Ummmm greetings everyone! I was thinking about HucksArmy a lot at work today, and what it could be. I thought about some of the ideas that I've had, and how I felt helpless in being able to implement them. I listened into the last conference call we had, but didn't speak up at the time. I think I'm better off writing out what's on my mind- and besides, I didn't want to interrupt the riveting discussion of natural gas in Oklahoma
So, I came home and started reading through forum feedback. I saw a few ideas that never came to fruition. Then I clicked on Our Leadership. I saw a bunch of positions for which I have no idea of what their purposes are, and a bunch of names of people who haven't been around here in months, maybe a year.

So what I want to know is who's in charge here? Who's 'the Decider'? I know David has taken on a lot, and has done a great job with the front page/blog. But besides David, I'm curious about the roles of the administrators and moderators. Maybe some further delegation is needed.

What I would like to see is increased structure to our little group here. I think it could be run more like a city council, or a board of directors...a group at the top who gives a yes/no on where we are going to direct our efforts.

When someone has a good idea we can post it, work it out in discussion, and then have the 'council' make the decision. So this is the first step in my opinion.
To be continued...but I'm really looking forward to some feedback.

If I could vote for two it would be for;
1. to be a message board to discuss the topics of the day, for it is vital if something like the Clemmons thing we just went through.

2. to lay the ground work for a possible 2012 run. We need to educate the uneducated to how the system works, as I learned it last year with Huckabee throughout the primaries.

I'm with c murphy - I would vote for 2 and 3 if I could, but I think 3 should be the top priority. (Thing is if you aren't aware of what else is going on, then 3 may be more difficult)

[BTW, I still want to continue with the resurrected Truthsquad idea from last month, but it will have to wait till after the holidays.]

This historical purpose of Huck's Army was to nominate Huckabee as the Republican nominee in the 2008 presidential general election.

Beyond the internet presence during the 2008 primary season, Huck's Army had a tangible physical presence including coordinating volunteer support in neighborhoods and rallys throughout the country. As time passed and leaders emerged, ideas solidified and our systems improved we became quite effective in shuttling campaign signs and supplies through the country from primary state to primary state. Toward the very end we began targeted campaigns in each primary state coordinating with local supporters and sending teams of volunteers to key areas. I led a team from Southern California to Lubbock, Texas prior to the Texas Republican primary. Beyond being a lot of fun I established great relationships with friends I still keep in touch with today.

Following Huckabee's defeat in the primary, Huck's Army encouraged members to support Senator McCain's campaign which many supporters did.

The future of Huck's Army remains rooted in supporting Huckabee, conservative policy and other conservative candidates consistent with Huckabee conservatism. This takes many shapes which can be summed up in advocacy.

Knowledge - Learning about Huckabee, conservative policy and conservative candidates informs every other action we take. Huck's Army, more than anything else at the present time, is about the dissemination of knowledge to inform people's actions.

Conversation - The most influential form of politics is conversation between friends.

Poll Participation - Voting in online or otherwise polls to depict support for Huckabee.

Social Media Participation - Leaving comments and voting in support at Huckabee.

Defending Huckabee - Researching and spreading the truth about Huckabee's history and policy.

Financially Supporting Huck PAC - Giving money to advance the PAC's agenda.

Advocating For Conservative Candidates - Electing other conservative candidates is the quickest way to impacting policy and getting other conservative politicians elected.

Advocating For Conservative Policy - Supporting conservative policy.

Special Projects - Leading or participating in projects that support Huckabee, conservative policy and candidates.

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Whatever doesn't kill Mike Huckabee makes him stronger.
- ABC's The Note

Everything should focus on the 2012 campaign. Truthsquad, fundraising ideas, local organizing and get out the vote are all important. HucksArmy was an indispensable resource in 2007-2008 and should be even more effective for 2011-2012.

All of these are great foci (?), but as titled - Hucks Army- we need to be soldiering for Mike, i.e. concentrate efforts on getting him elected; everything else is icing on the cake.

A lot of HA members are visionaries and great at recognizing what needs to be done. I wish those were my skills but they aren't. I am happy to work in the background and do 'grunt' work to carry out the visionaries' objectives.

I don't get original ideas as a rule but can sometimes add to the debate. Otherwise, give me a task and I will carry it out with fervor and to the best of my ability.

I plan to be more involved and committed this time around for Mike than I was able to last time. I am just waiting for my marching orders, which means, give me a job to do now (besides spreading the word about Mike with friends and coworkers which I still do) to lay necessary ground work for the more intense work when he announces he is running. Note I said when.

Thanks for this topic. We are a unique kind of group. Maybe more like a support group than a city council. We don't have a lot of "visible" leadership, which has worked well for us. We are all equally invested and take leadership by gently reproving members and steering conversations out of dangerous waters. We are all focused on the same goal - getting the Governor elected. There have been a few times when we have had to have real authority to handle particuarly unruly people but that is more the exception than the rule. But this forum has run amazingly well without leaders out front. We all take ownership.

I see us supporting Governor Huckabee into the white house in 2012 supporting him there and then staying together to get him re-elected. That should take us to 2020!! Looking forward to a looooong relationship!!

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My charge is that we lack focus in carrying out these actions of advocacy. Even though we are not in campaign mode, I think we can still have a significant presence and be a force to be reckoned with. Poll participation and Social Networking/truthsquad response can be more effective....we can be winning every online poll. I think our resources can be put to better use..most specifically our email list...I think the email blast is under-utilized.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. It's easy to read something in passing, like, "oh, go post a positive comment over here" or "we should vote in this poll here" and then someone might say to themselves, 'yeah I might do that'. But what if we had someone with some authority, some weight to tell us, 'Ok guys, this is what we're doing. I want to see at least 100 positive comments beneath this hit piece..lets get to work!' That's the kind of leadership I'm talking about, and some people crave it for motivational purposes.

I agree Christopher.Wilkerson. We have done well with "general" support of the Governor and it is worked well up to now. But I think it is time for some very specific goals/strategies/actions. It is NOT too early!

I would be interested in hearing others' opinions on this. I personally like the current format. If people want a more formal organization with lines of authority maybe HuckPAC would fit the bill. I am a state leader there, and it will be interesting to see how effective the TeamHuck structure will be down the road. I would hate to mess with the structure of this forum. When there are leaders who are nominated or sign up and then don't lead then there are followers who just sit.

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Ive been thinking, we have had quite a bit of spying as of late.... It would be nice if we had a private forum area, For Members that have been here for a while. Sometimes I have ideas, that I hesitate to discuss in open forum because of all the spying from Palin and Romney camps. I think HucksArmy needs a covert division.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank David for his personal work on HA, He has helped carry HA through some tough times. He deserves a little recognition once in a while. Thanks Dave.

I am here to help broaden and put forth the Huck "Doctrine" The Hucka Boom.

On these same thoughts, would anyone be interested in a "breakroom" here where we can go and just share with each other on non-huckabee items? Maybe with live chat if that is possible.

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Just call it the huck's berets, like the green berets of the millitary. Those who join, gets special hats and insignia.

There is a private forum, but there is a list of approved members.i'll suggest that we nominate certain members for access.

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I agree with a lot of what has been said here. The focus should be electing conservatives in 2010, and then helping Huckabee win the Nomination and the White House in 2012. To make that happen, we are going to have to build up his support among the establishment conservatives. I think the number 1 way to do that is to have a strong presence at CPAC, and help him come out strong in the straw poll. He doesn't have to win it outright, but he has to place in the top 4 this time. Last time I believe he came in at like number 5 or 6. I think the goal should be 20% of the vote. To do that we need to be there, and we need to have something to pass out to attendees.

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Attending CPAC is a good idea for those who can afford to go. You can register here.

They usually announce the agenda a couple of weeks in advance.

Further demonstrates my point. We have talked about having a presence at CPAC, but where is the action? What is the goal? Will we have some kind of kiosk? Literature? Who is going? Will they cough up the money to travel there, or could we pull together and sponsor someone? What do we hope will be the result of this presence? Just to report on the goings-on? A Recruiting effort? How do we recruit, and what number of people should we aim for?

The format wouldn't have to change. We're still all volunteers and we can choose to participate furtherance of a goal or not. But who sets the goals? We can have a dozen people suggesting what they think would be helpful, and then have a dozen people go off in their own directions. HucksArmy can do things that HuckPAC can't or doesn't do. And frankly, all I ever hear from HuckPAC is requests for funding (except for the occasional call-bank). That's not to knock HuckPAC, but the PAC has just has different goals.
Maybe the terms I used like 'city council' or 'board of directors' seem a little too formal or scary. But it's only semantics. We could just as easily set up teams with team leaders. Each team would be focused on our ongoing goals. What do we have now? A glorified kaffee klatsch. (And i really don't mean that to be as harsh as it may sound. )