CR-Nation: Behind the Scenes, Ahead of the Curve

Crnc Website

2005-10-07T23:40:00.000-04:00

Congrats to the CRNC on their new website, it's looking good.

If you are interested in having the same website as the CRNC, the template is available for sale here for $54

I have been thinking of Law School, How does this sound? Hehe

2005-09-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Dear Dr. Wohlpart:

I spoke to you yesterday regarding the visit of Julia Butterfly Hill to speak on this campus on Nov. 2nd. One of my questions was the amount being spent on Miss. Hill, which you stated you were not obligated to disclose.

While I am not a lawyer, it does appear that any agreement between Miss Hill, Circle of Life Foundation, or People Productions is subject to the definition of ‘public record’ under the Florida Sunshine Law.

Section 119.011(11), F.S., defines "public records" to include:
all documents, papers, letters, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of the physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received pursuant to law or ordinance or in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.

Section 119.011(2), F.S., defines "agency" to include: any state, county, district, authority, or municipal officer, department, division, board, bureau, commission, or other separate unit of government created or established by law including, for the purposes of this chapter, the Commission on Ethics, the Public Service Commission, and the Office of Public Counsel, and any other public or private agency, person, partnership, corporation, or business entity acting on behalf of any public agency.

Access to these records is protected under the Constitution of Florida.

Article I, s. 24, Fla. Const., establishes a constitutional right of access to any public record made or received in connection with the official business of any public body,officer, or employee of the state, or persons acting on their behalf

I therefore, am requesting the amount being spent on Miss Hill’s appearance and a copy of any contracts that exist between Florida Gulf Coast University and Miss Hill, Circle of Life Foundation, or People Productions.

Thank You,
Michael ZagorskyPresident, College Republicans Of FGCU

Grad School

2005-09-27T14:41:00.000-04:00

Looks like I'll be a CR for a little longer...Got accepted to Grad School at UF.

The CRNC today

2005-09-25T22:59:00.000-04:00

No one so far has managed to see what the New Republic article seems to be screaming out loud. To make a take off of a classic: It’s the Culture Stupid.

The idea makes a lot of sense, from the eyes of the GOP leadership—the CRNC is a training ground for the future take-no-prisoner strategists of the future. So long as the organization does not make too many waves in the press, they are fine with the internal blood bath—knowing that only the strong will survive. This has been fine for the last few decades and has achieved it goal. There are two problems:

First, the CRNC is all grown up—we are a multi million dollar 527, we engage in big dollar politics. This means that maybe, just maybe, we need to start to care about the working of the origination and more importantly, the competency of the leadership to engage in the often boring job of managing such a organization. Instead, we promote those who are most effective at talents that in no way speak to these abilities. Add to this the fact the few, if any, on that national board really understand the workings of the CRNC, let alone give a dame about it.

Second, and more importantly, this organization has a history of producing people with highly questionable ethics. I believe that a true Republican has an interest in the quality of our party and not simply in a belief victory. I want everyone to play back President Bush’s quote in 2000 “We will restore honor and dignity” and think of the CRNC, are we really supporting our president not in actions as well as words?

The point is simple, the CRNC has grown up—some in it have not. This is a period of introspection about the culture of backstabbing and winning at any cost; and if maybe if this is hurting us in the long run.

We have just went though a period were our fellow CRs have engaged in actions that often get people thrown in fucking prison.

Did Paul personally sign off on the fraud? In all odds no, but that does not matter. You see we are all asking the wrong questions, you are asking who did it, how did they do it. You are not asking WHY they did it. Why did these states forge documents? Why did no one ever tried to stop it? Why did people turn a blind eye? What was the motivation that led them do make sure obviously immoral actions? The reason is culture: the culture of fear that is the CRNC, the culture that has more to do with Tony Soprano than Ronald Regan.

I can not judge the long term political future of those who forged these documents, however, but given their current trajectory, we can feel quite sure were they will end up come judgment day.

We can not be a party of character without character. We can not be a party of integrity while covering our asses at the same time. We can not be a party of morality while turning a blind eye to God’s law.

When Reagan created the 11th commandment, he based it on the assumption that we would follow the first ten. Sadly, the CRNC is has proven this to be wrong.

Is there hope? Yes, but it is fading ever so quickly. There is a real possibility that the finances of the CRNC are broken beyond repair. I see bankruptcy as a possibility. Our name is damaged with donors, many are afraid to call themselves CRs when meeting with GOP officials. A new organization is something that might be required for legal reasons, but is unlikely. I see more likely an official organization of state that will operate as a tight confederation. Can the CRNC be repaired? It depends on the answers to questions that go unanswered by the current administration.

Is the CRNC worth saving after all? It is something we should take pride and reverence in? Surely, as a Christian I can’t say I do right now.

Best of luck to a CR Blogger!

2005-09-06T17:56:00.000-04:00

Mark Harris is making his move:
http://www.markharris2006.com

Best of luck to him, If I'm ever in VA I'll be sure to stop by and help out.

Fresh Patriot

2005-08-28T23:41:00.000-04:00

Welcome back Cal Patriot

http://www.calpatriot.org/issues/cp0905.pdf

For those that read WSJ for more than the Op-Ed

2005-08-25T19:55:00.000-04:00

Today I read a really great article in the Wall Street Journal. This Article basically talks about how a company created mini democracy within the organization, broken up by specific area.

Could this be a model for the CRNC? With specific functional areas each run internally....

7 Field Reps, No passing the Buck on this!

2005-08-22T22:55:00.000-04:00

It seems that the field program will be cut from the anticipated 12 to only 7 field reps. This represents a shortfall of $55,000. There are two other issues. First, I have talked to some people that indicated that the CRNC may soon have problems paying its rent, and that if the field rep wants to put forward a real effort in ’06, we need to have to start banking money (about $300,000 in cash by May if we want to repeat our efforts in ’04).

The bottom line is simple, this is not a minor thing—and action (including pay cuts for CRNC staff) should be considered to help get this organization where it needs to be. This however can only happen with honest communication on both sides—something nether side seems willing to stomach. Its time for the Pro-Davidson people to stop being so blood thirsty—CRNC be dammed, and its time for the CRNC administration to stop covering their asses.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2005-08-22T22:02:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I have been very busy.

Just updating about a nice basic mass mailer I found:

http://www.sprika.com/litemail.htm

Its a great mass e-mailer for those chapters lacking a listserv or want to email specific lists.

Update

2005-08-10T23:02:00.000-04:00

Just a few things

1. Sorry, but posts will be fewer in the next few weeks, I'm busy studying for the G-mat, getting things for my chapter in order, and packing for my last semester. The next item I'm working on is how to make our field program better.

2. Podcast Update: I have started to make progress with starting a podcast. I have a way to record phone interviews and have a decent mic. I tried Skype out (which I really like btw, you all should try it out); However, there seems to be a background hiss and changing volume with the calls make me think it would not be so good for the podcast. Expect the first test edition in the coming weeks. (BTW If you want to be on my first podcast or have ideas let me know)

3. I highly recommend you all try out a web based email list program called PHPList (for you tech MySQL/PHP people only) It really is an amazing listserv package and perfect for a CR Chapter.

4. I have started to put together the data concerning the CRNC expenditures for the first half of 2005, and should have the info and excel posted in a few days. The donor data will be out in a week or two. Can anyone explain to me this whole "RDI Debt" thing I hear about?

Latest IRS filing!

2005-08-06T22:01:00.000-04:00

I just got my hands on the Mid-Year 8872 filing for the CRNC. I am still waiting on the IRS to update its raw file so I can plug the numbers into a database and analysis them. These are all new numbers and cover the first half of this year (the current data on the Open Fin website is for 2003-2004). I will update the CRNC Open fin website as soon as I can get the raw data and crunch the numbers.

Here are some highlights:
Total Donations: $1,124,884
Total Expenditures: $2,097,807
We refunded $20,809 to donors.
We made a $40,000 donation to the Republican State leadership committee. (5/17/05)
We still appear to of had a relationship with RDI as late as May of this year.
We made $30,635 Debt payments to Credit Card companies and banks.
We appear to of used a credit card to pay for some direct mail.

The full report is here http://forms.irs.gov/politicalOrgsSearch/search/Print.action?formId=17426&formType=E72

Podcasting Baby!

2005-08-06T00:17:00.000-04:00

After reading the comments it seems like there is a real interest in a CR-Podcast. So lets start it!
I have started to look into how to produce one (recording a phone interview, microphones, blah, blah,…) Right now I am quite busy studying for the GMAT and getting ready to move back to school, but hopefully we could get something together by the end of the month/September.

So lets ask the question: What would you like to have in a CR Podcast show? Interviews. News, etc. How often/long should it be? Should one person host it or several? All that good stuff. Ideas wanted!

In the meantime, I will leave you with three radio shows I did at a local NPR station during the election. Be warned: bias ahead.

First Show
Second Show
Third Show

Question of the day:

2005-08-04T00:13:00.000-04:00

Given the success of conservative publication on college campuses, is the next logical step setting up a collegiate conservative TV network?

I had a very important realization last night

2005-08-03T12:52:00.000-04:00

All over college campuses in the next weeks, membership tables will go up, maybe some canvases will start, meetings will convene. We will be working to recuit members from the class of ‘09

The class of ’09…

Then it hit me, in the next few weeks we will be being into CRs those individuals who will be in the leadership of this organization for 2008. They will be the class that will be taking on Hillary. And you thought off years don't matter.

Food for thought….

A Modest Proposal

2005-08-02T22:33:00.000-04:00

There really is no question that the field rep program is the centerpiece of the CRNC. In the last cycle the CRNC spent about $534,625 on the program (I will make it an even $700,000 to factor in overhead, etc)

However, this still represents a small fraction of the total amount spent by the CRNC.

With the talk of the cuts for the fall field rep program from 6 to 12 (in other words, a shortfall of $66,000 based on Gourley’s proposed budget.) If we are talking about being $66,000 short, here are some CRNC numbers for thought:

Price for one field rep: $11,000 for 10 weeks.
Rent for Washington office: Approx $5,000/month
Salary for Paul Gourley: Approx $42,000/yr
Telephone: $1,750/mo
Convention costs: In excess of $200,000

In all only about 14% of the money donated to the CRNC actually finds its way into CRNC operations. And only a fifth of that goes to the field rep program, in fact, the CRNC spends almost twice as much on overhead than it does on the field rep program. The sad fact is right now if you are a donor to the CRNC only 3 cents of each dollar you donate finds it way to the field program, this is simply something that needs to be improved.

There is no excuse for the amount of money the CRNC spends on excess, there simply is so much fat that could be trimmed. Phone contracts could be revaluated (maybe Vontage, give up those Blackberries, etc) Surely, the CRNC does not need to be located right in DC, you could save tens of thousands by moving to an executive park an hour outside of DC. In addition, you don’t need to have national board meetings in fancy locations. If winning is job one, we should be willing to have national board meetings in a Days Inn along I-95. I feel that national board meetings should be held on campuses across the nation to a show a connection between the CRNC at individual chapters….

Finally, if worse comes to worse and the fall field rep program must be cut, I recommended that Paul Gourley takes the symbolic gesture of a cutting his salary in half, which would allow for two addition field reps. By Paul taking the cut, it will show the entire CRNC’s commitment to the field program

Field Reps

2005-07-31T16:48:00.001-04:00

Questions for everyone:

1. What do you feel the best/worst parts of the field rep program are?

2. How do you think the field rep program can be operated for cheaper per rep?

3. What do you think the field reps program overall goal should be? During elections? During off periods?

Stuff for my Chapter

2005-07-29T23:46:00.000-04:00

Just got the proofs back from the printer for my chapter's new stuff. I really like the two banners and t-shirt designs. I remember a field rep commenting that the CRNC banner they take around with them cost $900, we got 2 banners and 50 t-shirt for a few hundret less than that.

Mock Elections: Are we faking ourselves with fake elections?

2005-07-29T23:11:00.000-04:00

Mock elections, they are a center piece of the CRNC’s Field program, and without question a love of the current administration.

But do they really matter that much, or are worth the level of effort that field reps put into them?

I can see the two motives, the first is earned media, and the second is building character of the individual chapters.

I do not disagree with the second point, but the first has me wondering. Do mock elections really represent an effective strategy to get earned media? With this question, I fired up Lexis-Nexis, and the answer so far seems really clear: Mock elections are a failure at generating earned media. Period.

All stories relating to mock elections focus on K-12.

What stories appeared? Registration without question took the lead, along with general ‘youth voter’ puff pieces.

If you search College Republicans be warned, its not for the faint of heart. The news is almost all scandal related since the fundraising scandal has broke. Before that stories that showed up a lot include the Ward Churchill deal, assorted protests, and more youth voter stories.

One of the biggest problems that I see with youth voter news coverage is that Rock The Vote has become the defacto standard for reporters to consult. I could elaborate about Rock the Vote, but lets be honest we all know the drill.

The point is that we need to refocus our game plan to move away from such programs, and towards those activates that generate more news coverage/effective student involvement.

Now, please note I am only talking about using mock elections in the broader context of a state or national strategy. With regard to an individual campuses they can be a great thing, but lets stop treating mock elections as some sort of panacea.

P.S. If you did witness a mock election generate news coverage, please let me know (and maybe attach the story) crncopenfin@yahoo.com

He was always against the space program...

2005-07-29T00:14:00.000-04:00

Wanted: CRNC Financial Documents

2005-07-28T23:45:00.000-04:00

I am currently seeking CRNC finnacial documents, including any tresurer's reports or documents related to agreements with fundraising companies.

If you have any information, e-mail me at crncopenfin@yahoo.com

New 990 Up

2005-07-26T19:46:00.000-04:00

My The Open CRNC Finances Project Website has been updated. I finally managed to fine the latest CRNC 990 Filing (Basically like the tax return for a not-for-profit). The reason that it was hard to find was that it was listed under the name "Coll Republican National Committee" I'm guessing it's a typo.

20 Ideas for CRNC Programs

2005-07-26T19:41:00.000-04:00

1. Diversify the field rep program: Right now the all field reps work for 11 weeks. I feel that it would be far better if the program was staggered, with some working for 16 week, 11 week, 8 weeks, 4 weeks, etc. That way during the last month of the election we have a ton of field reps out there to recruit students for the GOPs GOTV efforts.

2. CRNC rapid reaction force. A few people should be on staff that are experienced with dealing the big events/controversies. That way when we have a situation like Ward Churchill we can have a few full time CRs out there who can help the local chapter and build earned media.

3. President visit assistance: For those chapters that have had the privilege of a Presidential or VP visit, you know that you are often too busy with ticketing/getting volunteers to fully capitalize on the event after the fact. It would be great if the CRNC were able to assist more with events like this.

4. Video News Releases/Satellite tours: Given the size of the CRNC, we can make more use of VNRs and possibly doing satellite tours of CRNC representatives to local stations concerning youth voting, etc.

5. Youth Voter Database: Develop a ‘Voter Vault’ style approach specifically targeting college students. That way we can target our canvassing and voter registration programs more effectively. In addition, it would be great to link such a system to the schools student roster, so we can find likely republican voters who will need to vote absentee—and target them specifically.

6. Provide more physical resources: The National organization could invest in large format banner printers and t-shirt screening equipment, or sign a bulk contact with a printer—and provide banners and t-shirts to chapters at bulk prices as opposed to the high prices most pay for a small batch.

7. Training Field Reps: Instead of having field reps assigned to a geographic area, have a few that are nation wide and specialize in a specific skill. For example, have a field rep travel the country training chapters on video production or another specific skill. While LI training is very important, it simply does not reach enough people.

8. A greater effort on strategic planning: The next convention should have an entire day dedicated to brain storming new ideas in specific areas—with any CR allowed to present their ideas.

9. Mini-Reggie. Have a CRNC RV with a few CRs travel the county and register voters/recruit members/get media for chapters. This is a long term goal given the costs.

10. Smart canvas: Instead of simply using a canvas to get members, lets do it to build a real statistical view of the student body. Also ask Dems why they vote that way so we can identify the issues we need to push to get some switchovers.

11. Shared intelligence: It is my opinion that Liberals are less organized than us, but can disseminate information quicker. We need to work on finding way to study what work and what does not—and share this information in a timely manner, not have it have to follow the chain of command up.

12. Focus more on off years: More effort should be spend on helping chapters deal with off years, there is simply not enough help during this time.

13. Measure all programs: If you can’t measure it, don’t do it! Lets figure out if mock elections are worth it, lets find out the best way to register someone to vote—we have limited resources, lets put them where they do the most.

14. IT: I have done a lot of work with regard to IT, but that’s a another post.

15. Media Buys: While expensive, the publicity might make them pay for themselves—we do need to build our name recognition.

16. Paid interns for state chairs: Just a thought

17. Bussing! Lets work more to bus CRs to where they are needed!

18. SGA Elections, lets work to make a greater effort to get chapters involved in taking over their Student Governments.

19. Small school programs: I hate to say it, but the culture around the CRNC is mostly built around chapters operating on large college town schools. As we work to expand, we will increasing be setting up chapters on smaller and smaller schools and community colleges. These are schools with higher commuter populations and very different needs as compared to a chapter at a huge school.

20. Longer term focus: We need to start offering chapter chair training that is beyond just flash in the pan stuff, but on how to build a long term lasting chapter.

Just some CR brainstorming...

CRNC IT Vision

2005-07-26T19:01:00.000-04:00

This is my IT vision that I wrote about 4 months ago and provided to both Davidson and Gourley. Since then I have had some new ideas and changed my thoughts about some things, but most of the general ideas have stayed the same.

Goplabs
Behind the Scenes, Ahead of the Curve:

Overview: The 2004 election has showed the value of the Internet in politics. However, taking this technology to grass root organizations has been a challenge. This is especially true of the College Republican Chapters. The differences between CR chapters in web implementation is tremendous—the same is true at the state level in many cases as well.

Currently, each chapter is in many ways left to itself to design and host websites. Both of these lead to a tremendous waste of resources. First, having each chapter design internet technology on its own leads to chapters constantly reinventing the wheel. Second, not combining websites onto one server or account leads to a tremendous waste of money because each chapter often is required to pay for hosting. Hosting costs can be brought down significantly by combining multiple sites onto one host.

The reality is that Democratic and ‘progressive’ groups are starting to look at the Internet as key to their future. It is, therefore, key that at the least, CRNC has a comparable web presence, and at best, defines the essence of this new technology. If we continue to look at the Internet as nothing more than a novelty, and not capitalize on the vast opportunities that it presents—and that many have already exploited, it will be a strategic mistake that will have significant ramifications.

The purpose here is to look at GopLabs vision for the possibilities of using Information Technology within College Republicans.

Context: When many people thing of IT or websites they think of static sites that often serve the role of a bonafide brochure. This is unfortunate, because it is what happens behind the scenes with Information Technology that possess the greatest opportunity.

The real opportunity that IT allows for is twofold: first gain new members into CR chapters by presenting our message, allowing people who traditionally could not be involved due to scheduling to become active, and energizing your members. The second and often overlooked aspect is the ability to get more people ‘in the loop’ faster. With online databases and groupware systems, different chapters will be able to pool resources more effectively and learn from each other more than ever before. This not only applies to the traditional advice on operations, recruitment, etc—but also on content, like fliers, writings, designs, pictures, etc. Suddenly, the small chapter that is based in a college with 2000 students will be able to present itself to the students with the same quality as if it were a CR chapter with 2000 members. The added benefits are also the reduction in time needed to manage activities—getting volunteers to sign up, updating membership lists, and planning projects all become easier.

The GopLabs Vision: The key to the vision of the future of CR chapters and the CRNC is to realize that it is local chapters that interact with students and therefore any program should emanate from chapters up to the State and National origination and not the other way around.

The vision is based around 3 aspects:

From the basis of a Local Chapter

1) The Website:
Ø A standard design that local chapters customize to meet needs
Ø Hosted by State or CRNC, costs minimal if any
Ø Complete with calendar, photo gallery, message board, blogs, etc.
Ø Allows members to join online and manage membership
Ø Possible add-ons include RSVP and Web-based phone bank
Ø Online donation
2) Online Membership Database
Ø Online Database—possibly using Microsoft Access
Ø Allows a single storage point to all member data
Ø Updated in real time and accessible by all club officers
Ø Linked to website data; Members can update info on website
Ø Added member information allows for coalitions and member interest sections and sorting—find the members that would be interested in specific programs and target them
Ø Mass and Targeted Emailer

From State Federation
1) The Website
Ø Provide syndicated content to every chapter website in the state automatically.
Ø Information of the Chapter
Ø Online Donation
Ø Links to each chapter
2) Groupware
Ø Groupware software links all state officials and chapter leadership
Ø Secure system, only open to authorized members
Ø Discussion, note posting, Email, and file Sharing
Ø Share information on new ideas, etc
Ø Conduct meetings online
Ø Shared calendars to identify common free time
3) Online Membership Database
Ø Access membership information on every chapter in real time
Ø Provides metrics on chapter performance, target resources where needed
Ø Build Statewide coalitions
Ø Identify trends quickly
Ø State wide mass and targeted emails

From College Republican National Committee

1) The Website
Ø Emphasis on fundraising and online donations
Ø General GOP info and links to each school’s website
Ø Recognizing ‘best of the best’ members/chapters/etc.
Ø Creation of high quality media
2) Groupware
Ø Secure
Ø Quickly disseminate ‘best practices’
Ø Share created content (fliers, videos, websites, etc)
Ø Online meetings

The Process: The good news is that many of these functions are already available open-source already. Open-source Groupware and commercial packages are both plentiful. The current goal of GopLabs is to modifying existing website software (PHP-Nuke Platinum) to serve as the basis for College Republican chapter websites. Currently the targeted rollout is to CR chapters in Florida. With national implantation changing to a custom build website system may be required, depending on performance. Member management aspects are currently planned with a customized Microsoft Access system; however, an actual program possibly is an option in the future.

The current goal of GopLabs is to deploy a basic implementation of its chapter aspects, along with groupware for the state level within Florida by the beginning of the Fall 2005 semester. By focusing on a single state, we allow ourselves the ability to be more flexible and try new ideas faster. Also, Goplabs is based in Florida.

Clearly, to move forward we will need to recruit talent into the program to foster new ideas and develop them faster.

Other IT ideas:

While the Focus of GopLabs is on designing the online projects above, there are also other possible projects. Many of these focus on GOTV as opposed to volunteer recruitment. While recruiting volunteers is the key focus on CRNC, it is wise to have multi-pronged approaches that include registering new voters, encouraging absentee voters, and democratic switchovers. A key part of this is gaining access to student lists from Registrars’ offices that would allow us to cross-check them with voter lists (Voter Vault or Victory Suite) and develop targeted lists for contact. A key part of these would be identifying those who do not live near the College and would need to vote absentee.

Databases could be established to track those who have requested absentee ballots and make sure they are sent in or collected.

In the area of voter registration, keeping good records would be key to increasing the turnout of the new voters. For example, during a voter registration drive, one of your members, Dave, signs up Kate—she is a freshman who is from out of state. Dave would not only register her to vote but make a few extra notes about Kate.

Several months later, she is called by someone who checks some basic information to establish small talk with the voter. A call can be made to check If they have received their voter registration card, if they will be voting absentee, and if they will be voting on Election Day. Each time, the database is updated with more snippets of information to help establish a more personal relationship. Ideally, the same person who registered her could call her, etc.

Also, the Internet could be used to bring together several smaller schools to work on publishing conservative newspapers, where by themselves they lacked the critical mass to do such a venture (Also possible a state wide CR newspaper) In addition, documentaries, satires, and other video projects could be shared with CR chapters across the country.

Chapter websites could also be used to for political activism on campus—for example, a rating of professor’s political views, etc.

The key here to expand the pool of ideas from different CRs.

So what are the other guys doing?

College Democrats of America (www.collegedems.com) for lack of better words runs circles around CRNC’s website and contains built in member management with mass emailing for every chapter in the nation. There are two items of good news: 1) The website is not customized to each individual school and 2) membership gives you access to the list of members for a campus (a great intelligence tool for CRs!) They are however actively seeking volunteers to update and add more features to the website.

Civicspace: Civicspace is the outgrowth of DeanSpace a web site software system that formed the basis of the Howard Dean campaign. It is a free website system that is designed for progressive organizations. Civicspace has the possibility of posing a real threat to College Republican chapters if left leaning organizations on campus discover and use Civicspace. The team behind Civicspace has ambitious goals. Sites that run Civicspace include Music4America (http://www.musicforamerica.org) and Minnesota Young Democrats (http://www.mydfl.org)