Reviewed by Becky Akers
I didn’t want to read, let alone review, this book.
It’s about the nuts and bolts – in fact, one chapter even bears that title – of political campaigning. Specifically, campaigning for Ron Paul so that he wins the Republican primary.
But I’m an anarchist, with no faith in politics or the State and indeed, an intense hatred of both. Author Allan Stevo describes folks like me perfectly on page 38: we "generally dismiss the role of government as a circus and a waste of time and energy." We love liberty with every fiber of our being; some of us, including me, even find political theory and philosophy fascinating. But the down-and-dirty, how-to-win machinations? No thanks. They exemplify everything we loathe about the State, its lies and manipulations.
By page 13, Allan Stevo had transformed my reluctance to raving enthusiasm. Indeed, I’d go so far as to insist that this is one of the most important texts friends of freedom can read in the next few months. And it is incredibly empowering, too, because Mr. Stevo’s central idea is that our efforts, not those of the official Ron Paul Campaign or even of the good doctor himself, let alone the corporate media (or lack thereof), will crown him victor at the Republican Convention this August.
And that, in Mr. Stevo’s opinion, is more essential than Dr. Paul’s ultimately winning the presidential election. Why? Because "America is a place where neighbors rarely speak openly about politics, and when they do, it is usually only to repeat media sound bites. An Obama/Paul race will change that. Two differing ideologies will Clash [sic]. One for greater individual freedom. The other for more government. This competition of ideas will not occur with other Republican candidates, since they are ideologically aligned with President Obama when it comes to the power of the individual over the power of the state." [p. 2]
Mr. Stevo believes the echoes of Dr. Paul’s debate with Obummer will reverberate for decades: "These two men will face off and provide America with two different choices for what the future holds. America will have the opportunity to decisively choose which of those paths [to – sic] take. Never in my life have I been able to experience America the way America will look come autumn of 2012 as economic conditions worsen and Americans look to two very different philosophies to explain the cause and correction of the nation’s problems." [p. 2-3]
But given the mainstream’s studiously ignoring or venomously savaging Dr. Paul, how can he win the Republican nomination? Mr. Stevo provides the answer – a relatively obvious and simple but explosively brilliant one – from his experience as both a worker on campaigns and as a candidate himself (he ran for the US House of Representatives in Illinois’ tenth district during 2005). He advocates "reaching across the aisle" to Democratic friends via "social media" and asking them to register as Republicans – I know: ugh! But it’s only for the primary – then vote for the only guy in either party firmly and consistently working against the Amerikan Empire.
After all, he points out, "Ron Paul is the lone pro-peace vote for president and his party affiliation doesn’t change that fact." [p.13] (Besides, voting for Dr. P will infuriate the "real" Republicans, the Newts and Mitts and neocons and fascists, which is a fine goal in itself.) Ergo, he suggests "writ[ing your Democratic] … Facebook friends to try to open up dialogues of understanding, and ultimately asking them to register Republican in order to vote for Ron Paul. I hope you will write your friends through email or any other social network you use. These people are what I will refer to as your ‘social precinct’…"
Mr. Stevo theorizes that "social precincts" are far more valuable and viable than the geographic precincts they are superseding, especially for Ron Paul’s internet-savvy fans. He discusses the use of precincts in Chicago, whose politics he has studied and in which he’s participated for over 20 years, and shows how our "social," online ones trump them: "What Americans today are lacking in relationships with their neighbors, they are making up for in relationships online at a distance," he writes [p 40]. And you can very effectively "work" this precinct for liberty, following the three-part strategy he outlines in his book:
Step I. Communicate with your friend.
Step II. Get a promise from him to vote for Ron Paul.
Step III. Make sure he gets out to vote for Ron Paul.*
*The third step is twofold:
A. See to it that your friend is registered properly in his state to vote for Ron Paul.
B. See to it that your friend gets out to the polling place or caucusing location to vote for Ron Paul on election day.
Intriguingly, Mr. Stevo contrasts the influence each of us wields over friends and family with his efforts on phone-banks during various campaigns. Though he invested dozens of hours calling strangers and asking them to vote for Dr. P, he wonders if any of them actually did; he compares that with his proven success in requesting friends do so and urges us to follow suit. (This isn’t an either/or proposition; as he explains later, we should milk our "social precincts" fully and then volunteer our efforts on the larger campaign.)
It’s no wonder Mr. Stevo convinces so many of his friends to pull the lever for peace and liberty: he’s conciliatory and diplomatic. His attitude, even towards those with whom he disagrees, is collaborative: Both I and my socialist, Big-Government Democratic friends crave peace, and Ron Paul is the only candidate we can count on to give it to us. Therefore, I am presenting my buddy with something he very much wants – he just doesn’t realize it’s out there. Or if he does, no one has yet given him the opportunity to to vote for it. So I am not a pest, I am a chum explaining how together we can achieve what we want.
Effective spokesmen for liberty and its champion, Dr. P, don’t argue with friends who reject our message. We simply move on to those who agree and welcome it.
Mr. Stevo also recommends wisely using the limited hours until June 26 (the date of Utah’s primary, the last before the convention). He cautions against wasting time on the pursuits so many of us erroneously rate "important," such as participating in online polls or commenting on websites denouncing Dr. Paul. These don’t guarantee any votes, he points out: our efforts are better spent educating our "social precincts."
You’ve got to love an author so devoted to liberty’s ascension that he pleads on page 74 (out of 215), "…please stop reading this book now. Please put it down, and get to work." [Original emphasis.] I didn’t obey and lay the book aside because of its easy, friendly style and charm (despite the many typos plaguing such a hastily written and published manuscript). Still, I breezed through the whole thing in a few hours.
You can, too. I strongly echo one reviewer’s advice on Amazon: not only should you immediately read Mr. Stevo’s book, you should "Buy several copies, distribute them amongst your friends!"
Link:
http://lewrockwell.com/akers/akers181.html
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