Three points on importance of political organization in churches
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As I have mentioned before, it’s hard to imagine conservatives being more successful at the ballot box without being joined by even MORE conservatives at the ballot box. That means that in order to win, we have to do more to identify, educate and mobilize others who think like we do. And to make the best use of our time and leverage our existing relationships, it makes sense to spend some time focusing on organizing in churches. Importance of Political Organization in Churches 1) Churches are where the conservatives are The statistics don’t lie. Conservatives are more likely to attend church than liberals. Very conservative individuals attend more frequently. If you want to look at it from a partisan standpoint, all you need to know is that Romney beat Obama by 20 points among those who attend church at least once a week. Again, it’s a matter of hunting where the ducks are. There are hundreds of thousands of churches all across the country that bring their members together every Sunday, and they can have a tremendous impact when they are informed and motivated. Sadly, people in most churches are little better than others when it comes to the basics of citizenship, such as registering and actually voting on Election Day. On average, only about half are actually registered, and about half of those that are will cast a ballot in most elections. Not a recipe for political success. Given that the average race is usually won or lost by about five percent, the possibilities are obvious. 2) Organize with “Church Contacts” In order to organize something, somebody has to be in charge, or else not much gets done. That’s where a church contact comes in. A church contact is simply someone whose job it is to serve as a point of contact between their church and outside conservative political groups and activity. The three primary goals of church contacts are: To identify fellow conservatives Make sure they are registered to vote Keep fellow church members informed. ( Get details on “how” to organize churches with church contacts here ) Since politics is cyclical, the activities that a church contact would focus on will vary from season to season. But whether it’s preparing for an election, or educating people on how to lobby those who have been elected, there’s always something to do. Once somebody is actually in charge, things are more likely to get done – and people in the church know who to go to in order to stay informed or get involved. 3) Know what churches can and cannot do in politics As I’ve mentioned before, there’s always a lot of confusion over what churches can and cannot do in politics. Of course a lot of this confusion is generated by liberals who don’t want to see churches dominated by conservatives get more politically involved. (Go figure) The thing to know is that there is a LOT that they can do that most of them currently don’t do. Most of what pastors and church members hear about it being legally “taboo” is garbage. Lack of knowledge leads to fear…and that leads to inactivity and ineffectiveness. That said, it’s important to get informed and know the rules. So click here for the full list of What churches can and cannot do in politics . Remember, politics is all about math, and our job is to focus on addition and multiplication. That means getting more conservatives involved – and churches are full of them. Have any other thoughts or experiences with political organization in churches? Feel free to share in the comments below! (Get more tips like these in my “ Grassroots 101 Training Series “. Check it out!)
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Organizing Churches with Church Contacts
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So, what are church contacts? A church contact is someone who serves as a point of contact between their church and outside conservative political groups and activity. They can help distribute critical and timely information, such as non-partisan voter guides, legislative alerts, legislative scorecards, leadership training, as well as other seasonal political information. By initiating voter registration drives, petition drives, and offering time-sensitive information, church contacts can help mobilize a large bloc of conservatives to influence the political and legislative process. The Primary Goals of Church Contacts Are: 1) Identify fellow conservatives in your church Review a list of the members of your church (via a church directory) and identify those that you know to be conservatives. Use this information to create a database of identified conservatives for your church. 2) Register individuals in your church to vote Most churches are little better than the general public when it comes to levels of voter registration. This makes voter registration a critical function of the church contact, since it’s impossible to be effective in the political system without being registered to vote. Cross-reference the list of identified conservatives in your church with the county voter registration list to determine who needs to be registered. 3) Keep fellow church members informed The more informed conservatives are the more effective they can be. Church contacts should work to provide information about lobbying opportunities, political candidates, ballot issues, petitions, opportunities to get involved in a local political party, as well as how they may be able to participate in other activities you may be planning. Keep a calendar of important political dates for your area, such as party primaries, general elections, county council or school board meetings, political party meetings, or meetings of other conservative political organizations. Remember, politics is cyclical. Based on which elections are approaching, or what’s happening in Congress, your state legislature or local government, the type of activities a church contacts should focus on will vary. Related entries: Why conservatives should organize in churches (You can find tips like this and much more in my “ Grassroots 101: Grassroots Training Series ”.)
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Five Tools for Conservative Grassroots Organization
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Grassroots organizing is no different than pretty much anything else in life. If you’re serious about doing anything, you need to make sure you have the right tools to get the job done. Here’s a handy list of five of the most basic tools you should have at your disposal if you’re going to try and build a grassroots organization at the precinct level that can truly have an impact on the things you care about. 1) A list of all registered voters in your precinct It’s hard to identify and organize if you don’t know who the registered voters are, (or aren’t), and in order to do that you need a recent copy of the voter registration list for your precinct (or whichever precinct you’re working in). You can get this from your local election (or voter registration) board. 2) “Prospect” lists Just like in sales, you make your job of finding the people you’re looking for easier if you have a “warm” list of prospects. Conservative issue petitions, surveys or membership lists from conservative churches make great “prospect” list for potential conservative activists and voters. They will make it easier for you to identify registered (and unregistered) conservatives by cross-referencing them with voter registration lists. The result is that you know who lives in which precincts, and who is registered to vote and you could possibly approach about getting involved in your efforts. You also find out who isn’t registered, so you can get them registered in the future. 3) Blank voter registration forms Call your local voter registration office and get copies of your state’s voter registration form, (you may even be able to download it online, depending on where you live). You want enough copies for all of those unregistered conservatives you identified from your “prospect” lists. If people aren’t registered, they can’t vote. And if they don’t vote, they don’t count. 4) A map of the precinct Having a map makes it easier to get an idea of who is where and how to get to them. You should be able to get this from your local planning commission or voter registration office, (or if not, they will probably know where you can). Try to get one with street lines and names overlaid on it, to make it easier for you to use. Remember, precincts are the building blocks of all other election districts, so you want to make sure your efforts revolve around individual precincts. 5) A political events calendar Identifying conservatives and organizing them is one thing, but it is also important to keep them informed. Set up a calendar to keep track of the dates of party primaries, general elections, special elections, school board, local council elections and meetings, as well as local political party meetings. Let your people know what’s going on and how they can get involved. Bottom line: do the basics This is just a basic list, but that’s the point. It’s “basic”. Don’t get too distracted by anything that would keep you from focusing on the basics until you get them done. (Find out more about grassroots organization in my training series!)
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Organizing precincts with precinct captains
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As I have mentioned before, the best way to impact politics is to organize at the precinct level. And the best way to organize is to put someone in charge. When it comes to organizing in precincts, that means “precinct captains”. So what is a precinct captain? Put simply, a precinct captain is someone who serves as a point of contact between the people in their local neighborhood and outside conservative political groups and activities. By distributing petitions, getting political information to conservative neighbors, making get-out-the-vote phone calls on or before an Election Day, a precinct captain can mobilize a large bloc of people to influence political and legislative activities. It is also important to understand that many of the activities of a precinct captain are seasonal. Depending on what elections are approaching or what’s happening in Congress, your state legislature or local council, your focus and activity levels will vary, but there are some primary goals. The primary goals of precinct captains 1: Identify Ten Conservative Activists This is probably the most important job of any precinct captain, because in order to put the meat on the bones of any organization, you need people, and that means identifying others who are willing to help. Try to identify at least ten. These will be the people who are the most interested in what you are doing. The goal is to be able to quickly line up volunteers when a major project comes up and help is needed. Keep in mind that different people enjoy doing different things. Make note of what they’re willing to do and use them accordingly. There will be many different things to do and plenty of work to go around. 2: Identify Other Conservative Voters Now that a core group of activists has been identified, what should they do? Identify fellow conservatives. A good goal is to find enough conservative voters to equal 10% of the total number of registered voters in any given precinct. This is plain, old-fashioned voter identification. There are any number of ways to go about it, from using issues surveys, petitions, church directories, etc., and cross-referencing that information with voter registration lists. 3: Educate and Mobilize Identified Voters Once a list of identified conservatives has been put together, the next step is to educate them and get them involved. This can include distributing voter education materials to them on candidates or ballot issues, making sure that they actually vote on Election Day, or encouraging them to lobby the local school board, council or state legislature on some key issue. It’s also important to encourage them to get involved in their local Republican Party. The more solid conservatives we have in GOP grassroots and leadership positions, the better for the conservative movement as a whole. 4: Stay Informed Finally, a precinct captain’s job is to keep up to date on current and future projects, activities and opportunities for activism – and pass the information on to others. When you’ve got this kind of organization on a precinct by precinct basis, then you’ve got an infrastructure that can be activated and have an impact on the things you care about when it counts! (Find out more about precinct captains and local organization in general in my Grassroots Training Series!)
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Three reasons why conservatives should focus on grassroots politics
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Why should we as conservatives focus on the grassroots when it comes to politics? Because that’s where the opportunities are. Remember Willie Sutton’s response to why he robbed banks? “Because that’s where the money is”. It’s that same in politics. The grassroots is where the votes are. Ask almost anyone what they think of politics and the usual response is: “It’s a dirty business. I don’t want anything to do with it.” Yes, politics can be a dirty business, but it’s only as dirty as the people that are involved in it. It gets dirty when far too many good people don’t roll up their sleeves and spend the time and effort necessary to clean it up. Whether you’re washing your car, changing a diaper, or doing the dishes, you’re doing a job that must be done to keep things from getting too far gone. It’s maintenance. And it’s the same way with politics. Working a little bit at a time, maintaining a democratic political system is easy, but when we ignore it for long periods of time the dirty work of politics piles up. Then, when we can’t stand to look at the mess any longer, it takes a massive effort to clean it up. Voting, educating yourself and others about the legislative and political process, and getting personally involved in the affairs of your city, state, and nation is maintenance. And the best way to go about that “maintenance” is with good grassroots organization. Three reasons to focus on grassroots politics: 1) It Gets Better Results Given that so few people participate in the political process, those who do have a disproportionate influence on the country as a whole. Liberals have taken advantage of this fact for years. Politicians tend to pay attention to those who participate – especially those who are organized and can have an impact on future political campaigns. There’s an old saying, “politicians may be stupid, but they can count” . 2) It Leads to More Informed Conservative Voters Better organization keeps individuals informed on important issues and can better involve them in the political process. Given that people have so much competing for their time and attention in today’s world, an effective grassroots organization is better able to cut through the clutter and reach individuals with actionable political information. An effective grassroots organization provides an efficient and reliable vehicle to disseminate critical information to voters. And the more politically informed that people become, the more likely they are to go to the polls on Election Day. 3) It Builds More Conservative Political Experience For conservatives to continue to grow in influence and effectiveness, it is important that new people are continually educated, activated and brought into the system. (Think “farm team”) Just as major league baseball has its minor leagues and farm teams, local political organizations tend to be the proving grounds where those who rise up the ladder first got involved, gained experience and were noticed by those at higher levels. By getting conservatives involved in the political process, grassroots organizing serves as a training ground for higher levels of political involvement. So get out there and get involved! (More on how to be effective at grassroots politics in my Grassroots Training Series!)
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