July 23, 2007

The Iowa Straw Poll is coming up on August 11, and we'd like to invite you to join us — along with Keyes supporters from all around the country — at this highly-publicized event, the biggest of its kind in the U.S.

Since 1979, the Iowa Straw Poll has been credited with significantly narrowing the field of Republican presidential hopefuls months before the GOP primaries. That's why Giuliani, McCain, and Fred Thompson are skipping the straw poll this year — to avoid risking a disappointing showing that could deflate their campaigns.

Since Alan Keyes is unannounced at this point, the Iowa GOP won't let him speak or participate in the balloting (not even by write-in). But we can still have an impact.

Here's how —

More than 40,000 attendees (including several hundred media) are expected to come to this year's straw poll (that's the number who attended in 1999, the last time the straw poll was held). Most of these people are politically active and will likely participate in the influential Iowa Caucus, which will be held in January.

These facts make the straw poll a unique opportunity to get literature into the hands of a large number of the state's voters, many of whom are already very supportive of the possibility of a Keyes candidacy (since Alan got 14 percent in the 2000 Iowa Caucus and is still remembered fondly by grassroots Iowans, we keep hearing from reliable sources).

To distribute literature, we're required to reserve a table — so we're lining one up in the best location still available. We'll use our table as a base of operations for our volunteers.

Here's what you can do to help —

1. Donate to help us cover the cost of participating in the event. In addition to the high price of reserving a table, the large amount of literature we plan to disseminate will be fairly expensive.
   
   We'll print up as many two-page color fliers and one-page black and white fliers as we can afford. We'd like to blanket the event with thousands of fliers. To do this, we'll need your financial help.
   
   
2. If your financial situation is limited, see if close relatives and friends can help with a contribution. Make sure they understand the unique opportunity the Iowa Straw Poll gives us for contacting a large number of Keyes supporters in one place — provided we have the funds to participate effectively.
   
   Keep in mind that if we have a significant presence at the straw poll, this influence will boost our national movement and possibly give Alan the kind of support he needs to announce his candidacy. It will bring in new volunteers and seed money, to help us get our effort off the ground. As is often noted, Iowa is regarded as the focal point of America's presidential politics.
   
   
3. If you live within traveling distance of Ames, Iowa (35 miles north of Des Moines), please come and join us at the straw poll. The national leaders of our movement will be there, and this will give you a chance to meet them, as well as share ideas for building our nationwide grassroots effort.
   
   Just as important, joining us in this festive event will give you a chance to rub shoulders with the thousands of Keyes-supportive Iowa voters who are expected to be in attendance — as you hand out literature and talk with attendees about rallying around Alan to take back our country. The main goal will be to get people to go to AlanKeyes.com afterward and learn more, get involved, and help us build our effort.
   
   If enough funds come in between now and the straw poll, we plan to have "We Need Alan Keyes" T-shirts and lapel stickers made for our volunteers to wear at the event.
   
   
4. If you can attend, please RSVP to , so we know who's coming.
   
   

Here's basic information about the Iowa Straw Poll:

1. The straw poll will be held from 10 am to 6 pm on August 11, at the Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa — which is 35 miles north of Des Moines. (The Coliseum is on the corner of Lincoln Way and Elwood Drive.) See map.
   
   
2. To get in, you'll need to buy a $35 ticket. You can order tickets online, or at the door. (Organizers say it's best to order in advance, to avoid long lines, as well as the possibility that tickets will be gone by the day of the event.)
   
   
3. The GOP candidates will have tents for giving out free food, so there should be plenty to eat.
   
   

We hope to see you there!

For additional background, see:

Seed money needed to fund our movement

Besides funds for the Iowa Straw Poll, we need seed money to get our movement fully off the ground. All of us are volunteering our time and effort — but like any political movement or campaign, we have a significant list of things we'd like to utilize in order to be effective. This includes high-tech servers for our website; state-of-the-art computer programming; professional guidance with FEC rules compliance; improved press release capability; means for advertising, mailings, literature, and travel expenses; supplies of bumper stickers, T-shirts, DVD's, and other gear — and everything else normally used by a political movement or campaign.

Please see what you can do to help us fundraise. If you have experience with this sort of thing, please go to work sending donors our way. (See Contribute.)

Let's make an impact in Iowa and beyond! Thanks!