Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance (Carlisle, PA) - Meetup.com: "Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance"Feel free to sign up.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Pennsylvania Ron Paul Meetup Alliance (Carlisle, PA) - Meetup.com
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Friends,
I want to thank all of you who attended the first Pennsylvania statewide meetup and made it a major success. We had groups from every corner of the state represented and were able to share ideas and begin building a strategy for success from which we can all benefit. This e-mail will tell you some of the key things that we discussed at this meetings. Please share this information with all of the members throughout Pennsylvania.
Statewide Meetup Group - http://ronpaul.meetup.com/965
Before going into further detail, I want to inform all of you that we have started a new statewide meetup group for the purposes of sharing information and keeping aware of events without having to be a member of 30 different meetups. If you will please join the above listed group, this will make future communication much easier for all parties involved. Also, all statewide organizers will be made into assistants so we can easily share information.
Delegates
We discussed the procedure for selecting delegates and how the process works. There were many questions about this process, but a simple overview is that each Congressional District has to find three (or four) people willing to run to be delegates at the GOP National Convention, and that the groups who have members in each district have to step up and take responsibility for that. Materials about this were handed out at the meetup, and a revised copy reflecting the groups who have responsibility, updated dates, and answers to certain questions will be posted in the next day or two and will be commonly available.
As there are questions about the petitioning process, as well, these will be answered in part at the next statewide meetup, with consultation from Ken Krawchuk who has experience in these issues as well as Dan Sellers, who conducts classes on these matters. We will be making arrangements to see that happens.
Combined Purchasing/Resource Sharing
We will be setting up a system in the next week or two so that we will be able to make biweekly purchases in the state of certain key materials: bumper stickers, yard signs, buttons, and other commonly used items as defined by the needs of the groups. Every group who wants to participate in a buy will allow however much money they wish to do to the combined purchase, and this will be spent by a committee that will have the materials people of several groups, that we will soon start.
Following the recommendation of Dan Dougherty from Montgomery County, it is advisable that every group appoint a member to serve in the capacity of treasurer to disburse funds for these purposes, as well as for local accounting. As we spend more, it will become necessary to account for these expenses, and we will be working collectively to set up a PAC specifically for the limited purposes of promoting Ron Paul in Pennsylvania.
We also seek to identify certain key resources and skills that groups can share at a discount to everyone in Pennsylvania. Bill Faust from Philadelphia made the group aware that Jay Parker is able to produce banners at a fraction over cost at a quick speed for anyone who wants to purchase these. Pittsburgh also has the ability to get apparel at a reduced cost for state functions for those buying in bulk, and we will use these resources in advance of the upcoming rally on November 10th (tentatively) in Philadelphia.
State Outreach / Networking
We will be setting up resources so that communication throughout the state will be much easier. The meetup group mentioned at the beginning of this letter is a first step. We are looking to create a dynamic website where we can share the functions described above, as well as other content. We want to be able to produce a bi-weekly newsletter to be released via e-mail with content coming from throughout the Commonwealth. As we have already begun doing such a thing in Pittsburgh, we are hoping to expand our operation to include content from every group that wants to participate, and we would love to have at least one event update, designed for mass reading, so we can share our successes with both each other and the public at large.
We also talked about the necessity of reaching out to rural areas and as we continue expanding to provide logistical support to those areas that are lacking resources. As our structures become more solid, this will become a greater priority, but the larger groups affirmed their commitment to be there to provide assistance to our friends throughout the state when possible.
Lionel Levine, of Pittsburgh, also talked about starting up specifically targeted college outreach programs. Working in conjunction with the Students for Ron Paul, the "Revolution Project" is a way to introduce college students to Ron Paul, but also work within the bounds of what colleges allow to receive support. It is an exciting initiative, and more information will be made available for others to use upon the statewide site.
Future Plans
We have several concerns coming up, but a few things need to be highlighted here as things we are all doing together.
Every Congressional District will need sufficient delegates to cover every available slot for office, so groups should be working to identify those delegates. Once identified, the statewide effort will compile that list and make sure that the groups covering that area are aware that the requirements have been met. This should be our first priority.
We will be making a statewide effort to work the polls on Tuesday, November 6th. We agreed that it is a great opportunity to reach out to known voters, and every group, large or small, has the possibility of providing much literature to people leaving the booth about Ron Paul. We hope to have special materials made and used throughout the state for this effort, and need people to work on creating these.
Discussion had began about trying to identify key voting constituencies that might vote for Ron Paul. Groups are advised to get the voter lists for their county, which should be available free of charge (there is a lawsuit that required this, and I will get the name for your use), so we can use these for a combined strategy. Stephen Moroney suggested that we might do well to reach out to disaffected voters, and the group found much merit in the idea that we could talk to former Republicans who switched their affiliation as potential Ron Paul voters. It is a discussion we need to have, and that this group will facilitate.
Bill Faust of Philadelphia made it clear that their group would appreciate any assistance that could be provided in advance of their rally as many people will be needed to make this work. Those groups near to Philadelphia will all be helping to see this event is a success, working in partnership from start to finish, as the details come into focus. The state affirmed its commitment to provide support however possible to see this accomplished.
The New Hamsphire Project
We spoke about the combined desire that we all have to do all that we can to get Dr. Paul elected President. Given that Pennsylvania has such a late primary (April 22, 2008), we agreed to devote some of our resources to helping achieve victory in New Hampshire to help the candidacy nationwide.
Tom Kawczynski of Pittsburgh spoke about the plans that their group have to raise funds to assist in the New Hamsphire effort. Specifically, there is an effort to provide transportation to everyone who desires it, both within Pennsylvania, and throughout the northeast, to be able to spend four or five days before the primary blanketing New Hampshire with supporters to assist both the campaign and the grassroots effort up there.
Please be aware of these efforts, as we ask that those who will be able to do so participate in this work as there may very well be nothing more important we do to help determine the success of this candidacy.
People Needed!
We need some people who have web design experience to help us create a responsive website to accomplish many of these goals. If you can help with these items, we could very much use the help.
We also need to begin compiling a group of people with responsibility for materials purchases from throughout the state, to begin implementing the program for purchasing.
We need people who are willing to provide an article every other week about something happening in their area, and we would like to get a few people from different places volunteering for this effort.
If you can help with any of these items, or have any question, please contact Tom Kawczynski at quantumquiescence@yahoo.com.
Further Communication
Besides the meetup, we will be having a weekly conference call to share information and plan for future events. In addition to handling other matters, These will help determine the agenda for the next meeting, which we should probably hold in Philadelphia, in advance of the rally, and let us tentatively plan on Saturday, October 20, 2007 as the date for this event.
For those who were unable to attend the meeting, the conference call will provide a recap of the events and an opportunity for clarification about other issues. The conference call will be held at 9 pm on Monday evening and will be scheduled to last one hour. Additional information will be provided once the call is scheduled through the statewide meetup as well as via e-mail.
Thanks
I want to personally thank everyone who attended as the meeting was a great success, and give a special thanks to the Central Pennsylvania group for their hospitality. I hope that we will have even more supporters attend the next event as we will be making important preparations for the primary. It was a pleasure seeing you all, and on behalf of all the people who helped make this happen, we look forward to seeing you again soon. Until then, keep spreading the good word.
Yours,
Tom Kawczynski
Organizer - Pittsburgh
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