IOWA: anything going on there with the meetups?

[Lord Xar]

Anything going on in Iowa? Any meetup news, flyering events or anything?

[jonahtrainer]

Anything going on in Iowa? Any meetup news, flyering events or anything?

Do they have the Internet there?

[LibertyEagle]

Do they have the Internet there?

Is that supposed to be funny? Of course they do. :rolleyes:

[quickmike]

Is that supposed to be funny? Of course they do. :rolleyes:


Well yeah, they sorta do.:D

http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/03/38/23473803.jpg

[Lord Xar]

the Internet is NOT enough. That is ONE angle, but it isn't ready yet to make or break candidates.

So, are the IOWANS meetups etc.. putting boots to the ground? Is there any 'events/agendas' etc... happening?

I have not heard anything regarding this state. Given its importance.

[LibertyEagle]

Yeah, weren't not going to win this thing on the internet alone. There are a TON of people who do not use the internet at all and some others who only have dial-up.

If we hope to win, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Getting out there and passing out campaign literature.

[BrianH]

Yeah, weren't not going to win this thing on the internet alone. There are a TON of people who do not use the internet at all and some others who only have dial-up.

If we hope to win, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Getting out there and passing out campaign literature.

FYI, As of 10/08/07, here are some of the Ron Paul Meetup Groups in Iowa:
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Des Moines Area & Central Iowa Ron Paul 2008 Support Group: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/106/?gj=sj17
A very active group with 123 members. Meets every Friday at 5 pm in Des Moines. John Kurr is the Organizer.
*
The Iowa City Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/115/
89 members
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SE Iowa - Muscatine http://ronpaul.meetup.com/180/?gj=sj2
12 members
The Cedar Rapids Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/232/
66 members
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The Fairfield Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/267/?gj=sj2
29 members
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State of Iowa Ron Paul 2008 Support Group: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/420/?gj=sj17
Purpose is to coordinate Iowa statewide Ron Paul events. 38 members

Operation Hawkeye- Davenport http://ronpaul.meetup.com/507/?gj=sj2
18 members
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Ron Paul – Iowa Border States Coalition: http://ronpaul.meetup.com/347/?gj=sj2
Purpose is to coordinate Iowa and surrounding states for regional Ron Paul events. 28 members
This is probably the best coverage to date of Dr Paul candidacy by the national media.
*

[quickmike]

Yeah, weren't not going to win this thing on the internet alone. There are a TON of people who do not use the internet at all and some others who only have dial-up.

If we hope to win, we're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Getting out there and passing out campaign literature.


Yup!!

Weve been saying this all along havent we Liberty?

I wonder how many people are listening.

[IowaSupport]

Participation is frustrating.

We have about 3-4 members we can rely on to show up to put up signs.

I've gotten another 2-3 people to throw up fliers on their own time for us, so things are getting done - we're just struggling with man hours at the moment.

It was just announced that on Dec. 4th (don't quote me, I don't have the paper in front of me) the University of Iowa is going to be hosting a Republican Debate - so we'll be putting up signs/fliers for that.

Drew Ivers is in the process fo kick-starting the effort here - we're on the upswing :P

[LibertyEagle]

Have you talked to the new Iowa campaign coordinator? Are you aware of anything he has going? I'm aware of the awards and all.

[Dave]

Have you talked to the new Iowa campaign coordinator? Are you aware of anything he has going? I'm aware of the awards and all.

This is a public forum and, as such, is not a good place to discuss specifics of campaign strategy. I often visit with the Iowa Campaign Chairman and while he's still new to the campaign I assure you there are things going on here.

[LibertyEagle]

This is a public forum and, as such, is not a good place to discuss specifics of campaign strategy. I often visit with the Iowa Campaign Chairman and while he's still new to the campaign I assure you there are things going on here.

:) That's good news.

Is there any flyering going on with regard to the Meetup groups?

[ARealConservative]

Anything going on in Iowa? Any meetup news, flyering events or anything?

In Davenport (Eastern portion of State) we are doing a walk this weekend. We hope to have about 50 people.

We are also raising money for some TV and/or Radio spots for November. Were only at about 25% of our goal. Once we have specifics down and have raised some more money ourselves we will likely be coming here to solicit some additional funds.

Some of the younger guys are hitting their colleges. They never said specifically, but I imagine they would prefer us "older" members to stay on the sidelines for that stuff.

I have kids that are in constant activities, so I have turned into a Ron Paul Soccer Dad. Swim class, sports, birthday parties, field trip to Pumpkin Patch, etc, etc. All great opportunities where I can hand out info and talk in a much more relaxed and friendly environment.

I also know that the guys in Waterloo/Cedar Falls have an activity planned for the college homecoming games this weekend. We also walked in a parade a few weeks back in Dubuque, and it seems like Iowa City and Cedar Rapids Iowa have events constantly.

We are making a difference, but we need to pick up the pace. Name recognition is much higher then it was just 2 months ago. My biggest hurdle is the vast number of union workers as John Deere is our #1 employer. Many people won't even listen once they hear the word Republican.

[Tratzman]

There will be a presidential debate here in Cedar Falls Nov. 6th. We're planning on it being a huge Ron Paul rally. I'm trying to get all the eastern Iowa meet-ups to be here 2 hours beforehand to stoke the flames of liberty with the RP message. We'll have a great turnout for this, I'm sure.

To be honest though, it's been really hard up here in northeast Iowa to get people involved. They seem to just want to join the meet-up and be content with that.
I've just been going door-to-door distributing flyers and talking to people and finding high-traffic areas of Waterloo-Cedar Falls to put the big 4 by 8 "Ron Paul for President" signs.

[John of Des Moines]

To be honest though, it's been really hard up here in northeast Iowa to get people involved. They seem to just want to join the meet-up and be content with that.

I have the same problem. People want to be wall flowers until the big show then think they're entitled to front row seats. That leaves maybe 20 people here in Des Moines as the one's pulling the load.

[tiznow]

iowa is gonna be tough at least in my area iowa city (university of iowa) based on what i read today caucuses gonna be jan 3rd or jan 5th....dead in the middle of winter break for college students.

that said turnout will probably be crappy overall people won't want to go trek in the cold and possible snow with college football on tv and holiday hangover...

yeah and like the others said here in my area its slow going only have a handful of people that are extremely active we are doing what we can.

just saw a poll that ron paul iowa at 4% so that's good, didn't see him running above 2% in iowa in any other poll i've seen to date

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?category=iowapoll07

also this is great news

The Iowa Poll shows that 9 percent of likely caucus participants are undecided or are uncommitted. Among those who have made a choice, about three-fourths say they could still be persuaded to support another candidate.

[ARealConservative]

I have the same problem. People want to be wall flowers until the big show then think they're entitled to front row seats. That leaves maybe 20 people here in Des Moines as the one's pulling the load.

I found when I was scheduling meetup events too frequently, participation was low. The same 3-5 guys were always coming but few others would.

So now we only schedule an event every 2-3 weeks. The 3-6 guys and I do things more frequently, but we don't include the meetup in it. Now we see participation much higher - 25-35 people isn't out of the ordinary.

My theory is when the calendar is full, people look and say to themselves "I'll just catch the next one". But when the events are fewer and farther in between, they make a point to catch the events we schedule.

We also give away pizza, Ron Paul hats, and such to keep interest high. It sucks to have to do that, but that's just the way it is.