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I admit I enjoyed the program. The PDs were enthused and willing. This type of thing however lays out only some guidelines. Like in baseball the object is simple, hit the ball out of the park. To do it takes a lot of individual effort, with guidance from more experienced people. Babe Ruth didn't hit a homerun all the time.
I hope we in Muskegon County can get a committee formed and some things done to try to fire up our PDs. This type of workshop may be a start. It starts with a desire on the behalf of a few PDs and the leadership then a continuing effort to promote and highlight any progress that is made.
This whole thing can be overwhelming. It need not be. One thing at a time with a goal in mind is all it takes. We can make our goals as small as necessary to achieve progress. The progress then will have a chance to build upon itself.
Last election Muskegon County was left out of the loop as far as direct help from the State Party. No organized effort was made here to do the things the above pages suggest.
We did very little of this on a door to door basis. What was done was done by the candidates. We should have been there to help them.
Marlene Chockley pointed out that the purpose of all the PDs getting information from their neighborhoods was to first set up the door to door giving out of absentee ballots to Republicans. Then on the next door to door just before the election remind the voters to vote and drop some lit. off. At some point another door to door for a candidate and issue crib sheet would be informational.
All of this is dependent upon updating our list of Republican voters, and do all we can to get them to the polling place to vote. Also if we have a poll watcher at the polling place with that list they could check off the people as they voted. Then at 2pm they would call the HQ with the names of who didn’t vote so more volunteers could start making phone calls to those people and see if we could help them physically to the polls.
We had few poll watchers, they had no lists. We had nothing set up at the HQ for phones and people to drive voters to the polls.
I take responsibility for that disaster as I was watching the HQ. What little I had to work with I didn’t know what to do with. I just couldn’t organize it. I felt alone. This whole blog is the result of my frustration. I want that to not happen again. I don’t know how but our party must start to gather volunteers to lay the groundwork for something different in 2010.
I’m willing to do my part, but people run from me like I’m a live grenade. I don’t have the knack.
One point I don’t want to neglect was the importance Marlene placed upon Poll workers. Law says that there should be a balance. In heavily Democrat areas sometimes this is not the case. We need to not only have candidates in as many races we can, we need poll workers there also. They can be the foot in the door.
As you read the above pages of Marlene’s presentation she talks a lot about how the PDs and their groups act as another foot in the door. In my neighborhood for example we PDs that live here know what the community events are. Republicans are pretty generous people by and large. We just tend to keep our light under a bushel. It is our job to figure out how we can do what we do to help and at the same time let people know who we are. In my case maybe helping to serve food at the Sat. morning breakfast at the 1st Congregational Church. Wearing a GOP Hat or shirt or apron would be more than enough.
The options are endless. I had suggested a blood drive and Livingston Chair said that they had one in the works coming up. We could do one at our HQ once spring is really here.
We’ve got to get a presence out in the community. I’d love to see a large banner on our Republican HQ for example.
The whole thing is dependent upon one thing. What is it? Yup you guessed it; volunteers sure enough. Well we have some volunteers. They can get more. In my view the real need is for the attitude to change about PDs. We need to back them.
It’s like hitting the ball out of the park. It takes effort and practice. It takes encouragement and help along the way. It, like baseball is a team effort.
Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
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