Where we stand

I wanted to give you all an update as to where we currently stand with the grassroots campaign for Gov. Huckabee in New York. Because of the large number of states voting on Feb. 5th. and the cost and difficulty of campaigning in all of those states, we cannot expect to receive any help from the official campaign. I know of no plans to run TV or radio ads or direct mail by the campaign. That doesn't mean they won't do it. They aren't saying anything.

The idea of a video simulcast to venues throughout the state was brought up at one of the meetups. This is something that the campaign needs to do. It's tough to do a fundraiser without a candidate appearance. I am working on getting one of Mike's surrogates into New York before the primary, but that's not certain. Because the campaign does not have an official presence in New York, there cannot be direct control over the actions of the grassroots organization. They must keep a clear separation. Because of this, it makes it difficult to know what is being planned by the campaign. I spoke with Ed Rollins, Mike's campaign chairman, and he could only offer vague encouragement to do the best we can. He did want me to send his thanks to our groups as did Gov. Huckabee.

We are meeting with the Executive Director of the New York Rifle & Pistol Assoc. on Tuesday, Jan 15th to see what help they might be. This could be a huge help with their membership of over 250,000 and Mike's support of 2nd amendment rights. I have contacted Congressman Reynolds' and Kuhl's offices regarding endorsements and gotten nowhere. They are not willing to commit to someone before it becomes clear who the nominee will be. Both will face difficult races in the fall and may need the nominee's help. I have not contacted Rep. McHugh from Watertown.

We need to develop voter lists for phone calling. We will be able to tap into Hucksarmy volunteers from other parts of the country to make calls, but we need good lists. We can buy them, but they are $.025 per name. Anyone got experience with this? The list from the Board of Elections are relatively inexpensive, but not particularly accurate.

I have received our order of yard signs and have begun distributing them to the various meetup groups. Rochester will get an additional 200 signs. It's not nearly enough so if someone wants to contribute money towards more, let me know. They cost from $2.50 to $3.00 each in bulk. I'm looking into a cheaper alternative with the official campaign logo.

We need members to consider housing volunteers from other states during the week before the primary. I don't know if we'll get a lot, but we should be ready once I put out the call. There is also a pack that was put together by the campaign specifically for pastors. I am trying to get more of these from Little Rock. It contains a DVD and information geared to churches.

Other things to consider are campaign literature such as push cards. I brought some back with me from New Hampshire, but we'll need more. Again, they're expensive to print in 4 color and we are on our own with this. Any local ads will have to be paid for by individuals and identified as such so that we follow FEC rules. Sign waves can be an effective way to get people thinking about Mike. Use the yard signs and our banner to target high traffic intersections. Or make your own signs as well.

Because our resources are scarce, we need to be very creative with our tactics. I encourage everyone to post here regularly with ideas. We need your involvement to make this happen in Upstate for Gov. Huckabee. The other meetup groups in New York are also working hard to spread the message of why Mike is right for New York and our nation. What part are you willing to play?

Craig

Hi Craig,

I contributed 20.08 for Huck in 08.

I can make phone calls, put signs on our front yard,
bumper stickers on our car, and of course, we'll vote for Gov. Huckabee in the NY primary.

Meira (Marjorie)