How will you feel on January 3rd?

[Havax]

If Mitt Romney beats Ron Paul by a couple hundred votes?

Remember how you felt when Bachmann beat us in Ames by like 150 votes?

This is make or break time for the cause of liberty.

Get on the phones. We MUST win Iowa.

[airborne373]

I have over $1,000.00 invested in the campaign in last 2 or 3 months. A win in Iowa would be great but that is not why I support this awakening. I do it with the looooong view in mind. I have no doubts that the power of freedom & individual Rights will prevail over the corrupt rule of oligarchs .

[tbone717]

Frankly I don't understand the panic. We are tied and with the MOE we can still win this by 4+ points. There is also the undecided and last minute switch factor to consider. My guess is that we will get a nice chunk of votes coming from Bachmann, Perry, Newt & Santorum supporters who will switch to Paul at the last minute because he is the only one that can beat Romney in IA.

[Havax]

Panic is good. It spurs action. There is no point and nothing gained from sitting back and relishing in a perceived victory.

[tbone717]

Panic is good. It spurs action. There is no point and nothing gained from sitting back and relishing in a perceived victory.

Good point. I am always a optimistic realist. I see a lot of pessimism and optimism on here every time a new poll or news story comes out - too much ebb and flow for me.

[odamn]

If Mitt Romney beats Ron Paul by a couple hundred votes?

Remember how you felt when Bachmann beat us in Ames by like 150 votes?

This is make or break time for the cause of liberty.

Get on the phones. We MUST win Iowa.

Does the phone from home program have
a "failsafe" so that the same ppl are not called over and over?

I ask because last election season in florida, i got repeated calls from the same candidate,
(and so did many other voters) and we ended up HATING that asshole.
There were even news stories about how pissed off ppl were at being bothered
every damn day.
I really hope the callers realize how much damage they can cause,
by calling at suppertime, after 9 PM ect, when you've already heard from the candidate many times over.

That being said, Thank You for your effort.

[FreedomHorn]

They don't know you're calling for Paul.

[odamn]

They don't know you're calling for Paul.
That may be the stupidest reply, i've ever heard.
If your not calling to ask for their support for Ron Paul,
why are you calling them?

[ventron]

That may be the stupidest reply, i've ever heard.
If your not calling to ask for their support for Ron Paul,
why are you calling them?

To let the campaign piece together a database as to who they do support.
They can do GOTV for supporters and targetted campaigning for non-supporters.
You're not there to campaign, you're basically like a polling company, from what I understand.

[ronpaulfollower999]

At the end you are supposed to say "this call was paid for by Ron Paul 2012."

[libertythor]

Most people that I know hate receiving phone calls about candidates.

[vita3]

Panic is never good.

Never stop working, but try & maintain composure at all times.

[RonPaul101.com]

I agree with the OP on this one, we must push as hard as possible for this one. A lot of conversation on the RPF has been around what's next, we're do we go after winning Iowa, and the focus should still be on Iowa, IMHO.

If Romney wins Iowa, it might be too much to overcome, that is how important Iowa is for us. Not to mention this could be Ron Paul first contest won ever, so how could we possibly look past Iowa. The MSM was making Iowa out to be nothing, and now they are making a big deal of it again. I don't think its political entirely, I think they need to constantly change the feel of the subject matter to make it exciting.

We still need to push hard for Iowa as if it was the only contest all year, because without it, it may be.

[da32130]

Panic is never good.

Never stop working, but try & maintain composure at all times.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgRp-CZ1UDc

[vechorik]

It's shameful that I see posts AGAINST the "call from home" program.
Obviously, you aren't participating, else you would know exactly how it works.
I donated all the money I can afford to the Paul campaign.
The campaign has said that "call from home" is the best thing you can do to help.
What part of that don't you understand?

Call from home is an easy script to read to gather data.
The campaign uses that data with follow-up.
The person being called doesn't know it's the Paul campaign, UNLESS they are agreeable and complete the survey.
The list has been cleaned of KNOWN RP supporters.
Any RP supporter the "call from home" can identify is one more for support.
Even the answers for other candidates (such as a Romney voter who wants to end the wars) is used by the campaign.

NOW, WHY AREN'T YOU CALLING FROM HOME?

On January 3rd, I'll know I did all I could possibly do. I've made over 8,000 calls, written letters to editors, blog about 3 hours each morning and donated all I could afford. I have a job and can't physically put boots on the ground, else I would.

HOW WILL YOU FEEL ON JANUARY 3rd, KNOWING YOU DIDN'T DO WHAT THE CAMPAIGN ASKED YOU TO DO? -- Call from home!
We're currently working on NV and NH.
What are you doing?

[odamn]

Most people that I know hate receiving phone calls about candidates.
I Agree.
I think making signs is by far the best use of one's time.
They are not intrusive, as calls are.
No one likes being bothered in their own home.

[ronpaulfollower999]

I Agree.
I think making signs is by far the best use of one's time.
They are not intrusive, as calls are.
No one likes being bothered in their own home.

But they don't have to take the survey. If they don't, they don't even know which candidate called him/her. PFH isn't campaigning, it's about GOTV.

[tbone717]

I Agree.
I think making signs is by far the best use of one's time.
They are not intrusive, as calls are.
No one likes being bothered in their own home.

On average, 90% of the people that see your sign won't vote in the GOP primary. Take SC for example. SC has a population of 4.3 million. They have 2.5 million registered voters. In 2008, 445K voted in the GOP primary. So that means regardless of where you sign is located, only 10% of the people that see it are likely primary voters.

Conversely, the phone from home program contacts people that will vote in the GOP primary. The information we gather through the survey is passed on to the campaign who follows up with that individual for either GOTV efforts or for persuasive calls.

[One Last Battle!]

Frankly I don't understand the panic. We are tied and with the MOE we can still win this by 4+ points. There is also the undecided and last minute switch factor to consider. My guess is that we will get a nice chunk of votes coming from Bachmann, Perry, Newt & Santorum supporters who will switch to Paul at the last minute because he is the only one that can beat Romney in IA.

Because we're a couple of steps away from winning Iowa and possibly the nomination, but we're also not far from barely losing it to some establishment hack like Romney.

Furthermore, our support is coming from less reliable demographics (non-Republicans, the youth, etc) and thus we have to seriously turn out the vote to get them to come. I think at this point getting out the vote is more important than getting new supporters (not that Phone from Home isn't incredibly important). If we get people to come out for voting, we'll win. If we don't, we'll lose.

[vechorik]

Because we're a couple of steps away from winning Iowa and possibly the nomination, but we're also not far from barely losing it to some establishment hack like Romney.

Furthermore, our support is coming from less reliable demographics (non-Republicans, the youth, etc) and thus we have to seriously turn out the vote to get them to come. I think at this point getting out the vote is more important than getting new supporters (not that Phone from Home isn't incredibly important). If we get people to come out for voting, we'll win. If we don't, we'll lose.

That's part of "phone from home" as well -- getting more VOTERS ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING/caucusing/voting in the primary, etc.
Let's face it. Most voters don't participate until after the nomination. They just pull the R or D lever and think they did their patriotic duty.

[No Free Beer]

Update: Ron Falling on Intrade, Romney shoots up

http://www.intrade.com/v4/markets/?eventId=90932

[odamn]

But they don't have to take the survey. If they don't, they don't even know which candidate called him/her. PFH isn't campaigning, it's about GOTV.

But they do have to stop what their doing, and answer the damn phone.
And after doing your survey once, they do not want to hear from your organization again. After the first call ... With their caller I D, they will have a very good idea whose beginning to piss them off.

My question was ... is there a failsafe to keep the same ppl being called multiple times, since there are many ppl calling from different locations. I don't know what GOTV is, but if you have to call me about it... please don't bother.

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if you were in Florida last election cycle, you would know what i'm trying to tell you.
There IS a saturation point, and once that's been achieved, you will be doing more harm than good for our candidate.


Peace

[Kimmie]

I share your sentiment Odamn. I am one of those people who hate people pestering me on the phone for a survey. First time is acceptable. Second time is irritable. And third time is unforgivable. That would turn me off entirely.

[milo10]

I'm not trying to be a jerk, but if you were in Florida last election cycle, you would know what i'm trying to tell you.
There IS a saturation point, and once that's been achieved, you will be doing more harm than good for our candidate.

My god, yes, that was annoying! I assume we were both registered Republicans in 2007 and 2008, and I got calls constantly. I remember getting a live one right before the election, "Will you be voting for John McCain on Tuesday?" Cold response: "No, I will not be." Her (troubled): "Oh." (click)

To this day, I regret not saying, "I'm only a member of the Republican Party because of Ron Paul. I will not support or vote for any Republican Presidential candidate other than Ron Paul."

I considered deregistering or something after that, but I thought Ron might run again, and there might also be some good candidates in between to be nominated. Today I actually have a landline with a phone that's broken...I can call out, but not receive incoming calls. I haven't looked to replace it in over a year, as I'm a hell of a lot happier.

[heavenlyboy34]

Panic is never good.

Never stop working, but try & maintain composure at all times.
qft. Panic/fear are mind-killers.

[da32130]

I share your sentiment Odamn. I am one of those people who hate people pestering me on the phone for a survey. First time is acceptable. Second time is irritable. And third time is unforgivable. That would turn me off entirely.

1) People can be taken off the list. 2) They don't know it is Paul until it is over 3) Most calls are unanswered or go to voice mail 4) I doubt we have reached every voter even once to take a survey, much less 3 times.

[da32130]

1) People can be taken off the list. 2) They don't know it is Paul until it is over 3) Most calls are unanswered or go to voice mail 4) I doubt we have reached every voter even once to take a survey, much less 3 times.

I'll add. The campaign has been doing this for the second time. Have a lot of experienced people. They are aware of almost everything you can think of and are taking it into consideration. So when they give us orders, it is probably the right thing to do. Although, I agree it is helpful to understand their decisions in order to keep motivated.

[vechorik]

I share your sentiment Odamn. I am one of those people who hate people pestering me on the phone for a survey. First time is acceptable. Second time is irritable. And third time is unforgivable. That would turn me off entirely.

That's why it's important the RP campaign be FIRST (like we're doing in NV).
I don't care how many people I "bother"
Those people don't choose the nomination, else they don't care about politics.
We're looking for those WHO CARE, who complete surveys, who will go to the caucus/primary/who will decide the nomination.
I don't care about the hang-ups and rude response I get from people -- they don't choose the nominee.
I'll go through 10 rude people to find ONE RP supporter!

Are you so sensitive that you can't handle a rejection from an anonymous person on the phone?
Are you so INsensitive that you argue against what the campaign has asked us to do?

The ones that don't care end up pulling the R or D lever in the end. So be it.
I WANT TO BE THE ONE THAT DECIDES THE NOMINEE!

You "nay sayers" disgust me. You really do....and have the gall to participate in a thread "how will you feel Jan 3rd?"

Yeah, how will you feel? If RP does well, will you be proud (even when YOU didn't do what the campaign asked) Proud of what?

PS If YOU don't want to participate in "call from home" fine. But PLEASE DON'T DISCOURAGE OTHERS! Can you at least please do that?

[odamn]

My god, yes, that was annoying! I assume we were both registered Republicans in 2007 and 2008, and I got calls constantly. I remember getting a live one right before the election, "Will you be voting for John McCain on Tuesday?" Cold response: "No, I will not be." Her (troubled): "Oh." (click)

To this day, I regret not saying, "I'm only a member of the Republican Party because of Ron Paul. I will not support or vote for any Republican Presidential candidate other than Ron Paul."

I considered deregistering or something after that, but I thought Ron might run again, and there might also be some good candidates in between to be nominated. Today I actually have a landline with a phone that's broken...I can call out, but not receive incoming calls. I haven't looked to replace it in over a year, as I'm a hell of a lot happier.

Hi Milo, Ditto!
I was just trying to keep what happened last time, from happening to us Ron Paul Supporters, this time.

Also:
What a lot of ppl didn't know last time (and our campaign needs to know, this time) was, there was a dirty tricks campaign going on, where infiltraitors started calling, saying they were calling for one candidate when actually they were from the opposition. Between the two i must have been getting 50 calls a week!

I wonder if our PFH organization uses any real vetting process before allowing ppl to just start calling for us?
If not ... they better get one quick!
(imo) Our callers need to be monitored for content, to stop that from happening to us.

[milo10]

That's why it's important the RP campaign be FIRST (like we're doing in NV).
I don't care how many people I "bother"
Those people don't choose the nomination, else they don't care about politics.
We're looking for those WHO CARE, who complete surveys, who will go to the caucus/primary/who will decide the nomination.
I don't care about the hang-ups and rude response I get from people -- they don't choose the nominee.
I'll go through 10 rude people to find ONE RP supporter!

Okay, this one kind of floored me. You are willing to irritate 90% of all people to find someone who already likes Ron Paul?


Are you so sensitive that you can't handle a rejection from an anonymous person on the phone?
Are you so INsensitive that you argue against what the campaign has asked us to do?

The ones that don't care end up pulling the R or D lever in the end. So be it.
I WANT TO BE THE ONE THAT DECIDES THE NOMINEE!

You "nay sayers" disgust me. You really do....and have the gall to participate in a thread "how will you feel Jan 3rd?"

Yeah, how will you feel? If RP does well, will you be proud (even when YOU didn't do what the campaign asked) Proud of what?

PS If YOU don't want to participate in "call from home" fine. But PLEASE DON'T DISCOURAGE OTHERS! Can you at least please do that?

I definitely don't want to discourage anyone from doing Phone From Home. I did, however, relate my own experiences.

What I do resent is that almost every single time that someone brings up a new promotional idea in these forums, then someone will post in that thread that they are wasting their time and should be doing Phone From Home. If all ideas are going to be squelched from RPF bots, then at some point you are going to get a little feedback.

And I would note that many of the people who do that have between 10,000-30,000 posts. IOW, they probably don't have a very good idea of what is productive and what is not. This discussion actually was a good wakeup call for me, and I'm going to post less here after this.

[seapilot]

by odamn


Why do you ppl think you know
what Ron Paul should do, better than
Ron Paul does?

Ron Paul has asked us personally to do phone from home not put up yard signs. First its caller ID. We have to annoy a few people to find a Ron Paul voter so be it. That is one vote more than a yard sign would ever get. Signs do not find voters for Ron Paul calling does.

Its as in the revolution the guys carrying the flags looked nice and were symbolic but the ones shooting the muskets were the ones making a real difference. Wave the flag all you want if you are afraid to pick up the phone and make a difference. I have found 9 people that are going to vote for Ron Paul in this election.

Some of the ignorance of the above posts is telling they do not know anything about the Phone from home program in any detail. That is fine but do not toss cold water on the program without having a clue about it.

As for the concerns of the ignorant above. Yes the campaign does monitor and record calls, so a person infiltration for another candidate would be outed quickly. We do not have to say paid for the Ron Paul campaign at the end of the survey. I say it if it is a Ron Paul supporter or an undecided with strong issues Ron Paul has. I usually do not do it if they support another candidate.

Again we are calling to locate Ron Paul voters which wins elections. I have scored 3 votes for Ron Paul without ever setting foot in Iowa. If we win a precinct by a couple votes over Romney then it was worth it to interrupt or annoy a few short seconds of a persons time to find them.

[da32130]

I wonder if our PFH organization uses any real vetting process before allowing ppl to just start calling for us?
If not ... they better get one quick!
(imo) Our callers need to be monitored for content, to stop that from happening to us.

Calls are monitored by the campaign. I'm sure they are working to make that as effective as they can. We have to look at the net impact.

Obama got 93k votes in Iowa (huck got 40k) by being in contact with voters and getting them to the caucus. However, there are 3 million people in the state. Most don't caucus and I'm sure some were annoyed by the whole situation. However, it got him the nomination.

[da32130]

Okay, this one kind of floored me. You are willing to irritate 90% of all people to find someone who already likes Ron Paul?

That is an extreme statement. However, only about 4% of the Iowa state population actually will vote in the Republican caucus. Paul only needs 1.33% of all the people in Iowa in order to win. We can afford to get a few people mad.

[da32130]

I definitely don't want to discourage anyone from doing Phone From Home. I did, however, relate my own experiences.

What I do resent is that almost every single time that someone brings up a new promotional idea in these forums, then someone will post in that thread that they are wasting their time and should be doing Phone From Home. If all ideas are going to be squelched from RPF bots, then at some point you are going to get a little feedback.

And I would note that many of the people who do that have between 10,000-30,000 posts. IOW, they probably don't have a very good idea of what is productive and what is not. This discussion actually was a good wakeup call for me, and I'm going to post less here after this.

I agree having a fertile ground for ideas is good.

IMO the conflict isn't about other ideas, but that people dismiss the campaign's ideas as if Paul's people have no idea about politics. The reason phoning and donating are used is because they work. Once there is an understanding of why then suggestions can be offered, etc. But many criticisms show a lack of an even a basic understanding of what phoning is and does.

[milo10]

I agree having a fertile ground for ideas is good.

IMO the conflict isn't about other ideas, but that people dismiss the campaign's ideas as if Paul's people have no idea about politics. The reason phoning and donating are used is because they work. Once there is an understanding of why then suggestions can be offered, etc. But many criticisms show a lack of an even a basic understanding of what phoning is and does.

I have never seen that, but then, I don't go on the Phone From Home threads. I can only speak for the other threads where people put out ideas, and then they get shot down.

To what extent are the PFH people aware that there are negatives, or why the campaign is pushing PFH? PFH is a good fit for a campaign with poor media exposure, less than infinite amounts of cash, and a very dedicated grassroots nationwide which can then target the early states.

Also, does everyone here, including the campaign, understand that PFH should be a relatively minimal part of the general election? In the general campaign, irritating 4 people to get 1 positive response is definitely counterproductive. Also, we won't be seeing the same degree of leveraging. Only a relative minority of activists can ignore their own communities in favor of getting a swing state. And I would add that even in a state that might be overlooked for being too far on one side or the other, you have to engage in some education. It's not just about winning the election, but giving Ron a base for an effective Presidency, and that goes beyond the electoral college. I don't think there will be any precedent in American history for a President to take authority who is so far outside of the official mainstream media & academic narrative of how the world works.

[milo10]

That is an extreme statement. However, only about 4% of the Iowa state population actually will vote in the Republican caucus. Paul only needs 1.33% of all the people in Iowa in order to win. We can afford to get a few people mad.

This is a good response. +rep.

[da32130]

I have never seen that, but then, I don't go on the Phone From Home threads. I can only speak for the other threads where people put out ideas, and then they get shot down.

I guess I'm talking about comments like this (earlier in this thread) when we are actually just polling, so they don't know it is Paul until the end:


That may be the stupidest reply, i've ever heard.
If your not calling to ask for their support for Ron Paul,
why are you calling them?



To what extent are the PFH people aware that there are negatives, or why the campaign is pushing PFH? PFH is a good fit for a campaign with poor media exposure, less than infinite amounts of cash, and a very dedicated grassroots nationwide which can then target the early states.


Part of the issue is the campaign doesn't tell us everything they know because others may be listening.

However, In the caucus states where turnout is very low, such as Iowa, Nevada, etc. it is about finding your supporters and motivating them to caucus.

For NH, because the population is so small it is easier to reach a lot of voters.

In theory, the PFH approach is very low risk. 1) you find out who your supporters are 2) find out what people care about 3) give people tailored mail/calling to move them closer to you or away from someone else.

Blanketing the state with general ads or leaving it to media is higher risk on that level.




Also, does everyone here, including the campaign, understand that PFH should be a relatively minimal part of the general election? In the general campaign, irritating 4 people to get 1 positive response is definitely counterproductive. Also, we won't be seeing the same degree of leveraging. Only a relative minority of activists can ignore their own communities in favor of getting a swing state. And I would add that even in a state that might be overlooked for being too far on one side or the other, you have to engage in some education. It's not just about winning the election, but giving Ron a base for an effective Presidency, and that goes beyond the electoral college. I don't think there will be any precedent in American history for a President to take authority who is so far outside of the official mainstream media & academic narrative of how the world works.

Right now the national campaign is too far off and so it hasn't been communicated to us what the strategy will be. Doug Weed helped Bush get elected. I'm sure he is very well aware of what works nationally, among others.

I'm sure the ads, state focus, etc will be completely different when we are up against Obama. It is hard to know what the campaign has planned for NH next week, much less nationally.