Hi, people.

If any of you DO live in swing states, here is some good info for letters to the editor of your local newspapers, kindly submitted by a member who wished to remain anonymous.

Lizzy

This campaign will not be won by logic or
rational facts, we need to hit people
emotionally. I suggest a “Swift Boat”
type of approach, but our ad will be
true! Here is my suggestion, which I
posted under a pseudonym on:
http://womenagainstsarahpalin.blogspot.com/

One Thing Everyone Should Know About Palin

At the time Sarah Palin became mayor of Wasilla, the police budget
included money for forensics testing of rape victims. Sarah soon
fired the police chief (because he wanted bars closed at 2am instead
of 5am) and appointed her supporter, Charlie Fannon. His budget
removed rape testing kits and implemented a policy of billing the
victims for reporting this crime, at a cost of up to $1,200. After
several years of complaints, the state legislature passed a law
forbidding this policy, which was only practiced in Wasilla and only
during Sarah Palin’s term as mayor.

Realize that penalizing and therefore possibly discouraging the
reporting and investigation of this violent crime could allow the
perpetrators to remain free, thus endangering the whole community, not
just the first victim. Wasilla did not charge victims of any other type
of crime for the cost of the investigation, only rape. Since becoming a
VP candidate, Sarah has denied knowledge of this policy and now condemns
it, in spite of having signed off on the budgets and having her town
contacted about this issue by the state. She is either lying now for
current political convenience, or was completely out of touch with
woman’s issues in spite of being a woman mayor of a town of only 5000
people at the time. Either way, is this the woman who should be our
first female VP and possible president?

There are many online blogs supporting or condemning Sarah for this and
many other things, much of that is opinion. However, here is a
mainstream (Time) article confirming the facts about this issue:

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1840723,00.html

Here are the key points from the article:

“Then-Gov. Tony Knowles said Thursday that Wasilla was unique in the
state in charging rape victims for the cost of doing the law enforcement
necessary for solving the crime.”

“Former Democratic Rep. Eric Croft, who sponsored that bill, said he was
disappointed that simply asking the Wasilla police department to stop
didn’t work. Croft said he doubts she was unaware of the practice.”

Statement of Principles and Campaign FAQ

I think the best way to write an ad that reflects the sentiments of the community is to develop it during the course of our campaign using a wiki. And while the specific copy of the ad will evolve, these principles, which serve as the foundation of the ad, will not.

Just the facts

Spin and half-truths aren’t necessary to discredit Palin’s candidacy; indeed, they’re the primary source of the popularity she currently enjoys. We believe that all it takes to dissuade voters from supporting Palin is telling them about her. In particular, her frightening lack of experience or understanding of the issues that face our nation.

Written for independent voters

This ad will steer clear of partisan arguments. Palin’s position on abortion or gun control are pros or cons depending on one’s beliefs. This ad will focus on the elements of a Palin candidacy that should universally terrify Americans.

FAQ

How will copy and ad design will be determined?

We will use the wiki to edit the copy during the life of the campaign. When the campaign tips, I will be responsible for determining the final ad copy and sending it to the Enquirer (You can read more about me and see other successful campaigns I’ve run here

What will happen when the campaign tips?

Your credit cards will be charged, and The Point will send the check directly to the Enquirer. I will send them the ad art and post an announcement when I know what day the ad will run.

How was the campaign tipping point determined?

The cost of a weekday full-page ad in the Cincinnati Enquirer is $20,565.18, as told to me by Adele (513.768.8326). The Point charges 3.5% to process the credit cards (less than PayPal or anything else out there), hence the campaign tipping point of $21.285.

What’s Next?

If this campaign goes well, we’ll take the ad we designed together and start campaigns to run it in more papers.

Hi, everyone-

Thanks for joining. You rock. This campaign is most likely to work if you ALL get other people to join, and spread the word. I want to see this e-mail as forwarded as all the right-wing spam I get from my great aunt. Alex- thanks for your attention to the ad strategy itself. Let’s keep fine tuning!

Lizzy

Hello, all-

It’s possible that this crisis will refocus swing voters on the economy. If data shows Palin isn’t the most influential factor in Cincinnati, we should add McCain to the ad, and paint them both as untrustworthy. E-MAIL ME IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THIS! Current suggested ad copy:

Think Sarah Palin and John McCain stand for regular Americans? Think again.

(ad split down the middle. Palin’s face on one side, McCain’s on the other. Fade to black at bottom of ad, with white print:)

The Republican party would like you to think Sarah Palin is just like you. The X,XXX people who funded this ad disagree. We’re worried about the fact that she’s never made a single decision in the war on terror. And why is she blocking investigations into her past? People who know her in Alaska say she treated her administration like a popularity contest, firing whoever she didn’t like. If she’s just a regular working mom, why did she wear a $2,500 jacket at the RNC? These are facts, not smear tactics. Sarah Palin is NOT like you.

John McCain says he’s for reform. The X,XXX people who funded this ad see through his act, too. McCain has spent 26 years voting to let Wall Street gamble regular Americans’ retirement away. Now who’s paying for his mistakes? Regular Americans. If McCain wanted reform, he would have started talking about it before last month. Check his record: (link)

Hey, everyone-

Welcome on board! If we keep up at this rate, Sarah Palin is toast in Ohio! If all the folks who joined today got ONE FRIEND to join, we’d be at about 25% of our goal. Can ya do it? Fantastic!

Thanks for the suggestions on ad copy, too. We’re working on a revision as I write.

-Lizzy

Hey, folks—

Election day is coming up. I’d like to make a motion that we switch our target to a 1/2 page ad in a smaller paper with a moderate readership in Ohio or Indiana.

I need to double check the procedures for doing this, but please respond in a discussion post if you are in favor. We do have a large chunk of money here, and I’d hate to see us not have an impact just because we’re not tipping the original goal amount.

-Lizzy

I closed the campaign, “Fight Back: give swing voters the facts about Sarah Palin”.

Stop by the campaign discussion to get more information: http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/fight-back-broadcast-the-truth-about-sarah-palin/discussion

Hi, everyone-

I wanted to make sure you all got the last post. I just called my local campaign office, and will be spending the day on election day making calls to get out the vote. Please join me, especially if you’ve got the day off! Let’s make this commitment as a group!

http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/call-swing-state-voters

Lizzy

Hi, all-

OK, so we haven’t heard back from everyone, and time is short. Many of you wanted to support getting a smaller ad, but since we can’t change course without unanimous approval, I have a different proposal. Thank you all SO MUCH for joining. We can still be in this together. While it’s too late to put at ad in the paper, it is NOT too late to get on the phone and call people to get out the vote. If you’ve never done this, let me tell you, it feels great. It’s easy (instructions on www.mybarackobama.com). You’ll be contacting likely supporters with information about polling places, etc, making sure that everyone who WANTS to vote CAN vote. Let’s work as a group and be a part of history. Join the new campaign at the following link: give 20 minutes of your time, instead of your money.

http://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/call-swing-state-voters

Lizzy