How to win next time.

[Bill MacWithey]

Let's face it, folks. A huge part of winning an election is having more money that your opponent. During this past campaign, I constantly received letters from the RNC asking for more money in amounts ranging from $25 to $5,000. I contributed all I could but, again, lets face it, how many out there can cough up five grand, or even $500.? I have a far better plan that would raise a huge amount of money for all our campaigns on the national and/or state level. Why doesn't the RNC create a website where you could donate $5, $10, $20 every month? Most of us wouldn't miss a small amount each month and if enough people signed on for this monthly donation it could become a huge amount!

I've been involved in a number of campaigns and it is always the huge number of small donors that make the difference.

[Michael Brennan]

There were what 42 million people that voted for McCain? If everyone who voted for McCain gave $25 then he would have raised $1.05 Billion. That would have been more than Obama's $750 Million, a $300 million advantage for McCain but then again McCain did not do anything to really create a desire to spend on him.

[Bill MacWithey]

Hello Michael. I said over and over that McCain needed to be far more fiery when speaking. He seemed as though he wanted to be mister nice. You have to create a fire in the belly of supporters and prospective supporters to win them over. Every time I saw him speaking I wished so that I could be there making the speech for him. I know how to give the opposition hell and a hard time! If you ever get a chance to see Newt Gingrich speak, be sure to do so. He is a very effective speaker and isn't afraid to call a pig a pig! He also makes so much sense, with answers to correct the way this country is moving. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will have a great 2009.

[Michael Brennan]

I went to a Leadership conference at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, PA with Newt Gingrich as the primary speaker. I love that man's wisdom, honesty and fire. I was able to talk to him for a short while after the conference and that was what got the fire up in my belly to try and run for office myself instead of sitting on the sidelines yelling in instructions that were always ignored. We need more like Newt and less like McCain. And I know what you meant by listening to McCain and wishing I were the speaker.


Bill MacWithey said:

Hello Michael. I said over and over that McCain needed to be far more fiery when speaking. He seemed as though he wanted to be mister nice. You have to create a fire in the belly of supporters and prospective supporters to win them over. Every time I saw him speaking I wished so that I could be there making the speech for him. I know how to give the opposition hell and a hard time! If you ever get a chance to see Newt Gingrich speak, be sure to do so. He is a very effective speaker and isn't afraid to call a pig a pig! He also makes so much sense, with answers to correct the way this country is moving. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will have a great 2009.

[Larry Puckette]

Bill;

I agree about the lack of fire point.. I think this was McCain's missed opportunity to compete.


his response was a weak change of topic - to a pre-planned talking point that he must have believed was his 'firey' topic. Some version of his convention closing line "Stand up, Stand up! Stand up and fight! Stand up and fight!" would have been much more effective..

on the 'how to win next time' topic -- I haven't seen any discussion here about the internet social networking sites that were so effective for a couple of candidates. I've seen a few political analysts on TV showing how that strategy alone created a wide spread between McCain and Obama. According to them McCain didn't put any effort at all in that direction and Obama's staff was active on Facebook, Myspace, youtube, and others.

Bill MacWithey said:

Hello Michael. I said over and over that McCain needed to be far more fiery when speaking. He seemed as though he wanted to be mister nice. You have to create a fire in the belly of supporters and prospective supporters to win them over. Every time I saw him speaking I wished so that I could be there making the speech for him. I know how to give the opposition hell and a hard time! If you ever get a chance to see Newt Gingrich speak, be sure to do so. He is a very effective speaker and isn't afraid to call a pig a pig! He also makes so much sense, with answers to correct the way this country is moving. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will have a great 2009.

[1stRichard]

How to win?

The Republican Party did win the majority of the US despite spending much less. Here take a closer look at individual blue states like Nevada, Oregon, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida.

http://maps.google.com/help/maps/elections/#2008_election

However the Republican Party did not win the populace centers making a mostly red state turn blue. Less money actually won a “huge part” thus in my opinion making money a little less important.

There is an interesting thread on red state on the need for more technology, a wise investment

http://www.redstate.com/erick/2008/12/25/rebuilding-the-party-the-t...

Equally important is the message and the fight…..

Money is nice to have but spending it wisely is more important the having more of it…

[Robert Willington]

Hi Bill,

I like your idea and have toyed with a similar idea on fundraising.

[~James~]

I don't send my money to the RNC because of the way it's spent. I don't think they represent conservative issues very well now. Unfortunately the RNC and republicans are the only viable opposition party to the socialistic leaning democrats.

What to do, what to do?I don't know about you but I've got a check book ready to back a party that stops asking if they should go to the center to get more voters.

How to win? The democrats have the control now and there is not going to be a George W to whine about anymore. Let the democrats hang themselves. All there policies require money which is not there. Don't try the "reach across the aisle" approach that lost an election. Hold to your principles and wait.

If wining is truly all about who has the most money (which is highly debatable), then take the advice of a popular movie.

If we build it, they will come.

Build a strong party that represent conservative issues and the party members and there dollars will come along for the ride. To me it seems to be more about the idea's than the money.

[~James~]

Larry Puckette said:

Bill;

I agree about the lack of fire point.. I think this was McCain's missed opportunity to compete.


his response was a weak change of topic - to a pre-planned talking point that he must have believed was his 'firey' topic. Some version of his convention closing line "Stand up, Stand up! Stand up and fight! Stand up and fight!" would have been much more effective..

on the 'how to win next time' topic -- I haven't seen any discussion here about the internet social networking sites that were so effective for a couple of candidates. I've seen a few political analysts on TV showing how that strategy alone created a wide spread between McCain and Obama. According to them McCain didn't put any effort at all in that direction and Obama's staff was active on Facebook, Myspace, youtube, and others.

Bill MacWithey said:

Hello Michael. I said over and over that McCain needed to be far more fiery when speaking. He seemed as though he wanted to be mister nice. You have to create a fire in the belly of supporters and prospective supporters to win them over. Every time I saw him speaking I wished so that I could be there making the speech for him. I know how to give the opposition hell and a hard time! If you ever get a chance to see Newt Gingrich speak, be sure to do so. He is a very effective speaker and isn't afraid to call a pig a pig! He also makes so much sense, with answers to correct the way this country is moving. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas and will have a great 2009.

Thanks for the reminder on this. I was similarly disappointed when this came up. We really need a principled opposition to the comming administration.

[Bill MacWithey]

Thanks to all who have taken an interest in how to win next time. All your comments are correct to at least some degree. I truly believe the first thing we need to do is somehow show our support for Michael Steele to become Chairman of the RNC. And somehow, we need to get the RNC to listen to those of us who will do whatever it takes to come up with the right new ideas for our party to address. You damned right, we need to get back to absolute conservitism! We need to spell out that we are tired of trying to solve not only our problems, but all the problems around the globe. Yes, we need to help those who need a helping hand and appreciate the help, but help those who spit in our face when we need help? I wish everyone here would post their real ideas about what we need change and how to change them. I'd like to collect all your ideas into one document and post it everywhere possible and try to get it to folks like Michael Steele. Being a writer by trade, I believe I could put it together effectively. Please send me your gripes with not just the party, but the way our country is going and how we need to change that. I see various individuals on TV talk about what is wrong in different areas, but they do not present an overall picture of the things we need to change. Please send your gripes and ideas to me at [e-mail] By the way, if you would read Dick Morris's book, FLEECED, you would really be so damned mad you would be screaming at our politicians big time.

[Shawn Manfredo]

Bill MacWithey said:

The question is, how do we get the RNC to contact everyone and offer this solution.

I wouldn't donate one cent to the RNC the way things are currently. Show me some leadership, show me some direction, then come talk to me about fund raising.

[Terrence Abrams]

Have to agree. I donated $280.00 total to the Bush campaigns combined, was not a Bush fan, but saw Kerry as a far greater threat to the truth and our national well-being than Bush was.

I donated what was left of my spare change at the time, a total of $180.00 to the McCain campaign, and from the terrible mis-management of McCain's campaign and message, I am reluctant to donate to the RNC again, except on maybe a more personal, regional level.

Next time around, I'll have more $$$ to contribute, and want to see it spent WISELY.

And of course, to fellow donation parties to the RNC, We've all received a ton of calls and letters telling us we've been invited to the Presidential Committee on Small Business Development in Washington DC for only another $5K donation to the sitting Republican in office.

Any more mail from the various RNC parties that I get after donating, and all of our forests will be gone!

[Cowboy]

That is about the amount I scraped up lest year Terrence. I realize that it must be hard for the powers to be to decide on how the campaign donations should be spent. I know the ol adage that you cannot please all the people all the time. With that said, I got a lil hot under the collar when I see how much money is spent on clothes and robo calls. I am and have been a republican for many decades and it got me ticked off to see some of the money spent in a way that I felt was totoally unnecessary. A couple of those robo calls were a total waste of good money. It is obvious that that tactic backfires nowadays. Money would have been better spent for gas money for republicans to drive into neighbors and get out and talk face to face to the perspective folks.
I still donate each and every year and will continue to do so. Sometimes I wish that the GOP would stop wasting money on the "glitter" and spent it where it would do some good.
Sarah would have looked and done just fine in carhardts and work boots instead of the gucci fandango stuff they bought for her. Anyway that is my rant on that.