El Des Moines Register nos acerca a los esfuerzos del Tea Party y otras organizaciones constitucionalistas en Iowa para ganar peso en el caucus presidencial del año que viene.
(...) Tea party supporters "are going to have a major impact on the Republican nomination. Major. And Iowa is the starting point," said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "In a place like Iowa, a few thousand tea party supporters could make the difference for a candidate."
They're developing plans for a series of workshops around the state and a fundraiser with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a presidential prospect and a favorite of the tea party audience.
Caucus primers and high-profile presentations like the Bachmann event are aimed at introducing these newly involved, fired-up activists to the nuances and techniques of the state's singular political event.
(...) Ryan Rhodes, chairman of the Iowa Tea Party, declared in December that presidential candidates would need to seek out tea party activists and offer a message of limited government and strict adherence to the Constitution to be successful in Iowa.
The 28-year-old strategist and former Iowa House candidate from West Des Moines has since weighed different plans to keep supporters active. That's vital for the caucuses, where local volunteers can build support for a little-known candidate.
Rhodes said he is pivoting from a plan that involves rallies aimed at drawing crowds to one that involves a series of smaller-group caucus primers to educate potential organizers about the process.
Eventually, though, Rhodes knows that drawing crowds is essential to bring out new recruits, a strategy mastered by Democrat Barack Obama's winning Iowa caucus campaign in 2008. Obama's staff mastered securing e-mail addresses and other contact information from anyone who attended an Iowa event, and then keeping in constant touch until the person turned out on caucus night.
"I saw the way Obama organized," Rhodes said. "I don't see any reason why we can't learn from some of these things."
A handful of key players across Iowa, with Ankeny's Marcia Hora directing traffic, could make coordinating easier.
Hora, 58, a former teacher and researcher, helped put together the November meeting at the fairgrounds. In December, she helped organize 46 related conservative groups - from Burlington to Spencer - into the Iowa Grassroots Conservative Coalition.
The coalition now has a website with all the groups listed, conducts weekly conference calls and has begun recruiting supporters to list their talents and interests online.
"Maybe they're a carpenter, and can help construct a stage for a rally," Hora said. "But it also establishes a means for us to mobilize and communicate with these people. We're creating a database, trying to figure out who they are and what the numbers are."
Quantifying supporters is critical to the caucuses. A candidate's Iowa campaign team routinely develops detailed plans for reaching specific coalitions, such as gun owners and clergy.
In 2008, GOP caucus turnout set a record at more than 120,000. About 11,000 votes separated the winner, Huckabee, from second-place finisher Mitt Romney.
"Fast-forward to Feb. 6, 2012," Iowa Republican Party Chairman Matt Strawn said. "With 10,000 or 15,000 new tea party-type caucusgoers, you're talking maybe 10 or 12 percent of the turnout? There's no question that they can make a big difference." (...)
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