Yesterday, C4L President John Tate sent out the following message in response to Senator Lindsey Graham's remarks last weekend in South Carolina.
Dear Friend of Liberty,
Across our nation, Campaign for Liberty's 150,000+ members are taking action, educating their fellow countrymen, and making a considerable impact on the political landscape. Together, we unapologetically champion the principles that made our nation great: sound money, a constitutionally limited government and foreign policy, and respect for individual liberties.
These ideas transcend traditional boundaries and draw Americans (and like-minded people across the globe) from all backgrounds to the liberty message.
Many Republican leaders, however, continue to believe that principle must be sacrificed on the altar of attaining political power, despite the devastating defeats a "win-at-all-costs" philosophy brought their Party last November. And, as you will see below, it is the liberty message that has all the momentum.
This past weekend at a South Carolina Republican convention, Senator Lindsey Graham adamantly defended supporting those who choose political expediency over substance. "We're not going to build [the Republican Party] around libertarian ideas," he told his audience. "[Ron Paul] is not the leader of this Party," he emphasized.
Click here below to see these widely-circulated remarks.
Senator Graham claimed his view as being that of a Ronald Reagan Republican, but Reagan's own words in a 1975 Reason interview remove any endorsement of the Senator's statement.
"If you analyze it," said Reagan, "I believe the very heart and soul of conservatism is libertarianism."
What about principle vs. politics? (Emphasis in the following mine)
Reagan said: "I have been doing my best to try to revitalize the Republican Party groups that I've spoken to, on the basis that the time has come to repudiate those in our midst who would blur the Republican image by saying we should be all things to all people in order to triumph... I've been urging Republicans to raise a banner and put the things we stand for on that banner and don't compromise, but don't try to enlarge the party by being all things to everyone when you can't keep all the promises. Put up a banner and then count on the fact that if you've got the proper things on that banner the people will rally round."
South Carolina's junior Senator, Jim DeMint, spoke after Graham and echoed Reagan, commenting about the Senate that he, "[w]ould rather have 30 Republicans who believe in the principles of limited government and free markets and free people than 60 Republicans who have no beliefs at all."
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford also defended the freedom movement, remarking, "Liberty is the hallmark of the American experiment. That is the distinguishing characteristic of our Republic, and frankly what's made it great... I've been accused of being a libertarian, and I would say I wear it as a badge of honor because I do love, believe in, and want to support liberty."
In his speech, Senator Graham noted that those who don't think winning matters should head for the Party's exits.
Of course winning is important. But when that becomes your ultimate focus at the expense of everything else, you throw away the integrity our Founders believed crucial in order to be involved in government.
The time has come to make it clear that we will no longer tolerate the rampant trashing of our Constitution by our representatives or their constant shifting on the issues. No matter what political party you belong to, you should have the courage to stand firm on your beliefs.
As our efforts with HR 1207 are demonstrating, you don't have to cast aside principle to achieve success. A clear, consistent stand on a philosophy of freedom will find supporters, and from there real, lasting change can be effected.
To those in all political parties who wish to maximize freedom and prosperity, we invite you to join us in our efforts. To all those who would sell out our Constitution and their beliefs in pursuit of power, we turn Senator Graham's words back on him and you by saying, "There's the exit sign."
Posted by Alan Smith on 10/30/08 3:10 PM m> ; Last updated 10/30/08 3:16 PM
Door to door continues to be my most effective use of time (compared to attending party committee meetings, writing letters and blogs, making phone calls, etc). Any action is good. I'm just saying there are only a certain number of hours in each day, and door to door has proven to me to achieve the most bang for my time.
I have several thousand voters in my precinct. Too many to ring every doorbell. So a few CFL members in my district got together and exchanged strategy ideas. We requested access to "Voter Vault" which is the Republican Party voter database. Then we exported voter lists 4 different ways.
#2 - Weak Republican - The '2' is how it is coded in the database. #1 is strong Republicans - we did not export '1'.
#3 - Independent
NMT Weak GOP - This is in the attributes field. It's a National Micro-Targeting survey that was conducted by the RNC - the people that don't agree with the current direction of the Republican Party. As a guess, the Democrats and undecideds that are in here may be fiscal conservatives, but not necessarily social conservatives.
Kinky supporters - Kinky Friedman ran for governor in Texas as an independent in 2006. His supporters likely were unhappy with both major parties. Consider if you have a similar major independent candidate in your state whose supporters you might want to target.
This cut down my walking list 85-95%. By targeting the most likely top 5-15%, I could greet each person with a warm handshake and a friendly smile. If I have extra time, I can always hit the other 85-95% of houses later if there is time (leave the flyer and skip the doorbell).
A CFL member printed up T-shirts with the CFL logo and state flag. I always wore it in hopes of clearly identifying my purpose for being on their doorstep.
I try to be pretty fast with each house. I practiced out-loud at home and refined my 'pitch' to 30 seconds. I have an additional 30 for the rare someone whose body language shows extra interest.
The opening of my pitch is "Hi. I'm xxx. I'm your neighbor. I live (location) and I'm representing Campaign For Liberty, a new non-partisan political organization. I would like for you to have this handout as an introduction to our organization. It includes our mission statement and some short and long term goals."
My goal with this pitch was to answer their implied questions as quickly as possible: "Who are you and what do you want?" By using the word "introduction", I hope to imply that I'll be leaving soon, but I'll be back.
If I sense I have more time, I let them briefly know that the list is targeted -- "I'm glad to have spoken because surveys indicated our views might be very similar." I like saying this because it gives me a chance to say something about them instead of myself. I believe they are more likely to then be curious and read the material after I am gone.
I also put my name and phone number on each handout. This can by accomplished by customizing the image before printing, or by adding a sticker after printing. The close of my pitch is "I also included my cell phone if you have any questions." I do this for several reasons:
Whew! What a busy 3 months we've had in 2008. It's encouraging to see so many coordinators come on board and to see so many precinct leaders step up to take back their neighborhoods! Before we know it, we'll blanket the country (and a few of our non-U.S. countries, too) with precinct leaders armed with the knowledge and tools they'll need to make a huge difference in the outcome of our future. We've received a lot of great suggestions from our members this year. Thank you for helping us help YOU be successful!
We have some great things in store for you in 2009, but first here are highlights from 2008:
There are 1,349 Precinct Leaders in place and working for freedom! If you haven't done so yet, sign up and protect your neighborhood. Our Precinct Leaders will be the best-prepared, most well-trained, most knowledgeable folks around. Membership dues help pay for the very best, most up-to-date voter data on the market. Two or more Precinct Leaders in each neighborhood will ensure success!
Early on, State Coordinators agreed that a goal of 10,000 Precinct Leaders in the U.S. by September 2009 was achievable. Each state's goal was calculated based on number of precincts and percent of total population.
Successes:The states of Iowa and Vermont are the ones to watch - Iowa increased their number of Precinct Leaders by a full 45% in just 3 months and Vermont increased their number by 43% in less than 2 months! What's the secret? Ask the state coordinators - I'm sure they'll be happy to share!
There are 7 states that have already met over 30% of goal in just 3 months:
Iowa - 54% (goal: 100 precinct leaders)
Vermont - 52.17% (goal: 23 precinct leaders)
Montana - 44.12% (goal: 34 precinct leaders)
Washington - 40.65% (goal: 214 precinct leaders)
Idaho - 39.22% (goal: 51 precinct leaders)
North Dakota - 37.50% (goal: 24 precinct leaders)
Minnesota - 30.81% (goal: 172 precint leaders)
In addition, the following states have reached 20% or more of goal: Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Nebraska.
A HUGE congratulations go to all of you! At this rate, you're sure to exceed your goals.
Thirty-six Interim State Coordinators have been appointed, and they've appointed interim Coordinators in 144 congressional districts and 161 counties! This is nothing short of amazing.
Successes: Several state, district and county planning meetings have been held and have seen great attendance and success. As an example, one district had 27 attendees at their first meeting last week (during the holidays and with freezing temperatures).
The message of liberty is alive and well!
Over the past few months, I've occasionally received a message asking "What is the point of the Campaign for Liberty?" Here is my response:
The point of the Campaign for Liberty is to get our activists in one place where we can work together on strategies that will truly make an impact. Precinct Leaders our are most precious members. They are the key for making an impact in every neighborhood across the U.S. The Precinct Leader attends local and political meetings, they wake up their neighbors (or let them sleep if they don't "get it"), watch their local government activities, call out their infractions, rally their neighbors and literally protect their own backyard.
When each Precinct Leader takes responsibility for their neighborhood, pretty soon we'll be able to look across our country and celebrate many small wins, and as we develop cross-state strategies, we'll witness big wins as well. We'll be able to more easily elect liberty-minded candidates to work together on freedom issues that affect us all.
In 2009, we'll offer many more tools to all of our members - from regional conferences to focused strategies and issues, from Special Events days to an exclusive forum for our Precinct Leaders. Watch for upcoming announcements regarding these tools and more, and keep an eye out for some great surprises, too!
Once again, thank you for allowing us to serve you in 2008. We look forward to a much brighter liberty-minded 2009.
The Precinct Leader plants seeds in the neighborhood garden, cultivates and nurtures them, and watches them grow. The Precinct Leader is a good neighbor.
A Precinct Leader makes the largest impact by simply connecting with neighbors. Meet a neighbor while out raking leaves, walking the dog, getting the mail, shoveling snow or mowing the lawn. Bring up something that affects the neighborhood and let them talk about it and you'll have an idea where they stand and what is important to them. Knowing about specific legislation that affects your neighborhood and keeping up with current events in your area is critical. That way, you can match the neighbor's concern with current and upcoming legislation.
"Hey, did you know the city council just approved an increase in what we pay for trash collection? They're nickel and diming us to death." Listen to the neighbor's response and take note of it. If they are a hard-nosed tax and spender or don't want to talk about it, it's time to meet another neighbor. Listening to your neighbors is the key to good planting practices.
Attending city or town council meetings is a great way to cultivate your garden. When you listen to what people have to say and watch their reaction to certain things being said, you will know who might be a good person or persons to approach after the meeting and talk a little further to plant a seed. "I can't believe they just approved that." Let the neighbor talk. "I live off of McGee Street. Where are you?" If they're in your precinct, they'll remember you when you do your door-to-door survey and other activities. In fact, they may offer to help you. They will recognize your name when they read your Letter to the Editor in the news.
Precinct Leaders are instrumental in keeping tabs on what area representatives are doing, watching them closely, building a "file" on them and calling them out on their infractions. Letters to the Editor, radio call-ins and "tattling" to neighbors is effective and can even be fun. The whole point is to nurture, protect and cultivate your neighborhood garden.
Before you know it, you'll be the person that neighbors come to when they want to talk about issues. They'll come to you because they know you care, that you listen to them, that you're knowledgeable and that you will take action to protect your neighborhood. You will be the person that neighbors come to when they learn of a new piece of legislation and wonder how it may affect them. They will want to know your thoughts on upcoming election issues and candidates. Your influence will be felt in the community and you may be asked to become a member of a board or even run for office.
As a team, Precinct Leaders will come together at county- and district-wide meetings and in the state capitol for legislative sessions. Nationwide strategies will be employed. The more voices, the greater the impact. New faces and large crowds will keep local government on their toes. They are used to having people attend meetings near election time, but they are not used to us being there asking thoughtful questions between elections, where harmful legislation is many times passed virtually unnoticed.
After this election, our neighbors will begin to realize that nothing has changed. They'll continue to complain. We'll continue to listen and plant our seeds, water them and feed them, and with time and patience, reap the rewards as we stand proudly together in our lush neighborhood gardens across the world.
The Campaign for Liberty organization is just two months old and lots of work has already been done by our grassroots leaders. Following is an update on the latest.
As of today, we have interim state coordinators in 36 of 50 states and they are busily searching for interim coordinators for each congressional district and each county in their states. Many coordinators have attended weekly conference calls since kickoff to discuss goals and provide feedback on website functions.
The first major goal that grassroots members are working toward is having 10,000 precinct leaders on board across the country by this time next year. By mid-November, twelve states had already reached a double-digit percentage of goal (in alphabetical order): Alaska, Idaho, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Congratulations!
Hundreds of precinct leaders are preparing themselves by completing their training and the specific steps provided in Precinct Leader Boot Camp. Many have completed Step 1 and have already begun Step 2. Some have even completed Steps 1 and 2 and are now working on Step 3. Step 4 (Get to Know the Rules) will be available soon. Upon completion of the 7-Step Boot Camp program, precinct leaders will be our most well-prepared and knowledgeable activists. As soon as data is available, they will gain access to the best voter data and tools possible in order to make an impact in their neighborhoods where the true battles are won.
A few County and Congressional District meetings have been held so far and some states have held or are planning to hold statewide meetings in the next couple of months, so watch for news from your state coordinator on the date/time/location for your state. These meetings are instrumental as they provide you the opportunity to formulate your state-specific strategies going forward.
Upcoming political activities include general/municipal elections, legislative sessions (beginning in January), political party elections, and most states offer the opportunity to apply for positions on boards and commissions. All of these activities provide a way to remain involved, stay on top of issues, and have your voices heard.
Yes, our grassroots coordinators and precinct leaders have been working very hard, so the next time you meet one, let them know you appreciate them. Many thanks for the work you have all done so far as we march toward Freedom and Liberty.
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty."
—Thomas Jefferson
Campaign for Liberty is a 501(c)4 lobbying organization which neither supports nor opposes candidates for public office and claims no responsibility for the actions of individuals or groups of individuals who use the Campaign for Liberty logo or name or who may claim to act as representatives of the Campaign for Liberty without prior written consent of the Campaign for Liberty. [?]
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