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View Full Version : Maine: Is there anything the grassroots outside of Maine can do to help Maine?




sailingaway
02-08-2012, 06:36 AM
Because if so, we should do it.

If not, imho we need to push two things relentlessly:

1. The 2/14 Moneybomb (personally I will be calling it the Bailout for Freedom Moneybomb but the point is to get it advertised, which hasn't been happening)

2. Phone from home. Whether we take first or second, whatever momentum we get, we are not going to get the same kind of bump as the other candidates who don't challenge the status quo would get. We need to have done the footwork going into Super Tuesday.

any other ideas?

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 06:46 AM
The phonecalls are a bad idea. People are getting pissed up here because the campaign calls them more than telemarketers.

We need boots on the ground. Going door-to-door, help us organize carpools and transportation plans for the delegates.

Edu
02-08-2012, 06:47 AM
There are a lot of people there that use Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.

Keep pushing those videos up to the top. The one about Santorum comes to mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Aohgrn1peA

If you have a Youtube account you can easily e-mail other users you can identify as from Maine. You don't have to be annoying, but you can say "great video, are you a Ron Paul supporter?" or things like that.

Get in a friendly conversation with people on any of the social networks. Get new "friends".

freedomforever!
02-08-2012, 07:31 AM
The phonecalls are a bad idea. People are getting pissed up here because the campaign calls them more than telemarketers.


Phone from Home is not a bad idea - there have already been threads on this, and the benefits outweigh the costs of a few voters being ticked off.

PolicyReader
02-08-2012, 07:35 AM
Can't speak for Maine (interested in hearing more tho)
I'll think about other ideas see what comes to mind

One of the top of my head is to help spread the word/support the Veterans march on DC see if we can push the turnout even higher and get more media attention on it.

tbone717
02-08-2012, 08:05 AM
Phone from Home is not a bad idea - there have already been threads on this, and the benefits outweigh the costs of a few voters being ticked off.

I have been a huge supporter for PFH, but it has yet to bring us a win. So while I agree that there is a cost/benefit ratio to it, something within the system itself is not producing the desired outcome. If you look at the individual MN counties you can see that the difference in votes we received vs votes we needed to win is rather small. Then when you look at the population of those counties and the number of households you have to scratch you head wondering whether or not we called and/or visited all those people.

Examples:

Roseau County, 6190 households, add'l votes needed to win 70.
Norman County, 3010 households, add'l votes needed to win 22.
Todd County, 9342 households, add'l votes needed to win 101.

Having volunteered for congressional elections in the past, we called or visited every single registered voter our precinct. And this was back in 94 when we did not have the sophisticated tools that we do today. So I am not sure why the campaign and/or grassroots isn't organizing in this manner.

GraniteHills
02-08-2012, 08:12 AM
The phonecalls are a bad idea. People are getting pissed up here because the campaign calls them more than telemarketers.

We need boots on the ground. Going door-to-door, help us organize carpools and transportation plans for the delegates.

Yup. I heard this complaint IN PERSON multiple times while sign-holding in NH. One woman, who was very friendly but otherwise really pissed that the calls didn't stop, said she actually switched over to Huntsman because of the never-ending stream of calls.

Coordination of efforts is key.

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 08:15 AM
I have been a huge supporter for PFH, but it has yet to bring us a win. So while I agree that there is a cost/benefit ratio to it, something within the system itself is not producing the desired outcome. If you look at the individual MN counties you can see that the difference in votes we received vs votes we needed to win is rather small. Then when you look at the population of those counties and the number of households you have to scratch you head wondering whether or not we called and/or visited all those people.

Examples:

Roseau County, 6190 households, add'l votes needed to win 70.
Norman County, 3010 households, add'l votes needed to win 22.
Todd County, 9342 households, add'l votes needed to win 101.

Having volunteered for congressional elections in the past, we called or visited every single registered voter our precinct. And this was back in 94 when we did not have the sophisticated tools that we do today. So I am not sure why the campaign and/or grassroots isn't organizing in this manner.

those are useful statistics even though I would pad the number needed to win by the fact that now Romney NEEDS Maine and will be pushing turnout as he wasn't likely to do before.

vechorik
02-08-2012, 08:25 AM
I can't find the thread, but I learned here how to get a free coupon ($50) and I've been running Facebook ads for Dr. Paul in the caucus states. It's easy to do (learn). You can create a small photo, link and a paragraph of words to get readers' attention.

Ads can be targeted by state, age, etc. $50 goes a long way for Dr. Paul.
Whoever knows (more about it than I do) should create a new thread and get MORE ADS GOING FOR DR. PAUL -- it's free!
I deleted this MN ad this morning and have 3 other ads running in ME AZ OH MI VA (other states I should add?)

Example ad:

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo311/vechorik/ad.png

muzzled dogg
02-08-2012, 08:31 AM
I went up on sat to help for the day

So i guess i was too late to help at the day's caucuses. *Only thing the campaign was doing was phonebanking. *There were too many people and not enough phones so everyone who was not making calls and was hanging around talking and making it harder*for the people who were making calls to hear

Once I got on the phones I was shocked at what they wanted us to do. *It was unscripted simultaneous voter ID / gotv / be a delegate. *Needless to say that was a shitshow*

So then I switched over to exclusive gotv / be a delegate using my cell and it was clear that once again the campaign**fucked up the lists and/or had us calling people way too much

I kinda want nothing to do with it ever again*but I should say that we were apparenty winning a shitload of caucuses and delegate slots

As for the grassroots I don't know if there's much of one doing anything other that the grunt work for the campaign and I'm in a few Maine meetup and Facebook groups

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 08:34 AM
I can't find the thread, but I learned here how to get a free coupon ($50) and I've been running Facebook ads for Dr. Paul in the caucus states. It's easy to do (learn). You can create a small photo, link and a paragraph of words to get readers' attention.

Ads can be targeted by state, age, etc. $50 goes a long way for Dr. Paul.
Whoever knows (more about it than I do) should create a new thread and get MORE ADS GOING FOR DR. PAUL -- it's free!
I deleted this MN ad this morning and have 3 other ads running in ME and AZ (other states I should add?)

Example ad:

http://i387.photobucket.com/albums/oo311/vechorik/ad.png

good idea. Do you know how to set one up to link to Ron's budget plan if we run one saying it doesn't cut social security, medicare or veteran's benefits? I will look for that thread, but if you know that is something I agree I/we can do.

--

ok I see the thread, I will figure out how to get the credit, then I just have to figure out how to make an ad....

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 08:35 AM
I went up on sat to help for the day

So i guess i was too late to help at the day's caucuses. *Only thing the campaign was doing was phonebanking. *There were too many people and not enough phones so everyone who was not making calls and was hanging around talking and making it harder*for the people who were making calls to hear

Once I got on the phones I was shocked at what they wanted us to do. *It was unscripted simultaneous voter ID / gotv / be a delegate. *Needless to say that was a shitshow*

So then I switched over to exclusive gotv / be a delegate using my cell and it was clear that once again the campaign**fucked up the lists and/or had us calling people way too much

I kinda want nothing to do with it ever again*but I should say that we were apparenty winning a shitload of caucuses and delegate slots

As for the grassroots I don't know if there's much of one doing anything other that the grunt work for the campaign and I'm in a few Maine meetup and Facebook groups

I would really suggest you get ahold of ChrisDixon who seems to be organizing grass roots up there sort of like you did in NH, if you go up again, rather than ask the campaign for direction. I wouldn't say that to just anyone who might mess stuff up, but you both know what you are doing.

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 09:11 AM
Phone from Home is not a bad idea - there have already been threads on this, and the benefits outweigh the costs of a few voters being ticked off.


Yup. I heard this complaint IN PERSON multiple times while sign-holding in NH. One woman, who was very friendly but otherwise really pissed that the calls didn't stop, said she actually switched over to Huntsman because of the never-ending stream of calls.

Coordination of efforts is key.

The phonebanking IS a problem. I get complaints almost daily from people. It's a nice idea, but it's overall inefficient. I have a number of activists who even refuse to phonebank now, because they took time out of their day to stop the campaign from whining about it, and found that all they were doing was annoying people.

I also heard the same thing out of New Hampshire from grassroots activists there a month ago.

All we're doing at this point is turning off potential supporters by calling them multiple times a day everyday. And I know the campaign insists this is a viable strategy, but I think it's time they start reevaluating things.

We need boots on the ground. We need coordination of transportation for delegates to ensure people turnout, sign waves and information tables outside of caucuses, etc. We need to be visible, not blowing up people's phones.

Muttley
02-08-2012, 09:19 AM
The phonebanking IS a problem. I get complaints almost daily from people. It's a nice idea, but it's overall inefficient. I have a number of activists who even refuse to phonebank now, because they took time out of their day to stop the campaign from whining about it, and found that all they were doing was annoying people.

I also heard the same thing out of New Hampshire from grassroots activists there a month ago.

All we're doing at this point is turning off potential supporters by calling them multiple times a day everyday. And I know the campaign insists this is a viable strategy, but I think it's time they start reevaluating things.

We need boots on the ground. We need coordination of transportation for delegates to ensure people turnout, sign waves and information tables outside of caucuses, etc. We need to be visible, not blowing up people's phones.

THIS THIS FUCKING THIS!

If you're running the show up there in Maine Chris, let me know and I'll see if I can't organize a group of us from New York to get up there and get shit done! I know the PFH was a good idea to start, but it's definitely turning into a hatchet at the achilles.

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 09:21 AM
THIS THIS FUCKING THIS!

If you're running the show up there in Maine Chris, let me know and I'll see if I can't organize a group of us from New York to get up there and get shit done! I know the PFH was a good idea to start, but it's definitely turning into a hatchet at the achilles.

I'm not running anything, just another grassroots activist fighting the good fight. We could use people up here though, if you do plan on coming up, let me know.

Badger Paul
02-08-2012, 09:21 AM
"We need boots on the ground. We need coordination of transportation for delegates to ensure people turnout, sign waves and information tables outside of caucuses, etc. We need to be visible, not blowing up people's phones."

Then the activists need to hang up the phone and get out of the call centers. No more calling. It's time to get persons out of their homes and to the caucuses, not give them another call. That goes for anyone from New England going into Maine to help out. This is what they need to get done, not telephone calls.

And if the campaign doesn't like it, that's tough. You know the scene, you know what needs to be done. It's time we practice a little decentralism ourselves and if the grassroots has to grab the reigns when it comes to GOTV (under one direction of course, not flailing around in 20 different directions to make it look like you're doing something), then so be it. We need win, so let's do it right.

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 09:23 AM
"We need boots on the ground. We need coordination of transportation for delegates to ensure people turnout, sign waves and information tables outside of caucuses, etc. We need to be visible, not blowing up people's phones."

Then the activists need to hang up the phone and get out of the call centers. No more calling. It's time to get persons out of their homes and to the caucuses, not give them another call. That goes for anyone from New England going into Maine to help out. This is what they need to get done, not telephone calls.

And if the campaign doesn't like it, that's tough. You know the scene, you know what needs to be done. It's time we practice a little decentralism ourselves and if the grassroots has to grab the reigns when it comes to GOTV (under one direction of course, not flailing around in 20 different directions to make it look like you're doing something), then so be it. We need win, so let's do it right.

THIS.

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 09:23 AM
I'm not running anything, just another grassroots activist fighting the good fight. We could use people up here though, if you do plan on coming up, let me know.

Muttley, he doesn't have a title but neither did Shemdogg, if I were getting in touch with someone who knew where to be effective Chris is ABSOLUTELY the person I'd go to.

RonPaul101.com
02-08-2012, 09:26 AM
Yup. I heard this complaint IN PERSON multiple times while sign-holding in NH. One woman, who was very friendly but otherwise really pissed that the calls didn't stop, said she actually switched over to Huntsman because of the never-ending stream of calls.

Coordination of efforts is key.

I heard this in Iowa while going door-to-door, but keep in mind some of the other candidates call for the voters too, as do polling agencies - so the overload isn't only our fault, we are just part of it.

In Iowa door-to-door worked best. People even came out and told me, "okay I will listen to what you have to say because I have been called 20 times about politics, but you are the first to come to see me in person."

I like the PFH for the quick survey calls to identify Paul supporters, but I do not like using it for the GOTV "Can Dr Paul count on you..." type of call. For phone calling it's a numbers game in identifying supporters, getting them to actually vote should be approached as "in person" if possible. IMHO.

ronpaulhawaii
02-08-2012, 09:35 AM
Anyone complaining about the campaigns phone call strategy should have statistics on on how many extra voters we turned out to go along with their anecdotes on voters being turned off. If we turned out one more voter than we turned off, that is a net positive.

And for bonus credibility you could cite anecdotes on other campaigns efforts, like the guy in SC who came our way because we were the first live caller of 56 calls he had received that day...

I'm on my way to Maine to be a "brave" for the campaign, having too many "chiefs" in the grassroots is a prime reason the "overcalling" meme got started in the first place. I'll see what I can find out regarding the OP

RonPaul101.com
02-08-2012, 09:40 AM
Then the activists need to hang up the phone and get out of the call centers. No more calling. It's time to get persons out of their homes and to the caucuses, not give them another call. That goes for anyone from New England going into Maine to help out. This is what they need to get done, not telephone calls.

I agree for in state supporters. Let the out of staters do the phone calls. If you live in, or next to a state holding a contest get there in person and do door-to-door work or something promotional like that. (If it's a spring contest or warmer client I would recommend a flea market set up. you get a break from all that walking and still get that "in person" approach to people. Set up a table with signs and slim jims, maybe some RP balloons for the kids.)

I was so surprised when in NH to see a room of people calling while in NH. Get out there and talk to people, door-to-door, in front of a WalMart, at a local bar... something IN PERSON.

To use a neocon analogy :rolleyes:, it's like being on the front lines of battle and operating a remote control for a drone in stead of being in an Abrams Tank. You could fly the drone from NORAD, no need to do it on the front lines.

tbone717
02-08-2012, 09:42 AM
those are useful statistics even though I would pad the number needed to win by the fact that now Romney NEEDS Maine and will be pushing turnout as he wasn't likely to do before.

Those were MN numbers. My point with that was that we need to be contacting every single registered voter either by phone or in person. Like in Roseau county. There were a small amount of people that voted, less than 200 total I believe. Assuming 1.5 people per household means that somewhere around 5890 households didn't have someone vote last night. Granted I am using averages here, but you get the point. If we have someone local that can knock on all those doors and make all those calls, then we might have been able to find those 70 voters we needed to win. Multiply that by every county and we could have won this thing.


This is how it is done at the local level. Heck the recent DJ race here in my town every single person running (I think there was 5) knocked on my door. We have the grassroots people, we just need to use them more effectively.

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 09:43 AM
I'm on my way to Maine to be a "brave" for the campaign, having too many "chiefs" in the grassroots is a prime reason the "overcalling" meme got started in the first place. I'll see what I can find out regarding the OP

When will you be up here?

RonPaul101.com
02-08-2012, 09:50 AM
THIS THIS FUCKING THIS!

If you're running the show up there in Maine Chris, let me know and I'll see if I can't organize a group of us from New York to get up there and get shit done! I know the PFH was a good idea to start, but it's definitely turning into a hatchet at the achilles.

I blame the campaign for bad strategy, IMO. The PFH is a great tool that makes calling from across the country simple, easy and effective and should only be used for the original intent to just identify supporters by that quick polling question, and that's it. If we've covered a state with that question, good, move on. Don't then call them again with a GOTV call or delegate call - just get the known supporters list to the poeple in the state and let them visit them in person.

Calling should be for quick, mass identification, not for a personal plea to get there vote - over the phone it's not likely to be personally connecting no matter what you say.

I would rather be doing the quick survey question in a state that votes in March and get a leg up on the others, than piss off would-be supporters who have been called constantly since late December.

muzzled dogg
02-08-2012, 09:53 AM
I agree for in state supporters. Let the out of staters do the phone calls. If you live in, or next to a state holding a contest get there in person and do door-to-door work or something promotional like that. (If it's a spring contest or warmer client I would recommend a flea market set up. you get a break from all that walking and still get that "in person" approach to people. Set up a table with signs and slim jims, maybe some RP balloons for the kids.)

I was so surprised when in NH to see a room of people calling while in NH. Get out there and talk to people, door-to-door, in front of a WalMart, at a local bar... something IN PERSON.

To use a neocon analogy :rolleyes:, it's like being on the front lines of battle and operating a remote control for a drone in stead of being in an Abrams Tank. You could fly the drone from NORAD, no need to do it on the front lines.

Beautifully said

Badger Paul
02-08-2012, 09:54 AM
"In Iowa door-to-door worked best."

Exactly. People deal with enough machines in their lives and they get enough calls from the bill collectors. They don't need more aggrevation, they need human contact and warmth and a friendly "Hello" from a living, breathing human being.

Calling to ID voters initially is fine but there's a breaking point and we've reached it. Now we've got to close the deal with the personal touch. Find out who you've IDed in each town that still has a caucus, go knock on their door, say hello, how are you doing and convince them to caucus for Ron Paul. Arrange transportation or babysitting if they need it.

If we do this now and we win, we can do it for the rest of the campaign, because we've hit on a winning strategy.

ChrisDixon
02-08-2012, 09:55 AM
I blame the campaign. The PFH should be used for the original intent to just identify supporters by that quick polling question, and that's it. If we've covered a state with that, good, move on. Don't then call them again with a GOTV call or delegate call - just get the known supporters list to the poeple in the state and let them visit them in person.

I would rather be doing the quick survey question in a state that votes in March and get a leg up on the others, than piss off would-be supporters who have been called constantly since late December.

That's just it. It's a good program, it's just being misused. Identified supporters should be passed on to local leaders with the campaign. Let the State offices and PFH focus on identifying people, and let local leaders with the campaign handle identified supporters.

Badger Paul
02-08-2012, 09:57 AM
"That's just it. It's a good program, it's just being misused. Identified supporters should be passed on to local leaders with the campaign. Let the State offices and PFH focus on identifying people, and let local leaders with the campaign handle identified supporters. "

Amen to that brother! Let's practice what we preach.

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 10:10 AM
I am not at all suggesting those who can't go to the states should not use Phone from Home, we need it in Washington etc to ID people for GOTV. If we did the ID and the GOTV in the last 36 hours alone, people wouldn't be pissed off. (Mind you, I don't answer the phone in the last 36 hours before an election, but for those who do, great.)

We DO need that and for many that is the best thing they can do. But grassroots in the state sometimes identify gaps and now we are at the point of needing boots on the ground in Maine.

LibertasPraesidium
02-08-2012, 10:20 AM
I am willing to take suggestions. I know parts of what went wrong with organization in MN, but will leave that for later. I will be doing random searches on facebook for people living in Maine, if they show support for RP i will contact them and tell them to get ahold of local coordinators. Or I will get that information. can we start a thread or just post the websites for locating caucus's and any relevant information that those outside ME. I want to help those on the ground in Maine by providing a resource of phone calls, help in organization. And Any more information that I can provide. Sometimes it is just hard to coordinate for the areas that are lacking. Having Precinct Captains and coordinating with Precinct Organizers(people who organize PC's for multiple Precincts) so there is a safety net up the chain. The best thing we had was the phone bank, and some other resources that I am not certain I can post on the forum for security reasons.

Feel free to contact me on Facebook (Robert Gough), I will be looking into the Maine for Ron Paul Facebook group,
Email me at xanthicpraesidium@gmail.com

We can win this, and I can help from here. :-)

sailingaway
02-08-2012, 10:35 AM
I am willing to take suggestions. I know parts of what went wrong with organization in MN, but will leave that for later. I will be doing random searches on facebook for people living in Maine, if they show support for RP i will contact them and tell them to get ahold of local coordinators. Or I will get that information. can we start a thread or just post the websites for locating caucus's and any relevant information that those outside ME. I want to help those on the ground in Maine by providing a resource of phone calls, help in organization. And Any more information that I can provide. Sometimes it is just hard to coordinate for the areas that are lacking. Having Precinct Captains and coordinating with Precinct Organizers(people who organize PC's for multiple Precincts) so there is a safety net up the chain. The best thing we had was the phone bank, and some other resources that I am not certain I can post on the forum for security reasons.

Feel free to contact me on Facebook (Robert Gough), I will be looking into the Maine for Ron Paul Facebook group,
Email me at xanthicpraesidium@gmail.com

We can win this, and I can help from here. :-)

great post!

roversaurus
02-08-2012, 10:45 AM
I'm starting to think the grass roots should take over.

So if you live IN or near a state that is ready to vote go door to door.
If you are far away do phone from home.

unknown
02-08-2012, 11:26 AM
Phone from home?

carterm
02-08-2012, 11:49 AM
Phone from home?

please read the thread before posting!