There are still a hundred empty seats and it’s still not too late to sign up.  By my count, about 15% of the delegates attending will be Ron Paul supporters.  This does not reflect the percentage of people who voted for Ron Paul on February 5^th.  If we hope to have the same impact at the convention that we did at the caucuses, we need more of you to step forward and become a delegate. 

The Fargo-Moorhead Meet Up has raised some money to help people pay for the convention fees.  Please let me know if that will make a difference between your going or not and I will put you in touch with the person handling the F-M Meet Up funds.

Even if you cannot go to the convention, you can still influence the outcome.  This week the ND GOP held meeting around the state asking for input on the Party Resolution.  Those of you who attended one of those meetings know what resolutions have been introduced.  Please contact the person from your district appointed to the Resolution Committee and tell him/her what your concerns are.  Please encourage him/her to support resolutions for limited government, greater liberty and a return to true conservative values.

If you’d like to introduce resolutions, you can either do this by submitting them to the Resolution Committee Member from your district, or send them to Mike Schatz, ND GOP Executive Director.  His email is mike.schatz@ndgop.org.  The deadline for submitting resolutions is Monday, March 24^th—so don’t delay.  If you want good resolutions adopted at the convention, we need good resolutions introduced.  

I have posted the names of the ND Republican Resolution Committee  or you can contact your District Chairman to find out who the Resolution Committee Member is from your district.

You should know that the ND GOP leadership has been extraordinarily accommodating towards Ron Paul Republicans.  Party rules do not require them to ask for input or hold meetings around the state.  Normally the resolutions are introduced and voted on by Resolution Committee members and then the slate is presented to the Convention as a whole, with little or no input from the grass roots.  But Party leadership is asking for our input and holding meetings around the state because they want Ron Paul Republicans to have a voice. 

I hope you will take advantage of the courtesies party leadership is extending to us—get informed about the resolution process, how the party functions and what role you can play. 

As a small thank you, I’ve reserved a room at the Grand Buffet for dinner, Saturday, March 29th at 6:30 pm. The cost is $9.50 including a drink. It s mostly Chinese food, but there is some American food and a salad bar.

The address is 1624 32nd Ave. S. I’ll have a map and details for everyone at the Convention. This will be a great time for us to get to know each other and celebrate all the we’ve accomplished in the last few months.

Charlene Nelson

Hopefully that will make it easier for more of you to participate.

Delegate Q&A

On Tuesday, February 5th, North Dakota told the nation that Ron Paul was a serious candidate who could win elections. Because of you, the Ron Paul Revolution shifted into high gear. But if you listened to Ron Paul’s video, you know that this vote was just the first step.

Step Two of the Revolution is taking back our Republican party. That means every person that voted for Ron Paul on February 5th needs to back up his vote by attending the state convention in Fargo on March 28th and 29th.

Delegate seats are filling up fast, so you need to do this TODAY. Just follow these three easy steps:

1-Contact your District Chairman. Find your District Chairman here: http://www.ndgop.org/flexpage.aspx?area=district_chairman
Find out which District you are in here:
http://web.apps.state.nd.us/hubexplorer/legislativedist/viewer.html
2-Fill out a registration form (either your District Chairman will give you one, or you can download one here: http://www.ndgop.org/images/nd/2008NDGOPConventionRegistrationIV.pdf
When it is filled out, have your District Chairman sign it and pay your registration fee. Keep a copy for yourself.
3-Report to me that you are registered. Your report should include your District number and your contact information (Name, ph#, address, email.) If you have already reported to me, thank you!

There! It’s that easy. You have just ensured that your vote on February 5th meant something.

FAQs

Ron Paul already has his National Delegates. Why do I need to be a State Delegate?

If all you care about are those five national delegate votes, then you’re done. But if you want to have any say in the direction of our party at the state level, if you want to see the Ron Paul Revolution take root at every level of our government, if you want to influence the eight Romney National Delegates, then you need to be a state delegate. Just like we didn’t have any second chances with the Caucus vote, there is no second chance after March 28th to make your voice heard in the State Republican Party. You MUST be at the Fargo convention.

What if I can’t contact my Chairman? S/He’s out of town or won’t return my calls.

Download the Registration form, complete it, date it and mail it with your payment to him. Keep a copy for yourself. When you report to me that you are a delegate, let me know that you did not have actual verbal contact with your Chairman and I will follow up.

What if my Chairman won’t tell me if there are any open Delegate seats?

Download the Registration form, complete it, date it and mail it with your payment to him/her. Keep a copy for yourself. When you report to me that you are a delegate, let me know that you did not get confirmation from your Chairman and I will follow up.

My District Chairman says s/he won’t make a decision on who can be a delegate until s/he has seen all the applicants. What do I do?

I have been told by party leaders that District Chairmen should be filling their delegate seats on a first-come, first-served basis, so if this is a problem, please let me know. Please do not be confrontational with your Chairman. Ask polite questions, get as much information as you can, but do not demand, give ultimatums or say/do anything that would cause hard feelings. We want to be on the same team, so focus on building bridges, not making wedges.

Download the Registration form, complete it, date it and mail it with your payment to him/her. Keep a copy for yourself. When you report to me that you are a delegate, let me know what your Chairman told you and I will follow up.

What is the deadline for registering?

The deadline is when all the seats are filled. In some districts they are all already filled. In that case you can apply to be an alternate. Many delegates never show up, so as an alternate you would get full voting privileges and the registration fee costs less.

The fees for registration go up $10 after February 15th, so if money is a concern, you’ll want to do it today. But many districts will not be able to fill all their delegate seats and will welcome last minute applications. The best way to know if this is true in your district is to call your District Chairman.

I can’t afford to be a delegate.

We are talking to people in Fargo who can open up their homes to delegates traveling long distances. We are making arrangements to have a block of rooms reserved at a hotel at reduced rates. There are some who are willing to pay part or most of your delegate fee. Or ask to be an alternate. Many delegates do not show up or do not attend the whole convention. An Alternate would vote in their place. Do not let finances stand in your way.

I have prior obligations that prevent me from attending.

If you can’t attend because of prior obligations, consider paying part of someone else’s registration fees. Help me make phone calls, help recruit others to be delegates, talk to others who you know will be delegates and tell them how you would like to be represented at the Convention.

What does it mean to be a delegate? What do I have to do?

Your goal is to influence the party and help change the direction it’s going. You will do that by talking one-on-one to other party members and leaders and by voting for rules, platform planks and candidates that reflect your values.

About 10 days before the Convention we will have a Conference Call to make you a fully trained delegate. We will go over all the details: agenda, rules, what to expect, etc. I don’t have all the answers to all your questions today, but I will have everything for you by mid-March and I will give you everything you need to feel confident when you walk into the convention.

By that time, we will also have the details of reduced Hotel costs and people in Fargo willing to host convention goers and will get that information to you as well.

The important thing is you don’t let anything keep you from being a delegate: doubts or questions about what will happen at the convention, finances, seats all filled, absent or non-responsive Chairmen, nothing should keep you from being a delegate. Just (1) download the application (2) turn it in to your Chairman along with the fee, keeping a copy of the form for yourself and (3) report it all to me. If all the seats are filled or the delegate fees are too expensive, ask to be an alternate.

If there is any earthly way you can be at the convention on March 28th and 29th, I hope you will make it happen.

The revolution will live on and it starts with you!

Charlene Nelson

This was a statistical three-way tie for second! Just 140 votes separated Ron Paul from John McCain. Think of it, just three additional votes per district would have put us in a solid 2nd place. We took first place in six districts and a solid 2nd place in most other districts.

Here are some important lessons from last night’s results:

Friends bring voters to Ron Paul: We were strong in districts where Ron Paul’s message got out person to person. Former state senator Duane Mutch has worked for ages talking to his people about the principles of freedom and the Constitution and the results in his hometown were impressive: 55 for Ron Paul, 23 for Romney, 22 for Huckabee and 20 for McCain. Ron Paul got more than double the votes of the second place candidate. The same occurred in Bottneau where a group of people led by James Bartlett and his family brought in 33 votes for Ron Paul while the other three candidates all got 23 votes each.

When people hear Ron Paul’s message, they choose freedom: Cass and Burleigh counties have to be the most difficult places to win. The party machinery is at its strongest and most efficient in those areas. But in Cass County Ron Paul came in second with nearly 27% of the vote. He came in first place in two districts in Cass county and second place in most other districts. And there was one district in Burleigh County that Ron Paul took first place and others where he came in second. Ron Paul’s visit made a difference. When people in those areas got to hear his message unfiltered by the media, they voted for him.

Farmers like Ron Paul’s message: Three of his first place wins and three of his second place wins were in rural, predominately agricultural districts. This dispels the myth that Ron Paul can’t do well among farmers because they are so reliant on government subsidies. Our farmers get it: freedom brings prosperity to agriculture.

We need to be part of the party machinery: Working the party makes a difference. Dallas Moorhead, the National Deputy Youth Director, met with numerous fraternities and sororities on UND’s campus the night before the caucus. The response from students was great and we hoped for a good turn out from UND students. But one fraternity refused to let Dallas speak to them. Their president was a campaign worker for Romney. On Tuesday night, he turned out most of his fraternity and they worked the crowds to vote for Romney. In that district, Romney took an impressive 40% of the vote.

The District Chair in one district in Fargo refused to give one Ron Paul supporter a registration form. She was able to get a form from someone else. But both these stories illustrate how important it is to be part of the party.

So what does this mean? It means that today, right this minute, we need you to be fully involved in the next step of the process. We need you to be a delegate to the state convention. Yesterday’s vote was just the first step. The next step is for us to work the delegate process at the state convention.

Right now, today, we need you to print out a registration form to become a state delegate. Then walk it over to your District Chairman’s house and get him/her to sign it. Pay the convention fees and become part of the convention March 28-29. Let me know if you are signed up as a delegate so that I can have an accurate count of who and how many delegates we have in each district. If you’ve already told me you’re a delegate, tell me again to be sure I have a record of it. Do it today.

We missed second place by 140 votes, let’s not miss our chance to influence the convention by another slim margin.

Get the Ron Paul message out to delegates. Remember the first two lessons we learned from last night: Friends bring voters to Ron Paul and when people hear his message they choose freedom. Find out who the other delegates are in your district and start talking to them. Find out what their most important issues are and show them how Ron Paul has the answer. Do it today.

Nearly everyone I’ve talked to has said that Tuesday’s vote was NOT a vote for Romney-it was a vote against McCain. You need to talk to your friends and delegates and show them that a better way to vote against McCain is to vote for Ron Paul.

Your hard work and commitment gave us great results last night. Let’s keep the momentum going and get even more results at the state convention.

Charlene Nelson

District 8, District 9, District 23, District 25, District 29, and District 39

Please be sure to check with the with the North Dakota GOP website here:

http://www.ndgop.org/flexpage.aspx?area=caucusplaces

Important Caucus Information

The following information will ensure that Ron Paul turns out the most support possible on caucus day, Tuesday, February 5.

Become a Delegate

This campaign is about bringing freedom back to this country and reclaiming the genuine conservative roots of the Republican Party. To help even more than going to the caucus and voting, you can become a delegate. If you wish to become a delegate to the National Convention, click here to find an application. The delegate selection process can be viewed here.

We have been fighting an up-hill battle since the beginning and we don’t want to let our guard down now! This is your chance, this is our time.

Arrive at your caucus location starting at 5:45 PM

• Bring Ron Paul literature and hand it out to caucus goers, people do change at the last minute!
  Materials can be printed from http://www.ronpaul2008.com/get-involved/downloads/

• Wear your Ron Paul gear to identify with other supporters - buttons, shirts, hats- Very Important!
• You are representing Dr. Paul at these caucuses, be courteous and respectful of the process.
  

Coordinate with fellow Ron Paul Supporters in your area

• Coordinate car pools
• Coordinate rides for those in need
• Email us nd@ronpaul2008.com if you or someone you know of needs a ride.
  

Speaking at your caucus

A supporter will be saying a brief speech before the caucus and samples are attached to this email. If you are concerned that no one is speaking at your caucus, email nd@ronpaul2008.com with your name, number and caucus location.

If you are speaking, stick to the basics - only official statements from the website.

Sample Speech 1 http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/north-dakota/sample-speech-1/
Sample Speech 2 http://www.ronpaul2008.com/states/north-dakota/sample-speech-2/

One Final Note

These are the final steps in a process that began a long time ago. I know that many of you have put in many hours for this campaign. We are down to less than 72 hours before we see the culmination of our efforts. Grab everyone you know, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, co-workers, children, siblings…everyone. No army can stop an idea whose time has come.

Charlene Nelson
North Dakota State Coordinator
Ron Paul 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee

“Consistent, uncorrupted, traditional moral values - that is who Ron Paul is. He earned honestly his nickname, Dr. No, for his sometimes lonely stands against all the restrictions, regulations, and taxes Washington wants to impose down upon us. Sometimes, though, people come into the Caucus and think “well, I like so-and-so but he can’t win so I’m voting for one of the front-runners”. But this isn’t a horse race. There’s no prize for you if you vote for the one who ends up winning tonight. In fact, our role here in this caucus isn’t to select the ultimate winner. Our role is to pick the best possible candidate - and make no mistake - our role is to pick the best possible CONSERVATIVE candidate - to lead our great country. Ron Paul is the best - conservative - candidate. His message is so simple, yet so powerful: follow the Constitution and limit the federal government. Please join me in voting for Ron Paul.”

We need every one of our supporters to get out and canvass their precincts and make phone calls! Ron knows that if we get supporters fighting on the ground we will turn this entire state our way. Ron believes in this state so much that he is even making two stops on the day before Super Tuesday! Let me assure you, Ron is on the trail fighting everyday to ensure your constitutional rights remain intact Put down the signs and pickup the phone so we can make that difference.

The writing on the wall

Reports from the field show what a dramatic difference Precinct Leaders make - a doubling or even tripling of the Ron Paul vote in areas with Precinct Leaders. This program works and has been effective in Nevada and Louisiana where we had our best results. Please make your precinct phone calls and email the results to dallas@ronpaul2008.com. There isn’t much time left!

One last push

Ron Paul is coming to North Dakota because he sincerely believes in the efforts you all have put on the ground. Ron will be visiting Fargo and Bismarck for one last push before the primary on Feb. 5.

In order for this trip to be successful, it is vital that everyone bring at least one undecided voter with them to the rally. The good folks coordinating the North Dakota effort are going to give away a picture with a personalized message from Ron Paul in a raffle at both locations. For each undecided and as yet unidentified voter you bring, you will receive one raffle entry. The more entries, the better chance you have to win!

The campaign in North Dakota is coming down to the end. Let it not be said that we did not try our hardest. Please do everything you can to spread the Ron Paul message and most importantly, email all identified supporters to dallas@ronpaul2008.com.

Fargo & Bismarck Hope for America Rallies

Fargo Rally: Monday, February 4th @ 1:00 pm Grand Ballroom in the Student Union at North Dakota State University
Bismarck Rally: Monday, February 4th @ 3:30pm Rally  at the Elks Lodge 900 S. Washington St.

Your Friends In Liberty,

Charlene Nelson - North Dakota State Coordinator
Dallas Moorhead - Deputy National Youth Coordinator
Michael Kraemer - Staff Assistant

We will have a special guest, Dallas Moorhead, Deputy National Youth Coordinator from the Ron Paul campaign. He is in North Dakota between now and Feb. 6 to help us strengthen our campaigning and to help us find strategies that will give us a Ron Paul win on Feb. 5.

We’ll also take your questions and concerns. If you have anything you’d like us to address in this conference, please email me. The call should only last 30 minutes but I’ve allowed for 55 minutes, in case there are a lot of questions.

We are in the last stretch of this marathon and we need everyone to put in a last spurt of energy to make sure we have a strong showing at the finish line. We need to update everyone on the tools and materials that are available to them and make sure you have everything you need to be effective activists. We’ll give you new, more concise and effective scripts to use with Grassroots Central and show you how to get the most voters out in the least amount of time.

Remember, if we hope to be able to vote for Ron Paul in November, we have to get out the vote in February.

Thank you for all that you do and your commitment to Ron Paul’s message of freedom.

Please note: For those of you who have participated in previous conference calls, this number is different.

Call (517) 417-5000 Participant Access Code: 63057 on Monday at 7:00 PM.

Contact your County Coordinator for the Ron Paul Campaign for information on where and how you can be a delegate from your district.  

Bismarck Area: Margaret Sitte   davids@wdata.com

Grand Forks Area: Aly Snyder   alysnyder@yahoo.com

Minot Area:  Jen Smalin    warrior23k@yahoo.com

      OR:  Beatrice Block   block@srt.com

Williston Area  Charles and Cathy Cartier ccartier@nccray.com 

If you do not live near one of these areas, you should contact your District Chairman yourself.  You can find his/her contact information in the Jan. 11th blog below. Ask your District Chairman what you need to do to become a delegate and when the decisions are made and then please report this to me as soon as possible.

We need to have a clear idea of how many Ron Paul supporters are planning to be delegates.

Second, we need to have the names of everyone who can speak on Ron Paul’s behalf at the Caucus.  I know, I know—the idea of giving a public speech strikes terror into the heart of most.  Don’t worry!  You only need to speak for 3-5 minutes and we have several speeches already written to make it easier for you.  If you live in one of the four areas listed above, contact your Coordinator and let them know you are willing to speak. 
But this is especially important for those living in areas where there are very few Ron Paul supporters.  One-third of those attending caucuses are undecided when they arrive.  That means you have one more chance to bring votes to Ron Paul.  You may be the only person who has ever explained why they should be voting for Ron Paul.  It is important that you speak out on his behalf. 

So if your caucus will not be held in Fargo, Bismarck, Dickinson, Williston, Minot or Grand Forks, please contact me today and tell me what district and precinct you will caucus at and if you are willing to speak for Ron Paul.  You can find your District and Precinct by clicking this link:   http://web.apps.state.nd.us/hubexplorer/legislativedist/viewer.html

I have to turn in a list of speakers by next week, so please contact me as soon as you are able. 

Time is short and your report to me is critical to our success on Feb. 5th!  Thank you for all you are doing.

Go to: http://voters.ronpaul2008.com/ today and register as a Precinct Captain. You will get a temporary password, then you can log in and change your password to something you will remember. Then begin calling.

Grassroots will give you a calling list of everyone in your precinct. There is a code next to their name. The number indicates how liberal/conservative they consider themselves. The smaller the number the more liberal they consider themselves; the larger the number, the more conservative. The letters stand for issues that they think are important. T=taxes, G=guns, L=life. An upper case letter means that is the issue they think is the most important. An exclamation point indicates their political activity (the likelihood they will vote in the caucus.)

We want you to make good use of the little time that is left to us, so use these codes to help you decide which are the best people to call.

When you call people, you will ask:
If the election were held tomorrow, who would you likely vote for? Mark their answer.

Then ask what they think the three most important issues are in this election. Mark their answers.

If the person has told you his preferred candidate and it isn’t Ron Paul, thank them and hang up. If the person is undecided, you might want to try to bring them over to Ron Paul. This is up to you-do what you are comfortable with.

If the person said the most important issue is taxes, then you can say:
Did you know that Ron Paul has never once voted to raise taxes in his 20 years as a Congressman?

If the person said that gun rights are important, then you might tell him:
Ron Paul has never once voted for any federal restriction of gun ownership.

If the person said that abortion is important, then you might say:
Dr. Paul believes we can stop the Supreme Court today from ruling on Abortion cases. We don’t need to wait another 5-10 years to replace the activist judges.

If the person thinks that Social Security is important, you can say:
Congressman Paul has introduced legislation to stop Congress from raiding the Social Security fund AND to stop all taxation of Social Security benefits.

And so on. You should be somewhat familiar with Ron Paul’s positions and have a one sentence response to whatever issue concerns the person you are talking to. You can do this by going to: http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about/ and http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/

REMEMBER: Time is precious! Do not spend more than 2-3 minutes on each call. Be short and concise. If there is more than one voter in the house, ask to speak to the other voter(s).

After you’ve made calls, please update the calling list online with their responses. We need to know how many are supporting each candidate and what the important issues are. We especially need to know who are the Ron Paul supporters and potential (undecided) voters.

If you have any problems registering or getting your password, please let me know immediately. If you have finished calling your precinct and would like to work other precincts, let me know.

This will be the single most important thing you can do in the next seven days to assure a Ron Paul victory. Try to commit to making calls for one hour a day for the next week. Please let me know if we can count on your help.

Charlene Nelson