Notes from the first meeting of the Massachusetts Campaign for Liberty Saturday, August 8, 2009, 18 Grafton Street, Worcester, MA, 3-7 PM About the Campaign for Liberty The Campaign for Liberty is a non-partisan citizen lobbyist group whose goal is "to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity." Who: Organized by Congressman Ron Paul, but it is a movement of the people. It has leaders, but it's not "top down." What: Advocates for liberty-positive issues, but does not lobby for candidates. Where: Everywhere, every state. When: NOW Why: The only two choices have been big government or bigger government. Democrats spend, and Republicans intrude on personal liberties. Campaign for Liberty's immediate goals are to Recruit liberty-minded members. Liberty is popular! Educate members and the general citizenry about current liberty-positive or liberty-negative issues Train leaders in every precinct in areas like giving good radio and television interviews, campaigning, and leadership Organize constituents effectively behind issues so that they can reach out to a large proportion of the citizenry Mobilize citizens to effect change and preserve liberty through passing good policy and repealing bad policy 1. How to lobby for an issue Start small - rally behind a cause that's a surefire win. Mobilizing behind a poor government policy that you are confident you can overturn will get you a victory under your belt and a reputation as a mover and shaker. Build trust. See #4 Lobby your representative. See #2 2. How to lobby a representative You can write letters and emails, you can call their offices, and you can visit them during their local office hours. But none of that is going to do any good unless you go about it the right way. Pick one issue at a time. Complaining too much gets you labeled as someone they can never please, so they stop listening to you altogether. Don't go it alone. Is a representative more apt to listen to one person with a complaint or ten people with the same complaint? Ask the absolute basics before anything else. 1. Have you read the bill? 2. How much is it going to cost? 3. How are we going to pay for it? 4. Do you support it? 5. (If applicable) How can you support it if you haven't read it? Follow the pleasure/pain trail. For politicians, good media attention equals pleasure, and bad media attention equals pain. Publicize bad government policy. It lets them know that someone is watching their job performance. Bring the media. It is very difficult to affect change in a bubble. See #3 Compliment them. We all know what it's like to work for a boss whom we never see unless we've done something wrong. Don't be that guy. Once in a while, find a vote of theirs which you find favorable, and tell them you appreciate it. 3. How to reach out to the media Radio show call-ins Letters to the editor Follow up! At the end of a call or letter, give other citizens a website, phone number, or email address they can use if they too would like to get involved. If you've done a radio show call-in, ask the host if he/she would take a call from another listener who just called/emailed/visited the site. 4. How to build trust We get nowhere if our fellow citizens or constituents don't trust us. This goes for running for office and for rallying behind a cause. Run for a volunteer board (cable board, light board) just to get your name out there. Citizens are more apt to listen to you if they already know your name. Being involved in your community also shows that you care. 5. How to talk to citizens about an issue Seek first to understand, then to be understood. Citizens are much more likely to listen to your solution if you have first demonstrated that you understand their problems. (Analogy: One car salesman wants to sell you a pickup truck because it has a rockin' V8, and another salesman wants to sell you a minivan because he asked if you had a family (and you do). Which vehicle do you buy?) Don't talk down to other citizens. It's rude, and it puts them off. See #2 above - understand and suggest instead of lecturing. Don't use scare tactics. They scare people - they don't bring them any closer to understanding. Keep information on you at all times. In the grocery store, at the playground, wherever - being prepared shows that your cause is legitimate, and it shows that you understand the issue. Having facts on you gives you confidence to strike up conversations where you might not otherwise. 6. If you are running for office Pick a race you know you can win. Sometimes it is simply not worth campaigning in an area which is heavily politically entrenched. (usually a volunteer board) Campaign for the office you're running for. Don't talk about HR 1207 if you're running for the Parks and Recreation Board. Be friendly with Town Clerk. They hold the keys. Stay away from people who don't vote. They will suck up your time. We cannot stress this enough. Target town leaders. A town leader, like the head of the town soccer league, is able to reach more constituents with one fell swoop than you would be if you tried to reach all of his or her contacts individually. Keep databases of who has signs in the yard, flags on the house, bumper stickers on the car, posters in the window. These citizens will be more apt to display your sign, sticker, or poster. 7. If you are not running for office We're not all cut out for public service. If that's you, remember that you can still: Design pamphlets Drop off pamphlets Design a website Phone bank Find good locations for signs (either by roadsides or lawns) Canvas door-to-door Organize events to raise money or promote the issues Donate money to get any of the above accomplished Quotes of note: "Citizenship is a right and a responsibility." "We don't need to listen to representatives; they need to listen to us." "Most lawmakers are lawyers who have never run a business." "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." "Capitalism didn't fail - we never had it."
Damon and Joey discussed the Republican Liberty Caucus, of which, Dr. Paul is a member.
Notes from the conversation...
How do we truly influence the direction of politics?
The Republican Party in Massachusetts is weak. They are ripe for reform. How do we reform the party?
The backstory: The State Republican Committee is composed of 40 elected men and 40 elected women (one man and one woman from each state senatorial district). They are elected every four years at the Republican presidential primary. Their job is to grow the party and make the party platform.
What the cause of liberty needs: Liberty-minded men and women to influence and/or run for Republican State Committee representatives in 2012.
How do you do this?
- Register as a Republican [And join the Republican Liberty Caucus]
- Join/Start a Republican Town/Ward Committee (and become active)
- Make friends, introduce Liberty themes, prepare to run for delegate (early 2010)
- Become a delegate to April 2010 Massachusetts State Republican convention and vote for Liberty platform
- April 2012 - Republican Presidential Primary elects state committee man/woman
- Find someone you support, or run yourself
- Help get 50+ signatures to get on the ballot
- Campaign during Presidential Primary for State Committee office
How can an organization called the Republican Liberty Caucus help? The Republican Liberty Caucus is another lobbyist organization founded by liberty-minded congressman Ron Paul. Whereas the Campaign for Liberty in non-partisan, the RLC is partisan. The RLC can provide support, and organization to help steer the Republican Party towards it's founding principles of Liberty.
What can you do immediately if you are interested in running?
- Find out in which state senatorial district you live.
- Find out who your Republican Committee representatives are. http://www.massgop.com/index.php?id=153
- Determine whether or not they are pro-liberty, anti-liberty, or just a follower of the majority.
