in hiring or communication of intent.

We must act as an early warning device for the campaign. The quintessential canary in the coal mine.

Not that one outraged post is a "warning" but the truth bubbles up and out...if more people who attended the event think as the OP does or more importantly disagrees, they can chime in here.

[JosephTheLibertarian]

First off, she has some good stuff to say and a lot of good training for those have never worked on a campaign before. I would encourage everyone to go.

However, there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

Basically,I got the idea that this was her first chance to consult a national campaign, so she took it. But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)

Also, she made a number of wierd statements:

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.


Anyways, I know there was alot of talk about her. Just my 2 cents.

where is it located? Who is this lady?

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

Liberty…I have been and seen it!

Just for the record: everything I wrote was about how the information was good, but it was a weird environment.

And she did say that the campaign wants to head away from the RP Revolution signs. I'm not making judgment either way on that, just saying it. She analogized it to McDonald's.... “YOU may be able to cook a better burger, but McDonald's uniform, all-the-same burgers are successful”...or something like that.

Also, someone straight up ask her about her connection to the campaign at the beginning of the event. It would have been a great time for her just to talk about her experiences (i.e. what campaigns she has worked on, her training, how she got hired, education…things like that) . Instead she said very shortly…”have you heard of Ken Snyder? Well he sent me.” Just sort of a strange way to make connections with supporters.

Also, I still want to know about the 30 million to 300k campaign!

[JosephTheLibertarian]

Is this located in Florida?

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

where is it located? Who is this lady?

It was in Kissimmee Florida, outside of Orlando.

[Ann Kobialka]

We have approximately 150 days till the primaries {minus the holidays coming at us fast} if we try to move to a conventional campaign organized by pricincts {of registered republicans} and a traditional get out the vote organization of the same said registered republicans we are going to be looking very nice in our uniformed attire and our approved signs as the nomination goes down the drain in front of us. We have to remain wildcatters and bring in the independents, dems and disenfranchised. We do not have the time money or resourses to go conventional. It looks good on paper, but its not there. Ann A democrat who has gotten at least 20 democrats in 4 states reregistered for Dr. Paul

[njjack]

It was in Kissimmee Florida, outside of Orlando.

How many people showed up?

[phixonpolitics]

I don't take too much offense at the sign issue. I truly like the r3VOLution sign and it will continue to have its place, but it does lack a major piece of information that now needs to be promulgated. (That is, Ron Paul is a Presidential Candidate for 2008). There are phases, and congratulate yourselves that your hard grass roots (actually, breaking up rocky soil) efforts have succeeded! And it's onto the next phase. The campaign may be trying to help you help them, because this is what we both want. They also may know a little bit about electioneering, I dunno. ;) Part of our donations went for helping to get the appropriate pieces a bit more professional and polished, and as Congressman Ron Paul gets cleaner, clearer, and more polished as the season goes on, maybe we can too (of course, some of the youtube vids and that Iowa straw poll ad just can't be beat). Just my opinion, is all.

[FloridaRonPaul2008]

How many people showed up?

About 100. It was pretty big.

[Kuldebar]

Comments about the Meet with Anita Andrews from the Ron Paul 2008 Campaign (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/94/calendar/6248253/) event in Chicago Illinois.

There's not many comments, but all appear to be favorable.



"Excellent class on campaigning. Everything Anita said made sense...and I realize we have been doing many things incorrectly, which we can easily change. Remember folks, we are under non-disclosure for everything we heard in that class...but we'll need to spread the word (with non-disclosure statements) to those who couldn't attend."

[MsDoodahs]

My comments apply whether Andrews is in the employ of the campaign or not. What she seems to be doing is what we should discuss.

I don't dismiss her out of hand but I question authority on the complex matters of human interaction and the spreading of support.

I freely admit my "hackles' get raised when I get wind of suggestions to sand off our rougher edges. I feel very strongly that Ron Paul has made it clear that is is unbridled creative energy that drives progress, I apply this to my view of the grass roots effort.

Of Andrews efforts and the methods she espouses, the little I know of them, appear to be very confining and exclusionary.

Agree, agree, AGREE!

[Don]

You guys, she is with the campaign, she is very experienced, and she is there to help. She says that those who attend are free to share with "other RP supporters." She is teaching grassroots campaigning. The necessary tools to be effective. That all it is.

Quit trying to find controversies and conspiracies under every rock, please. You are not helping Ron, the campaign, or the freedom movement by having a conniption every time we make a move.

She wants to win...badly. She quit doing politics a few years ago because she couldn't stand politicians anymore. She got back in because she believes in Ron.

I have been to her training with a group of activists. Her advice was "go and share and train others." Not exclusive, not cult-ish, no chickens were sacrificed to Bael, I promise. I have worked in Republican politics for years and what she teaches is tried and researched and effective stuff.

Please focus on how YOU are going to deliver votes for Ron. You could go to Anita's training or sign up for a Leadership Institute seminar or not. We just want to give you tools to help you make a positive contribution to the campaign. That's all.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC

[Spirit of '76]

You could go to Anita's training or sign up for a Leadership Institute seminar or not.


Two of our people from WV are in Lynchburg for one of those this very weekend.

I posted about those here, but there was virtually no interest, sadly. :(

Herding cats...

[Kuldebar]

Still sounds like she'd be more effective leading her own meetup group or a voluntary coalition of meetup groups.

The success of her efforts would be evident without a Top-Down approach that heretofore has not existed in this movement. I question if her efforts mesh well with what we actually have on the ground. Sending in a Calvary General to command a Naval Armada isn't always a good fit.

[LibertyEagle]

I question if her efforts mesh well with what we actually have on the ground. Sending in a Calvary General to command a Naval Armada isn't always a good fit.

You have not been to the training, yet you question if it meshes well. You even go so far to say that what she is doing is attempting to serve as a general to "command" the meetup groups.

Upon what are you basing this assessment? Any facts? Or are they not necessary?

[lorindon]

I'm not liking the whole vibe on this =\

Seeing as 9/10th of the movement in internet based, why not simply have all the "educating" taking place online? Having one person in Florida handing out NDAs and having attendees completely closed-mouthed about the issue is not achieving anything.

[McDermit]

I'm not liking the whole vibe on this =\


Same.

The way the whole thing is unfolding doesn't exactly instill confidence. The campaign manager's I've dealt with in the past have been more than willing to rattle off the list of successful campaigns they've worked on. Worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up? Worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand? Come on.. you can't drop shit like that and then not name names. Without a name, it's just a pile of fantasy.

[McDermit]

I'm not too big on the [EVOL] banners myself. I like them and all, and we do have a few, but they rarely get used here.

But as far as using the official signs... she's dreaming. This isn't big money. It's low-budget, "make do with what you have" grassroots. If she wants us to go "official," HQ would have to provide the materials. Maybe some areas could raise funds, but here we can't even get 40 people to come up with $300 for a fair booth... let alone pay for official materials. (I end up paying for nearly everything myself.. there's no way I could keep it up if I had to use official signs for everything.)

[Shink]

Ron Paul himself said that he likes the R[evol]ution signs, it was in a speech appearance he made during the last 2 weeks.

Anita Andrews may have great ideas, but she needs to get over the idea that this movement is going to be contained or managed. In fact, trying to do so will only cause grief.

Joe Seehausen has a huge problem with that as well. I appreciate all the work they're doing...but this grassroots is not one bought and paid for by some rich guy with fake enthusiasm. While some more 'direction' might be nice, to try to say, "don't do this, you MUST do this," etc., doesn't seem all too appealing.

[Kuldebar]

You have not been to the training, yet you question if it meshes well. You even go so far to say that what she is doing is attempting to serve as a general to "command" the meetup groups.

Upon what are you basing this assessment? Any facts? Or are they not necessary?

Read the OP's post and observations. I haven't met President George Bush, but I have opinions about him. If the OP's observations are valid, then something isn't meshing well.


FloridaRonPaul2008 made a number of observations and comments:


...there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

...she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul.

...wierd statements:
-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs.

[Santana28]

okay, i haven't read much of this thread but i just want to ask one question -

i read an interview with i think jesse benton... not sure, might have been kent. but it was about the millions upon millions that the candidates have spent on political consultants this campaign (comparing it to previous campaigns). And in it it clearly stated that Ron Paul had *0* paid consultants and it had a quote from Ron saying something like "The people would know it isn't real."

this article was circulating last week....

sorry, not trying to stir things up. i just find it odd.

[Cunningham]

you guys are cracking me up. Don gets on here once again to tell you whats going on (it's kind of embarrassing really that he has to show up and drag you guys out of Agent Mulders office like that.)

The destructive group think from the same certain people over and over again gets old. Go to the f'n meeting and form you own opinions for christ sakes, you wanna talk about a bunch of lemmings.
"Oh no, that crazy Anita chick is going to come in the night and take our signs, then she's going to make us wear matching polos andlittle paper hats."

Some of you people act like you work in offices with lots of cubicals. (if you work in a cubical farm you know what I mean)

[MsDoodahs]

But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)



Am I the only one who sees that as a problem?

[Kuldebar]

you guys are cracking me up. Don gets on here once again to tell you whats going on (it's kind of embarrassing really that he has to show up and drag you guys out of Agent Mulders office like that.)

The destructive group think from the same certain people over and over again gets old. Go to the f'n meeting and form you own opinions for christ sakes, you wanna talk about a bunch of lemmings.
"Oh no, that crazy Anita chick is going to come in the night and take our signs, then she's going to make us wear matching polos andlittle paper hats."

Some of you people act like you work in offices with lots of cubicals. (if you work in a cubical farm you know what I mean)


What part don't you understand? It's irrelevant if the campaign blesses Andrews if what Andrews is doing isn't working out. The key word is "if".

That's why this thread topic is useful for those that may have first hand knowledge to give their opinions either way. Trying to quell even questioning the Andrews lecture doesn't make sense. When a participant of her lecture created this thread topic and posted his observations, it is worthy of discussion. We need to get a feel for how this is working.


FloridaRonPaul2008 made a number of observations and comments:


...there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

...she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul.

...wierd statements:
-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs.

I linked comments to a Chicago Meetup Group that attended an Andrews Lecture and the comments were all positive. I really don't understand the non-disclosure requirement and that seems to come up a lot in some folk's mind as being strange.

Here's one comment about the Meet with Anita Andrews from the Ron Paul 2008 Campaign (http://ronpaul.meetup.com/94/calendar/6248253/) event in Chicago Illinois.


"Excellent class on campaigning. Everything Anita said made sense...and I realize we have been doing many things incorrectly, which we can easily change. Remember folks, we are under non-disclosure for everything we heard in that class...but we'll need to spread the word (with non-disclosure statements) to those who couldn't attend."

[justaguy]

Is there any way to find out where she will be next? I'm interested in hearing what she has to say.

-Chris

P.S. I will always like the Revolution signs. :)

[Cunningham]

Am I the only one who sees that as a problem?

So, call headquarters and ask them what they think of it. What the other random people on this forum think about it is unimportant over all. You don't know wha he context it was said in. Hell, your getting it second hand from a moniker on an internet forum. For better or for worse this is rons campaign, it's going to live or die by there decisions. If they make a mistake or not your just going to have to deal with it. We can't get someone elected in spite of themselves.

[honkywill]

I might be going to see her on 9/11.

[MsDoodahs]

So, call headquarters and ask them what they think of it.

I intend to. :)

[Kuldebar]

I want to hear from more people that have attended these lectures. The vast majority of Ron Paul supporters will not be going to these lectures. The non-disclosure agreement seems to run contrary to the sharing of ideas and strategies.

If the campaign wants its supporter base to become more homogenized, there are probably better ways to communicate that desire.

[constituent]

I want to hear from more people that have attended these lectures. The vast majority of Ron Paul supporters will not be going to these lectures. The non-disclosure agreement seems to run contrary to the sharing of ideas and strategies.

If the campaign wants it's supporter base to become more homogenized, there are probably better ways to communicate that desire.

and that is a fair critique.

[Cunningham]

I want to hear from more people that have attended these lectures. The vast majority of Ron Paul supporters will not be going to these lectures. The non-disclosure agreement seems to run contrary to the sharing of ideas and strategies.

If the campaign wants it's supporter base to become more homogenized, there are probably better ways to communicate that desire.

Who the heck are you, really? You appear to have tapped into some vast repository of ancient campaign secrets. You also seem to be blessed with an above average IQ. You're squandering all this talent out here on the internets. You could be making big bucks running campaigns and writing "Campaining for dummies" books. You should call up Ron's office and drop your load of insight on them, they could benefit...really get this ship going in the right direction and all. We'll even name the ship after you. It's gonna be great. I can't wait.

[iamso910]

I work in marketing, and the idea of using official campaign signs instead of the Revolution signs is absolute lunacy.

You cannot buy authenticity and passion in marketing campaigns. This Revolution brand came from the people and was chosen by them. It inspires passion in them, and passion is infectious. Anyone heard of "lovemarks" ? They transcend brands. They are the holy grail in marketing and the Revolution is a lovemark.

Anyone who advises against it is not qualified to market zip.

The fact that she wants to sue anyone who leaks her info, makes me think that she cares more about herself than she does about the campaign succeeding.

We have an army waiting to be directed and a director who wants to keep the campaign strategy secret. This is absurd. Perhaps an experienced campaign manager can enlighten us on how this could make any sense.

This forum, the meetups, bloggers and the youtube posters have had far more affect on this campaign than has the campaign office. I suggest we just keep on keeping on and get behind the ideas that spread the passion most effectively.

Good luck to Anita on her side of things, but I will be very surprised if it becomes a major part of the growth of the revolution.

[honkywill]

I work in marketing, and the idea of using official campaign signs instead of the Revolution signs is absolute lunacy.

Perhaps she believes that it makes the official campaign seem weak?

I don't have a revolution banner or sign but I would certainly use it.

I have four home made google ron paul signs in the windows of my van and multiple bumper stickers on the back window lining the top. THIS will not change.

[iamso910]

You guys, she is with the campaign, she is very experienced, and she is there to help. She says that those who attend are free to share with "other RP supporters." She is teaching grassroots campaigning. The necessary tools to be effective. That all it is.

Quit trying to find controversies and conspiracies under every rock, please. You are not helping Ron, the campaign, or the freedom movement by having a conniption every time we make a move.

She wants to win...badly. She quit doing politics a few years ago because she couldn't stand politicians anymore. She got back in because she believes in Ron.

I have been to her training with a group of activists. Her advice was "go and share and train others." Not exclusive, not cult-ish, no chickens were sacrificed to Bael, I promise. I have worked in Republican politics for years and what she teaches is tried and researched and effective stuff.

Please focus on how YOU are going to deliver votes for Ron. You could go to Anita's training or sign up for a Leadership Institute seminar or not. We just want to give you tools to help you make a positive contribution to the campaign. That's all.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC

Don,

If it is "tried and researched", then why does it have to be secretive? Surely much of this stuff must be in the public domain.

It would seem the best approach would be to share this info as widely and as quickly as possible to all Ron Paul activists.

I don't think we need to worry about armies of other candidate's volunteers using the information. They simply don't have the same numbers of passionate volunteers.

I've yet to hear a decent excuse for secrecy, and until I and others do, this will create some divide and suspicion.

This whole idea of restraining the free flow of information is antithetical to the Ron Paul movement. It shouldn't take a genius to work out that such a strategy will ruffle feathers.

At least, a very good explanation of this secrecy should be offered.

edit: To clarify what I mean by secrecy. I mean the fact that participants of her training are scared to share the strategies online because of the possible threat of being sued for breaching a confidentiality agreement.

[mtmedlin]

No, she believes (correctly I might add) that a unified brand is more important. For those of you in the business world, the first thing that they teach you in politics is that you cant run a campaign like a business.
I sat through every moment of the training and it was good. She didn't threaten to sue, she simply asked us no to sell or give away her resource book because it is her Copyrighted intellectual property and in the past she has had to sue to keep it out of other campaigns hands. If I worked for over 30 years in politics and wrote a campaign manual, I don't think it is too much to ask that people don't spread it around. Seemed like a very minor thing to me.
She also isn't saying what people cannot do. What she focused on is that some of what we do is less effective then other things and she would rather that we focus on the techniques that work. I keep reading peoples comments about how she doesn't understand this revolution or how someones street smarts or gut is better then her ideas. Some even suggest that she doesn't know what she is doing because we are somehow different.
Get over yourselves. The 60's and 70's had grassroot campaigning that made this look like a hobby farm. There are so many of you I wish i could tell to shut the hell up. This is the only campaign many of you have worked on an somehow in a few months you have become experts. RON PAUL IS AT 3%. WE brought him this far, now we need to see how the professional win and do what they do. there is a reason the neocons win every time. They know how to win. Now we have someone willing to teach us how they do it and some people want to laugh her off and say that you can win without. Ron Paul apparently doesn't think so, otherwise he wouldn't have hired her.
Ultimately, at the training she said one important thing that I will pass on. If you want to win, then learn the proper process. If you want to do your own thing. Then go do it. Nobody will stop you but the groups here in Florida are now very dedicated to getting this winning system in place and we really hope that all the other states will join in. A trickle of water cuts a little stone over a long time. A rushing river can carve solid stone.
I would rather be a part of the river.
Lastly, remember that people like us are in the minority. Most people still aren't paying attention to the election. Most people wont until about 60 days before the primary. We are rare. We are roughly 10% of the population and the efforts that we are putting in is still geared toward that 10%. Anita is teaching us on how to go after the other 90%.
Hear her out. Its worth your time!

[specsaregood]

//

[mtmedlin]

Don,

If it is "tried and researched", then why does it have to be secretive? Surely much of this stuff must be in the public domain.

It would seem the best approach would be to share this info as widely and as quickly as possible to all Ron Paul activists.

I don't think we need to worry about armies of other candidate's volunteers using the information. They simply don't have the same numbers of passionate volunteers.

I've yet to hear a decent excuse for secrecy, and until I and others do, this will create some divide and suspicion.

This whole idea of restraining the free flow of information is antithetical to the Ron Paul movement. It shouldn't take a genius to work out that such a strategy will ruffle feathers.

At least, a very good explanation of this secrecy should be offered.

How can it be antithetical to the Ron Paul movement when it was Ron Paul that hired her? I think it is antithetical to those who work on the movement and have their own ideas as to what the movement should be. Overall, it doesnt matter because it is his campaign and we really should go along with what he wants.

[Kuldebar]

No, she believes (correctly I might add) that a unified brand is more important. For those of you in the business world, the first thing that they teach you in politics is that you cant run a campaign like a business.
I sat through every moment of the training and it was good. She didn't threaten to sue, she simply asked us no to sell or give away her resource book because it is her Copyrighted intellectual property and in the past she has had to sue to keep it out of other campaigns hands. If I worked for over 30 years in politics and wrote a campaign manual, I don't think it is too much to ask that people don't spread it around. Seemed like a very minor thing to me.
She also isn't saying what people cannot do. What she focused on is that some of what we do is less effective then other things and she would rather that we focus on the techniques that work. I keep reading peoples comments about how she doesn't understand this revolution or how someones street smarts or gut is better then her ideas. Some even suggest that she doesn't know what she is doing because we are somehow different.
Get over yourselves. The 60's and 70's had grassroot campaigning that made this look like a hobby farm. There are so many of you I wish i could tell to shut the hell up. This is the only campaign many of you have worked on an somehow in a few months you have become experts. RON PAUL IS AT 3%. WE brought him this far, now we need to see how the professional win and do what they do. there is a reason the neocons win every time. They know how to win. Now we have someone willing to teach us how they do it and some people want to laugh her off and say that you can win without. Ron Paul apparently doesn't think so, otherwise he wouldn't have hired her.
Ultimately, at the training she said one important thing that I will pass on. If you want to win, then learn the proper process. If you want to do your own thing. Then go do it. Nobody will stop you but the groups here in Florida are now very dedicated to getting this winning system in place and we really hope that all the other states will join in. A trickle of water cuts a little stone over a long time. A rushing river can carve solid stone.
I would rather be a part of the river.
Lastly, remember that people like us are in the minority. Most people still aren't paying attention to the election. Most people wont until about 60 days before the primary. We are rare. We are roughly 10% of the population and the efforts that we are putting in is still geared toward that 10%. Anita is teaching us on how to go after the other 90%.
Hear her out. Its worth your time!

I am asking people to talk, you are asking people to shut the hell up.

I choose discussion over being stifled. And, obviously you do as well, because you are talking.

[constituent]

well good. i'm glad to hear the other side of the story then...

that just about settles the score then...

1 for the Ron Paul Team and 1 for the Ron Paul Team

hooray!

[mtmedlin]

No Iam asking people who dont know to stop spouting opposition when they really dont know what there talking about. Passing on unfounded positions does harm and honestly this forum has a really bad history with that.

[specsaregood]

No, she believes (correctly I might add) that a unified brand is more important. For those of you in the business world, the first thing that they teach you in politics is that you cant run a campaign like a business.
I sat through every moment of the training and it was good. She didn't threaten to sue, she simply asked us no to sell or give away her resource book because it is her Copyrighted intellectual property and in the past she has had to sue to keep it out of other campaigns hands. If I worked for over 30 years in politics and wrote a campaign manual, I don't think it is too much to ask that people don't spread it around. Seemed like a very minor thing to me.
She also isn't saying what people cannot do. What she focused on is that some of what we do is less effective then other things and she would rather that we focus on the techniques that work. I keep reading peoples comments about how she doesn't understand this revolution or how someones street smarts or gut is better then her ideas. Some even suggest that she doesn't know what she is doing because we are somehow different.
Get over yourselves. The 60's and 70's had grassroot campaigning that made this look like a hobby farm. There are so many of you I wish i could tell to shut the hell up. This is the only campaign many of you have worked on an somehow in a few months you have become experts. RON PAUL IS AT 3%. WE brought him this far, now we need to see how the professional win and do what they do. there is a reason the neocons win every time. They know how to win. Now we have someone willing to teach us how they do it and some people want to laugh her off and say that you can win without. Ron Paul apparently doesn't think so, otherwise he wouldn't have hired her.
Ultimately, at the training she said one important thing that I will pass on. If you want to win, then learn the proper process. If you want to do your own thing. Then go do it. Nobody will stop you but the groups here in Florida are now very dedicated to getting this winning system in place and we really hope that all the other states will join in. A trickle of water cuts a little stone over a long time. A rushing river can carve solid stone.
I would rather be a part of the river.
Lastly, remember that people like us are in the minority. Most people still aren't paying attention to the election. Most people wont until about 60 days before the primary. We are rare. We are roughly 10% of the population and the efforts that we are putting in is still geared toward that 10%. Anita is teaching us on how to go after the other 90%.
Hear her out. Its worth your time!

Thank you for your message.
The points that resonate with me are: Ron Paul picked HER for this task. It makes sense to me that he would pick somebody very knowledgeable, trustworthy AND not part of the DC inner-circles. I don't see him hiring unethical people. We trust his judgement enough to be President, I think we should trust his judgement to pick somebody to help with the campaign. Maybe she DOES have some magic Kung-Fu, it'd like to hear her out.

[iamso910]

How can it be antithetical to the Ron Paul movement when it was Ron Paul that hired her? I think it is antithetical to those who work on the movement and have their own ideas as to what the movement should be. Overall, it doesnt matter because it is his campaign and we really should go along with what he wants.
Sorry, but you haven't answered any of the questions raised satisfactorily.

And trying to make it sound like to disagree with the confidentiality agreement is to disagree with Ron Paul is absurd.

Preventing the free flow of information is antithetical to this online Ron Paul movement.

I don't doubt Anita has good ideas to spread, but they are being spread like a trickle, instead of like a river. Just so she can she can feel secure in the control of copyright on her book. She ought to take a leaf out of the Mises Institute's policy which has been to make most of their books available free online. This has greatly increased the popularity and sales for those books.

I'll agree to disagree on the value of a constant brand for the signs. I don't even think the official signs are a brand. They are just a sign, pretty much identical to all the other campaign signs.

Ron Paul is a brand and the Ron Paul Revolution is a separate but related brand that represents the passion of the grass roots movement and the idea of a revolutionary political movement.

[Ann Kobialka]

Hey you heard him,
Get over yourself and shut the hell up. If you want to know whats going on you have to go to the indoctrination center for yourself. He knows he's been there and now he has an official position doling out responsibilities. Top down baby. Ann

[LibertyEagle]

Hey you heard him,
Get over yourself and shut the hell up. If you want to know whats going on you have to go to the indoctrination center for yourself. He knows he's been there and now he has an official position doling out responsibilities. Top down baby. Ann

Are you trying to stir up trouble? YOU have not been to the presentation, yet along with a few others, seem to be doing your level best to steer people away from it. I have heard no one say this is some kind of control mechanism, nor any kind of top down management program.

If you do not want to go, then don't, but will you please stop acting like you know what this is all about, when you have not even attended the training?

[LibertyEagle]

You guys, she is with the campaign, she is very experienced, and she is there to help. She says that those who attend are free to share with "other RP supporters." She is teaching grassroots campaigning. The necessary tools to be effective. That all it is.

Quit trying to find controversies and conspiracies under every rock, please. You are not helping Ron, the campaign, or the freedom movement by having a conniption every time we make a move.

She wants to win...badly. She quit doing politics a few years ago because she couldn't stand politicians anymore. She got back in because she believes in Ron.

I have been to her training with a group of activists. Her advice was "go and share and train others." Not exclusive, not cult-ish, no chickens were sacrificed to Bael, I promise. I have worked in Republican politics for years and what she teaches is tried and researched and effective stuff.

Please focus on how YOU are going to deliver votes for Ron. You could go to Anita's training or sign up for a Leadership Institute seminar or not. We just want to give you tools to help you make a positive contribution to the campaign. That's all.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC

Thank you, Don. Apparently a few refuse to listen to you, but thank you anyway.

[Ann Kobialka]

OK I just erased a long reply and decided to just go with I'll shut up. Lets talk this out in a couple weeks Truce Ann

[devil21]

I just find it strange that someone with so much campaign experience shows up nary, nada, zip on Yahoo/Google searches. People with a 30 year history (quoting previous poster) running campaigns with such "lofty" credentials as having HQ blown up (not sure thats a good thing) and winning a 300K to 30M campaign should have personal websites and contacts.

I think what you are seeing is a large amount of internet savvy people who know they can Google themselves(!) and find multiple entries but an established campaign person doesn't show up once? There's something odd about that...and add in not totally good reviews and you have to wonder. We know that there is a complete fear of RP's campaign at the elite level and know that shady things happen all the time in politics. Everyone has to be on guard and gut feelings are usually right. People are reacting to the strangeness of this, plain and simple. Btw, no one who has reported about these seminars has said that there was any talk about "sharing amongst supporters" but rather a tone of "if you talk about what I tell you then I will sue you". That puts people on the defensive when they have spent money and time to support RP...but now we can't talk about it? I won't even get into how some of us belong to smaller meetups that she wouldn't bother to visit. What do we do??

[LibertyEagle]

If You Have A Question, I Suggest You Call The Campaign, Instead Of Showing All Your Questioning Of The Campaign Headquarters, On This, Frickin' Public Message Board!!!

Is This Romper Room, Or What?

[specsaregood]

I just find it strange that someone with so much campaign experience shows up nary, nada, zip on Yahoo/Google searches. People with a 30 year history (quoting previous poster) running campaigns with such "lofty" credentials as having HQ blown up (not sure thats a good thing) and winning a 300K to 30M campaign should have personal websites and contacts.


Everything you said makes me INTRIQUED and at the same time I am not all that surprised. If there is ONE candidate that would be able to pull out a CAPABLE unknown person from out of a hat, it would be Ron Paul. Right?

Or as the nytimes said: "Anyone who is elected to Congress three times as a nonincumbent, as Paul has been, is a politician of prodigious gifts."
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22Paul-t.html?ei=5070&en=1e0cdfaa907ea502&ex=1189483200&pagewanted=print

I trust his judgement.

[devil21]

Everything you said makes me INTRIQUED and at the same time I am not all that surprised. If there is ONE candidate that would be able to pull out a CAPABLE unknown person from out of a hat, it would be Ron Paul. Right?

Or as the nytimes said: "Anyone who is elected to Congress three times as a nonincumbent, as Paul has been, is a politician of prodigious gifts."
From: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/magazine/22Paul-t.html?ei=5070&en=1e0cdfaa907ea502&ex=1189483200&pagewanted=print

I trust his judgement.

I dont think for a second that RP himself approves anyone in her capacity because he is too busy making appearances. He trusts his campaign staff to hire employees....but that is also subject to bad decisions by his staff, right? Should we not question those decisions when we don't feel comfy about them and our contributions ultimately pay her salary? If those of us who put RP on the map (outside of his message itself) wonder about her qualifications then it should be addressed, not boiler plate "trust what we say", since this is at the heart of WHY many support RP, I think.
What were these lofty campaigns so we can see for ourselves and decide if the advise given is backed up with real results? And Ill tell ya, if she showed up to my local meetup you better believe Id be asking questions about and taking notes of her experience. Some reference to some other random guy wouldn't cut it.

Finding a diamond in the rough is great but you always go to somewhere that you can find diamonds and I want to know where this diamond came from. Otherwise it might be a fish story and this is the country at stake.

[iamso910]

If You Have A Question, I Suggest You Call The Campaign, Instead Of Showing All Your Questioning Of The Campaign Headquarters, On This, Frickin' Public Message Board!!!

Is This Romper Room, Or What?

That is ridiculous!

The campaign room doesn't want every Tom, Dick or forum reader with questions pestering them.

This is a forum of open discussion of related goings on.

Some of us think that an official campaign consultant would be far more effective if their suggestions were public to all Ron Paul activists.

That ain't rocket science!

The authoritarian tone of some who want to stop all questioning is what is weird here.

Remember: Ron used to employ Eric Dondero. We might be wise to be judicious about where and how the campaign funds are spent, as Ron is probably too busy to oversee much of the operations.

Many people look to these online communities for advice on how to best campaign. These people are getting diddly-squat from the campaign headquaters or Anita. This is wrong. There is an army to be tapped and they have no idea how to communicate with that community.

How about a campaign initiative website. With suggestions for campaigning and regular update about activities being organized?

[LibertyEagle]

You guys, she is with the campaign, she is very experienced, and she is there to help. She says that those who attend are free to share with "other RP supporters." She is teaching grassroots campaigning. The necessary tools to be effective. That all it is.

Quit trying to find controversies and conspiracies under every rock, please. You are not helping Ron, the campaign, or the freedom movement by having a conniption every time we make a move.

She wants to win...badly. She quit doing politics a few years ago because she couldn't stand politicians anymore. She got back in because she believes in Ron.

I have been to her training with a group of activists. Her advice was "go and share and train others." Not exclusive, not cult-ish, no chickens were sacrificed to Bael, I promise. I have worked in Republican politics for years and what she teaches is tried and researched and effective stuff.

Please focus on how YOU are going to deliver votes for Ron. You could go to Anita's training or sign up for a Leadership Institute seminar or not. We just want to give you tools to help you make a positive contribution to the campaign. That's all.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC

...........................

[DjLoTi]

Yo we all should just be chillin right now. lets do what we do and keep fightin strong. It's not gonna be over in 2008

[DjLoTi]

Yallll be trippin.... do what u do ppl... just every day modern life. haha

[LibertyEagle]

In the interest of preventing the disinformation and speculation that manifested itself on this forum regarding, for example, Anita Andrews and her role with the campaign, I have created a "Contact Me" link at the top of my blog so that questions such as this can be quickly and easily answered.

http://freemansburden.blogspot.com/

Please feel free to ask me if you have a question about staff, the campaign, or any issue relating to Dr. Paul. Understand that I am still bound by the constraints of federal law and propriety so my answers may not always be satisfying, but I hope it will be helpful in keeping everyone focused on the task at hand, helping Dr. Paul win this race!

I also want to take a second and thank all of you for your hard work and your efforts on behalf of the campaign and the freedom movement.

Don Rasmussen
Special Assistant
Ron Paul 2008 PCC
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=15173

[LibertyEagle]

Many people look to these online communities for advice on how to best campaign. These people are getting diddly-squat from the campaign headquaters or Anita. This is wrong. There is an army to be tapped and they have no idea how to communicate with that community.

Have you been to the training, or are you just expressing your views on something of which you know nothing about?

[lorindon]

Have you been to the training, or are you just expressing your views on something of which you know nothing about?

The advice Anita is handing out may be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but the vast majority of us aren't receiving jack shit. So why don't you educate us on what all the fuss is about?

[Tn...Andy]

What are all the people with between 1 and 20 posts going to think when they read this thread??

Personally, I think some of ya'll spend WAY too much time postulating and theorizing on how to win this and not near enough time actually DOING STUFF.

I don't expect my post count to ever hit more than a couple hundred.....but I try to talk to SOMEONE one-on-one every day.....join with our meetup group every week to stake out an intersection in town to sign wave, hand out slim jims, and take one evening a week to nail up very unofficial signs......this is what grassroots support is all about to me.

[Ozwest]

Getting a experienced qualified person with organisational skills to assist meet up groups makes sense, and that person has the right to protect their intellectual property and ensure campaign strategies are not revealed to others. What is bothersome, is a person with these skills should have anticipated the concerns of meet up group members who, thus far, have been marching to the beat of their own drum. Part of the overall plan should incorporate a friendly introduction to others and a general outline of the aims and objectives this person envisions. This would eliminate much of the frustration and speculation occuring now. A forum such as this would be a perfect place to make this start.

[LibertyEagle]

...

[beermotor]

I will say this...I'm sure im "allowed" to say this: they want people to start using official RP signs, not RP Revolution, etc, signs. For what thats worth.


This just does not SOUND like Ron Paul anymore to me. I refused to sign the stupid NDA, so didn't go to this meeting - several of my friends berated me mightily for that, seeing it as "no big deal" but there is something that I just do not like about having a closed, traditional thing going on, versus the very open, free, insurgency that we (used to? / still do?) have going on.

[walt]

I've seen the materials. If they are paying her to hand out this stuff - and not EXECUTE - it's a waste of money. Just like that songwriter, the fact that I can't get an official sign even though I've asked and those additional Iowa radio spots from a few weeks back.

[walt]

Remember: Ron used to employ Eric Dondero. We might be wise to be judicious about where and how the campaign funds are spent, as Ron is probably too busy to oversee much of the operations.




If he can't manage a simple campaign staff effectively, then he's unqualified to be President, where he'd have alot more to manage.

[Slugg]

This just does not SOUND like Ron Paul anymore to me. I refused to sign the stupid NDA, so didn't go to this meeting - several of my friends berated me mightily for that, seeing it as "no big deal" but there is something that I just do not like about having a closed, traditional thing going on, versus the very open, free, insurgency that we (used to? / still do?) have going on.

I hear you. And I admire all the work you do to help the campaign. But the table is rigged and the dice are loaded to favor the 'blessed ones.' We simply cannot win by ourselves. Before we can change the game, we gotta play it.

We all know the issues that plague Ron right now:
1) Media making him look fringe or unelectable.
2) Media making him look like his support is very small.


Either way, the only way to counter those is by making him look legitimate. We do that by beating them at their own game. Which means we have to learn the game and play by the rules.

We didn't play by the conventional rules in Ames and we did 'okay,' but that's not going to win the election. The campaign DIDN'T do the normal 'top down' control thing. And the boards berated them with criticisms. Now, they are taking control and telling us what they need from us to win. Why on God's green earth would we do otherwise?

Because it doesn't fit into our idea of 'liberty and freedom?'

It is our freedom to protect our plans from the 'enemy.'

Everyone here obviously trusts Ron to work in the Oval Office.

Why are we questioning this decision?

Again, I want to make it clear that I really respect all the work you do for the campaign. Your posts constantly inspire me to work harder, give more, and speak louder. But, I think someone with your work ethic and determination would be ten times more helpful with the know-how of what the campaign needs. Please help us make this campaign legitimate and unavoidable.

The insurgency campaign got us this far, and if the primaries were a year from now; I'd say it may even win him the election. But time is not on our side.



Finally, if the campaign endorses her; I'm on board.

I hope I didn't offend you man.
Regards,
Phill

[Lois]

All I know is -

All my friends and family and people I run into who I ask -- "Do you know who Ron Paul is?" They say "No, I never heard of him."

So my way, our way, your way, Anita's way, any way to get the message out is what we need. The more, the merrier.

You all sound like a bunch of little kids bickering about how to play a game.:rolleyes:

[thomj76]

I skipped to the end here, so this information may have already have been posted. Too early, eyes not focused yet; tired from yesterday.

Anita's material is copyrighted, and this is a method toward winning. Don't freak out people. Have an open mind. It's time for the campaign to reach out toward the average person.

Rah! Rah! Rah!

Be Respectful, Thoughtful. Intelligent, and Balanced. People that have seen my posts, know that I have been saying this for months now.


:)

[themanhere]

She sounds shady..... KEEP THE REVOLUTION SIGNS!!! Its working because they catch peoples attention.

[expatriot]

All I know is -

All my friends and family and people I run into who I ask -- "Do you know who Ron Paul is?" They say "No, I never heard of him."

So my way, our way, your way, Anita's way, any way to get the message out is what we need. The more, the merrier.

You all sound like a bunch of little kids bickering about how to play a game.:rolleyes:

Amen to that.


We the people own the grassroots campaign,
and Anita will do her part for the official campaign.
the two parts complement each other.

But all that means it is more competition to get the votes out.

Lets get out and get more votes lined up.

[blazin_it_alwyz]

All I know is -

All my friends and family and people I run into who I ask -- "Do you know who Ron Paul is?" They say "No, I never heard of him."

So my way, our way, your way, Anita's way, any way to get the message out is what we need. The more, the merrier.

You all sound like a bunch of little kids bickering about how to play a game.:rolleyes:

whole heartedly agree. IMO the revolution logo catches much more people's attention, than the usual bland political logos. Usually around election times, people start having their lawn signs, and start sign spinning, and the mass majority of people IGNORE IT.

It's like ads on the internet, if you surf the internet long enough, you learn to block them out of your mind.

The rEVOLution logo is fresh, this is in fact a revolution, and I think the word love is a powerful subliminal message. And more than ANYTHING, it is a fresh, young design that is going to catch A LOT OF PEOPLES ATTENTION. You guys can use the official ones, but I am concentrating my efforts on the younger voting crowd. There are many different ways of skinning a cat, and you would also do well to remember, that when a company is marketing a product, they try different advertising for different demographics.

[thomj76]

The rLOVEution signs serve a purpose reaching out to a certain percentage of people. All Anita is saying is that the campaign needs to reach more people. If you think that the nomination can be won by using the same techniques, then you are entitled to your own opinion. I for one see the benefit of reaching out to the average voter in an effort to expand the base.

[Man from La Mancha]

Getting a experienced qualified person with organisational skills to assist meet up groups makes sense, and that person has the right to protect their intellectual property and ensure campaign strategies are not revealed to others. What is bothersome, is a person with these skills should have anticipated the concerns of meet up group members who, thus far, have been marching to the beat of their own drum. Part of the overall plan should incorporate a friendly introduction to others and a general outline of the aims and objectives this person envisions. This would eliminate much of the frustration and speculation occuring now. A forum such as this would be a perfect place to make this start.Exactly just keep us in the loop, one does not have to give away campaign secrets to do that. I haven't got a message from Ron on any of this.

.

[iamso910]

Have you been to the training, or are you just expressing your views on something of which you know nothing about?
Well, the second part of your question is an assertion, an ad hominem in fact.

No I haven't been to the training, but I don't see how that is relevant to my points.

My main point is, that if these ideas are valuable for grass roots action, then they should be disseminated widely and asap. I have not seen any arguments that suggest that such a request is not in the campaign's best interest.

Ideas evolve through debate and sometimes things only change when some political pressure is applied.

I appreciate everyone's efforts. It's natural that people with a common cause are not homogenous in all their thinking.

Some things that come from the official campaign will be wrong or can be improved. In such situations, a healthy debate is the best medicine imho.

[LibertyEagle]

I've seen the materials. If they are paying her to hand out this stuff - and not EXECUTE - it's a waste of money. Just like that songwriter, the fact that I can't get an official sign even though I've asked and those additional Iowa radio spots from a few weeks back.

It's my understanding that they are not distributing signs. What they have done is put the image on their website. It is up to you to take the initiative to create the sign or to buy it from someone else who has.
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/get-involved/

As far as your opinion that Anita should be executing, goes, I can just imagine how that would be received. I mean, there appear to be quite a few people on this board that are having a hissy fit over her just training and distributing materials.

All this strikes me as a possible reason as to why the Libertarian party has never gone anywhere. People are passionate, yes, but they are unwilling to work together to achieve a common goal.

[angelatc]

I just don't see how all this work can be accomplished if the only people who know about them are the few people who went to these meetings...

She said you can't copy/hand out the material, but can you disseminate some of the ideas contained within?


The meeting in Chicago last Thursday spent the whole first hour going over the material with people who weren't able to attend her presentation.

[LibertyEagle]

Some things that come from the official campaign will be wrong or can be improved. In such situations, a healthy debate is the best medicine imho.

How can you effectively "debate" something, or judge whether it can or cannot be improved, that you know nothing about? At least wait until AFTER you attend the training.

[ButchHowdy]

" . . . All this strikes me as a possible reason as to why the Libertarian party has never gone anywhere. People are passionate, yes, but they are unwilling to work together to achieve a common goal."

Interesting . . . this is probably why we have so many 'religions!'

[angelatc]

My main point is, that if these ideas are valuable for grass roots action, then they should be disseminated widely and asap. I have not seen any arguments that suggest that such a request is not in the campaign's best interest.

Ideas evolve through debate and sometimes things only change when some political pressure is applied.


There are things in the packet that they don't want spread all over the internet because they don't want the other campaigns to know about them. That's why there are controls. It would be pretty stupid to let the other candidates develop counter-messages before the original messages oficially hit the airwaves.

IDeas can evolve from debate, but that doesn't mean that debates always end with everybody agreeing to, and happy with, the final product.

It also doesn't mean that everybody who has ever posted in an internet forum should get a chance to participate in the debate.

I don't like the public dessention. It's not the image we want to portray. I know there are some truthers who quit the cause because they expected him to support their conspiracy theories. If we're going to start losgin supporters over the fact that budget meetings and other grown-up discussions aren't open to the public then we might as well throw in the towel right now.

[Cowlesy]

All this strikes me as a possible reason as to why the Libertarian party has never gone anywhere. People are passionate, yes, but they are unwilling to work together to achieve a common goal.

I agree.

I just got back from the gym, fired up the forum hoping that this thread had bit the dust from last night.

I swear if Ron Paul himself came to give a campaign training seminar, people would question whether it was really him or really some evil robotic clone sent by the opposition to mess with the grassroots supporters.

[angelatc]

How can you effectively "debate" something, or judge whether it can or cannot be improved, that you know nothing about? At least wait until AFTER you attend the training.

If you can't accept that the official is going to make decisions that you disagree with then you're not going to do anybody any favors.

There wasn't anything in the presentation that requires any debate at this point.

[Bossobass]

My meetup group has 160 members.

My wife and I work door-to-door by ourselves locally, in between traveling to SC, NH and Iowa.

If someone can do something to prod some of the other 158 members to physically do something for the campaign, I'm 100% behind it, him or her.

I don't give a piss what sign I carry.
I'll wear whatever is hanging in the closet, so if someone hands me a different shirt I'll wear that.
The activity don't matter, as long as it's activity.

Nitpicking what sign you'll use? Makes me wanna push somebody down the steps.:rolleyes:

There's strength in numbers. Get sharp on the issues so you can answer the questions and attacks and get the hell out there...NOW.

If Ms. Anita is helping in that respect, she don't need to bring her resume and interview for me.

Bosso

[angelatc]

The rLOVEution signs serve a purpose reaching out to a certain percentage of people. All Anita is saying is that the campaign needs to reach more people. If you think that the nomination can be won by using the same techniques, then you are entitled to your own opinion. I for one see the benefit of reaching out to the average voter in an effort to expand the base.

Absolutely. The percentage of people getting their political information from the internet is still far below the 50% mark.

College kids always get fired up about elections, but they rarely bother to vote in primaries.

There was so much more....I wish I could remember it!

[angelatc]

If someone can do something to prod some of the other 158 members to physically do something for the campaign, I'm 100% behind it, him or her.

I do exactly that for another group I volunteer with.

You're never going to get a 100% participation rate, but if you can get people to participate in one or two events, usually they'll stay active. for at least a little while.

1. Run a little fundraiser and buy bumper stickers and yard signs.

3. Make a list of things people can do. Make phone calls, walk on week days, walk on weekends, sign parties, door-to-door operations, volunteer coordinator, collect signatures,....whatever.

2. When people join your meet up, call them on the phone and welcome him/her to your group. Email is no substitute for the human touch. Offer them 2 bumper stickers, and a yard sign if they have a yard. They like the tangible stuff. Also find out what they do "in real life" to see if that skill set is something you can utilize. People are proud of what they do. Go over the list you made in step 2 and ask them specifically which areas they want to help in.

3. Try to plan a door-to door campaign in their neighborhood, and see if they'll walk with you. Next time a new member joins in that area, ask this member if s/he can walk with the new guy.

4. When you plan anything, go back to that list and call people who said they could help with those things. It's harder to say 'No" on the phone than it is to ignore an email invitation.

Yes, I know time is a factor, but "just" make "volunteer coordinator" one of the first spots you fill.

[Revolution9]

This just does not SOUND like Ron Paul anymore to me. I refused to sign the stupid NDA, so didn't go to this meeting - several of my friends berated me mightily for that, seeing it as "no big deal" but there is something that I just do not like about having a closed, traditional thing going on, versus the very open, free, insurgency that we (used to? / still do?) have going on.

The Senior Attorney at my sons Law Office said to never sign an NDA until it is time to collect money. Putting yourself in a position to get sued because you had the same idea, but did not know till you were told is plain stupd. I would take any NDA to a lwyer before signing it.. But that is me. Some of Cheney's arms dealng pals sent me an NDA when Cheney wanted to buy 2.5M metric tons of Heavy melting Steel.. I showed it to the Senior Attorney and it basically said that once we sign it any materials we had that were duplicate such as a catalog of all metal dealers worldwide would become an issue to sue us and take our profit. But it did not say it straight up. It was counched in connective sections quite trickily with the llynchpin consisiting of an adjective and an adverb... It was obvious once pointed out but did not seem suspicious to me at first.

Best
Randy

[iamso910]

There are things in the packet that they don't want spread all over the internet because they don't want the other campaigns to know about them. That's why there are controls. It would be pretty stupid to let the other candidates develop counter-messages before the original messages oficially hit the airwaves.

IDeas can evolve from debate, but that doesn't mean that debates always end with everybody agreeing to, and happy with, the final product.

It also doesn't mean that everybody who has ever posted in an internet forum should get a chance to participate in the debate.

I don't like the public dessention. It's not the image we want to portray. I know there are some truthers who quit the cause because they expected him to support their conspiracy theories. If we're going to start losgin supporters over the fact that budget meetings and other grown-up discussions aren't open to the public then we might as well throw in the towel right now.

Angelatc,

Thanks for providing some insight into why certain strategies may want to be kept secret.

Still, I think they would benefit more by making some of the strategy ideas public, so that more of the grass roots could adopt them.

[abstrusezincate]

I actually spoke with Anita a little on the phone tonight. Based on what I've read here, what I've heard from others, and what is being said, let me offer a reasoned opinion.

I think that information is always good, and it is up to us as individuals and as groups to choose if it is beneficial or not to the cause we are promoting. I won't be able to attend her meeting in PA because of timing issues, but if she is talking about how to reach past the internet, then that is a good thing.

I don't necessarily approve of the way they are going about this. Honestly, I'm not always impressed with the campaign staff and their actions either, but hearing what the woman has to say can't hurt and it might help. That's probably good enough.

We still have many challenges that we face as separate non-connected entities, and I think we'll need to continue to work together to make that happen. With that being true, I'm content to keep doing what we've been doing and go from there.

[Kuldebar]

My feeling is that having everyone call or e-mail the Campaign or Don Rasmussen is not a good method of clearing things up. Encouraging people to describe their experience at the events in places like this forum is the most efficient way of setting things straight.

The detractors on this thread seem to overlook the fact that this thread was started by an Andrews Event Attendee and the discussion followed on from there.

So, the more we can hear from attendees in this forum, the better.

[inibo]

Wow!


Proverbs 27:17

and

http://www.gartholson.net/weblog/wp-images/HerdingCats.jpg



If I ever have any grandchildren, the stories I'll have tell...

[tmg19103]

I agree with Tom that it can't hurt to listen - and to do so with an open mind.

One of the geat things about a grassroots campaign is that it is creative in an authentic sense, and spontaneous in an enthusiastic sense. This in itself creates a snowball effect of ever growing support and a passionate feeling of being involved in something that not only you are a part of, but that is also a part of you.

I think it is key that we do not lose that creativity and enthusiasm.

However, that does not mean we should not listen to this woman with an open mind. Perhaps some of her ideas could fine tune our creativity and enthusiasm so that our work for RP is that much more efficient and effective.

I do think she has a tough job and that here is a fine line between benefiting a grassroots campaign and hurting it.

From that standpoint, I'd take what I want from what she has to say, and I'd leave the rest - while keeping an open mind. What I am concerned about is the name recognition issue, and what I'd be looking for from her is what she has to say on ways to increase public awareness of RP that goes beyond what we are already doing. THAT is something I'd surely work with.

-- Andy

[BlindD]

So let me see if I understand all of this: Amazing Anita (AA) shows up and convinces HQ that she's got "the secret." Her only requirement is that she will tell her secret only if no one will talk about it, except in the precisely ordained way that she demands. This demand is specifically created to make sure that she protects her ~$37.46 of profits from each group she talks to. The grassroots eventually learn about this material and slowly and carefully spread it around (keeping it secret from other campaigns), without offending AA non-disclosure agreements. Grassroots comes to realize that all of this is apparently going to require several months to spread around due to the secrecy thing, and we all come to realize that by the time the secret is fully out and put to good use, the election is over.

Is that about right?

Go to one of these meetings, get some ideas (if they are any good), and spread 'em around to the people who need to know about them. Then get shit done. How difficult is that?

"Secret" techniques are just so much BS in 3 months. Use 'em if they are any good, get crankin', blow the lid off the secrecy.

As far as I've seen over the past 4 months, the grassroots are far more creative and 3-steps-ahead of any conventional campaigning that I've ever seen or been involved with. Grassroots need to keep doing exactly what they are doing.

Grassroots IS the f*ing SECRET!!!!!! Jesus!

IN ADDITION to grassroots, crank up the 'AA secret' techniques if you feel like it. If you don't feel like it, then just keep creating brilliant grassroots strategies and results... like you have been doing for the last 4 months.

If anyone tells Grassroots to stop being creative and active, in any way whatsoever, then tell 'em to take a flying leap.

If HQ is really in love with AA, then they need to pay her a good price to 'buy' her secrets, and pay her a chunk of $$ to go out on the road and teach every meetup around the country, free-of-charge. Grassroots will eat it up and git-R-done.

[thomj76]

I went to the last meeting with Anita. There are some fantastic ideas to help get the message out the right way to the average voter. There will be action soon from HQ to help coordinate the local effort to local voters. I understand people's hesitation. Let's face it, a lot of people that support Ron Paul are pretty knowledgeable about what is going on.

That knowledge, however, does not mean that the average voter will get it. I think most of us have seen blank faces staring back as the facts are presented to them. It can be a very frustrating thing. The real key is how to tailor the message for the individual. Each voter has their own issues that will determine who they will vote for.

It is approaching the individual voter in the proper manner to allow them the chance to listen to the message.

I have said this many times in this forum long before I met Anita.

Be respectful, thoughtful, balanced and follow though with your actions. If your message reaches a few voters, but turns off more voters, then how helpful was your delivery?

[MsDoodahs]

My concerns center on two points.

First, the report that Anita tells groups she has sued in the past and will do it again if the people who hear her info dare to discuss it with the rest of us. IMO that is intended to intimidate group members and therefore increase her control over those groups. Her use of the lawsuit threat has also been quite divisive. Neither of these outcomes is positive for the campaign.

Second, the report that Anita openly stated that she is unsure she even wants to be associated with Ron Paul. She may as well have told the group, "look, your guy is a kook and working with this campaign may hurt my career ambitions, so I'm not really sure I want to bother."

Yet she is on the payroll? Excuse me for asking, but ... WTF?

Does Ron know she's saying that kind of crap to his supporters?

Would she be on the payroll if he did?

I've put a lot of faith and trust in folks I've never met and know only from this forum, as evidenced by contributions to their projects. Their words here have revealed their passion and dedication to Dr. Paul's campaign. If the report re: her comment that she is not sure she wants to be associated with Dr. Paul is true, then I ask you: where is her passion and dedication, and if she does not have any, why is she in this role?

[MicroBalrog]

I am confused. Who is Anita Andrews?

[Spirit of '76]

Anita wants to come to WV on Thursday. I'm interested in hearing what she has to say.

[militant]

Anita wants to come to WV on Thursday. I'm interested in hearing what she has to say.

oh? where/when?

[Spirit of '76]

oh? where/when?

Hasn't been established yet. This was all on very short notice.

We should have more details by this evening.

[militant]

Hasn't been established yet. This was all on very short notice.

We should have more details by this evening.

good deal. will check this thread periodically, if you don't mind posting the info here. parkersburg here, probably will go wherever it is in the state.

[Spirit of '76]

good deal. will check this thread periodically, if you don't mind posting the info here. parkersburg here, probably will go wherever it is in the state.

Cool. I'll be sure to let you know what we find out. :)

You know, Parkersburg wouldn't be a bad option. We could get the Marietta crew over too.

[LarryWhite]

Parkersburg would be about the most central place to do it. Anyone know of a free or cheap place we could set this up at in Parkersburg?

[militant]

Cool. I'll be sure to let you know what we find out. :)

You know, Parkersburg wouldn't be a bad option. We could get the Marietta crew over too.


parkersburg would be good, and i do have professional signs and a box of shirts and other things, so people could pick them up afterward. of course i can bring it all with me anywhere

[LarryWhite]

I'm not very familiar with the Parkersburg area, so the closer to an interstate exit the better. Looks like Parkersburg would be within an hour or two of just about every meetup group in WV.

[militant]

I'm not very familiar with the Parkersburg area, so the closer to an interstate exit the better. Looks like Parkersburg would be within an hour or two of just about every meetup group in WV.

parkersburg is at the junction of 50 and 77. i don't know what sort of facility would be used to host this, but there's a couple around here that would probably be doable

[Spirit of '76]

parkersburg is at the junction of 50 and 77. i don't know what sort of facility would be used to host this, but there's a couple around here that would probably be doable

Can you suggest some? I'll happily make some phone calls.

[LarryWhite]

parkersburg is at the junction of 50 and 77. i don't know what sort of facility would be used to host this, but there's a couple around here that would probably be doable

Just talked to Anita again, it has to be a private place, discussing strategy and such so don't want the public to hear. She suggested contacting libraries, hotels, schools, anywhere we can get a room and have it to ourselves.

[angelatc]

I've put a lot of faith and trust in folks I've never met and know only from this forum, as evidenced by contributions to their projects. Their words here have revealed their passion and dedication to Dr. Paul's campaign. If the report re: her comment that she is not sure she wants to be associated with Dr. Paul is true, then I ask you: where is her passion and dedication, and if she does not have any, why is she in this role?

99% of the people who heard her speak believe in what she's doing. If you're choosing ti align yourself with the malcontents, then can you do it quietly?

[constituent]

99% of the people who heard her speak believe in what she's doing. If you're choosing ti align yourself with the malcontents, then can you do it quietly?

wow... that was out of character for angelatc.

all i'm gunna say about this...

[militant]

Can you suggest some? I'll happily make some phone calls.

check the holiday inn on 7th street in parkersburg. i'd make the calls myself but i don't keep a home phone and the cell gets no signal til i drive out to the main road. wood county public library is good to check too, they have downstairs conference rooms i do believe.

[Spirit of '76]

check the holiday inn on 7th street in parkersburg.

I had that one in mind, actually. :)


wood county public library is good to check too, they have downstairs conference rooms i do believe.

Is that downtown, or what?

I'll make some calls. I'll call my Parkersburg contacts too and see if they have any other ideas.

[militant]

it's just a few turns off the interstate, but yes, downtown.

[murph]

I went to a training with Anita Andrews on Labor Day in northern VA and it was extremely worthwhile. Her methods and materials are professional and well organized.

I don't understand the comment about her not being sure about Ron Paul. During a break I asked her about how she got involved with the campaign and her answers assured me that she is as passionate about Ron Paul as any of us.

Yes, she asks everyone to sign an NDA. It's written in plain English and it makes sense. I didn't hear any legal threats. Unless you are a mole from another campaign or you lack common sense, you have nothing to worry about, IMO.

I've been active in local meetups for three months and frankly we've been floundering around with sign events, etc., hoping that it was the right thing to do. Now the mission is much clearer, thanks to Anita. Her presentation has been a very positive influence on us and we are working harder than ever.

We were asked to spread her message throughout the state, and in fact I'm headed to a different meetup group an hour away from home tonight to do just that. Our short term goal is to recruit regional organizers in VA to accept the challenge of organizing a more effective campaign.

The grass roots efforts and her organizational plan are very compatable. The plan simply creates a logical structure to channel the grass roots enthusiasm to achieve the main goal: GET RON PAUL ELECTED PRESIDENT!

[MsDoodahs]

THAT is the synopsis I was waiting to read.

Thank you, Murph! :)

[constituent]

there... a very favorable review... amazing what happens when people are actually allowed to air their concerns (even on a ...gasp... public forum).

thank you for the info murph

[Wyurm]

I am not working with Anita and never will. However, this is a personal decision. Last time this discussion got started, I ended up getting idiotic insults PMed to me from someone that works with her. That and a few other things got me so fed up and frustrated, I just wanted to quit, and did for about 2 weeks. I'm not getting paid for this, and if I don't like the feel of something, I won't do it and that's that.

So, the way I see it i that we are all voluntarily here and if you want to work with Anita you should be more than free to do so. However, if you don't want to, or don't feel comfortable, or only want to work with her to a degree, thats your choice.

But to insult people because they don't feel comfortable with a situation, even if they havent gone to one of Anita's meetings, is un-necessary. Not only is it not needed, it seriously risks losing members, because I assure you I have enough other responsibilities in my life that I do not need to subject myself to bickering, insults, etc... So if you like Anita's style, go for it, and if you don't feel its a good thing, then ignore her and move on.

Now let's get Dr. Paul elected however each of us is comfortable doing so.

[chrisholley]

I must say I am not encouraged much and I hope my doubts are unfounded. She gave us a 2 1/2 day notice
for the WHOLE state to meet during a work week and we have a very long state that
takes 8 hours to drive from one side to the other. We can't do a webcast or even videotape
the seminar. She has not gotten in contact with any other meetup group in our state as well.
I don't think this is going to do Tennessee any good as a whole.(Our 11 electoral votes has cost many elections)
She also mentioned that the direction she is going to take us will overwhelm us! That is scary
as we have less than 15 Hardcore do-or-die members and less than 40 "do it when I feel like it" members.
I hope this works, but I have doubts about the whole situation. We''ll see, God knows I want it to work!

[Spirit of '76]

it's just a few turns off the interstate, but yes, downtown.

Cool. I'll call around today.

[murph]

Chris, we didn't get much notice at all - about three days. We went on faith that the two hour drive was worth it and it was.

My only regret was that the organizers didn't take more time to spread the word sooner and get more people there. I hope that they do a better job on that in the future.

[constituent]

maybe that's part of the strategy?

[mdh]

We are getting real short notice on a visit here, now, too - Thursday. This is bothersome, since pulling together people on a weekday with less than a week's notice shall be nigh impossible.

I'm also concerned by so many things I've read here. :(

[murph]

mdh, if there is any chance of going then I encourage you to go and see and hear it for yourself. I would put little weight on concerns from those who have not heard the material first hand.

[father963]

I've only read since murph's comment 179. First off, who says we're working with her? I"m not. Don't need to. I've got the material and I'm running with it. I hope she finds one person in every state to take the ball and go. If you've run a campaign before, maybe you know best. I haven't.

But now I've got some sort of plan to work with. I'm not concerned about how pissed off I was that we didn't get sooner notice about the meeting. I'm not concerned about the massive amounts of work to be done to guarantee success. And I'm certainly not going to waste anymore time other than to offer help. I'm 16/7 now, but this issue is important to the campaign.

The discussion is over. You should be emailing your other state Meetups and going through the near impossible task of connecting everyone in your state. I did it. Well, I did it enough to find 11 Congressional District Coordinators willing to take on this signature collection process, and I did it in three days. Virginia WILL have Ron Paul on the ballot. What about you're state?

And guess what? It took me a month to set up the contacts. Luckily I was so frustrated back then that I started the process before this material came down the pike. It was a sloppy effort because I didn't know what I was working toward other than to have a large presence at rallies. But thank God I did. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes if someone from your state hasn't done this. You had best get it in gear. One person can't bring a state together in a couple of days.

And one person has to do it. Not lead, but serve. You've got to have a central location to bring everyone together. And you haven't the time to figure it out either.

So if you want some help, I can do it for you're state. Not lead, but serve, not manage, just show you how. Take that anyway you want, but realize this: We met with her on Labor Day. Tomorrow or the next, we will have a system in place where all the information is on a website. By the end of the week, all the CDCs (congressional district coordinators) will be registered on that site. By this weekend, we'll be collecting signatures state wide in a organized and streamlined fashion.

That's less than two weeks to set up a state wide organization to collect 20,000 signatures for Ron Paul. I don't know how Hillary does it, but I would guess she couldn't accomplish this. And not for the same price.

We got lucky. The meetups came together like a dream. The web administrator did an awesome job. And I was stubborn enough not to settle for 15 people at our Meetup events. "I'm all in" for Dr. Paul and I couldn't understand why we were not filling the stands with hundreds. Well they are out there. It just takes some organization beyond Meetup.com's capabilities to bring them together.

Re-invent the wheel if you want. In my opinion, we're standing the the desert and I'm hopping on the only thing I see moving toward the shade. It's time to act. I'll share the site, the system, and the insights from doing this here with anyone who cares. You'll have to morph the system to your state's needs, but that's just a task.
Let's go forward folks.

Allan Neal
Central Virginia RPM
allan@ronintheoval.com (this is not the site)
I'm here to serve, and I appologize for the tone. We keep telling others to wake up. I thought we could use the same. Funny, I can't sleep.

[Kuldebar]

Here's a post (should have been in this thread) from someone that has talked to Anita Andrews, presumably at one of her events:


I've seen some posts on here about her and I was also at the FL session and I try my best to give everybody a fair shake and I really think some of you guys are NOT giving her a fair shake.

The message/tactics she gave us WOULD deliver us a win undoubtedly if we followed this plan. Now I personally would say that I agree with about 90-95% of what she said.

I was the one who brought up the issue of the rEVOLution logo to her too considering how it's become the de facto trademark brand of this grassroots revolution. She pretty much flat out stated that NO we cannot use that anymore if we expect to win. This is something I both disagree and agree with. We cannot just up and out DITCH this logo as many of us have materials that still have this on there. However she has a valid point in that this does not appeal towards the 90% as Ron Paul's message/sign does of "Hope For America" or even "Peace, Prosperity, Freedom". This message wouldn't put off anybody like the rEVOLution probably does. Though I don't think the official message would attract the real revolutionaries as the rEVOLution will as well. What I plan on doing is phasing out the usage of the rEVOLution logo as it comes around to the point of 6-8 weeks before our primary.

Now I cannot question her support and determination of getting Ron Paul elected as I've heard from some people here. Do I think she is libertarian minded and "gets it" as far as government goes? I'm not so sure, but she is definitely supporting Ron Paul. You have to also consider that as a campaign advistor/strategist you will end up representing different ideologies every single campaign so I'd imagine it's difficult for these types to get too emotionally attached to a particular campaign. Though it is evident she is anti (female) socialist and also a question was asked of her by an attendee on what is actually shady about RP's positions/past and she didn't know of any but firmly stated how there is absolutely "nothing shady about Ron".

She wants us to win, she wants to win, she's offering her advice. The best advice I would say it to also take 90-95% of it but don't forget that you're an individual and NOT a robot so even if she has a 91% success rate she does not have that 100% and incorporate your own style into what she has taught us.

She IS listed as a member of the campaign' staff on their website and I don't think it matters how long she's been up there. Saying she would sue is blown out of proportion. This is what she does, this is her own private property and we sign a contractual obligation to NOT violate her property. We all know about property rights so if you are guilty of violating hers than she has every right to seek damages.

Again, if you haven't had her training session yet do NOT form a judgement about her and her strategies (even from my post) until you attend it. I'd recommend EVERYBODY do what they can to attend this as well. When you do attend please also keep an open mind, and also do not ask a million questions and do not answer questions for her as well. This happened a lot in the FL session and caused a couple of people to unprofessionally blow their gaskets.

I just hope this controversy around Anita Andrews could be dropped already and you guys can listen to what advice she has to give us (as hired by the campaign to do so) to help ensure WE WIN.

[Spirit of '76]

The discussion is over. You should be emailing your other state Meetups and going through the near impossible task of connecting everyone in your state. I did it. Well, I did it enough to find 11 Congressional District Coordinators willing to take on this signature collection process, and I did it in three days. Virginia WILL have Ron Paul on the ballot. What about you're state?

And guess what? It took me a month to set up the contacts. Luckily I was so frustrated back then that I started the process before this material came down the pike. It was a sloppy effort because I didn't know what I was working toward other than to have a large presence at rallies. But thank God I did. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes if someone from your state hasn't done this. You had best get it in gear. One person can't bring a state together in a couple of days.

And one person has to do it. Not lead, but serve. You've got to have a central location to bring everyone together. And you haven't the time to figure it out either.


We've already been doing all of that.

Ron is already on the ballot for the convention here. We made sure of that by staying on top of developments with the WVGOP and leaning on the campaign to make sure they were aware of changes, complying with the rules, and paying the fees.

We have been conducting a statewide effort to register a full Ron Paul delegate slate for the convention.

We are conducting outreach efforts targeted to specific demographics.

We are working within the GOP framework.

None of this is a secret, and we didn't need someone to tell us to do it.

If Ms. Andrews can help, then great. I'm willing to hear her out, and we're trying to set up the meeting with her, despite the short notice.

[father963]

None of this is a secret, and we didn't need someone to tell us to do it.

Good for you. Are you speaking for all the states? Why didn't you help here?

[Mr. White]

Some do need and appreciate some direction 76.

[Spirit of '76]

Why didn't you help here?

Help where?

[Spirit of '76]

Some do need and appreciate some direction 76.

I know. I do too!

It's just that none of that need be a big secret that just makes everyone paranoid and weird. If that's all there is to it, then come out with it.

Anyway, Ms. Andrews is coming here on Thursday, and I'm looking forward to meeting with her. I'm sure she'll have some good information for us.

Our biggest problem at this point, truth be told, is resources. All of us here are holding down actual jobs, and none of us are made of money. I'm still waiting for the campaign materials we requested from HQ a month ago (yes, I called to check on them).

Coordinating a state-wide campaign like this is a full-time job. It'd be great if the campaign would hire someone to do it, but I don't know if that's even in the cards. Hopefully Ms. Andrews will be able to give us some tips on how we're supposed to do all of this effectively on a volunteer basis and without any money to spend.

[father963]

Virginia. Luck of the dice, but no one started anything that got even close to state wide. Too much revolution, too many people new to politics (me), too many organizers waiting, I don't know. But it may be a good thing. We now know how to take such a situation and make it work.

We're going to use as much of Anita's plan as we have the person power to do. The key thing for us is....she got the ball rolling.

I didn't mean to be too flip, but this is a new kind of politics, from what I've seen. It needs new solutions everyday.

So, we're here to serve. From those states that need help, who want's the tour ? Trust me, if none need help, I would be very glad, but I'm sure we're not alone. I would rather concentrate on Virginia and it's State Fair coming up, but we've got plenty of help from the Meetups.



:

[Spirit of '76]

Virginia.

Our hands are full here, and we're still only at the beginning.


Luck of the dice, but no one started anything that got even close to state wide. Too much revolution, too many people new to politics (me), too many organizers waiting, I don't know. But it may be a good thing. We now know how to take such a situation and make it work.

Yeah, ours is just getting rolling too. And I really do appreciate any help, insight, or advice anyone is willing to give.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not prejudging Anita's info or techniques. What I'm reacting to here is the weird, secretive vibe that surrounds it all. I'm looking forward to finding out what it's all about. :)

[father963]

Here's why you are not getting information: The campaign is small and swamped. They cannot direct the meetups because if they do and money is involved, the laws in place would cripple them. That's the short version.

Contact me through the email address above and we'll see what we can do. Or go to Central Virginia Ron Paul Meetup and contact any organizer. 23227

I'm off to a Meetup.

[Spirit of '76]

Thanks. Keep up the good work.

[militant]

checking back, not finding when/where or if any progress has been made. what's the status, and is there anything i can do here in parkersburg to help set this up?

[Alabama Supporter]

I am going to the training tomorrow and I'll report back .

I know we have had a few media successes, but as far as winning any votes I think we have a long way to go in N. Alabama. We have a pretty good volunteer base and a loosely organized structure of hard working leaders.

We are one of the super Tuesday states, and I really think we can make a difference thanks to all the vote splitting among Rudy McRomnibee.

[Kuldebar]

I am going to the training tomorrow and I'll report back .

I know we have had a few media successes, but as far as winning any votes I think we have a long way to go in N. Alabama. We have a pretty good volunteer base and a loosely organized structure of hard working leaders.

We are one of the super Tuesday states, and I really think we can make a difference thanks to all the vote splitting among Rudy McRomnibee.

Cool beans, the more information from different sources concerning the value of the meetings means a more accurate picture. Not everyone can go to these events, so this will be a good thing.

[Spirit of '76]

checking back, not finding when/where or if any progress has been made. what's the status, and is there anything i can do here in parkersburg to help set this up?

We couldn't find a place in Parkersburg. Looks like it's going to be here in Salem.

I'll let you know for sure tomorrow.

[agisthos]

The internet, youtube, online polls e.t.c will only get us so far. That is the 2-3% RP is polling at. This creates the grassroots support that must then be leveraged into traditional campaigning to reach the other 90 %

There are some very ignorant people on this thread who believe that we should just keep doing rallys / homemade signs and have actively attacked any effort to start a proper organized effort.

An example of this ignorance is this insistance on keeping the revolution signs. Well I am hear to tell you that from a political marketing perspective having 'revolution' linked to a Republican candidates name is the worst thing you can do. The average Republican will see the Revolution in red and think "Communist"

Some people here may laugh at that, but you have to put your self in the shoes of the average ignorant American and that is how they think. I know you guys love the revolution signs but ask yourself this ;
Are we here to please our own selfishness or are we here to win the average joe republican voter to our cause?

Now is the time to get serious and go see this Anita Andrews woman to learn how to properly organize and campaign.

This post is going to be a hard pill to swallow for any libertarian leaning person, because we naturally like to have no regimentation or people telling us what to do but believe me when it comes to winning elections you need to get votes the hard way with an authoritarian approach to organizing.

You can either face this reality or see RP crushed in every primary and have the dream die.

I am a bit disappointed with campaign HQ. Once it was clear there was huge grassroots support with the meetup groups someone like Anita Andrews should have been hired 3 months ago. They have left it very late.

[constituent]

There are some very ignorant people on this thread who believe that we should just keep doing rallys / homemade signs and have actively attacked any effort to start a proper organized effort.

An example of this ignorance is this insistance on keeping the revolution signs. Well I am hear to tell you that from a political marketing perspective having 'revolution' linked to a Republican candidates name is the worst thing you can do. The average Republican will see the Revolution in red and think "Communist"

Some people here may laugh at that, but you have to put your self in the shoes of the average ignorant American and that is how they think.
......

I am a bit disappointed with campaign HQ. Once it was clear there was huge grassroots support with the meetup groups someone like Anita Andrews should have been hired 3 months ago. They have left it very late.

that's alot of harsh words for alot of people. unless you're ron paul or kent snyder I'd try and learn a little humility myself. bitter pill to swallow, more like self-serving drivel.

what really gets me is the "average ignorant American" bit. what's that about collectivism. do you fail to see how your behavior and what you've chosen to write portrays the opposite image of the good dr.s espoused views?

i'm a bit disappointed w/ your tone and negativity. you think you'll ever persuade anyone to your side with this sort of "you attitude?"

[Spirit of '76]

I am a bit disappointed with campaign HQ. Once it was clear there was huge grassroots support with the meetup groups someone like Anita Andrews should have been hired 3 months ago. They have left it very late.

I tend to agree, and personally I think they should have made an announcement about their wonderful new regional coordinator who would be traveling around to present some exciting new ideas for campaigning.

That would have accomplished two things:
a.) It would have nipped all the paranoia in the bud, and people would be more willing to accept her at face value.
b.) It would have generated actual excitement to go and hear what she has to say.

She still could have presented people with the NDA once they showed up, and it would have been a much easier pill for us all to swallow, knowing outright -- having heard it from the campaign -- that she's on the up and up and is here to help us.

As it is, I think a lot of people are still struggling with the secrecy aspect. It's not too late for the campaign to do some damage control on this, I reckon. Of course, there could well be mitigating factors that I'm overlooking.

[Alabama Supporter]

Lets just hope he doesn't try to run the country on Meetup.com.

Alot of us out there need this help. There are not enough computer geeks out there to win a primary people.

[agisthos]

that's alot of harsh words for alot of people. unless you're ron paul or kent snyder I'd try and learn a little humility myself. bitter pill to swallow, more like self-serving drivel.

What is self serving is people who have no idea about political campaigning attacking Anita Andrews and the attempts to educate the meetup groups with her good tools for future success.



what really gets me is the "average ignorant American" bit. what's that about collectivism. do you fail to see how your behavior and what you've chosen to write portrays the opposite image of the good dr.s espoused views?


If you think the average joe republican (or democrat) voter is not dumb and ignorant (about politics) think again. It's harsh words but better that than fooling ourself about what we are up against.

Most of the libertarians, constitutionalists, anti-collectivists, civil libertarians and 'leave me alone' freedom type people are already onboard.

What is left over is the average ignorant voter and this voter can only be reached via the more traditional campaigning methods that poeple such as Anita Andrews is willing to teach.

There is a temptation to use this forum as a Ron Paul feel good echo chamber, but sometimes reality must intrude. As has been mentioned previously a lot of the primaries are only open to registered republican voters. It is going to be difficult but it can be done.

[agisthos]

I tend to agree, and personally I think they should have made an announcement about their wonderful new regional coordinator who would be traveling around to present some exciting new ideas for campaigning.


It would be a great idea for them to setup a proper schedule for her that everybody could know in advance. Didn't someone say earlier they had 2 1/2 days notice for their meetup group?
That just is not good enough.

[Matt Collins]

Anita Andrews may have great ideas, but she needs to get over the idea that this movement is going to be contained or managed. Having a well managed campaign is what creates a win. Seeing as she is a professional, I'm going to consider her advice until I have reason to do otherwise.

[Matt Collins]

The last time we went round and round about anita someone concluded very correctly "She is trying to herd cats"I thought the same thing while listening to her speak today.



Hiring consultants is old school This is top down management and if it takes hold we will become another wanna be campaign and loose Actually it's not really about having top-down management as it is having CONSISTENT organization based upon proven methods. One of the first things she said today was the the RP campaign is different because of the grassroots support. She recognizes this, and so does the HQ.

But because we are all going off in our own directions we are not efficient. I think the entire idea of this is to get everyone "on the same page". Also understand that the HQ isn't doing everything that it can at this point in time either (which anyone who has been involved for more than 2 minutes knows). She is working on getting them in line too.

[Matt Collins]

Advice is always welcome, if it's actually advice. Andrews is welcome to the movement, but her value is not automatically higher than any other volunteer.She could be full of it, but we should at least give her the benefit of the doubt. I heard her speak today and have realized that she is indeed more educated in politics and better connected than I am. So I am in no position to judge her value.

[davidhperry]

Having a well managed campaign is what creates a win. Seeing as she is a professional, I'm going to consider her advice until I have reason to do otherwise.

I completely agree with Matt. All of the volunteer enthusiasm is great as long as it's unified and focused in the same direction. If it is not, then people end up undermining each other and the campaign suffers - we need to think and act as a team.

[Matt Collins]

no chickens were sacrificed to Bael, I promise.:D

I almost pissed myself when I read this.... friggin hularious! :p

[Matt Collins]

Seeing as 9/10th of the movement in internet based, why not simply have all the "educating" taking place online? Because less than 30% of the average voter is proficient on the Net.

[Matt Collins]

The non-disclosure agreement seems to run contrary to the sharing of ideas and strategies.Actually it's (largely) about protection of our strategies from the other candidates.

[Matt Collins]

I swear if Ron Paul himself came to give a campaign training seminar, people would question whether it was really him or really some evil robotic clone sent by the opposition to mess with the grassroots supporters.Thanks for the belly laugh too! :p

[father963]

Having a well managed campaign is what creates a win. Seeing as she is a professional, I'm going to consider her advice until I have reason to do otherwise.

There's no time to debate, that's the main problem. BTW in your signature take out "jury" that's pretty much gone in most cases, and add "Pine" where ever you want.

[john_anderson_ii]

I remember debating the merits of top down management in another thread. Being a military man, I was all for it because I thought organized focus would help get more accomplished. However, my logic was flawed. Marines operate effectively under top down management because we have the same basic training. I can walk up to any any group of Marines anywhere on the planet and and give them "Fall In", "Right Face", "Forward March", and we be off and moving in less than a blink. I couldn't imagine trying to do that with a group of shoppers at the mall when each have their own agendas. That's why top down management would fail here.

However, no management or direction is like an external combustion engine*. Sure it's loud and pretty and makes a mark, but it's not nearly as reliable or fuel efficient as it's internal counterpart. No management means more energy is wasted than need be.

I sure hope this Anita person has a plan to balance the two out without stifling creativity or undermining the greatest asset the Ron Paul campaign has.

*External Combustion Engine: A device a combat engineer employs to move a large object several meters very quickly while simultaneously turning the large object into much smaller objects.

[Matt Collins]

Marines operate effectively under top down management because we have the same basic training. I can walk up to any any group of Marines anywhere on the planet and and give them "Fall In", "Right Face", "Forward March", and we be off and moving in less than a blink. I couldn't imagine trying to do that with a group of shoppers at the mall when each have their own agendas. That's why top down management would fail here.You kind of hit the nail on the head.

Anita wants to give us all the initial training to go forward with. This way when the national campaign wants/needs to target a specific area, there is already infrastructure and people in place to do that. Otherwise it's like herding cats.

[OURPLAN]

Yeah, enough chat on this matter.
Let's just communicate with our
MEET-UP teams, (not the forum),
and get to work. :)

Let's make Ron Paul our next President!

[dircha]

First off, she has some good stuff to say and a lot of good training for those have never worked on a campaign before. I would encourage everyone to go.

However, there was something a bit off with her whole presentation.

Basically,I got the idea that this was her first chance to consult a national campaign, so she took it. But she isn't sure she wants to really, fully be associated with Ron Paul. (Hence, her name not being on the webpage untill recently, her email is not a Ron Paul email, etc.)

Also, she made a number of wierd statements:

-She threatened to sue anyone who gave her materials away.
-She claimed she worked on a campaign that was outspent 32 million to 300 thousand and still won. Only senate campaigns reach the 30 million mark. There has not been that big of a senate upset in decades.
-She claims she worked on a campaign in which the headquarters were blown up.


Anyways, I know there was alot of talk about her. Just my 2 cents.

This is NOT right.

Use some common sense here, people, this is a scam artist. I don't care how slick or experienced she may seem to you; this person is lying to you.

Campaign headquarters blown up?

300 thousand vs 32 million campaign victory?

These things did NOT happen. This person is lying. Even if she seems well intentioned. We don't know what her agenda is, whether she is an infiltrator or just a scam artist here to make money, but this is NOT right.

And threatening to personally sue you for disclosing information presented under contract with the campaign headquarters?

This indicates something seriously amiss. Either her contacts within the national campaign who hired her are naive as well, probably volunteers themselves, or they too are not aware of what she is up to out on the East coast.

[Spirit of '76]

This is NOT right.

Use some common sense here, people, this is a scam artist. I don't care how slick or experienced she may seem to you; this person is lying to you.

Campaign headquarters blown up?

300 thousand vs 32 million campaign victory?

These things did NOT happen. This person is lying. Even if she seems well intentioned. We don't know what her agenda is, whether she is an infiltrator or just a scam artist here to make money, but this is NOT right.

And threatening to personally sue you for disclosing information presented under contract with the campaign headquarters?

This indicates something seriously amiss. Either her contacts within the national campaign who hired her are naive as well, probably volunteers themselves, or they too are not aware of what she is up to out on the East coast.

Anita just left here. She is legit. She is in it to win it. She has very good ideas, and presents them very clearly.

My reservations about her are gone. If she comes to your area, go and meet her. If you can't go, find someone who has and discuss the training with them face to face.

At the very least, even if you dislike the strategy she presents, you will learn some very interesting information about the campaign's future plans.