Posted on 03/04/2009 5:52:30 AM PST by Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus
How to Organize Your Own “Tea Party” Protest The internet is abuzz with chatter about organizing protests around the country to put an end to this madness on Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. But I’ve talked to many people out there who have never organized a protest, and so they don’t have a clue where to begin. Here are 10 simple steps that you can follow to organize a protest in your own community. If you want more help, just send me an email at bsteinhauser @freedomworks.org and I’ll work with you one on one to help make your protest a success.
1. Pick a location, date and time in your town. I’d suggest main street at an intersection with lots of traffic.
2. Tell your friends, family, co-workers and everyone else you know about the protest. Build an rsvp email list so that you can provide quick updates if something changes. You should also create a facebook group so that the group can communicate with one another.
3. Make 5-10 signs with legible slogans that send a clear message to the public and the media. Write in BIG LETTERS.
4. Call your local talk radio hosts and ask them to announce the location, date and time on the air for a few days leading up to the protest. Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper announcing the protest. Email the bloggers in your area and ask them to post a notice about the protest.
5. Write a press release and email, mail and fax copies to the local tv stations, radio stations and newspapers. Call the reporters that cover local events or politics and leave messages on their voice mail.
6. On the day of your protest, show up with your group, be loud, visible, happy and engage the public. Wave your signs, make lots of noise and move around to get attention. If reporters interview you, give them some good sound bytes for their stories. Stay on message and keep your answers short and coherent.
7. Bring sign-in sheets to capture the names, emails and phone numbers of everyone who attends the protest and/or says that they support what you are doing. You will then have a big list of people that can plan the next, much bigger and louder, event. Also bring handouts with one page of quick facts about why you are protesting in the first place.
8. Add your pictures, video and an after-action report to your facebook group, and send this stuff to the bloggers and reporters that you originally contacted. Ask them to post the photos, story and video.
9. Thank everyone who attended via email and phone, and set up a meeting to plan your next event. Now you have a list of people in your community that can help make the next protest huge. Encourage everyone to commit to bring at least one friend to the next protest.
10. Organize a carpool and go find a friend in your neighboring town or county and help them organize a protest there. You and your people are now veterans and should be able to keep the momentum going around your area.
I don’t know if it is just a normal misspelling or not, but the headline word OrganiSe is spelled like the British spelling. I wonder if this is a Brit giving us advice on tea parties. That would be ironic.
No, it’s me, born and raised in Missouri, and now living in North Carolina. I got into the habit of spelling like a Brit (or a Southron, depending on who you listen to) 15 years ago, and couldn’t break the habit now even if I wanted to.
Mailing my tea bags today.
BTW got this message when trying to post:
Before you may post this message, the following must be corrected: Could not find anybody named 'Lady of Shallot'
Did I spell it wrong?
Hey 44 mag—i dont’ think you spelled it wrong—she hasn’t posted in who knows how long...i’ll get a hold of her and ask her what the deal is and let you know-—way to go on sending the tea bags!! :)
Hey Rick! Holly’s handle is “LadyofShalott”—nice of her to let me know the FIRST time, huh? :)
ping
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