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View Full Version : A Few Important Lessons I learned at the local Delegate meeting




devil21
02-16-2012, 10:22 PM
I attended the local GOP meeting with the sole intention of becoming a delegate. Along the way I learned several lessons and made a few observations that I wanted to share with you all in hopes they may help you in your quest to become a delegate.

1. Paul supporters mostly stand out from the rest in attendance. We're younger and it's pretty obvious who we are to other people paying attention. The rank and file of the GOP is generally an older crowd. Do not explicitly tell anyone that you are a Paul supporter or wear any Paul swag. This leads me to.....

2. The publicized delegate strategy of the Paul campaign has likely trickled down to the local GOPs and they are watching for us, ready to head us off at the pass. Again, don't make it known who you support. Dress BETTER than everyone else. At the minimum, nice pants and a button shirt. This gives you plausible deniability that maybe you're just a Mormon supporting Mitt. Don't show up looking like you just woke up. That makes you even easier to identify in the crowd. Blend in and play the game. Shake some hands, smile, make idle chat.... This leads me to.....

3. Politics is a dirty business. We know this but it's even worse when you see it in person. Tonite, an older guy basically snatched the delegate folders (containing our delegate forms) from another Paulite and refused to give them back, saying he would (paraphrase) "help us by checking to make sure our forms were filled out correctly and turn them in for us" then trying to disappear into the crowd. Several of us ended up tracking this guy down and eventually verifying that our folders had been turned in to the correct party representative and that the forms were present and unmolested. In a really big convention this probably wouldn't have been possible. Was he trying to pull something? I don't know but I don't trust these people. This leads me to.....

4. Don't rely on another Paulite to do the right thing. We are all very capable people but we do have personality differences, strengths and weaknesses. By turning my folder over to another Paulite, in hindsight, I see that he could be intimidated by another person and that could have ended badly for my folder and form and therefore my delegate aspirations. Deliver any and all paperwork yourself. Don't allow anyone other than the designated representative to take control of your paperwork ever. These people have no scruples so don't trust them. This leads me to....

5. Don't trust anyone you don't know (and maybe not even if you do know them) who says they want to "help you", because odds are you have been flagged already as a potential Paul delegate and someone may be trying to keep you out of a delegate slot by any means necessary, including theft of your papers or intentionally pointing you in the wrong direction on something. Be very suspicious and alert at all times. They have earned it! The party is not your friend! They have proven this. This leads me to.....

6. When you do turn in paperwork, do your best to have your folder/form/envelope/etc blend in with the pile as much as possible. Since all of these folders and forms and whatnot are labeled with your precinct info, it's not difficult for someone else paying attention to see you (likely Paul delegate) and see that your folder is the top of the stack and make a mental note to "lose" that folder when you turn your back. It goes back to the blending in I mentioned before, but this time make sure it's your paperwork that blends in. Can you slide your folder into the stack like a playing card? If so, do it! This leads me to....

7. Double...no, triple read your delegate forms and instructions to make sure you fill them out completely and by-the-book. Others at my table didn't realize the instructions stated to "X" out parts of the form where there was no info to put in, such as additional delegate names. We caught it and fixed it but that could have had their forms thrown out for failure to complete properly over something that minor. I almost forgot to sign the delegate form as the precinct chairman since I was the only one from my precinct there. That would have thrown out my form. It's loud and hard to concentrate but you gotta fill them out completely and as per instructions. Don't turn in your paperwork until you are 100% confident that you have completed them as directed.

That's a few things off the top of my head. Most of it is probably common sense but I saw how easily something that started out very innocuously could have potentially turned out badly for me. Be alert!

CTRattlesnake
02-16-2012, 10:26 PM
What state are you in?

devil21
02-16-2012, 10:35 PM
What state are you in?

My next lesson will cover how we shouldn't give out unnecessary information about ourselves over the internet on websites devoted to supporting Ron Paul. That can also lead to potential flagging as a Paul delegate.

8. Take your personal info like your state OUT of your RPF profile. Is your RPF username the same username you use elsewhere on the net? If so, that might come back to bite you later. Is your username tied to your government name anywhere on the net where a Google search of your name or your username could turn up personal information about you such as where you live? Bad idea. You better believe the GOP will be Googling all of our names once we get higher in the delegate process.

SCOTUSman
02-16-2012, 10:49 PM
They aren't going to find one person in a whole state. That is ridiculous paranoia. It is very necessary information because rules, procedures, etc. widely vary between states.

MozoVote
02-16-2012, 10:56 PM
I'm not good at small talk, but it's not hard to have political conversations that skip around Paul. Talk about past elections, what the Congress or Obama is doing. Ask people how long they've lived in your town, what made them come to the meeting etc. People ask me about presidential preference and I just shrug and say "They all have their faults, there is no perfect candidate... it's hard to unify the party..."

devil21
02-16-2012, 10:56 PM
They aren't going to find one person in a whole state. That is ridiculous paranoia. It is very necessary information because rules, procedures, etc. widely vary between states.

I'm not even sure what you mean by this post. Elaborate on what exactly I said in all that that's "ridiculous paranoia". The party WILL be going over every delegate, particularly in later stages of the process, with a fine tooth comb. I see you have a new join date. You probably didn't hear about the delegates in 2008 that were disqualified at early stages because it became known they supported Paul, through "credential challenges" and other procedural games. No sense in giving out information that isn't required.

slamhead
02-16-2012, 10:57 PM
What state are you in?

You're a GOP spy....SHHHHHHHHH....loose lips sink ships. Joking obviously.

SCOTUSman
02-16-2012, 10:57 PM
I'm not even sure what you mean by this post. Elaborate on what exactly I said in all that that's "ridiculous paranoia".

It is overly paranoid to not even give out the darn state you are in. It is very important to know because of the rules, procedures, etc. Not everywhere is going to be the same. Just give the darn state.

abruzz0
02-16-2012, 10:58 PM
"This gives you plausible deniability that maybe you're just a Mormon supporting Mitt"

^ this made me ROFL

sailingaway
02-16-2012, 10:59 PM
It is overly paranoid to not even give out the darn state you are in. It is very important to know because of the rules, procedures, etc. Not everywhere is going to be the same. Just give the darn state.

you could ask if he knows the rules for whatever state you are interested in, but attitude probably will be found in many of the states.

eleganz
02-16-2012, 10:59 PM
They aren't going to find one person in a whole state. That is ridiculous paranoia. It is very necessary information because rules, procedures, etc. widely vary between states.


Depends how active you are about ron paul on known sites like facebook and how your privacy settings are done.

It isn't hard to find people on the internet if you have their name and their strongest passion to go by.




BTW, great notes...THANK YOU OP.

Better safe than sorry, especially when we're playing the game against people that do not play by the rules.

abruzz0
02-16-2012, 11:04 PM
They aren't going to find one person in a whole state. That is ridiculous paranoia. It is very necessary information because rules, procedures, etc. widely vary between states.

Not paranoia, it's become a reality. People can easily be identified on the interwebs. There are a ton of websites that can find people through various screen names they use and whatnot. So I agree with the OP, it's good to remain as anonymous as possible when it comes to this delegate endeavor because the GOP isn't making it a secret that they're targeting us for political elimination.

abruzz0
02-16-2012, 11:05 PM
You're a GOP spy....SHHHHHHHHH....loose lips sink ships. Joking obviously.


hahahah

MozoVote
02-16-2012, 11:11 PM
I used to be this worried. Will they compare registration names with the Paul donor list, and "accidentally" lose those credentials, etc...? But I don't think it's THAT bad. The party offers some passive resistance sometimes, but usually the local county GOP is desperate for volunteers and struggles to find more than one person per precinct to come to the organizational meetings.

The local party also wants it's delegation strength to look good for the state party. It's more important to have the bodies, than to worry about what presidential candidate they prefer. The conventions charge admission too, and they cost money to complete. The local party will want those fees to cover the cost of running the conventions.

AdamT
02-16-2012, 11:14 PM
Good info here. I know here in WI you have to basically launch a mini-campaign at the district caucus for yourself to become a delagate to the RNC. You have to work the room and pass out lit about yourself and why you would be a great choice to be a state delegate. Then the room votes to elect delegates to go to the RNC representing the state. Obviously other states vary on the exact process.

soulcyon
02-16-2012, 11:14 PM
+rep, great post

hopefully u become a delegate

mmadness
02-17-2012, 01:54 AM
+rep and copied to sticked delegates thread.

jamezelle
02-17-2012, 02:34 AM
My next lesson will cover how we shouldn't give out unnecessary information about ourselves over the internet on websites devoted to supporting Ron Paul. That can also lead to potential flagging as a Paul delegate.

8. Take your personal info like your state OUT of your RPF profile. Is your RPF username the same username you use elsewhere on the net? If so, that might come back to bite you later. Is your username tied to your government name anywhere on the net where a Google search of your name or your username could turn up personal information about you such as where you live? Bad idea. You better believe the GOP will be Googling all of our names once we get higher in the delegate process.

well sorry but its pretty darn obvious by your signature that you are either from or are bordering NC.......

alucard13mmfmj
02-17-2012, 02:40 AM
"Don't Ask. Don't Tell" lol

IPSecure
02-17-2012, 03:24 AM
They aren't going to find one person in a whole state. That is ridiculous paranoia. It is very necessary information because rules, procedures, etc. widely vary between states.

BBV: Citizens Sue to Stop Gov't from Linking Votes to Voters

Public officials now admit they can see how you voted and link it to your name. This issue affects Colorado, almost all of Washington State, as well as some locations in California, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia and likely other states as well.

In Colorado, election officials have been trying to cover up this inconvenient (and unconstitutional) issue, by preventing the public or the media from examining ballots -- ever, even after elections are over. The Hart brand ballot scanner, widely used in CO, WA, and TX, affixes a unique identifier bar code to each ballot. With mail-in ballots, this produces a mechanism for the government or its vendors to download how you voted into a database.

The Colorado nonprofit Citizen Center group is now seeking a federal court ruling prohibiting the government from placing marks on the ballots, or otherwise using mechanisms to identify your vote choices. This requires no new law; these practices were put into place in violation of the Colorado Constitution.

Citizen Center - Press Release (http://www.thecitizencenter.org/blog/2012/2/12/supplemental-press-materials-21312-press-conference.html)
Black Box Voting Forums (http://www.bbvforums.org/forums/messages/8/81913.html)
( - Permission to excerpt or reprint granted with above link.)

vechorik
02-17-2012, 09:13 AM
Not paranoia, it's become a reality. People can easily be identified on the interwebs. There are a ton of websites that can find people through various screen names they use and whatnot. So I agree with the OP, it's good to remain as anonymous as possible when it comes to this delegate endeavor because the GOP isn't making it a secret that they're targeting us for political elimination.

Unfortunately, our political contributions are also in plain sight. Goggle your name and no matter how clean you think your political slate is -- you're going to be surprised.

I did try to clean up my Facebook and I'll be a generic Republican at the GOP meetings (taking the car there that does not have a RP sticker). It's the best I can do.
Thanks to the OP for their concern and sorry you got bashed for stating the obvious.
The best thing RP supporters can do is work within their local GOP organizations and the Tea Party as well.

If anyone asks me who I support, I'll say "The Constitution."

devil21
02-17-2012, 09:46 AM
Im glad some are able to make use of the information. Is some of it just paranoia? Probably. But we know for a fact that at least some of the party isn't welcoming us and I know now for sure that there are some that are dead set against us making any progress within the party. The main point is that while the vast majority of rank-and-file GOP members may not have a problem with us, there are some that do and they will do whatever they think will harm our strategy, while earning them brownie points with the party leadership. The problem is that it's hard to tell who is who and the damage may already be done.

The Gold Standard
02-17-2012, 09:52 AM
If anyone asks me who I support, I'll say "The Constitution."

That will give you away. Just say Santorum or Romney.

PolicyReader
02-17-2012, 09:55 AM
Good post all in all. Knowing your local rules and party officials is important, also keeping under the radar if possible. I myself am unable to become a delegate specifically because I wasn't "paranoid" enough in my early dealings with the local party. Members of the local county party know who I am and are not interested in allowing me to become a delegate here. For anyone who's learned Robers Rules of Order you know how well a majority can bounce someone they have flagged. If I had been wiser and more subtle in years gone by I could do more this year for Paul. Don't make the same type of mistakes I have, stay under the radar and learn how to play the game.

PolicyReader
02-17-2012, 10:10 AM
Not paranoia, it's become a reality. People can easily be identified on the interwebs. There are a ton of websites that can find people through various screen names they use and whatnot. So I agree with the OP, it's good to remain as anonymous as possible when it comes to this delegate endeavor because the GOP isn't making it a secret that they're targeting us for political elimination.
^This

I work and have family who work in security and computer security. I will be totally blunt because many users (i.e. people who use the internet, smartphones, iPads, etc) do not seem to understand this. Best policy is to use as little identifiable information online as possible. Even outside the political process the possibility of having blowback from information that is seemingly innocuous is far greater than seems to be commonly accepted & Identity Theft can do damage to employment or credit which can take years to fix (and by then the damage is almost universally already done). While it is true that the majority of users don't suffer the ill effects of having information out there it is like playing "Russian roulette" and the more personally identifiable information you have out there the more 'live shells' you've just loaded up. How you choose to use your information is your call of course, and I know there are people who will think "tinfoil hat" while reading this but honestly if this is how the professionals handle their personal data isn't it worthy of heeding?
(Note: I don't make a policy of posting on this subject but individuals here are liberty minded and I would hate to think someone ended up 'bitten' simply because no one ever informed them)


2c


EDIT: Sorry for straying so far off topic, I won't derail the thread further.

Elwar
02-17-2012, 10:19 AM
When I was a state delegate in Texas I struck up a conversation with a few old timers, made small talk and gained their trust as a fellow American and Republican. It was not until the second day that I wore my Ron Paul t-shirt and those old timers were kinda caught off guard but one guy said that he had respect for the Ron Paul folks because he had come into the party the same way in the 80s with the evangelical take over. He said our movement was quite similar. He helped me along pointing out who was who and how the process worked.

It would not have worked out that way if I just came in with a Ron Paul shirt the first day and started talking about Dr. Paul.

ctiger2
02-17-2012, 10:27 AM
My advice to anyone looking to become a delegate would be to dress nice (no Paul gear) and have a 1 min "WHY I WANT TO BE A DELEGATE" speech prepared. Talk about stuff like why I want to be involved in the political process and your an honest person etc. Do not mention Ron Paul at all.