February 6, 2008
Dear Sandra Crosnoe:
Below you will find an edited version of your article, Mirroring the Republican Party. May I ask that you please read my revision, and if it meets with your approval and is consistent with your original intent, I would greatly appreciate receiving your permission to use it as revised? In no way was my rewrite of your article today undertaken or intended as a slight or usurpation of what remains your intellectual property. I would like to include your article in material for distribution to Meetup groups in Missouri and elsewhere.
Not long ago, someone forwarded either the original article or a link to me, perhaps I stumbled upon it during a Google search, I no longer recall. I copied it into a Word.doc format, filed it and carried on. Today, I was doing some basic housekeeping and research on my computer; I opened and read your article very carefully.
I am the Organizer of the Rocky Comfort Ron Paul 2008 Meetup Group. Were you to visit our Meetup page (www.ronpaul.meetup.com/56) on the Welcome page, the introduction that I wrote in May when I formed the Meetup speaks of a precinct based political activation system. In 2003, as Missouri State Chairman of the newly formed America First Party (formerly the Reform Party) I wrote and published a 43 page Leadership Guide, which laid out a statewide plan for organizing the newly formed party within a precinct driven system.
Today, Ron Paul is fostering the development of Precinct Leaders. The timing is perfect and the need is great to capture the momentum, utilize the Meetup Group concept to its fullest and energize the electorate at the precinct level in the restoration of our constitutionally limited republican form of representative government. My goal in this request is to provide by the inclusion of your wonderfully succinct article, a second witness, and another voice advocating these concepts. I hope to hear from you soon.
Yours in Keeping America First,
William Roberts
417.835.2212
Cooperating with the Republican Party
(A campaign strategy overview by Sandra Crosnoe – posted October 16, 2007)
A summary of action items is provided at the end of this article.
As the briefest of backgrounds, I have been a Republican activist for over 30 years and have known Ron Paul since his first congressional race. I serve on the board for Associated Conservatives of America (originally only in Texas and best known there). Most of what I am going to share with you is based on many years of experience gained in Texas and gained in Oklahoma since 2005. Specific details may be different for your state, but the general idea is applicable nationwide.
Soon we will all go to the polls and vote in the Presidential Primary. The first action item is an imperative because in some states you must be registered with the Republican Party before you can vote for Republican Party candidates.
Action Item #1. Determine if your state is an open-primary or closed-primary state and take appropriate action (i.e. if you are in a closed state, register as a Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul) immediately!
Winning at the polls is important, because it will, in many states; help determine the delegate count for your candidate for the nomination process. But it is not everything, and in a race with as many candidates as we have, the odds of a brokered convention are extremely high. That means that the delegates who may/may not be bound to the vote in their state on the first round of voting at the National Convention (depending on the rules of the State parties) will ultimately be able to vote their conscience and determine the party nominee.
Obviously the best outcome is a landslide at the polls and we sweep all delegates and take the nomination at the first round at the convention. But even if we could assure that and we cannot, we still should do the things I am about to tell you to build a firm foundation for getting the work done through a Ron Paul administration!
So the Republican Party convention process becomes paramount for all that we are about to do and you simply must take some steps immediately to take this ground and hold this ground and elect people of principle at all levels of our government. I hope that we can together return the Republican Party to the wisdom of our founding fathers and constitutional principles throughout the land.
Here is the plan in a nutshell:
Action Item #2. Become embedded within the Republican Party, (those who have not already done so long ago).
Become involved in party leadership and meetings and create a Ron Paul presence there. It really isn’t that hard. Find out who party leaders are in your county and ask if you can help. One way to do that is to see if your state party has a website and lists the county leaders there. If not call them and ask them who your county chair, and precinct chair (county committeemen and committeewomen) are. Ask by phone or email how best to get in touch with these people to let them know you want to become involved. Keep trying until you get an answer.
Action item #3. Volunteer to fill a precinct chair* vacancy in your precinct, or make friends with the existing precinct chair.
Attend the party and club meetings and help in any way possible. Make sure they all get flyers and information about Ron Paul at the same time. Register new voters, make telephone calls, and mention your efforts for Ron Paul at the first opportunity.
If for some reason, your county is closed to the idea of your assistance and your efforts for Ron Paul move into the ‘Mirroring the Republican Party’ phase.
Action Item #3A. Organize your area as county leader for Ron Paul, finding precinct captains and block walkers as soon as possible! When your group’s numbers are great enough, the existing Republican leadership may accept you, perhaps asserting friendship all along!
The delegate selection process will start occurring near the presidential primary vote in 2008 at various times in various states. It will start with precinct meetings, and then county meetings, and on up to state meetings. At each level, we must have enough Ron Paul people present to control the vote and determine who is elected to represent us. In some cases, there will be committees that recommend and we must impact that committee process according to the rules of our states.
Action Item #4. Plan now to attend your Republican Party caucus/conventions (precinct, state and national levels) sending as many Ron Paul delegates as possible to the National Convention.
This is both a numbers game and a perception effort. If you knew how few Republicans currently attend party meetings of any kind, you might assume that accomplishing this action item may be easy. It will not be easy, but it is doable if you can bring forward more Ron Paul supporters at every level than other candidate committees. The good news is that if you can do this for Ron Paul, you can do it for candidates running for county sheriff. Many may consider filing for local office – especially if there is a vacant office or an opportunity to replace, perhaps someone supporting illegal immigration, an existing office holder.
Action Item #5. Recruit candidates to file for local office in your area who support the constitution and national sovereignty. Do not attempt this until you have achieved a base of support in your area! (Candidate filing deadlines vary.)
*A precinct chair takes care of a geographical area representing approx 3000 voters for the party. That can include finding block walkers, hosting coffees, and serving as point of information from the party to the people in that area. It can be as much or as little as the person wants. In some states it is an elected, ballot position. [In Oklahoma, for example, this is typically handled at precinct meetings (if anyone is nominated and/or appointed by the county chairs) if done at all. The executive committee for the state is comprised of county chairs and state committeemen and women from each county, and meets, approximately, quarterly in Oklahoma City.]
Summary of Action Items:
Action Item #1. Determine if your state is an open-primary or closed-primary state and take appropriate action (i.e. if you are in a closed state, register as a Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul) immediately!
Action Item #2. Become embedded within the Republican Party, (those who have not already done so long ago).
Action item #3. Volunteer to fill a precinct chair* vacancy in your precinct, or make friends with the existing precinct chair.
Action Item #3A. Organize your area as county leader for Ron Paul, finding precinct captains and block walkers as soon as possible! When your group’s numbers are great enough, the existing Republican leadership may accept you, perhaps asserting friendship all along!
Action Item #4. Plan now to attend your Republican Party caucus/conventions (precinct, state and national levels) sending as many Ron Paul delegates as possible to the National Convention.
Action Item #5. Recruit candidates to file for local office in your area who support the constitution and national sovereignty. Do not attempt this until you have achieved a base of support in your area! (Candidate filing deadlines vary.)
Revised: 10-17-2007 S.C.
Please share with your Meetup Groups, as you deem appropriate for the Ron Paul Revolution!
Edited for clarity, content, and layout: William Roberts 2-6-08.