Although this opportunity may seem intimidating at first, all Texas Freedom Network student chapters share a structure and guidelines to help leaders like you organize on campus. This section will provide a detailed explanation of what you need to get your chapter up and running and best practices to help your chapter thrive. Let’s get started.
Beyond social media, You have one other avenue you can use to communicate your carefully crafted message: the news media (aka: reporters and journalists). Just like social media, there are best practices when interacting with the media as a leader of your Texas Freedom Network Student Chapter to make sure you accurately represent the group’s values and mission.
Social media is a game changer, plain and simple. Digital platforms like Facebook and Twitter allow you to share information in real time and collect data from individuals to build your base. Whether you’re creating a Facebook event for an upcoming rally, live-tweeting quotes from speakers at that rally, or posting pictures of your group’s awesome rally signage on Facebook (wow – you really got behind that rally!).
When’s the last time a book made you laugh out loud? Or a movie made you ugly cry in public? (happens to the best of us). Chances are you empathized with compelling characters, related to a struggle integral to the plot, or were shocked by a twist you didn’t see coming. Bottom line: you were moved.
The radical right’s attacks on Texans’ religious freedoms, individual liberties and public schools certainly provide more than enough fodder for outrage. Unfortunately, righteous indignation alone has never achieved a progressive victory. Rather, disciplined strategies supported by diverse tactics are necessary for raising awareness, rallying others and creating change.
To fight back against the radical right we have to recognize, utilize and integrate three critical components: community organizing, electoral politics and public policy. This is how we build our power. Wellstone Action, an organization committed to working with groups nationwide to achieve progressive change, calls this approach the Wellstone Triangle:
While issues are important, voters also need to identify with a candidate’s core values – to connect with people they see as “standing for something,” even if they disagree with them on specific issues. At Wellstone Action we call this the Politics of Conviction.
The candidate’s stump speech is the campaign’s core vehicle for delivering a concise, clear, and compelling message and story about the candidate and campaign.
Check out this sample plan that includes: strategy overview, targeting, campaign roles and responsibilities, message, field/voter contact, outreach, finance plan, timeline
Not every voter needs to be persuaded, since not every voter is undecided. Each campaign has a base of voters who you can count on to vote for you on Election Day.
