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Conservatives Need 2012 Bottom Up Strategy
January 9, 2012
2012 WILL BE A HOUSE TO HOUSE FIGHT AGAINST STATISM
If you think that the progressive left is pinning its hopes for victory on Obama this fall – think again. In fact, they’re adopting the same approach conservatives started taking in 2009. National progressives, known for their outstanding ability to organize and mobilize, are stealing a page from the Tea Party and focusing on a more bottom-up strategy to promote their values rather than let Obama’s performance drive the train. Tea Party members and conservatives need to double-down now on the same approach, which has yielded countless electoral victories in the past three years for liberty-minded Americans. Imitation might be the sincerest form of flattery, but progressives sweeping in and erasing conservative gains at the local and state level is a complement Americans can do without.
Any effective attempt to embed a set of values into government must be a multi-tiered effort. Progressives are grumbling privately – and some publically – about the Obama Presidency. They’re not going to lie down and leave the future of their flawed, anti-American ideology to their once “great savior.” To the contrary, the left is renewing its efforts to impact state and local elections in 2012.
Mr. Ryun — You may want to look at a strategy I have devised to reverse bad government policy and push for reforms. This is low cost with quick returns. One starts at the local level.
I took the strategy to FreedomFest in Las Vegas July 2010 where I had a booth. Here is a summary as it appeared in the program:
“Play Politics to Win is a free market strategy that has one first working to make local governments more humane before working to make them smaller. This game plan lets activists reap victories that are either consistent with goals of free market advocates or actually shrink the governmental footprint. The short term successes are stepping stones to more fundamental issues that would push local jurisdictions down the path to smaller government. The key idea is to move quickly when a scandal breaks that puts a local unit of government in disgrace. These moments create openings for reformers to craft policy responses that take the moral high ground with which few would disagree and then build coalitions for change.”
This approach got a good reception November 2010 when I presented it at a Republican Liberty Caucus conference held in Austin, Texas. Here is a response from an attendee…
“Dear Mr. Klein, I deeply appreciate the work you are doing and the information you send me. Last week our grassroots citizens’ coalition here in Hays County, Texas lost an important battle and many are disheartened. Your strategies bring us new weapons and hope for future victories to protect our community.”
I can send six pages of information if you would like to see more on how this can work.
Barry Klein
Houston, TX
713-224-4144
(Pres./ Houston Property Rights Association)