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Want to get more involved in politics but don't know where to start?
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| 11-17-01
| Grant D. Noble
Posted on 11/17/2001 6:49:30 AM PST by backhoe
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2001 8:33 AM
Subject: Wanna Be More Than An "Armchair Activist"?
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>
> ******************************************
>
> Want to get more involved in politics but don't know where to start? Well,
> start by reading the following essay by Grant Noble. It is dead-on
> accurate.
>
> Chuck Muth, Editor
> GOP News & Views
>
> ******************************************
>
> Precinct Committeeman: Most Powerful Office in the World
>
>
> If you are tired of seeing things continue to go down the drain, you must
> understand how liberals dominate our government. You must understand the
> seven laws of American government:
>
> 1. If you want to change things, change the laws. Remember all the nonsense
> we learned in school about "Coequal Branches of Government"? Actually the
> Founding Fathers made Congress far and away the most powerful branch because
> it was "closest to the people."
>
> The President can't spend a dime unless Congress authorizes it. Congress can
> reject treaties and Presidential appointments, mandate programs the
> President doesn't want (by overriding vetoes) and even determine if the
> Supreme Court can rule on a case (Article III, section 2, "...the Supreme
> Court shall have original Jurisdiction...with such exceptions and under such
> Regulations as the Congress shall make.")!
>
> Because our state constitutions are modeled after the Federal Constitution,
> it's the same story at the local level. Governors and State Supreme Court
> Justices have some influence, but ultimate power lies in the same
> legislature that passes the laws and determines what happen in our society.
> Unfortunately, most legislatures are dominated by liberals.
>
> 2. To change laws, change the lawmakers. No citizens or group can possibly
> keep up with the thousands of laws passed each year by U.S. legislatures.
> Sure a big protest campaign can change a vote or two. But after all the
> shouting is over, sometime down the road liberal legislators quietly pass
> whatever they wanted in the first place. There's really no substitute for
> legislators we can count on whether our eyes are on them or not.
>
> 3. Our people have to be on the ballot to get elected. When was the last
> time you were really enthusiastic about a candidate? How often do you vote
> for the "lesser of two evils"? Ever wonder why, despite the rhetoric, both
> major parties promote anti-conservative policies after they are elected?
>
> 4. To get on the ballot, our people have to win a major party primary.
> Except in very rare cases, everyone we elect in the fall won a major party
> primary. Because one party usually dominates a district, 90% of legislative
> seats are actually decided in the dominant party primary, not in the fall.
> Usually no more than 20% of registered voters bother to vote in these all
> important primaries. In dominant party primaries with multiple candidates
> (very common after an incumbent retires), normally less than 7% of
> registered voters determine who goes to the legislature (Campaigns and
> Elections magazine says 108 major-party nominations for governor or U.S.
> Senate in the 1990's went to candidates who won with less than 50% of the
> primary vote). Since only about half of the eligible population bothers to
> registers to vote, I estimate about 4% are telling all the rest of us what
> to do!
>
> Some naive conservatives fall for third party appeals of "conservative"
> leaders who are more interested in fundraising than results. But our "winner
> take all" system (like England and Canada) does not provide for proportional
> representation. 10% of the voters in a general election gets nothing. 10% of
> the voters in the primary of the party that dominates a district usually
> wins a legislative seat.
>
> 5. Party endorsed candidates win the primary. Sometimes candidates endorsed
> by local party organizations lose primaries, but it's rare. Endorsements
> mean you get party money plus party workers who will pass out sample ballots
> with your name prominently endorsed. Primary voters are no different than
> anyone else. They don't have a lot of time to study the qualifications of
> primary candidates and their stands on the issues. Usually they see the
> party endorsements, assume "the Party knows best" and punch the appropriate
> holes.
>
> There are state, ward and township party organizations, but the basic unit
> of U.S. government is the county. In nearly every case, the party
> endorsements the primary voter sees are made by a county executive
> committee. This executive committee is usually elected by the county's
> precinct committeemen. These committeemen are elected in the party primary
> from every precinct (normally about 500 voters) in the county.
>
> In some states the office of precinct committeeman goes under another name
> (in Michigan, they are called precinct delegates; in Ohio, it is precinct
> executive). Sometimes (as in Illinois' Cook County), the county executive
> committee is elected by primary voters from an entire ward, township or
> county. But such widespread voting for a major party's county executive
> committee is the exception, not the rule. Normally it is the locally elected
> precinct committeemen who ultimately control endorsements.
>
> Each state has slightly different rules for getting on the primary ballot
> for committeeman. For example, in Illinois (outside Cook County) you must
> file the signatures of any 10 registered voters in your precinct 90 days
> before the primary. In Ohio, you must file 5 signatures 75 days before the
> primary from voters who either voted in you party's primary or didn't vote
> in any primary in the last two years. The rules (and the name of the office)
> may differ slightly from state to state, but it's usually easy to get on the
> ballot to run as a committeeman.
>
> 6. It's not necessary to have a majority of the county committeemen to
> influence the endorsement process.
>
> Here's how it works in my home county, Lake County, Illinois. Lake is mostly
> Republican. To advance their agenda, liberals get elected as Republican
> committeemen. There are about 400 precincts in Lake. Normally about 100 are
> "vacant", i.e., nobody ran for Republican committeeman in the last primary.
> Of the 300 or so elected committeemen, about 10% are conservatives, 15% are
> liberals and the rest "regulars" mainly interested in patronage and power
> who usually could care less about issues like abortion, "gay rights", gun
> control, etc.
>
> Say X and Y are running for Lake County's executive committee. Each has half
> of the "regulars". Where are they going to get the necessary voters to get a
> majority? From 45 liberals or 30 conservatives? And once elected, who do you
> think the winning candidate is going to endorse in the next primary---a
> liberal Republican or a conservative? That's why most of Lake County's
> officials vote liberal, despite an overwhelming Republican vote. That's how
> 45 people in a county of 520,000 control the endorsement process. In my
> county, it's not 4% telling all the rest us what to do, it's less than one
> hundredth of 1%!!
>
> Occasionally, some rich amateur will dump millions into a campaign and
> become a senator or governor overnight. But for the vast majority of
> politicians, it's a long, slow grind to the top. Each step of the ladder,
> they need a party endorsement---endorsements which in both parties are
> dominated by liberals. Is it any wonder why we get the government we do?
>
> In summary, to change things, we must change the laws. To change the laws,
> we must change the people making them. To get elected , our people must get
> on the ballot. To get on the ballot, they must win a major party primary.
> To win the primary, they should get endorsed by their party. To get a party
> endorsements, we must find, train and elect precinct committeemen who will
> in turn elect the people who make party endorsements. Precinct committeeman
> is the most powerful office in the world because committeemen ultimately
> determine who goes to Washington D.C. and our state capitol.
>
> 7. The Powerful Office in the World is Easy to get!! Lake is typical among
> U.S. counties. 25% of the committeeman spots of the dominant party are
> normally "vacant". In these precincts, if you get on the primary ballot with
> no primary opponent, the only way you can lose is through an almost
> impossible write-in campaign.
>
> In the other 75% of precincts, you will probably have to oust an incumbent
> committeeman (sometimes they withdraw rather than fight). But most incumbent
> committeemen are patronage hacks who do little besides drop off party
> literature and endorsements. (When was the last time any committeeman came
> to your door?). $50 for literature, a few weekends visiting the hundred or
> so homes that might vote in your party's primary and any dedicated
> conservative can win.
>
> In my experience in Illinois, it's very rare for a conservative who follows
> the formula above to lose to a "Regular" Republican committeeman---even a
> "regular" who has had the office for decades. I've even seen one issue
> zealots who insisted on converting everyone to their cause (pro-life, gun
> rights, etc.) eke out wins. Those who follow our advice and say "I'd like to
> represent your views to the Republican Party. What do you think are the most
> important issues?" usually win 2 to 1. Of course, being a conservative is
> harder in the Democratic party. But there are many "Reagan Democrat" areas
> where conservatives can win and the Democrat party is the only game in town.
> As the 1992 Presidential election proved, it's a mistake to put all our
> conservative eggs in one party's rickety basket. Believe me, liberals never
> make that mistake. They always join the dominant party of their area, no
> matter which it is. Voting for the Executive Committee and determining those
> critical primary endorsement is by far the most important power of precinct
> committeeman. But there are others:
>
> 1. Access to Neighbors. The media makes conservatives look like kooks. No
> wonder conservative politicians have problems. As the dominant party's
> committeeman, you can reach people who would never come to your church,
> social club or home. Most voters are eager to know about their government
> and the people they elect. Even the most apathetic have some interest in an
> institution that is taking about half their income in taxes, mandates and
> fees.
>
> 2. Respect from Politicians---Committeemen represent 500 voters and those
> key party endorsements. Any call or letter from a committeeman is going to
> get a lot of attention from elected officials of their own party.
>
> 3. Launching point for other offices---running for committeeman is the best
> place to start learning how to build winning coalitions. One of the big
> problems among conservatives is the notion that running for office is like
> running a business. Levelheaded businessmen, who wouldn't dream of being
> their own lawyer in court, somehow think they can win against experienced,
> entrenched liberals without any prior political experience.
>
> 4. Control of party leaders and platforms----Committeemen influence or
> control most party matters. If the Republicans dump pro-life and other
> conservative positions from their party platform, it won't be because of
> election results. It will be due to a handful of liberals who have patiently
> wormed their way to high party positions, starting as precinct committeeman.
>
> Now you know how our Government actually works, just like the average
> liberal does. You can continue to picket, write letters to the editor and
> your Congressman or work in another losing, non endorsed primary
> campaign---all the things that have gotten conservatives nowhere the last 60
> years. Or you can stop wasting time, run for precinct committeeman and start
> using the liberals' secret weapon against them!
>
> (Permission is granted to reprint or even sell this essay as long as nothing
> is altered without author's permission. Grant D. Noble, P.O. Box 146, Lake
> Forest, Il. 60045 847-234-3520 Fax: 615-0281 gnoble@safeplace.net I have the
> "Most Powerful Office" rules for all 50 states.)
>
> # # #
>
>
TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
1
posted on
11/17/2001 6:49:30 AM PST
by
backhoe
To: backhoe
2
posted on
11/17/2001 6:55:46 AM PST
by
IRtorqued
To: IRtorqued
Appreciate that link- I had lost it from a crash last April, and have now re-subscribed...
3
posted on
11/17/2001 7:14:12 AM PST
by
backhoe
To: IRtorqued
Time many of us Freepers took things to the next step. (Me included. I will run for a local seat on a committee.) Last year at this time we were protesting in the streets. Now it is time to fight for power.
4
posted on
11/17/2001 9:03:07 AM PST
by
Draco
bump
5
posted on
12/17/2001 9:24:10 AM PST
by
IM2Phat4U
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