RUNNING YOUR OWN GRASS ROOT CAMPAIGN Part III :: U4Prez, Social Networking For Politics

In previous installments, we discussed the early stages of cultivating a grassroots campaign in the Garden State. The effort is one that is hoping to influence the Republican gubernatorial ticket this November and although this particular effort takes place in New Jersey, concerning the selection of a Lieutenant Governor, it can certainly be applied to any other state for any other candidate or cause.

Be it someone who you think we need in congress, a repeal of the congressional automatic pay raise or the repeal of a particularly bad legislator, local, state or otherwise, you too can do more than just grumble about the effects that legislators and their legislation has on us. You don‘t need to wait for Election Day to influence change or make your voice heard. You can do more than just decide between the options offered to us by the political class. You can set an agenda that turns the table and forces the political class to decide between the options that you want.

That is one of the points behind my Draft Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor campaign.

We want the Republican nominee for Governor to pick her as their running mate. We want her to be the next in line to lead us, should the need arise and we want the nominee to choose someone that we put forward for all the right reasons as opposed to choosing some political insider for all the wrong reasons.

And whether she gets selected for the spot or not, does not determine success or failure. Whether she is selected or not, we have promoted State Senator Jennifer to a new level of prominence. When all is said and done, it will be known that Jennifer Beck has the support of the people and with it, a bright future, not only in our party but in the state and nation. By advancing the name of Jennifer Beck we are advancing all that she represents, including her vision and interpretation of our principles. Achieving that makes the effort a success no matter what.

In prior episodes of this series, we took you through the initial stages which included developing an web site, dealing with the press and introducing the effort, and expanding the size and reach of the campaign through internet networking.

This week we need to discuss some of the politics behind this or any other political efforts.

Regardless of how pure and principled one is, politics is played and if you are not willing to acknowledge that, then don’t get involved.

One definition of politics is the interrelationships between the people, groups, or organizations in a particular area of life especially insofar as they involve power and influence or conflict.

That said, there is no way around politics.

As such, like it or not, my leadership in the draft Jennifer Beck for Lieutenant Governor campaign limits me. If I hold out hope for the eventual nominee of the party to pick Jen Beck as their running mate, I need to remain neutral in my support for who the nominee for Governor should be.

That sucks.

I have a clear favorite in this race and my natural compulsion is to add my voice to the race and get behind the horse that I want to win. But as the creator of this draft campaign, I must maintain neutrality.

This was a lesson learned during the presidential campaign. During that race, I participated in an effort led by a gentleman who wrote for townhall.com, named Adam Brickley. I worked along with him on drafting Sarah Palin for Vice President. That effort was not only successful in getting her named the V.P running mate, it also landed in the Smthsonian Institute.

There, the draft Sarah Palin website and other ducumentation will be saved for posterity as an example of how the grassroots can influence elections.

According to Adam Brickley, the people in the front of any draft effort must remain neutral if they hope to see their goal come to fruition. In correspondence with Mr. Brickley he told me “figure out who the gubernatorial primary candidates are, don’t take sides, appeal to all supporters and have individualized strategies to target each of them.” He continues "you are a UNITY movement and your job is to say that Beck is a UNITY candidate that can satisfy everyone”.

During the Palin campaign the Giuliani people got an earful about Palin’s libertarian principles and hard-nosed managerial style. The McCain people were told that she was the ultimate “maverick” and the Huckabee people got to hear about her religion and pro-life credentials while the Romney and Thompson people were told that she was a well rounded mainstream conservative.

Just as done in the draft Palin campaign, trying to make Jennifer Beck out to be just what each of New Jersey’s gubernatorial candidates needs to win, is made easier if you do not piss them off by endorsing or siding with their opponents.

So remaining neutral in the race for the gubernatorial nomination is a sacrifice but if I feel more passionate about the leadership of Jennifer Beck than I do about any of them, it is not that big a sacrifice.

This example does demonstrate that politics plays a part at all levels, even the grass root level, and if you care enough about the issue you want to commit to, than you better be ready to play the political game that you detest. The good thing is, that if you are sincere, your involvement can help to make politics less of a game than currently is. Until then you have to be in to win it.

Next week we’ll get a little more into more of the politics that will be involved in your grass root process and some of the logistics that you need to undertake in order to prove that your cause is worthy of consideration and can be taken seriously.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

RUNNING YOUR OWN GRASS ROOT CAMPAIGN - Part III

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