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Three methods for conservative grassroots organization

February 9, 2022 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

grassroots organization

Whether you’re organizing for a campaign, a group or just an issue you care about, there are three areas where it pays for conservatives to focus their time.  And each area has different benefits and challenges.

1) Precinct Organization

Organizing by precinct is more geographically focused and as a result can have a more direct and greater potential impact on a specific area.

Political power in American flows from the precinct level upward, because precincts are the building blocks of the American political system.

Virtually every election district, from the school board on up, is a combination of various precincts.  They’re like the small pieces in a bigger jigsaw puzzle, which means that if you’re organized in the precincts you can influence an election – or have influence on an elected official who is interested in running for re-election.

2) Church Organization

Organizing in churches allows you to work with people you’re probably more familiar with, and are likely to have more in common with.  As a result, you may be able to get things moving more quickly.

Since a typical church’s membership may be spread across multiple precincts, focusing on churches also has the benefit of helping you “sow seeds” of activism in more than one area, (which means church organization can quickly feed “precinct organization”).

3) Online Organization

Online organization can exist on its own or as a compliment to church and/or precinct organization, (ex. online “groups” via Yahoo, Google, Ning or Facebook; or online petitions and campaigns at AktNow – or a combination).

And when you organize online, you make it easier to share information with others and for others to find you.

Online organization is also a great way to being to build a list of supporters that you can contact and keep informed.

Where to Focus Your Time?

In order to determine where you should focus your time and efforts, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What specifically do I want to impact or accomplish? Is it more educational and/or issue related, or is it more political?
  • Where do I know the most people who think like I do, and who are willing to help? (Hunt where the ducks are!)

Whichever type of organization you plan to focus on, remember that it all comes down to people. Politics is people.  And when you get enough people together with a common purpose, you’ve got grassroots organization. 

Real grassroots organization leads to political impact!

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(You can find tips like this and much more in my “Grassroots 101: Grassroots Training Series“.)

What are you going to do about it?

January 5, 2021 by Drew McKissick in Buzzworthy | Leave a comment

political activismDo you spend more time than you would like complaining about things going on in government?  That’s not unusual.  In fact, it’s pretty much a prerequisite (or at least a direct symptom) of democracy.

Government is run by imperfect people who represent a lot of other imperfect people with a lot of different philosophies and points of view…and some of them seem to just represent themselves.

Anyone who’s paying attention (which ideally should be everyone) can find something to complain about.  But is that as far as you go?  Or do you ever think about taking action?

Don’t Just Complain

Is “Common Core” being pushed on your (up until now) good school district? Grading standards being dumbed down?  What are you going to do about it?  Have you attended a school board meeting and spoken out?  Carried a crew of other angry parents with you to do the same?

Is your local public school board trying to pass a millage increase, all the while spending record amounts of money on extra layers of educrats?  What are you going to do about it?  Just cuss when you get the tax bill?  How about starting a petition campaign to oppose it?

Is your county about to vote on another wasteful bond referendum?  What are you going to do about it (other than pay for it later)?  Have you written a letter to the editor?  Print it as a flyer and leave it on doors in your neighborhood, or cars in the parking lot at the next council meeting.

Are you tired of so few people who seem to know much of anything about what your local government is doing?  What are you going to do about it?  Start a Facebook page, online newsgroup or a simple website.  Maybe set up an email list and keep people up to date with what’s going on.  Encourage everyone you know to share it with others.

Sick of elected officials who don’t listen, or who make promises but don’t deliver after they’re elected?  What are you going to do about it?  Have you tried to help someone else get elected?  Volunteered or made a contribution? How about talking with others who think like you do and trying to recruit someone to run for office?

Get Involved

The main reason to “do something” is because it’s your responsibility, since you live in a country where you have the right to political activism.  But another reason is because even if you just simply speak up, it lets other people like you know that they’re not alone.  When they see that, they’re more likely to speak up or take action too.

If you don’t “do something”, odds are you’ll have even more to complain about later.  But when you get involved, things change.

Take a moment right now and make a conscious decision to “do something”.  Then make a note so you don’t forget.

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Have any examples of how you were able to get involved that you think would encourage others?  Share it in the comments below.

Making a difference in politics via the grassroots

August 5, 2020 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

revolutionRemember that quote from Edmund Burke, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”?

Well, here it is in political terms:

“Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.” (George Nathan)

Getting involved is the key.  But conservatives have to remember that the battle for America’s political soul can’t and won’t be won overnight.

Patience, as they say, is a virtue, and that’s even more true when it comes to politics.  In our political system, nothing moves fast.  The country didn’t get in its current shape overnight.  It took decades.  All that time, liberals organized and worked to move the country further to the left, and if we’re to be successful in moving it back to the right, we must be just as diligent.

If making a difference in politics is the goal, grassroots organization is what makes it possible.

Organizing at the grassroots can bring about change because it’s fundamental, yet so simple.  There’s nothing inherently difficult about identifying other conservatives, registering voters, circulating petitions, or passing out voter guides, but these activities can have a tremendous impact on politics and our society – especially when conservatives organize together to do them.

The more organizations (whether precinct, church or online based) that conservatives create, the greater the impact we can have on the nation as a whole when we follow proven techniques.

Remember, the basics of successful grassroots organization are as simple as one, two three:

  1. Identify supporters
  2. Inform them
  3. Mobilize them

That’s the recipe for long-term political success.

Don’t be intimidated.  Here’s a shocker: the political process is full of people who knew far less than you do when they first got involved.  No matter what political party, candidate, campaign or organization you look at, those that succeed do so because they did the basics.

So what’s stopping you from doing the same?

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(Get more tips like these in my “Grassroots 101 Training Series“.  Check it out!)

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