Since the unveiling of the Alan Keyes-backed “We Need Alan Keyes for President” movement back in early June, the effort hasn’t made much progress, with only 1100 or so people signing the petition urging him to run. At this rate, it’ll take Keyes nearly 4700 years to generate enough support to match the 62 million votes President Bush garnered in 2004.
But all hope is not lost for the Draft Alan Keyes movement, as they have a secret strategy to make a strong showing in the upcoming Iowa Straw Poll – not by winning it mind you, because Keyes can’t participate since he’s not a candidate.
But they have a plan:
[The] straw poll [is] a unique opportunity to get literature into the hands of a large number of the state’s voters, many of whom are already very supportive of the possibility of a Keyes candidacy (since Alan got 14 percent in the 2000 Iowa Caucus and is still remembered fondly by grassroots Iowans, we keep hearing from reliable sources).
To distribute literature, we’re required to reserve a table — so we’re lining one up in the best location still available. We’ll use our table as a base of operations for our volunteers.
Thus, they are asking for volunteers and, more importantly, donations so they can print up fliers to hand out and maybe even t-shirts, all of which will “boost our national movement and possibly give Alan the kind of support he needs to announce his candidacy:”
Besides funds for the Iowa Straw Poll, we need seed money to get our movement fully off the ground. All of us are volunteering our time and effort — but like any political movement or campaign, we have a significant list of things we’d like to utilize in order to be effective. This includes high-tech servers for our website; state-of-the-art computer programming; professional guidance with FEC rules compliance; improved press release capability; means for advertising, mailings, literature, and travel expenses; supplies of bumper stickers, T-shirts, DVD’s, and other gear — and everything else normally used by a political movement or campaign.
Of course, as we noted last time, the donation page carries a disclaimer explaining that if Keyes decides not to run, all the money raised gets handed over to an organization deemed “consistent with the vision and Declarationist ideals of Alan Keyes” by the organizers of the effort – both of whom happen to work for Keyes’ own RenewAmerica organization.
All in all, a very novel fundraising scheme.
But that it not to say there is nothing in it for those who agree to volunteer at the Iowa Straw Poll:
The GOP candidates will have tents for giving out free food, so there should be plenty to eat.
