The activist assessment. NH- the day after.
Friend Ed Naile of the Coalition of NH Taxpayers (CNHT) writes
Ouch!!!!!!!!!Having been at the Ward 3 Manchester polls from 6:30 Am to 7:00 pm I have no idea what was going on around the state other than very somber phone calls late last night. Here is your chance to email back what happened in your town..My take from "news" reports about the NH Congressional seats:It looks like the theory of placating RINO Republicans by bouncing all over the map on votes and positions did not endear Bass and Bradley to the conservative base they think has gone away forever. And it certainly was gone to them last night.Some of this is coat-tails of big out side money as much as any candidates..No one except activists on the far left have any idea who has been just elected to the DC House seats so the left will be giddy about that until Hodes and She-Pot take off the mantle of CHANGE and actually start doing what comes naturally to libs. Arneson, Swett, Fernald, and Shaheen not showing their faces helped the Libs as well..As I watched the ballot clerks stack the absentee ballots on the table we were working at in Manchester it was apparent that Questions One and Two would win in Manchester, of all places..Does anyone have any sense of WHO was showing up at their local polls last night? In Manch. there was a very large crowd of last minute same day registrants, young, few little kids. The older crowd came early. The Moderator estimated about 1,200 -1,300 would show up but about 1,500 did, many new. There were many 04 voters who were on the Manch. voter list who moved and no longer receive mail leaving over 20% of the list full of names needing to be purged. Just last November many of these same voters in Manch ousted Mayor Baines and would have voted in a tax cap if it had been on the ballot. So I would guess that taxes and Baines's arrogance are still issue. Chalk this election up constant Iraq and scandal news. Pounding the scandal and arrogance theme worked on Benson for the Dems. so how long can they ride that pony if they are now "in charge" of everything?.Last night's election could provide an opening for conservatives who have been pinned under the Republican Party's "Main Street" crowd since they sold out Bob Smith (who began leaning the same way himself). How many elections do Republicans have to see full page "Republicans for this or that liberal" advertisements to get the message?.Libertarians could have openings for seats in state offices with the demise of the Republican Party if they pick carefully..I always feared NH would slowly drift into some sort of Ma., Maine, Vermont type of state but last night's sweep by uber-libs leaves an opening for opponents..Ed Naile
Ed's right- this must be viewed as an opportunity to rekindle conservative philosophies and opportunity within what has become a moribund party with nothing but the retention of power as the goal.
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Some members of his network have checked in with their observations on the whole affair. I agree with this guy wholeheartedly:
(From Manchester)
I don't get the sense that our folks stayed home. Turnout was heavy. I watched tons of humorless angry robots go to the polls yesterday. I think the D's have been gathering voters with local groups, email and mailing lists, and organization. We were busy governing (special session, for example) and relied on some signs and last-minute LTEs..We need to come out of our shell and communicate with voters about the benefits of conservatism and liberty and the dangers of liberalism. We need to look for speaking opportunities before church groups, civic groups, sporting groups and particularly women's organizations. At one point yesterday I thought we were the party of the men and they were the women's party. That was until the evening when the overwhelming flood started.When we make contacts with voters we need to stay in touch with our own email lists and regular local meetings. We need to build our membership and not take them for granted.
We also need to do something to get the media back or at least back to the center. One possibility is Paul Ingbretson's "viewspaper", butI'm not sure that print is sufficient anymore. We need to dive into the online world of blogs, myspace, youtube, etc. as well.
Finally, Vaillancourt's point about coattails was painfully proven yesterday. We acted as though Coburn, Bass and Bradley were involved in their own campaigns and we had ours. We all know what is coming in 2008 and we need to figure out quickly who is our best shot to win the Presidency and to coalesce around that person. Until today there were certain candidates that I simply was not willing to work for (such as McCain-Feingold). That's no longer the case. Of course we want whoever will be best for our country, butwe also need to get a person who will be competitive.
1. Use technology to connect with modern people. 2. Don't take certain activists and conservatives for granted. 3. Find candidates that are sharp and articulate to generate a groundswell of support in a competetive environment. LET'S ROLL!
Comments
Posted by: Patrick Hynes | November 8, 2006 10:45 AM