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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Don't Ignore The Democrat Voter.

An alternative to ignoring the Democratic voter.
Common strategy for both parties come election time is to get out the vote of their own party faithful. I agree that this is the most efficient use of the limited resources the party has. I would like to however speak about an alternative. In the big picture John McCain is obviously going after the independent voter hoping that if he makes a good enough case, he can get their vote. He is leaving the get out the vote apparatus to do what they do. This is as it should be. He is setting the policy at the top. The direction he wants the party to go in order to win the election.

How does this transfer to the local level? To my level? To my party? The county Republicans also are putting their efforts into first getting out the Republican faithful, mainly with the aid of voter ID lists ect. Targeting where efforts should be made. Where the volunteers can go to do the most good. To actually get a voter who will vote Republican to the booth. That is what actually matters in an election after all. This is crucial for the party to do. That step is however of a mechanical nature, and based solely on the current election. We let them know who the candidates are, create a little “buz” repeat the message as the election day draws near do what you can to physically get them to the polls. Next comes targeting the independent voter which is harder to do. More labor intensive. Less “Mechanical”, but still focused on the current election. The message has to be more direct and personal. But just as necessary to win an election. Getting the faithful to the polls is only the first step. We need to swing the majority of the independents our way. As I’ve said that part is not mechanical. That voter wants to know what answers we have to the issues that he or she themselves have with the “broken government. If I am to sway them I better be able to really listen to what they say and be able to answer in a short concise way, or shut up and listen more and go home and think harder and come back with an answer. To try a democrat to vote different is harder yet. Splitting their vote perhaps. Has a lot to do with the individual candidate and the issues. This part is a long term continuous struggle. We in my opinion have to put effort into that constantly, always seeking inroads on a personal level. At my level I need to try to do things anything to start, trial and error stuff. Keep the winners. Use my inalienable right and ability to fail as a plus. Lol.

The Web, I obviously believe is one possible way to get out the message to the independent, and perhaps plant some seeds in the democrat faithful. At the national level they recognize this but are not yet adept or comfortable with the concept. They are trying to set up an alternative to Move On.Org. The Muskegon County Repubs are setting up their own web site, and I’m hoping for good things. I believe the Muskegon Pundit will be involved, to what degree I’m not sure. {Please see my side bar for his link under CLOSE BY BLOG SITES TRYING TO HELP
The Dean Of Area Conservative Bloggers
Hopefully he will be able to guide it along a user friendly and inter active path. I have high hopes.}

All of this however does not negate the need to have a personal presence on the ground.
By doing all the above and doing it better than we have done in the past we can win the Presidency.

But----What about my precinct? What do I need to do? I find it hard to ignore the Democrats in my Precinct, nor do I think it wise. If the general population is reflected in voter preferences, I have to bump into 6 neighbors to find 1 republican. Should I ignore that Republican. No I should weep tears of joy to find him or her, form a relationship and network if possible. That is what this blog is all about. “Bottom Up Politics” is an attempt to find other Republican or people interested in the Republican message or at least my version of it. Lol.

Man I’m going round and round the idea of not ignoring the democrat voter. I guess the harder the job the easier it is to ignore. In other words, who am I to criticize the leadership of the party. If I seem to at times it is out of frustration. At this level there is only me. I have to understand that and figure out a way to do my job. How do I get the message to people that don’t want to hear it? The only way I’ve found is through example. My hardest thing has always been meeting new people. What meager attempts I’ve made so far however have been enlightening. People in general are receptive and willing to talk if approached in a friendly way. I can do that. What do I do after they answer the knock on the door. Nobody wants to listen to a sales pitch. But what am I doing there if not to sell the Republican idea? I have to go back to the reason I’m doing this in the first place and it is personal, and it is simple. I believe in conservative ideas of common sense government. I need to come up with real life examples of how the government is broke and real examples of how Republicans (ME) hope to fix it. To do that is not just saying the big boy political slogans like “Tippy canoe and not taxes for you” or some such. I know what part of government is broke that affects me, have to assume I don’t know what part needs fixing to help that individual. That involves listening and fitting my core beliefs to solve that problem. As precinct delegate or at least a wannabe it is my job to pass that complaint up the ladder and then come back down with a solution or at least a reason. This is way over my experience level, but I’m trying. This will not happen quickly. I guess the only way to do it is to Just Do It. Knock on doors, ask questions then LISTEN. With the advent of caller ID, our elected reps will learn to dread seeing my # lol.

The thing I want to do is start building for the future. The Republican message I believe in. The people I believe in. For people to trust my version of the message, I have to believe in myself. Sorry for the pep talk to myself.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative.

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