Help Dr. Paul In 2012

[reduen]

This subject has been brought up on a few occasions here in these forums but I believe that it is important enough to touch on it again.

If you really want to be able to help Ron Paul become president in 2012, then you need to get involved with your local Republican Party. This will remain true as long as Dr. Paul stays a Republican himself.

Think about it, if Ron Paul does not make it through the primaries he does not become president. (Period..) The Republican Party controls the primaries for their party.

Having said all this, I am now Chairman, Election Commissioner, and Delegate for the Republican Party in my county and I know the process in my state fairly well now so if anyone is interested, let me know....

[sailingaway]

Wow, that is fantastic!

What state are you in?

[hazek]

Awesome work!

[reduen]

Wow, that is fantastic!

What state are you in?

AR

[sailingaway]

OK, I have to figure out California.

[reduen]

OK, I have to figure out California.

Start here and learn their rules, this is very important... It will also be helpful if you find somone in your county who is already a member to help you through the process.

http://www.cagop.org/index.cfm/party_bylaws.htm

[reduen]

Anyone else.....?

[Thomas]

i have to figure out pa

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

how does NJ work?

[Austin]

Anyone else.....?

Two-time state delegate here... I need to get more involved at the county level, though.

[reduen]

The most important thing that you all can do to start, is go to your state GOP website and find the rules. (It is usually under the "about" section.) Learn more there about how the party is structured as well.

This way you know more about what you are getting in to. I found the rules here in my state to be very ambiguous and hard to understand at first but persistence is key here. I now know them better than most of the "establishment" and through experiance have found that those who have been in control of the party here for decades, seldom follow the rules in their entirety. This may not be the case in states where the Republican Party has established itself and is strong but here in my state, we have used this as an advantage.

If you have any questions during the process, give me a shout and I will see if I can help...

[reduen]

Also, I noticed that sometimes it is very hard to find party rules in some states. If this is the case, your state constitution will have most of it lined out for you.

Find as many likeminded people to go through this process with you as you can as the more of a majority you hold, the stronger you are. This information may seem elementary to some and if so I apoplgize but in my mind, the fundementals are always worth practicing... :)

[Aratus]

coooooooooooool idea! let's get involved!

[Austin]

It seems that lack of information is what is holding most people back. Would anyone be interested in working with me to create a guide for each state on how to get involved, specifically at the precinct and county levels? This type of activism is what will really pay off in the long run.

So who's interested?

[reduen]

It seems that lack of information is what is holding most people back. Would anyone be interested in working with me to create a guide for each state on how to get involved, specifically at the precinct and county levels? This type of activism is what will really pay off in the long run.

So who's interested?

It may be needless to say but I am down with you on this. It would be nice to get somone from each state to speak up...

I will try and get something wrote up for my state this weekend. Then others from the state can chime in if they want.

[Austin]

It may be needless to say but I am down with you on this. It would be nice to get somone from each state to speak up...

I will try and get something wrote up for my state this weekend. Then others from the state can chime in if they want.

Awesome. I have already created a delegate guide for my state, and the Precinct Commiteeman process is very similar.

I made a collection in Google Docs where we can all collaborate and add individual docs for each state. PM me your email address (even if you don't have GMail) and I'll add you as a collaborator. All interested folks, feel free to PM me as well. I'll create a thread soon to keep track of volunteers for each state.

[reduen]

Ok folks, I know this may not seem very brief but believe me, compared to the actual rules, it is ....:)


Declaration

The express purpose of these rules is to provide for the free and unhampered right of the individual electors of Arkansas to participate in the nomination of their choice.

Party Objectives

The Republican Party of Arkansas declares its objectives to be:

1. The election of qualified Republican candidates to every public office, and

2. The fulfillment of the needs of the citizens of Arkansas in a manner consistent with the beliefs and principles of the Republican Party.

Party Principles

Republicans believe:

1. That the individual citizens are willing and capable of managing their own affairs without government intervention.

2. That the local, state and national governments must pursue policies designed to encourage individual initiative and induce people to be responsible for their own economic, political, and social well-being.

3. The primary function of government is to protect the life, common liberty and property of the governed, to prevent fraud and misinterpretation, and to invoke a common justice.

4. That when a function is undertaken by government, it should be performed by that government closest to the people which will provide as much direct control by those affected as reason and wisdom require to assure freedom and liberty to all citizens with justice under the law.

5. That our national stability and expansion of the free enterprise system can be best assured by application of the Constitutional principles that unite the American people.

Party Membership and Authority

A. Membership in the Republican Party of Arkansas shall be open to all qualified electors. No oath, pledge, or statement of belief shall ever be required as a condition.

B. The final authority in all party matters shall rest in the biennial Republican State Convention, which shall be deemed to have delegated such interim authority to the State Committee and Executive Committee as is necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of the party.

Party Organization

The party organization of the Republican Party of Arkansas shall consist of the following bodies:

A. The Republican State Committee.

B. The State Executive Committee.

C. The Finance Committee, Budget Committee, 1 Audit Committee Congressional District Committees, all allied Republican organizations including: Arkansas Federation of Republican Women, Arkansas Republican County Chairman’s Association, Arkansas Federation of Young Republicans, Arkansas Federation of College Republicans, Teenage Republicans of Arkansas, Minority Caucus, and other Committees of the Republican State Committee.

D. The Republican County Committees and such other subordinate committees as the rules of a County Committee may provide.

To summarize, the Republican Party of Arkansas is basically made up of members and committees at three levels. These three levels are the County Level, the District Level, and the State Level. Currently there are seventy five (75) counties and four (4) congressional districts. Each county should have a committee, and each congressional district should have a committee and there should be one at the state level. Each committee will then elect what is called an “executive committee” which will basically consist of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, Second Vice Chairman, Secretary, and a Treasurer. (There jobs are really to keep each committee organized and the meetings orderly respectively.)

Note: I listed them in this order for a reason and that is that optimally the party should function in such a manner. (Just as our government should operate from the bottom up…)

Maps below:

210211

Membership

Again, in order to become a member of the Republican Party of Arkansas, you must simply declare yourself to be a Republican. No oath, pledge, or statement of belief shall ever be required as a condition. However, merely being a member of the party does not automatically afford an individual the right to decide on party matters. In order to have voting privileges, you must become a member of a committee and/or be voted a delegate to the district and/or state conventions.

County Committee

The county committee consists of individuals called committeeman/committeewoman, the number of which are determined by a formula set forth and dependent upon the number of votes for the Republican candidate for governor each general election. Each county is made up of a number of precincts and each precinct will have at least one committeeman/committeewoman representing it. The current formula for determining the number of committeeman/women allowed for each precinct is determined one of two ways.

1. One per each precinct and then one additional committee member per one hundred (100) votes for governor in the previous general election in each precinct.

Or

2. One per every fifty (50) votes for governor in each precinct in the previous general election.

Now, in order to address a situation where you have a disproportionate number of individuals from one precinct who want to become committee members, there is also a position called an at-large committee member who may fill in for precincts that do not have anyone wanting to represent them on the committee. (The total number of committee members and at-large committee members can’t exceed the total number allowed by afore mentioned formula.)

Becoming a Committeeman/woman

There are two ways that an individual can become a committee member on each county committee.

1. The first way is to get elected through the primary process held every other even numbered year. To do this you must file the proper paperwork with either the republican county committee secretary or the local county clerk. You must file a political practices pledge an affidavit of eligibility and there will be a filing fee that the county committee has set. It is usually $10.00 per year and you will pay for two years as that is the amount of time that you will serve each term as a committeeman/woman. (So you would pay $20.00 total.) In doing this, you are doing what is required by any candidate who seeks the party’s nomination for any office. Next, if there are more people running for the position than the allotted number of positions for a certain precinct, your name will appear on the ballot and voters will decide who they want to fill the positions.

2. The second way to get on the local county committee is to be nominated by another member, then seconded and then voted in by the majority of current members. The proper paperwork should still be filled and fee paid even if you join the committee in this manner. Two things should be noted when joining the committee like this.

A. You must be nominated at one meeting and then voted on at the next meeting.
B. You must be in attendance when nominated and voted in.

Note: Many county committees do not currently follow this process here in Arkansas because they either do not know the rules or simply choose not to follow them. The prevailing attitude in these counties seems to be one of “We have always done things our way and we do not intend to change now.” (or something similar..) Current leadership purportedly intends to try and change this but we will see if they are successful going forward.

Regardless of this fact, you must be bold and fully assert yourself in the position that you know the rules and intend to do everything possible to follow them for two reasons.

1. First, is that it is the right and moral thing to do of course.

2. Second, is that believe it or not, it can and may be used against you in the future if you do not.

Yes even if you have been advised by these very same people (the establishment) that the rules do not really matter. It has been our experience here in our county that it may later be used against you by these very same people. (You will just have to draw your own conclusions on that one.)

More to come later on this