Posted on 02/21/2009 4:36:17 PM PST by montesquieu
***Calling all Mississippians!!! TEA PARTY to be held in downtown Jackson. Looking for organizers and participants.***
-- posted earlier today-- Things to keep in mind!!
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 Ive talked to many people out there who have never organized a protest, and so they dont 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 Ill work with you one on one to help make your protest a success.
1. Pick a location, date and time in your town. Id 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.
Email me if you have any questions or want some ideas for signs. bsteinhauser@freedomworks.org
Good luck!
It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in peoples minds. Samuel Adams
Exactly. 7000 block of Camp Bowie???? WTH???
“Exactly. 7000 block of Camp Bowie???? WTH???”
Got to give the ‘entrepreneur’ some credit for stirring up biz and all....but can we please keep our focus on the BIG PICTURE..at least for a bit?
I am not very computer savy..but someone needs to find out who this guy is that put this stuff on Craigslist..way out in the ‘boondocks’. It is a blessing that folks want to stand up and open their businesses to conservatives looking for a place to make our voices heard..don’t get me wrong.
But the 7000 block of Camp Bowie is not the place to have a ‘TEA PARTY’. We can have a beer party and a ‘howdown’ there...but what are your priorities? We need to ‘protest’ donwtown...perhaps in front of the Fort Worth Star Telegrams’s office...something...not way out in the 7000 block of Camp Bowie!!
Just sayin
I am now wondering about the folks organizing the Tea Party in my own neck of the woods! Its way off the beaten path...somehow they have a band all lined up..posting the gig on craigslist and Michelle Malkins webpage..yet..folks...in the 7000 block of Camp Bowie..no one is going to see us!!
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Visibility is SO important!! That makes no sense.
It makes perfect sense, for the first entrepreneur willing to host such an event....or....a Moveon.org asshat.
I am grateful that someone(Cowtown Bar n Grill) is willing to host us..that’s a good thing. My only concern is the lack of concern about ‘impact’. We should ‘protest’ downtown..in front of some congressional rubes office..and then make our way to the bar n grill to have a good time.
It makes perfect sense, for the first entrepreneur willing to host such an event....or....a Moveon.org asshat.
You mean the Michelle M. group hosting sponsor or whatever was Moveon.org?
How? Sorry if this is stupid question.
NONONO...I am wondering who this person is that has Michelle’s trust. That’s all. I am sure it is a well meaning person..a patriot...but the 7000 block of Camp Bowie is NOT the place to ‘take a stand’...lol
We need to be downtown...in front of a TV station...THEN we can go to listen to music and have fun.
jmho is all.
NONONO...I am wondering who this person is that has Michelles trust. Thats all. I am sure it is a well meaning person..a patriot...but the 7000 block of Camp Bowie is NOT the place to take a stand...lol
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Whew!!!! I was like what now?! :p
lol..what now? you guys in Mississippi kick ass! Not sure what is going to happen in DFW. It is NOT going to have any impact unless we go downtown.
Not sure what is going to happen in DFW. It is NOT going to have any impact unless we go downtown.
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Well, we aren’t getting a lot of response. I was worried about that. Something in the water around here. Mississippians can be slow to respond.
I’ve e-mailed GOP and some other groups. We’ll see.
What time are y'all going to be at the Shed?
What time are y’all going to be at the Shed?
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What is the Shed? Sorry if silly question.
It's a Barbeque place just north of I-10 on Hwy 57. I hear they have GREAT food! My sister lives in OS, and told me about it. We plan to move back to MS in the next year or so.
Where to SuzyQ?
SOME ADVICE ON FUTURE TEA PARTY PROTESTS, from a media producer who attended the Overland Park affair:
I attended the invigorating protest outside Congressman Dennis Moores Overland Park, Kansas office yesterday.
I hoped 10-15 souls might show up. I was thrilled to see hundreds. Here are some suggestions. I dont really want my name used. Sadly, it could really hurt my business, which is already hurting.
As a professional media producer, here are my concerns:
1. Incoherent message - the signs were all over the place. There were lots of agendas. Thats fine. The color and signage look good on TV.
But, when it came to the microphone - the overall message was tepid and unsure.
2. Create a theme - like We want Senator So-and-So to resign for voting for this bill. Or, We want the Stimulus Repealed! Start Over. Have a definitive purpose to your Assembly. A central theme will also help public speakers to focus. And dont be afraid to personalize this. Put it on your Senators, Congress people, and the President. Thats what they are doing to anyone who objects.
3. Speakers not prepared for the media - the organizer was asked to name some specific objectionable items in the stimulus. She couldnt do it. I doubt many of us could.
If you are an organizer, or the face of the event - take an hour to prepare. You dont need to know everything about the stimulus. Just find 2 or 3 things - hard facts - you can point to and credibly say - these are wrong, wasteful spending items. Or, these items grow government, not the economy. It is critical.
4. Pass out talking points, just in case Joe or Jane Protestor gets buttonholed by a reporter.
5. This is all about image. If we dont present the media with a professional, organized and, unfortunately, scripted image, they are going to make their own, and it wont be favorable.
6. Recruit some help to pack the area around people being interviewed for background. God love the guy in the crazy Uncle Sam suit, and we certainly need the Minute Men, but these folks will quickly become THE story because they are colorful or controversial i.e., Good TV. Welcome their support. Maybe give them a minute on the mic. But I recommend trying to pack in mainstream, boring looking, and diverse Americans around the camera. No offense to anyone. Anytime a TV camera comes out, a certain number and type of attention seeker will flock to it. Now is the time for Grandma and Grandpa, the Plumber, the Young Executive, and the Homeschooling Mom to flock to the camera as background. Dont be shy. Remember, how do you want your cause to be presented by the media? As crazies? Or as Concerned Neighbors?
7. Have an Agenda and a Time. Were going to Assemble at this Time. Were going to have a Sign-In Table. Were going to have a Sign-Making Area. Were going to have speakers at 10:30. Were going to March to the Senators Office at this time and demand she resign. Were going to end with Chants, and a Call-to-Action for the next Protest. That, and Protestors want to know whats going on. If they become unsure, they leave. Organization wins, and it also intimidates the opposition. And the opposition is going to start showing up.
8. Share the Days Agenda with the Media. You have to create your own press. The event in Overland Park was HUGE, but only one news station came out to cover it, and theres not even a photo in todays Sunday paper. Sell it to them. They love good stories.
Thats it. I hope this helpful. These things are only going to get bigger, and people need to realize that a great responsibility comes with this wonderful opportunity. Get a Message. And Get It Out.
SOME ADVICE ON FUTURE TEA PARTY PROTESTS, from a media producer who attended the Overland Park affair...
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Awesome advice!! I remember all that. Trying to see what kind of response I get on the whole. Should be able to post time/ place tomorrow.
It’s a Barbeque place just north of I-10 on Hwy 57.
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That would be so cool if we could get someone to bring in some BBQ.
Well, come on back!! I’m in Oxford. I’m going to drive down if I can get it all together. :P
Those are some excellent ‘advice’ points. Going to post them on the Texas Tea Party thread. Thanks!
Ok, guys, getting our permit and looks like it will not be a problem. We will meet at the Capital bldg near steps around 11:00 - 12:00, rally will be from 12:00 - 2:00 pm on Friday the 27th.
TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS!!! I WILL POST A SCHEDULE SHORTLY. I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP ME GET THE WORD OUT!!! SOMEONE TO MAKE PHONE CALLS TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.
Thanks!!!
Anyone on the Coast wanting to attend, I have room for three passengers. Contact me!!!
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