Political Question?

[wmdubois]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how a single individual can help get the political candidate elected? I know of a candidate that is about to announce and although I have no way to contribute financially, I was hoping to get some suggestions on how to get his name out, or help at all. Any ideas?

[attgig]

they always look for people to help at their campaign offices

people to stuff envelopes, make calls, and become errend-boys/girls

doesn't sound like much...but it still helps..~!

[topane]

Dig up dirt on his opponent. :eek:

[Grimm]

You could join the opponent's campaign and a week before the election accuse them of molesting you. This works especialy well if you are of the same gender. Works even better if you have 2 or 3 others do it as well. And God help him if you are 17 or younger.

Of course this is merely conjecture and not actualy reccomended. It would be illegal.

[faither]

You could join the opponent's campaign and a week before the election accuse them of molesting you. This works especialy well if you are of the same gender.

Hey Grimm-

I like the way you think. With many of the egomaniacal, weirdo perverts that get into the politics business, many times you don't even have to sneak in an operative. :eek:

[Memo]

Yep some people are perverts. you can COUNT on this guy:

http://coke.rotten.com/alan-jones/alan-jones.jpg
borrowed from rotten.com (obviously)

[whitak24]

wmdubois:
for once, a question that I have some expertise in, as I was deeply involved in politics for about five years.
the big question is how large of a campaign it is (i.e., is this person running for mayor in a town of 2000 or is it someone running for U.S. Senate?)
if it's a small campaign, there is probably a lot you can do to help the person out. They will need:
- someone to go out and find prime locations for yard signs
- someone to help coordinate where they are going to go door to door
- someone to act as volunteer coordinator and round up people to help in parades, etc
- someone to help organize phone banks to call likely voters, especially when you are close to the election
- someone to help put together mailings
- people to host in-home events that are either fundraisers or meet and greet opportunities -- you could either be a host or help to find hosts and organize events
- someone to write letters to the editor and more importantly, find other people to write letters to the editor
- someone to design and maintain their webpage

now all of these things require different amounts of time, so you have to figure out how much time you want to devote to the campaign and pick an activity that you can effectively do in that amount of time. for example, instead of organizing participation in parades, you might want to just walk in one. just try not to overpromise your services. there is nothing worse than a volunteer who promises to do something and then never follows through.
if it's a large campaign, many of the things mentioned above may still be options, but you would probably end up taking a more focused role (for instance, organizing parades in your town for a Senate campaign). just try to figure out what you would like to do, what you are good at doing (i.e. if you aren't really fond of talking to strangers, volunteer to stuff a mailing rather than doing a phone bank), and talk to the campaign and determine how you can fit into their plan.
my last piece of advice: take initiative! many campaigns are rather disorganized (wait, let me correct myself: every campaign in the history of politics has been chaotic and disorganized. if it's calm and organized, it means they aren't really doing anything!). if you really want to help out, try to talk to people from the campaign enough to get a finger on what is happening. if you see a void that you think needs to be filled, offer to step in and fill it. if they don't have a webpage, say "i would like to create and maintain a webpage for you. would that be ok?" if they say yes, then take the project and run with it. don't do anything stupid, and make sure that your major moves are cleared by the candidate or their staff. but don't sit around and wait for them to direct every little move you make, because it probably won't happen. campaigns are so hectic, and so many things are going on at once, that the staff and/or the candidate just do not have time to micromanage everything that's going on. trust me, if you volunteer to do something for them, follow through on it, and do a good job, they will LOVE you.
good luck!

[wmdubois]

That's some good advice. This campaign is for Congress and the candidate I know would be the best one by far, so I just want to help. Thanks again.