Gun Owners As The Tip Of NRA’s Grassroots Arrow, Why Wait?
By Glen Caroline
Director of NRA-ILA Grassroots
USA –-(Ammoland.com)- You can’t open up a newspaper or turn on the TV these days without being reminded that this is an election year. Every vote our elected officials make, on every issue, has implications for some constituent somewhere.
Some of these votes may improve our lives, while others may make life more difficult. At the end of the day, however, those who don’t participate in the electoral process are inconsequential.
A lawmaker’s primary mission, especially in an election such as this, is…re-election. The only individuals who can re-hire or fire an elected official are his constituents who are registered to vote, and thus, eligible to cast their ballots on Election Day.
While Election Day 2010 – November 2 – may seem like a long way off, as the tip of NRA’s grassroots arrow, you need to ask yourself, “what am I waiting for?”
Though the elections are still months away, why should we wait until shortly before Election Day to begin engaging ourselves in the process? The answer, of course, is we shouldn’t. We should begin NOW. By beginning your grassroots election program NOW, you will be in much better position to ramp it up to the fullest extent when Election Day is imminent. Our goal should be to simply be able to flip a switch for our final activation, when our efforts will count most.
What should you start doing TODAY to ensure success on November 2?
Here are some suggestions:
REGISTER PRO-GUN VOTERS: Nothing is more important than ensuring our supporters are registered to vote. If voters who support the Second Amendment don’t register to vote, they don’t have a voice on Election Day. Start your voter registration drive NOW to ensure you don’t have to cajole folks to register as the deadline approaches, and so you can fully integrate them into your other volunteer activities.
RECRUIT MORE VOLUNTEERS: Many hands make light lifting, and nowhere does this axiom apply more than in campaign activities. The more volunteers you recruit early and with whom you keep in contact, the more boots on the ground you will have for precinct walks, phone banks, and other activities. You can never have too many volunteers!
HUNT WHERE THE DUCKS ARE: Whether registering pro-gun voters or recruiting pro-Second Amendment volunteers, focus your efforts on places where “our people” can be found. Our goal isn’t to empower the opposition, it is to engage our supporters. Gun shows, gun shops, gun & hunting clubs, ranges—what we call gun owners’ “natural resources”—are the places on which you should concentrate your primary efforts.
RAISE AWARENESS: Letters to the editor of local papers on issues of concern to the gun-owning community are a great way to inform and educate your fellow Second Amendment sympathizers to issues of mutual concern. Write a letter to the editor in support of an NRA issue. Encourage others to do so. And, keep an eye out for pro-gun letters that are published, and work to contact the authors to commend them and recruit them into your network!
HELP US HELP YOU: The Grassroots Division is set up for one reason—to help you become a more effective political activist and provide you the training and resources you need. Let us know how we can assist you, not just in the end stages of the game, but RIGHT NOW. Contact our offices at (800) 392-VOTE (8683) and ask to speak to your state’s Grassroots Coordinator. Visit https://www.nraila.org/ for information and materials to enhance your activities, including information on contacting your local Election Volunteer Coordinator.
The one factor in any campaign that is finite and equal is time. Every day in which we are not working to increase our volunteer ranks is a day lost that we will never get back. As the calendar turns and we get closer to Election Day, things only get more hectic. That is why RIGHT NOW is a great time to get your ducks in a row to ensure you can maximize your effectiveness in those crazy days and weeks leading up to Election Day.
Why would you wait?