As a devout disciple of GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee, Brenda Janssen knew well in advance that last Monday would be big day — for both. Up at 5 a.m., which is not all that unusual during this primary season, Janssen immediately began to work the computer from her home office in Eastwood, relying heavily on the politician’s new best friend, meetup.com.
She sent out reminders about a meeting the next day at First Baptist Church of Orlando, where all the presidential candidates would receive a vote of confidence through prayer. Then Janssen commuted to her other office, the official Huckabee headquarters near Florida Mall, spending several more hours on the phones, after the rest of the world had awakened, arranging for signs and campaign materials to be sent all across Central Florida.
But this day was special. Huckabee, pastor and former Arkansas governor, was scheduled to arrive at Orlando International Airport for a key campaign stop. “They called us at 10:30 that morning and asked if I could get 100 people out there. I put out a meetup notice and we had almost 150 people there to meet him with kids and signs,” she said. Oh yes, the photo op, a tried-and-true staple of modern-day campaigning.
To ensure positive publicity, Huckabee wanted television news to capture all the excitement his supporters could muster. After all, Huckabee was competing for media coverage with fellow would-be nominees Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, who all arrived in Orlando on the same day. But this campaign has added a new wrinkle to politics as usual. Meetup.com has embraced groups and organizations of all stripes, including those of a political persuasion.
Janssen first came across Meetup in the fall, when she was looking to get actively involved in the Huckabee movement. Instead, she discovered there wasn’t a local group online, so she started one. By December her Huckabee Meetup group became the largest of its kind in the country, creating an army of committed volunteers. Today, with 15,000 Huckabee Meetup supporters nationwide, the Orlando group boasts nearly 400 members.
“This is the strength of our network. [Meetup.com] is such an incredible tool. When you consider there are 15,000 of us out there, that’s powerful. And one person can do a lot,” said Janssen, whose public-relations background dovetails nicely into her initial foray into outreach politics. Indeed, aided by a computer and a passion for politics, one individual can make a difference — both positive and negative. In the political arena, the computer can also be used to conduct an updated variation of the dirty tricks of old.
After welcoming her chosen one at OIA, Janssen spent the rest of the afternoon, sans lunch, doing damage control, sidetracking her efforts during a critical time. Apparently, someone armed with a computer and a penchant for mischief, had sent out an unsolicited e-mail blast to perhaps thousands of voters, with Janssen as the return address. “It made it look like Huckabee supporters were spamming them. I spent four hours sending out apologies,” she said.
“We were as much a victim as they were.” But Janssen will not be dissuaded by the failings of the political process, as she has in the past. Because of an abiding belief in her candidate, she is energized like never before. Speaking from her home, in between incoming phone calls, Janssen pores over the campaign materials on her dining room table — T-shirts, bumper stickers and homemade pins, all with the Huckabee name and his message of “Faith, Family, Freedom.”
Owing to her busy schedule, a Christmas tree still illuminates the living room. “This is Huckabee office east,” she said. “Usually I have two phones going, one against each ear. It’s a big job. “This is 100 percent grassroots. We don’t use any money from the Huckabee campaign.
This is how he’s been able to fly under the radar.” And she speaks glowingly of the man that has inspired her to believe, and to act. “He’s very personable,” she said. “He’s very inclusive of other faiths, very inclusive of minorities.” She also aligns with Huckabee on such issues as immigration, the economy and, notably, the FairTax, a comprehensive tax overhaul plan that would replace all federal- income and payroll-based taxes with a national retail-sales tax.
“The media wants to paint him in the corner of being a Baptist pastor. There’s so much more to him. The fact that he comes at all these issues from a moral standpoint does not bother me at all. He is unapologetic for his Christian faith.” Meanwhile, UCF senior Nik Ritchie also has faith, in his candidate of choice, Ron Paul, and in meetup.com. Ritchie, a 21-year-old music major, is an example of idealistic youth beaten down by the unfulfilled promise of politics.
Although he would not reveal the presidential candidate he worked for in 2004, he said the end result left him “pretty discouraged.” “I was very distrustful of all politicians. I felt the process was very closed and I couldn’t do much about it,“ he said. But Ritchie, the political activist, has been born again. And Ron Paul, a specialist in obstetrics/gynecology before being elected to Congress in 1976, is the midwife of his rebirth.
“Paul is doing quite well, showing people can affect the process,” he said. “He’s not merely talking, but adhering to his own principles. The others talk, but don’t follow through.” Paul is viewed by many as a maverick Republican who has found strong support — financial and philosophical — from the Internet and its young users. On Dec. 16, Paul had the largest one-day fundraiser in U.S. political history, raising over $6 million in 24 hours through a grassroots effort, organized independently of his campaign.
Not surprisingly, Ritchie received his first impression of Paul from a video over the Internet. “What struck me was his straight-forwardness and honesty,” he said. “He has the most consistent voting record… and never voted for a tax increase.” But Ritchie maintains that Paul’s platform, espousing a shared libertarian view, is not limited to young voters. “He goes across all ages and party affiliations. He’s got such a unifying message,” he said.
Soon after, Ritchie founded both Knights for Liberty and the UCF Ron Paul Meetup Group. While doing the “grunt work” of door-to-door canvassing on weekends and manning a Ron Paul booth during the week in front of the Student Union, Ritchie also has seen the future of democracy. “I think the Internet is going to revolutionize politics, if it hasn’t already,” he said. “Ron Paul has energized people.
Eighty to 90 percent of the people I meet in the campaign say they didn’t have anything to do with elections; most are jaded. “Ron Paul has sparked a new generation of political activism. Even if he doesn’t win, he has totally inspired people and we are here to stay.” Indeed, after the Florida primary, these dedicated supporters will continue on the campaign trail.
Ritchie will stay logged on meetup.com, while Janssen, who recently returned from New Hampshire, will travel to Georgia for the next primary, carrying on her political pilgrimage. “A lot of people sit out the primaries and only vote in November, I used to do that myself, and then complain there’s no one to vote for. But all of us in Florida know what a difference can be made in a close election.”
