Should we have spent less time on political Web sites and more time talking to voters?

Vanity | 11/6/08 | Vanity

[prolifefirst]

What you say is certainly true and valuable.

In my case, I went way beyond this.

[Windflier]

Given how many Obama fans were something straight out of Jonestown, I hardly think that logic or reason would have been accepted by any of them.

I found that out the hard way with my own family. No amount of factual documentation about this man, or practical reasoning on my part swayed them in the slightest. They've been in a quasi-religious euphoria about Obama that could not be penetrated.

[prolifefirst]

I spent the last five days of the campaign in Nevada working my ass off for Sarah and her cranky grandpa. I wish I had started a lot sooner. I'll never again waste time on FR or any other web site when there is work to be done to advance the cause.

Don't worry, you still have some ass left boss.

What specifically were you doing.

[mlocher]

In my case, I went way beyond this.

We all need to evaluate ourselves first when a goal is not acheived. This is how we learn and grow. You are to be congratulated for taking this step.

[caver]

You and your brother should be out in the barn picthforking manure out of the stalls.

[RoadKingSE]

we used FreeRepulic and Drudge as a spectator sport way too much.

And yet here you are.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

You have not grasped the level of contempt America has for the Bush dynasty. This was not an election about choosing the lesser of two evils. It was about repudiating Bush. The Bush doctrine is about cheap labor (immigration), insecurity (drop your pants at the airport and watch a raghead go ahead), corporate raiding of the treasury (War contractors and mischief with the markets).

[Velveeta]

You mean you didn’t talk to voters????
You didn’t make calls????
You didn’t volunteer to knock on doors????

[prolifefirst]

I meant I spent hundreds of hours on FreeRepublic, etc. as a spectator sport, when I could have easily reallocated those hours.

[Outland]

"Should we have spent less time on political Web sites and more time talking to voters?"

Yes and no. 

The "no" part:  We depend on political websites (especially sites like Free Republic) to gather news, express and share ideas and sample the general tone of our fellow conservatives.

The "yes" part:  We do need to do much more than type out our frustrations.  It's never productive to preach to the choir.

However, I am sure that many are much like myself that at least hold in-person discussions and send out email barrages to friends, co-workers and family of left, right and confused persuasions.  Hopefully, those on the left and those caught in the middle will learn something.  Those on the right will pass the messages onto others and so on and so on.

Between work and family, it's about all that I have the time and resources for, although I wish I could do much more.  But much to my pleasure, I did succeed in convincing many to vote for McCain instead of Obama.  I wonder what I could do with more time and resources?  I'm sure I'm not alone in that question and it's a question that needs to be asked by all of us.

We need to explore our resources, pool them and exploit them to their fullest potentials.  We can not simply rely on those few with the most resources and influence.  We all need to get organized and get busy.  Make better use of web sites and the Internet in general to communicate, network and organize.  The left has had a leg up over us in this area for years.

[Outland]

"What was I supposed to say? John McCain will screw you less than Obama?"

Sometimes an unspectacular truth is all it takes to convince someone.

I never over-sold McCain to those who I spoke with and wrote to.  I was plain about I didn't like McCain, but how much worse Obama would be.

99% of all political contests are little more than a choice between differing levels of evil and the political environment in which we all live seldom makes dramatic changes on a dime.  It's a process of steps where in each election, the goal is to elect that person which will "screw us less".  Unfortunately, we let this process slip in the wrong direction.

[Velveeta]

I understood your meaning.

I’m of the school that you work hard to get the job done, whatever the job.

And yes, I did volunteer again this year. The first campaign I ever volunteered for was Ronald Reagan and I’ve pounded the pavement for every election since.

[ccmay]

What specifically were you doing.

Knocking on doors, driving a van for other door knockers, and phone banking. Lowly foot-soldier stuff.

-ccm

[DonnerT]

Talk radio. The opiate of conservative masses.

Think about it. In order for the engine to move there must be a head of steam pressure. Tooting the whistle never moves the wheels.