Maj Toure is the founder of Black Guns Matter. He is a great example of someone doing, "The Work."
I, Publius Jr, live in St Paul Minnesota which is located in Congressional District 4 (CD4). Republicans haven't elected their candidate for the US House since 1946. As of this writing that's 79 years. It really hasn't been close for decades. Not exactly sure why initially Republicans started to lose to the Democratic Farmer & Labor (DFL) Party but since the time I've been caucusing here no matter what the Republican Candidate does they can't seem to break thru the 33% Vote percentage. Most of the candidates aren't in my opinion Doing "The Work" to Win.
What is "The Work"?
The Work, is many things but it is simple; it is community engagement to make a bankable reputation.
Republican Candidates in CD4 run a campaign usually that runs between 6 and 10 months. That is way too short to get your name out there and to build a bankable reputation. In July 2010 I was the old House District 66A Chair. I had only been in office a few months then when I realized the "Why" Republicans don't win in CD4, nor in St Paul. I was finishing out the term of the previous chair who was a Libertarian aka Fiscal Conservative Only or FISCO. He was running for office against the multiple term incumbent Rep John Lesch and it was learned that he was pro-choice and when the blood was in the water, it was feeding time for the Conservatives at the Endorsing Convention. He was questioned and the voting results were that there was no endorsement. He didn't even get to 50% of the vote. So a month later he quit being the HD 66A Republicans Chair and within 90 days I had been elected the new chair. There was no training available and I learned right away the local party unit, HD 66A Republicans (which is mostly in the new HD 66B) didn't do anything to move the needle towards 51% of the vote.
Maybe it was a prayer or God was listening to me but one morning I woke up with an answer to how to get beyond the usual 25% of the vote at election time. The thought was: "Govern Without Being Elected." I didn't know what that meant, which shows the thought wasn't from me.
As the weeks went by it fleshed itself out showing that most of what Government did, regular people could do now without asking to do it. If we did the work to help people out, which is the whole point of governing people, we could show others who don't identify as Republicans or Conservatives that we are their best choice at election time. To do that I felt directed to find groups in the old HD 66A area that already were doing this work, this community engagement which I've come to call, "The Work."
You Don't Have to Reinvent the Wheel
There are either nonpartisan nonprofit groups or just a block club, or a church group helping people in your area. Some are well funded, others are using their own wallets. Some are well organized and some not so well organized. So if you want to help people in your neighborhood you don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can find a group and start volunteering. Most groups welcome volunteers as that's usually what they lack.
Before You Help Other Groups Out, Some Thoughts to Keep in Mind
Seeking these groups requires a bit of work. Though before you go out to find these groups a couple things need to happen first. You need to get into the mindset that some of the groups doing community engagement/charitable work might not agree with everything you are about. The other thing is that because you are helping them out, you will have to provide support and not try to control everything to death. No one likes volunteers who are new to the group to dictate to others what might be done.
Not Playing to Ones Strengths Will Never Help you Win
Often times I feel our party likes to follow our opponents way of doing things. Yet this is not a good practice to do as the opponent has certain strengths they operate under. I notice Republicans never play to their strengths. One area that is hands down a strength of Republicans is practicing ones faith not just in attendance at church but volunteering for certain projects. Yet when it comes to campaigning they completely ignore this strength of theirs and sometimes believing in the leftwing mantra of "Separation of Church & State." Churches and Church Groups get targeted by DFL and the Republicans do nothing to stop it. Even sometimes trying to compromise with these attacks.
You know when the Republicans are losing when they think that if they do what the Democrats do they will come out on top. The latest is voting early before an election. When you vote is up to you but cajoling people who normally vote on election day to vote early is just mindless follow the leader kind of stupidity. The Democrats vote early mindset has been codified so they have all the time in the world to commit election fraud. Republicans not realizing what this vote early practice is, shows how weak they are and one can guess the outcome before all the ballots are counted by hackable machines.
Where to Find Groups You Can Help Volunteer With
Some groups you might want to look for are from Churches, Temples, and Mosques. There are Veterans Groups, and those that help out the poor directly.
One needs a goal to reach in why you are doing "The Work." With that in mind a great example is Maj Toure's Black Guns Matter.
Maj Toure's Black Guns Matter Does "The Work"
If you watched the video Maj does a lot of one on one selling of his idea to educate Black people about their 2nd Amendment rights as well as their Free Speech Rights too. This is one reason why I reached out to him, after hearing about him from Star Parker's Urban CURE, in September 2016 for a phone interview. I talked to him for 20 minutes and I really thought his goals were admirable and I've been a big fan of him since, because he Does The Work.
He had a simple idea initially to go to 13 Cities that had high violent crime and to teach people who lived there not necessarily Black People but anyone who wanted to come to his event. One had to put down a $50 deposit but upon the start of the training you would get this money back. It was a way to get serious people to attend. I asked if he could come to St Paul then Minneapolis. It is the Twin Cities but these 2 cities have different personalities and Minneapolis tends to be more violent. He eventually did come here, but to Minneapolis about a week after Officer Yanez had been acquitted of killing Philando Castile. I wanted to go, but a white guy taking the bus to a place in Minneapolis was in my opinion not a safe idea so I sent him a note saying so. He did return except right about the time of the George Floyd Riots.
Someday I'll meet him in person.
Maj Toure does "The Work," and he is known for the projects and the unabashed belief in his mission. Mention his name or his organization and those that have heard his name know exactly what he is about and what he is capable of doing. His "Work" isn't about making a name for himself but it is about the Mission.
So can Republicans Do "The Work" to Win?
There is an old Chinese Proverb by Lao Tzu, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." This means if you intend to accomplish something great you need to start if off in a decisive manner. It's really easy to put off a large task by procrastinating, or saying you're not like someone else who might have a bigger mouth than you. Only you can accomplish the task God has ordained you to do.
There's a song by Josh Wilson, a Christian Rock singer called, "I Refuse." When I was the Local Party Unit Chair of the new HD 66B Republicans and I felt like no one wanted to do the hard work of organizing I would open my up my iPod Touch and hit the song to encourage me to carry on through the mission. Josh Wilson explains it in the video below that there was a flood in Nashville Tennessee in 2010 and he wrote the song as kind of motivation to get out and help his neighbors and people he's never met because he believes he and others are the hands & feet of Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6md9teDFMU
It's a choice to help others as he says. The song says, "I could say a prayer and just move on like nothing is wrong." Yet because he realized that he was called by God to help others he refused to sit around and let someone else do what God called him to do.
Whether you hear the calling of what God has in store for you or you need to finish what you've started you need to make small goals on the road to bigger goals of "The Work."
Note to reader: neither Josh Wilson, nor Maj Toure are associated with Saintpaulrepublicans.us, but I listed them as examples in the article. I'd be flattered if they did appreciate what I do, and followed me. ~~ Publius Jr.