If you send your local Republican party chairman several e-mails volunteering your services, they wont answer you. Why? because they dont have any precinct committeemen in your area to assign you to (especially in a pro-union, pro-liberal area). The Chairman has surrendered the area decades ago. It is wasted effort. You cant win in that area. That must be the attitude.
I got my hands on a 2010 voter list from the county clerks office without the help of any officials. It doesnt list most of the streets in my ward, even though I know there were voters on those streets, because I went to the polls in 2010.

So , with a list like this, you are forced to “canvass”. This is the last place on earth you’d want to canvass if you are a Republican. You would probably be killed by the second or third house you went to.

Very few races are run in a single precinct. A small town may fit in one precinct, but at the local level elections are based more on personality and individual relationships than party ideology.

So the value a PC brings is bringing people to the polls for upticket races — county board, state legislature, federal offices, And in those the point isn’t “winning” the precinct, but the overall vote total in the race.

All your precinct has to do is deliver the votes it has. The object is to get people registered, and get those who register to vote, in higher numbers than in prior elections. There are so many factors to that that I can’t do it justice here, but really you just want to improve.

Moving a precinct that votes 90/10 Democrat to one that votes 80/20 Dem may yield 100 new votes. That’s the same 100 votes you’d get in a comparably sized precinct by flipping it from 45R/55D to 55R/45D.

But it takes lots and lots of time, something you can only afford when it’s volunteer time in your own precinct. That’s why campaigns ignore 80/20 and higher precincts.

Whether one happens to be in a predominantly conservative area or predominantly liberal area should not deter one from getting involved “inside” the Party as a precinct committeeman because a conservative inside the Party can always have a positive impact on the others already inside the Party and one will be in the best place, obviously, to learn more about the inner workings of party politics.

As for helping to GOTV, I recommend that one speak to the Republican candidates or their campaign managers to find out whether (in the case of a predominantly conservative area) their help in GOTV would be redundant or (in the case of a predominantly liberal area) futile. If one’s time, effort and money could not be put to good use in thier own area, then I recommend one find candidates with a chance to win in other areas who have set up GOTV internet telephone calling systems and make phone calls for those candidates. I have used several different kinds of these calling systems, which usually requires one to create a userid and password and then the name and number of a voter will appear on screen. Using one’s phone, or Skype, calls can be made to the voter and then one provides information regarding the results of the call (for example, whether a voice message was left, whether the voter had already voted, whether the voter committed to voting for the candidate, etc.).

I hope that helps.

Thank you.

ColdWarrior

You say California, but that’s wrong. California has solid R areas in it. It’s a huge state.

But if you’re in a lefty area, you have the most freedom to help take over your local party and shape the national party.

In far left areas, where Republicans are fewest, the lone activist has the most power.

Now for the implementation phase.

others who leave the chattering class and get out and do something.

Due to the very reasons Loren sagely states, some online activism has shifted a bit – from ‘this is what we need’ to more literal strategizing for tactics that work in our local party committees, then keeping those committees coordinated thru online email lists, etc.

At lease, some are doing that with a measure of success.

Kowalski, I don’t know if you’ve ever coordinated mew media for a campaign as some here have, but I would counter that online activism for local races is essential.

How does a campaign get 17 local letters to the editor published in one week? Without online activists, it cannot be done these days. Most papers these days pay far more attention to the email than they do the snail mail these days, and many have very active comments sections that do sway opinio.

How do you get the word out to 17,000 meat space activists that those letters to the editors are needed or that an incumbent’s office needs a mass visit (I won’t say ‘occupation’)? Without online activism, that wouldn’t happen either.

If we use our language carelessly, then we fail to cnovey what works and what does not work.

I may not sway much local opinion here in LA when I post here at Redstate, unless it’s to sway the opinion of other local leaders that I have a ‘national online following’ (if they only really knew!).

But participating in the local papers’ comments and letters to the editors certainly can accrue and advantage to our side if our people are active in the online local conversation and making basic sense on mainstream local issues.

RedState is “a mouthpiece for the editors of Human Events?”

Heh.

You really have no idea what you’re talking about.

Kowalski, I missed this over the holiday weekend and hope you see this.

What you are actually saying is an indictment of me personally.

See, we have no contact with Human Events except on a limited basis. And the Human Events reporters and editors routinely get angry at me for my endorsements and championing of conservative causes including my push to oust Bob Bennett and for holding the line on cut, cap, and balance.

There is a brilliant, hot fire wall between Human Events and RedState, which includes me living 800 miles away from the home office.

So if you think RedState has deteriorated since Eagle Publishing bought us, I’d agree on the technical side that there have been prolonged and aggravating problems. But any and all complains about deterioration on the editorial side would have to be directed at me specifically as the editorial biases against the site in general reflect me, not Human Events — in addition to the other front page writers whose views are unique to them.

Authority gets less and less respect.

Look, we know Obama is killing small businesses with his tax and regulatory banditry which is destroying the livelihood of hardworking patriotic Americans like you.

And you are very anxious that the Republicans are not going to be able to put up a candidate that can beat Obama (a sentiment I increasingly share). And you fear that only Romney can win enough swing voters to gain a majority.

But RedState is not responsible for the lack of enthusiasm among Republican voters for Romney. That’s from Romney’s not having been able to close the deal despite having been the longest in campaign mode.

Which then raises a question as to how he’s going to be able to sell to voters that he has a good alternative – and sufficiently distinctive from Obama – that will convince them to switch sides.

I don’t want to go too much further in a comment, except to note that the qualities needed to defeat an incumbent president is quite different than an open office (as in 2008). And Romney’s qualities aren’t the right set this time around.

It’s not just about ideology.

And I’m not sure what to make regarding all your passion regarding abortion is about – that’s not exactly going to make or break Romney’s chances for nomination – it’s already been largely factored into the political equation as I see.

And please in your anxiety don’t create a straw man regarding the pro-life movement: those who are pro-life know it’s a long-term struggle for hearts and minds (and there is a shift going on among the public).

Take some deep breaths. What’s going on is very complex.

Hopefully, your state party isn’t as “top-down” as some are and you can get some things done!

nt

People enjoy arguing, but won’t argue outside the culture of the group they’re in.