The main message of Occupy Wall Street is “Get Money out of Politics,” the problem is, unless you get the people in office out of power you won’t be able to reform anything. Why would these people who have benefited from the current system change it?
Bob Kinsey said it best, “We don’t have the time to wait for Instant Run-Off voting…Our Planet is dying…We have to get Green voices in the U.S. Senate. Let’s make the Green Party a Winner.”
We don’t have time to petition elected officials to pass bills for campaign finance reform. We need to start winning seats and changing policy directly. Whether local, state or federal, we need to take our power back as American citizens, exercise our free speech, and maximize our abilities to create in order to put people in office that will represent our concerns.
Connect With People
When you skip the “Democrat, Republican” “Liberal, Conservative” “Us, them” rhetoric, and talk directly about the issues, I have found that 90% of us agree on 90% of the issues. We all want a government that represents the people, that empowers people to take care of themselves but doesn’t leave the poor out in the cold, we want an end to the Wars, and end to the War on drugs, and an end to corporate welfare. We can have these things, we just need to start putting our “money where our mouth is” and start walking the walk in addition to talking the talk. As Ross Perot said, we need to “Get in the Game.”
The truth is that Money is Speech, because for politicians, that is what Money buys. Ad space, radio ads, fliers, door-to-door, petition gathering, etc. Money is not the goal, it is the that money buys.
Yes, some politicians allow their vote to be bought, that is another aspect of Money in Politics, however, when it come to campaign financing, money is simply speech; if a candidate can acquire speech without money, then money will not be an issue. And if we stop supporting candidates that have received large contributions from special interests, and support the candidates that rely on small contributions from supporters, and win off the hard work of volunteers, then we can be certain that they will represent the people that got them into office, just as corporations are sure that their candidates will represent them when their big contributions get them into office.
In order to win we need to look at exactly what it is that helps candidates with small budgets win and start doing those things, either as volunteers with the official campaign, or like so many Ron Paul supporters have done, as independent supporters taking responsibility for electing their candidate.
- Message: Clearly define your message and positions on issues. Explain clearly and specifically how you, or your candidate, will achieve these goals once in office.
- Internet: Take advantage of Social Media. Create a nice and clean looking website.*reference Permanomics – Wake Your Potential for an easy website creation method.
- Handout: Create a single all-in-one handout for your candidate or cause. Make sure it accessible to supporters, either through a website where they can order it, or make a file that can be downloaded and printed. This will empower supporters to independently promote the campaign.*reference the “Ron Paul Super Brochure” for an idea on how to design a handout.
- Door-to-door/Canvasing: Become educated on how best to approach voters about your candidate or cause. Use the available handout to leave with voters in order to direct them to the issues and resources they need to make an educated decision for themselves.*reference my article on my work in South Carolina for a sample canvasing script.
- Phone Banking: Create a phone banking system for supporters to sign-on to and make calls to potential supporters. Use the same method as canvasing to avoid debate, arguments and negative conversation that have nothing to do with your candidate or cause.*reference the section below on rp2012.org on how to create a phone banking system.
Message
A message speaks loudly. Many anti-status-quo candidates can get a decent amount of votes by having their message clearly defined. Ron Paul has done well under the focused message of “Liberty” and returning to the Constitution. It is important to understand the actual powers of the position being ran for and articulating how you will use that position to achieve your goal. A vague message will not get the job done. If we want an educated electorate we need to give voters information and speech to them in a way that explains the process and system of government. Once the people are educated and the message is clearly defined, voters will be able to make a choice that best represents them, and will be able to do so more effectively in elections to come.
Ross Perot
For Large Campaigns, and even small ones, it takes work from supporters. It isn’t enough to say you support a candidate or a cause, you need to go out and do the work needed to elect that candidate, or pass that measure. In 1992 Ross Perot told his supporters that if they were serious, they needed to get out and get him on the ballot in all 50 states. They needed to put some sweat into it, otherwise, as he said, “…this is all just talk.”
In the Summer of 1992 Perot’s supporters formed United We Stand America and did just that, running a petition drive and qualifying Ross Perot as an Independent candidate in all 50 States. Despite controversy, campaign staff issues, and a withdrawal and reentry into the race, Perot won nearly 19% of the vote.
https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Ross_Perot#1992_presidential_candidacy
Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura won his race for Governor of Minnesota spending roughly $300,000, far less than his opponents. Name recognition and his use of the Internet to reach voters are contributed to his ability to maximize money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura#Governor_of_Minnesota
Anita Stewart
http://www.anitastewartsoilandwater.com/
Spending less than $300, Anita Stewart of the Florida Green Party, was able to win her Soil and Water Board seat by going directly to voters. She paid the $25 fee for ballot access (instead of collecting signatures), spent $25 per month for a website, and started attending every related event she could. Going door-to-door was not an option in her large district, as her funds, and time, were limited. In addition to maximizing her exposure by going to where potential supporters would be collected, she also made the most out of the Internet by building profiles and pages on every free network she could. Instead of working hard she worked smart, and it paid off.
http://gp.org/greenpages-blog/?tag=anita-stewart
I gave Anita a call when working on this article and was motivated even more when her explaination of how she won lined up very closely with the ideas I was putting together. She even had a very simple handout that she brought with her to all the “green” events she went to in order to meet voters.
She had some advice on how to use social media effectively, “Using the social networks is not just a simple act of putting up a page, it is also about putting up fresh material and engaging people in conversation.” You need to engage people and talk to people about the issues.
In addition to social media, having a solid website is crucial. “Your website is your business card,” she said. “You want to make sure you have a nice website, and have good information. The ability to update is very important.” Instead of having a web master update her website, she made sure she could go on and directly add content and update her blog. This saved time and insured that the information was presented when it needed to be.
“People need to know that it’s not difficult to run for office. Anyone can do it, and you don’t have to be a millionaire.” The importance of people to run for local office was something Stewart expressed. “The only way we are going to have change is from the bottom up, we are never going to get it from the top down.” We have tried the top-down and approach, she explained, and it hasn’t worked.
As I said in the beginning of this article, the people in power have no interest in representing us, so we need to change who the people in power are, and change how they get into power. Essentially we need to empower ourselves and our communities, only then will we have a government that represents us at the top. As Anita said, “The real change is going to come from we the people, and we need to do that at the local level.”
Ron Paul
In the 2008 election cycle Ron Paul supporters shocked the establishment by raising large amounts of money for their candidate in unofficial single day fund-raising drives called, “Money Bombs.” This trend has continued in the 2012 cycle. While this money has enabled the campaign to be competitive, it is the other efforts that supporters have taken on that will enable Dr. Paul to win.
Door-to-Door
In South Carolina there is no official campaign for Ron Paul. Everything is done by volunteers, acting with the approval of the official campaign, yet left to themselves to make the campaign happen. What this has turned into is a well organized and focused canvasing drive. Volunteer supporters, empowered by the recently created “Super Brochure” have been going door-to-door promoting their candidate. I even joined in as I made my way from Iowa (originally California). You can read about my experience and my advice for grassroots supporters on how best to approach voters when knocking on their door:
Resources
There are two main resources needed for a campaign; hand-outs and signs. Ron Paul supporters are famous for their handmade signs, but some supporters have gone the extra step to make professional looking signs available to supporters. The official campaign has created signs as well, but the effort of unofficial supporters to provide this resource is a great example of what can be done for other campaigns and causes.
The “Ron Paul Super Brochure” was created by a supporter in Florida unrelated to the official campaign. His goal was to fill the need for a single all-in-one handout to give to voters and potential supporters. As it had stood, the campaign had not created a single handout, but had instead created a number of single-issue handouts for their candidate. Instead of saying, “When will the campaign take care of this,” the creator of the Super Brochure took the initiative and made it himself. The product is something the official campaign could not have made, collecting Dr. Paul’s stances on issues along with links to unofficial websites and YouTube videos.
Phone Calls
In early 2011 a group of Ron Paul supporters in San Francisco built an unofficial phone banking system for the Ames Straw Poll. Since then, the system has been used to continue making calls on behalf of the 12 Term Congressman. While the official campaign has a phone banking system of their own, resources like this are what has helped the Ron Paul campaign establish themselves as a competent force in the 2012 Republican Primary without the large funding of establishment candidates such as Mitt Romney.
In order to create a phone bank you need to create a list of registered voters to call. You can do this by contacting your area’s Elections Office (or Register of Voters) or by contacting the various Political Parties in your State/Region. You can then call off that list or create a web based system for supporters to sign on and dial up. Here are a couple articles on how to go about this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2083797_use-campaign-phone-bank.html
http://www.dosomething.org/u/how-to/how-to-run-phone-bank
Web Presence
There are dozens of free resources on the Internet to help promote your cause. It is important to use these effectively. They are “social” media, so you need to be social. Don’t just create a page or profile and expect that to do the work for you. Update with relevant information and engage people in conversation about the issues. This goes for candidates and supporters. If you are a supporter of a candidate or a cause you need to start talking to people about it. Don’t get in debates or argument, but instead engage with people, find out what their needs are, and share with them information about your candidate or cause that helps represent them. Let people make their own minds up, don’t try to “win people over,” but instead try to inform them and get to know them. This will go much further than a debate any day.
Know Your Election System and Date
This is very important. You must educate yourself on the exactly rules of your election system. Are you in a Caucus State or Primary State? What is the Date of your Election? When is the deadline to register to vote? Make sure you know all the relevant information and make sure to share and present this along with any information you are giving out on your candidate or cause.
Thumbnail Image: By Sage Ross (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Jack Wagner is the Editor of The Free Independent-Sun. Born in Sonoma, California and currently residing in San Francisco, Jack set up The Free Independent-Sun on July 4th, 2009, after sleeping in and not making his usual trip up north for his hometown festivities. He figured he'd do something revolutionary to make up for it. In the Summer of 2010 Jack registered Seraf Media with the City and County of San Francisco as a Sole-Proprietorship. He is dedicated to articulating the finer points of the Revolution in order to bring about a Global Renaissance and Abundant World Economy. He also isn't afraid to get his hands dirty transplanting succulents. 
Great article! Thanks for using the quotes…and I hope this inspires others to run and gives them an overall strategy for their campaigns.