January's Notes From The Underground

Notes From The Underground
The January 9th (Our Third) Meeting
45 Weeks And Counting…
· One quarter has passed and we’ve had three good, enthusiastic meetings

· But for the first time we had less than the expected number of participants

· This caused us to dispense with the agenda and to focus on recruiting issues

· Monica had invited four people and they all were unable to find the time

· Brooke invited four people, and one (enthusiastic) couple made it to the party

· Pam invited a couple and they were unable to find the time

· Breaking the rules, JLB invited two couples and they were unable to find the time

· Although to be completely accurate, several of these did call to report conflicts and to say they’d be in attendance for the next meeting

· We discussed the $3,000 Plan (Capital Homesteading) as our primary attraction

· We listened to a portion of the Norm Kurland interview which was well accepted

· Jim suggested that an audio recording of Joe’s $3,000 Plan could be helpful

· Monica suggested that meeting in a public place (i.e Starbucks) could help

· Brooke suggested that a Saturday morning may be better than Sunday PM

· So we changed from second Sunday, late afternoon to a second Saturday, mid morning meeting in a local coffee house to be announced next time around.

· But we all know that the effectiveness of our efforts depends on our ability to get the message out on the street, and to inspire people who are normally politically domesticated, dormant, and generally inactive to become politically active.

· And to everyone at the meeting, this meant that we have to boil our message down into a more clear and concise, user friendly package to get the job done

· To that end I consulted with one of our members who got caught in an emergency home plumbing project (Jen Zuri) and asked if she would help me to wrestle together a power point presentation around The $3,000 Plan, which I would like to present, live and in person, at our next meeting. She consented.

· I think that this may help drive the central message home for both the wrestlers, and I think it will also help clarify some of the latent uncertainties that I believe are still lurking in the shadows, and are at the root of our recruiting challenges.

· I know that we’re all relatively amateur activists who have never really done this kind of thing (challenge the status quo?) before, and that includes JLB

· But I’m also convinced that we all see that we’re onto a BIG IDEA that is sorely needed by this nation, and it’s one that will never find its way onto the radar screen either mainstream party, or any of their third party cousins unless we push.

· We also know that the Democrats (nationally) are in big trouble and in dire need of a BIG IDEA around which to rally their troops.

· And their looking to a guy named Obama from ILLINOIS to lead them out of the woods, and into the winner’s circle. Without it the Dems are DOA in 2008.

· We also know that the Republicans (in ILLINOIS) are equally lost in space and thrashing about for the BIG IDEA around which to rally their troops.

· Without it the ILLINOIS Republicans are DOA in 2006 and 2008.

· And here we sit out in the western suburbs, in Starbucks, or Carol’s or Brooke’s living room discussing THE BIG IDEA that both D’s and R’s are desperately looking to find….quite literally, a weapon of mass attraction!

· In other words, they currently have the money and the organization, but WE HAVE THE BIG IDEA THAT THEY BOTH MUST HAVE OR DIE!

· In order to move this agenda forward we must feel a SENSE OF URGENCY within ourselves, and if we do, we can create a sense of urgency in others that will translate into actions of various sorts. But it will include putting a meeting date on the calendar and making absolutely certain that, barring major conflicts, they are attended, because if we fail to do so we’re destined to have instant replays of 2000, and 2004 in 2008, and 2012, and our kid’s lives are in the balance.

· We’re all going to be part of the problem or part of the solution, and the choice belongs to us. I challenge myself, and all of you to dig deeper, to understand more thoroughly, and to come up with creative ways to make this BIG IDEA a reality.

· The clock is ticking. We have ONLY 45 MORE MONTHS to grow and become a force to be reckoned with. Let’s all find a way to make it happen together.