This site is meant to facilitate the upward flow of information to help our elected officials stay in touch with those they represent. Also as a means to help us (the voters) help our leaders lead.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

FACILITATE

Facilitate


I received a wonderfully written article in the mail on rebuilding the GOP.
---link-----
http://www.rebuildtheparty.com/index.php?signup=yes
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This made a lot of sense. It admitted that the Dems had us outnumbered on the ground at election time and before. I agree. As I sat next to my Democrat poll challenger I must agree that we were out personalled and out smarted. This was a young graduate of law school that I could find no fault with other than her left leaning ideas.

She was not a “commie pinko” lol. She was an intelligent sharp witted common sense young person. She was dedicated to her goal of winning the election. I too was dedicated, but not prepared. As I talked with her, she told me how she liked going out to register voters. I had registered none, our county party had nothing set up to do that. She showed me her notebook which explained what to do in any situation at the polling booth. I had no such literature.

She also received hourly text messages from her headquarters to find out the vote totals and she also entered them into a form to be later sent to headquarters. I wrote a couple #s on scrap paper to look good, but I had no one to give them to.

I learned a lot this election cycle. My first. The one thing I come back to as I try to figure out what can be done in the future and present is that, like the article, we as a party need to make better use of the internet and increase our membership within the younger generations. (all generations for that matter). That is obvious. What has also become obvious to me is that our whole emphasis has to switch from the macro to the micro. Not the other way around. We need to find ways to get the public to believe then later become enthused in the message of the Republican party. We need a clear alternative, a common sense alternative to the Democrat Party.

The Democrat Party showed the power of the internet, we need to play catch up. Again Obvious. But let us do them one better. Let us put the emphasis on what we do not on the elections. Again it is obvious we need to win elections and we need to get voters to vote for Republicans. Let us then concentrate on how to win over those voters. Let’s emphasize organizing ourselves at the very local level. I’m talking the neighborhood, or Township or Precinct level, call it what you will. Organize ourselves around the dinner tables to do worth while things in the community. We should proudly state we are Republicans, then practice what we preach. We all know of the Lions Club, VFW, Eagles etc. Why not a community Republican Club?

We can do this with the idea of “Make Do, Make it Now, and Make it Work.” If we find ourselves alone in our efforts, we will need to go out to churches and other charitable places that are trying to make a difference, add your touch, find other like minds. Make a point of getting together with them and come up with your own. Start something new. This is where the real change can take place. This is where the internet can be utilized. Exchange emails and form networks of other like minded people. Set up blogsites for example for your neighborhood. This is what I mean by using the technology to “facilitate” the personal efforts of the grassroots.

Then it is vital that the next step up, the County Party in my case, will step up with any help they can to help “facilitate” the local efforts. The County could also be there with literature about real ideas based on past efforts to “facilitate” the growth of these individual efforts. I would look kindly on a County Republican Party that helped me in my efforts that way, instead of doing nothing or acting all worried and paranoid that they might lose their power of something. I would be more inclined to donate to them and join them if the were “facilitators”.

I would not look kindly either, on finally recruiting someone into helping out at the Rescue Mission with me on behalf of the Republican Party to have him tell me that he has started to get bombarded with email pleas by Tom Cole and the NRCC and all the other Republican Fundraisers. With all thelr condescending crap about how important they are and how vital it is that they donate money. That will not help me or my efforts. Neither will it help the party in the long term.

It is possible to overstate the obvious. The money etc. will come if we actually are making a difference in the community. When people see that what we are doing is real and substantive, they will bend over backwards to help us. I have seen it within our own Muskegon Republican Party. Our caution should be in not overreaching our goals, and our egos.

Small simple and honest our efforts should be. Isn’t that after all what we claim we want for our government to be? For the government to “facilitate” our efforts not to hinder them.

If not then -well- we can enlarge our mailing lists to allow us to email all that crap out to thousands of more people and wait for someone else to start a new party. Perhaps a Party that means something

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

PS. Here is a link to a couple of people who are trying to do what I have been talking about and are in the process of actually doing it. I’ve talked with them and they are sincere but just starting. Check back to their site every so often and see what they are trying to do. See if this is what will change minds. I wish them luck and if I can “facilitate” their efforts I will.
-----link-----
http://www.chrisbeckforsupervisor.com/index2.html
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2 comments:

RightMichigan.com said...

RebuildtheParty is a great site with a great preliminary sketch of what we need to do... and that step 1? The net infrastructure? Hope you're going to be a part of that here on Bottom Up Politics... we need you here in the Sphere!

--Nick
www.RightMichigan.com

live dangerously said...

Thanks Nick.

I've been doing which didn't leave me time to be blogging. Don't know how you do it. I will help all I can. I'm trying to keep the "on the ground" effort going. Trying to build some roots around Muskegon while we have the time. This last election was humiliating. WE WON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN".

Regards as always thanks for all you do.
Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

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