Presidential Visit Demonstrations
A best practice
Based upon Obama visits to Shaker Heights High School and Lorain County Community College, OH
1. The earliest indication of a planned visit will probably be discovered in a local newspaper identifying the planned location. Check the newspaper and the website of the planned location daily for date and time. The time will not be disclosed more than a few days before the event; a secret service requirement.
2. Put out an early warning to all organizations and individuals in your distro who may participate as soon as you know the date. Begin putting out updates (recommend daily) as soon as you know the time.
3. As soon as possible, disseminate the demonstration protocol (rules of behavior), maps of the location (varying levels of detail showing how to get there from distant and close locations), parking area, meetup point, march route, demonstration area, locations of booths (if any), weather forecast (suggested dress) and suggested contents for signs. It is highly recommended that organizers suggest the message(s) they would like to demonstration to convey; we suggest no more than 3 messages (the more messages, the more diluted the effect and the more unlikely it is to be retained by viewers).
4. Demonstration leaders should be identified and their contact info should be made available. At the minimum, an overall organizer should be identified. It is also helpful if organizers from supporting organizations be identified and their contact info made available.
5. A media coordinator should be assigned to issue press releases (no earlier than the day before the event, or you will attract counter-demonstrators), and to assist the media in getting to the location and interviewing organizational leaders for broadcast. The best choice for this is someone experienced in working with the media, who understands their needs for “eye candy”, “provocative points”, and to meet their deadline for the evening (or morning) news cycle.
6. Be sure that the announced start time is at least one hour before the police begin barricading streets. If the planned location’s website suggests that people arrive at 11 AM and says that nobody will be admitted after 1 PM., that means that the streets will be barricaded at noon and the President will probably speak at about 1:30-1:45. Start time for demonstrators should be set about 1 hour before the suggested early start time so that they can organize and march to the demonstration site before the streets are blockaded and access is stopped.
7. If asked, the police or the school will suggest a “free speech area” where you can stage your demonstration. Do NOT allow any demonstrators to go there; they will be quarantined out of sight of the President, the public and the media.
8. The school may make “tickets” to the event available at a certain time and location. The overwhelming majority of tickets are already reserved for the President’s “faithful” supporters; ACORN, union bosses, major donors, experienced volunteers, etc.; they definitely want to eliminate any David Hendrick’s from embarrassing the Pres. At Lorain tickets were available at the field house from 6-9 PM three nights before the event (giving secret service ample time to check people out). At 6:04 there were no tickets left. The only people who were able to get tickets had gotten in line before 2:30 PM.
9. If anyone is able to get inside for the town hall, don’t even think about taking a weapon, recording device (including cell phone), etc. And don’t bug the hippy standing in the aisle with the trash barrel, or one of his secret service buddies will come tell you to get away from the barrel and take your seat. The audience will be sprinkled with secret service people who look so “common” they would get lost in a crowd of two; usually they won’t have the tell- tale earphone coil because if the stuff hits the fan they’re not there to talk about it.
10. If possible, set up a headquarters at a nearby business or set up booths where materials can be distributed and newbies can sign up to get on the email distro; if in January near the chilly north shore of Ohio (Lorain) put a heater in a booth with walls; try to have sign materials and markers available for people (suggested donation $5 will usually cover it).
11. On the day of the demonstration, check local businesses on either side of the venue; if the secret service has instructed them to close, arrival will be by motorcade and this is the direction from which the motorcade will come; the site of the demonstration can be adjusted accordingly.
12. Enjoy the orange secret service helicopter. It will buzz over several times checking traffic and verifying that the only snipers on top of the buildings are secret service or police. The police snipers are the ones you see, the secret service ones are the ones you don’t see. Long before the orange chopper shows up you’ll have noticed a police car at every intersection approaching the location of the town hall. They’ll also be on every overpass on the route to the location.
13. The organizers must have their cell phones; bull horns are strongly recommended to provide direction to the participants. Cameras and camcorders are suggested to record the fun, and to discourage counter-demonstrators with evidence admissible in court.
14. The top priority of a demonstration is to educate the public through the news media. Be sure they get their story by 3-4 PM deadline.
15. The second highest priority is to interact with the public; the passersby. Sometimes they will park their cars and join you. Even if they don’t, they will tell their neighbors about having witnessed you, and they will all be watching for the news.
16. The third highest priority is having fun and meeting new people. Get their email address or telnum and invite them to join an organized group.
17. Influencing the President is not even a consideration; that won’t happen.
18. Each organizer should anticipate likely media questions and prepare a response, at least mentally. Each organizer should prepare the delivery of a “message”, at least mentally. The message should be a single sentence, which can be expanded into a paragraph is the journalist wishes to pursue it further. Keep it simple.
19. If you are asked a question you don’t like “Why do conservatives hate people?”; answer the question you would have wanted to be asked; “Conservatives understand that government intervention in our economy is like a bull in a china shop; it just wrecks everything. Investors won’t invest, and businesses won’t hire.”
20. Stay on topic; "birthers", "911 truthers" or others with a different cause are respectully encouraged to take their message to their own event.