RepubliCorp Bird-dogging Guide
LEAKED: Official RepubliCorp merger! We just caught wind of RepubliCorp's new organizational chart. Check it out here: http://pol.moveon.org/republicorp_orgchart/
Check out RepubliCorp on Facebook and Twitter!
Corporations and their right-wing allies are spending $400 million to try to take over Congress for the Republican Party. If this happens, right-wing Republicans and their corporate benefactors will do everything they can to kill any progressive legislation for the rest of the Obama presidency. So this election season, it's up to us to expose the unprecedented flood of corporate cash to Republican campaign coffers. We're launching a massive Republican bird-dogging campaign. Here's how we'll do it:
- Councils across the country will birddog Republican candidates for Congress as "RepubliCorp"—the corporate "merger" between corporate special interests and the Republican party that is driving the hostile takeover of our government.
- Because the election is just weeks away, we can't wait for the media to come to us. So we'll show up as RepubliCorp corporate lobbyists and CEOs at every Republican target's public appearance—fundraisers, rallies, debates, parades, and more.
- We'll paraody this corporate merger by presenting our Republican targets with a RepubliCorp "Employee of the Month" certificate or awarding Republicans with a massive campaign contribution check from RepubliCorp.
- We'll go straight to the TV and newspaper reporters at these events to make sure our RepubliCorp message gets in the local media and exposes to voters that Republicans in this race are bought and paid for by the big corporations that bankrupted this country.
To listen to a webcast explaining our RepubliCorp bird-dogging program, click here: http://s3.moveon.org/audio/birddog_webcast.mp3
If the webcast doesn't work for you, you can also listen over the phone. Just dial: 212-812-2800, press "#1", and enter "24829 97277."
Materials
NEW: RepubliCorp GOP Endorsement Guide
NEW: Bird-dogging at candidate debates
Photos and Press Hits from Successful RepubliCorp actions
Post your event in our online event system here
Found a bird-dogging event? Submit the event here.
Customize the RepubliCorp flyer for your Republican candidate. Click here to download.
Sample Call Script to recruit local members to your event
Sample Nametags: File #1 and File #2
Submit photos and video to republicorpphoto@moveon.org
Research your Republican target's schedule.
During an election year, members of Congress and candidates will make daily public appearances—at fundraisers, community events, debates, rallies, and more! It just takes a little bit of research to find these events.
Here are some good places to start your research:
- Subscribe to your candidate's email list and regularly check his or her campaign website, Twitter feed, and Facebook group. Join the local and state Republican email list.
- Call the candidate's campaign office and ask for a list of the candidate's appearance schedule. When you call, be nice and respectful to staff. They're the gatekeepers—they can decide if you get the information or not. Be persistent: Call every single day until you get the schedule. If one person isn't getting a good response, ask member of your Council to call and request the schedule.
- Go online. Use internet resources—like Google and newspaper websites to search for public appearances. Regularly check newspapers, community calendars, and other websites. Check out www.politicalpartytime.org for a list of candidate fundraisers.
- Check with the local political party and our allies. Join Democratic and third-party email lists. Call up local party leaders, influential organizations, and allied groups and ask them for intel on candidates' schedules. Many groups are planning bird-dogging events, and they might have the scoop on an upcoming event.
Once you've found a bird-dogging event, complete our online event form.
Be sure to check the bird-dogging Event Tracking Spreadsheet daily for any new events in your area.
Stage your RepubliCorp stunt and attract media attention.
Republican groups and their corporate allies spent $12 million in the first two weeks of September on advertisements to promote their right-wing agenda. Since we don't have that kind of cash, we need to be visible at every Republican public appearance to expose them for siding with corporate interests time and time again.
Event Roles
There are four important roles for your event:
- RepubliCorp spokesperson. This person is the loud, unabashed person of your group and is willing to play the role of RepubliCorp in front of the media and your target.
- RepubliCorp lobbyists holding signs.
- People to distribute RepubliCorp flyers.
- A videographer or photographer.
RepubliCorp Stunts
They key to media attention is a little political theater. Here are a few idea for your bird-dogging event:
- Present your target with a RepubliCorp "Employee of the Month" award.
- Award your target with a campaign contribution from RepubliCorp.
- Organize an auction of public offices and institutions, with particular offices going to the highest bidder in exchange for legislative votes that favor Wall Street and Big Corporations.
- Host a Job Fair. Offer job applications for positions at RepubliCorp, where the qualifications for the job reflect some of the worst positions of high-profile Republicans. For example:
RepubliCorp: Do you believe that Social Security should be handed over to banks?
- Organize an auction and sell off a private yacht ride donated by Big Banks—but to enter the auction you have to offer your vote on key legislation or elections.
Applicant: That's a great idea.
RepubliCorp: Well then, I think you'll be a great fit here at RepubliCorp!
- Alms for the Rich. Put RepubliCorp members near the entrance of an event and ask for donations to CEOs who have suffered under the Democratic majority, or from the expiration of the Bush tax cuts.
A Sample Event
Here's a sample timeline for a RepubliCorp bird-dogging event.
The scenario: Your Republican target is hosting a high-profile fundraiser at a downtown hotel at 12:30 p.m. You've decided to present him or her with the RepubliCorp "Employee of the Month" award.
The plan:
12:00—Gather at a coffeeshop across the street. Solidify your media message and the roles each of you will play. Distribute signs and flyers. Review your plan of action and make sure the RepubliCorp spokesperson is prepped with talking points.
12:15—Head over to the front doors of the hotel. The RepubliCorp spokesperson stands in front of the lobbyists holding signs. Folks with flyers distribute the flyers to everyone who walks by.
12:16—The RepubliCorp spokesperson leads the group in RepubliCorp chants. This will attract attention from the media. Keep singing the song for several minutes.
As soon as the media comes over, immediately start the award presentation. If after several minutes the media is not paying attention, one person from the group should go approach them and let them know what is happening.
12:20—The RepubliCorp spokesperson reads the award presentation script and announces the awarding of the "Employee of the Month" certificate. The corporate lobbyists cheer and hold their signs for the media to see.
12:25—The award presentation ends, and the group continues to chant and distribute flyers.
Tips on Earning Media Attention
Here's some tips to help you earn the best media coverage possible:
Be flexible. You'll want to have a plan, but be ready to adapt and make quick decisions on-the-fly.
Find the Republican candidate. Our interaction with the Republican candidate will be the most media-worthy part of the event. Don't expect to get very close while carrying signs or an over-sized certificate, but instead get a pair of people (the RepubliCorp spokesperon and a videographer or photographer) to join the greeting line, and present a small version of the award to the candidate.
Find the media and go to them. Your action is for the media. Our goal is to reach undecided or swing voters with a message about the RepubliCorps takeover of Congress. For that reason, everything you do should be for the media, or for taking our own video and pictures that we then share. You don't need to engage or persuade anyone at Republican events, and you should avoid spending time talking to them.
Stage a scene for Republican candidate's supporters. The reactions of a candidate's supporters to the RepubliCorp brand is a compelling part of the event. Try to position at least one scene near or in the crowd of supporters, and try to capture their response to your action on video.
Media Tip: You are RepubliCorp
You are RepubliCorp. Take on this persona for this action. When the media asks who you are, say that you are a spokesperson for RepubliCorp.
Don't wait for the media to come to you—go to them. There's a lot happening at these events so to attract media attention, the key is to be relentless and highly visible.
Event Roles
Here are the roles you'll need for a successful event:
- RepubliCorp spokesperson to lead the event
- RepubliCorp lobbyists to hold signs
- People to distribute RepubliCorp flyers
- A videographer or photographer
To make this work, you'll need to dress as corporate lobbyists or CEOs. Break out the business suit, brief case, and top hat!
Stunt Ideas
They key to media attention is a little political theater. Here are a few idea for your bird-dogging event:
Award your target with a RepubliCorp "Employee of the Month" certificate.
Present your target with a campaign contribution from RepubliCorp.
Host a Job Fair—distribute job applications for positions at RepubliCorp.
Organize an auction and sell off a private yacht ride donated by Big Banks.
Alms for the Rich—ask for donations for CEOs who have "suffered" under the Democratic majority.
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition!
You might need to repeat your stunt several times—that's OK! You'll have a better chance of attracting the media and reaching our target if you repeat the stunt 2-3 times.
You can also do the same stunt or try a new one at the next bird-dogging event. The key to breaking through in the media is repetition, repetition, repetition — so it's great to do the same stunt at multiple events!
Most importantly, make sure you have fun!
Extra tips
Here are a few more tips for a successful event:
- Do something at the bird-dogging event! There are lots of things you can do at events: hand out fliers, sing a song, give a speech, present an award, dance (really!), act out a mini-play, and much more. Standing with signs isn't enough to make this event pop and chants alone are repetitive and don't make for great video. Make sure you have something to do together.
- Stick together. You're stronger together! When it comes to protesting on "unfriendly" territory, it always helps to stick together in a group. This makes it harder for other people to drag you into side conversations and easier to sing songs, give awards, make speeches—whatever you want to do. You'll also make a much better picture for any media at the event.
- Stick to the script and stay classy. In the past two years, we've seen many right wing events turn ugly. It's up to us to raise the bar and not make ad hominem or angry attacks against other people. The best way to do this is to decide what you want to do and stick to the plan—you're much less likely to get caught in confrontations that can escalate into shouting matches.
- Polish counts. When you can, try to give yourself time to prepare so you really stand out. Putting some polish on your action makes it much more attractive to the media. For instance: a "real" employee of RepubliCorp would always go to work in business clothes, likely with sunglasses, and maybe a hat (for the men), or heels (for the women). Also, corporate lobbyist worth their salt would come to work with well-prepared visuals and signs. Taking the time to prepare your visuals really puts the event over the top.
- Keep going! Keep showing up at every public event you can! Make sure to share the results (including pictures and videos) with your other Council members—it can be a great way to get them on board for the next one!