Manny Rosales From RNC Visits Tomball To Discuss Events And Issues, How Can You Get Involved With GOP?

Manny Rosales, Deputy Director in the Coalitions Division of the Republican National Committee (RNC) was in Tomball this morning and spoke at a meeting organized by Barbara Tague, Harris County Republican Party Precinct 529 Chairman. Adryana Boyne also attended and spoke at the meeting. TexasGOPVote attended and took notes to share with the TexasGOPVote community.

The Coalitions Department is a relatively new RNC division created by Chairman Michael Steele as part of his commitment to communicate with constituents. Manny Rosales works to recruit and support Republicans. He travels around the nation, meeting with as many people as he can in order keep them updated with what's going on in Washington and to acquire feedback.

Manny explained the different divisions of the Republican National Committee. All of these divisions offer internships for undergraduate students and is a great opportunity to get students involved in the Republican Party. The internship positions include:

• The Chairman's office: The Chairman's office is responsible for coordinating the schedules and correspondence of the Chairman and the Chief of Staff. This department oversees all other divisions and orchestrates RNC interaction with high ranking party members.
• Co-Chairman's Office: The Co-Chairman's office is responsible for coordinating the RNC's women's outreach and leadership efforts.
• Coalitions: The Coalitions' division works to cultivate relationships with existing and new supporters to coordinate and promote party policies in an effort to garner donations, votes and advocates for Presidential, Congressional, State and party leadership throughout the nation.
• Counsel's Office: The Counsel's office advises the Chairman, RNC divisions, and State Parties on all legal matters. They also provide counsel for matters relating to the Rules of the Republican Party.
• Communications/Research/GOP-TV: The Communications' division is responsible for planning and executing the Committee's media strategy via statements to the press and media events.
• New Media: The New Media division is responsible for ensuring there is an effective online component to RNC operations. Web savvy students are a plus, but not a must.
• Finance: The Finance division is primarily responsible for RNC fundraising activities.
• Government Affairs: The Government Affairs division serves as the liaison between the RNC and Capitol Hill, Governors and State Legislators, and the Washington government affairs and business community.
• Member Services: The Member Services division serves as the liaison between the RNC and our National Committee Members.
• Political: The Political division serves as the liaison between the RNC and all state parties/candidates.
• Strategy: The RNC Strategy division is responsible for all polling, public opinion, targeting, voter contact, list development, voter vault and data development programs.
• Constituent Services: Constituent Services is responsible for responding to all questions, concerns and comments from constituents.

You can find out more information about internships here and can fill out an application here.

If you are not an undergraduate, there are still many ways to get involved through the RNC's training programs. The training programs are designed to sustain, mobilize, and expand participation through traditional Republican alliances. The programs also work to ensure that supporters become fully integrated into the Republican Party's infrastructure as mainstream activists with on-going opportunities to participate and support the functions of the Coalitions, Communications, Finance, and Political Divisions. The training programs include:

• Coalitions Training: This program educates supporters on how to build coalitions through issue advocacy.
• Say It Loud: This Surrogate 101 training program educates the grassroots on becoming an effective new media surrogate, traditional surrogate, and panelist or speaker.
• Delegate 101: This program educates supporters who are interested in becoming a delegate to their state or national convention. It also provides basic tips on how to achieve this goal, while encouraging direct contact with the State Party or County Party.

Manny also discussed the ways in which the RNC is working to better communicate, provide information, create opportunities for constituent engagement, and educate about the issues, which include:

• Special Events: Participation in entertainment and sporting events to connect with Republicans with diverse interests.
• National Conferences: Participate in national conferences to brand the Party among the traditional and non-traditional GOP supporters.
• Town Hall Meetings: Connecting with voters of all ages through a series of town hall meetings in targeted states
• Leadership briefings: Meetings with members of every community sharing an interest in our leadership issues.
• National Observances: Each month, RNC Coalitions acknowledges important dates and involves diverse communities in these observances through contests, features, video, and press releases.

Manny explained that the big issues the RNC has been dealing with this past year include the Stimulus Package, the Supreme Court Justice nomination of Sonia Sotomayor and how she is not a constitutionalist, and health care reform. Upcoming issues for this year will include cap-and-trade legislation, card check and increased unionization, Value-added taxes, the still high unemployment rate, the regulation of Wall Street, and immigration reform.

As far as the 2010 Elections go, Manny explained that there are 37 governor spots to be contested, 19 of which are currently Democratic-held. There are 36 Senator seats to be contested, 18 of which are currently Democratic-held. The RNC is specifically targeting the spots held by Senators Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Blanche Lincoln, and Hillary Clinton. In the House of Representatives, 40 additional GOP seats are needed in order to get rid of Pelosi and elect a new Speaker of the House.

Manny said that the RNC's goal is to win in 2010! To help attain this goal, the RNC is reaching out to minorities and educating them about the GOP. He also explained that while the Republican Party is made up of people with varying levels of conservatism, we must all come together in order to win back our country!

Manny Rosales then turned it over to Adryana Boyne to discuss how to reach out and truly embrace minorities, specifically Latinos. Adryana is a TexasGOPVote blogger and National Director of VOCES (Voices Offering Conservative Empowering Solutions) Action. Adryana was elected at-large as a National Delegate at the 2008 Texas Republican Convention. She is also a Political Commentator and Official National Surrogate of the RNC to the Media on Hispanic Affairs.

Adryana explained that there are 32 State Representatives who can speak Spanish and all of them are Democrats. Adryana represents the Republican Party in debates against the Democratic state reps for Spanish-speaking channels. Adryana explained that Latino culture is very in line with conservative values. Even Ronald Reagan once said, "Latinos are Republican, they just don't know it yet." Adryana explained that the anti-immigration rhetoric coming from the GOP must stop because that just turns potential Republican Latino voters away. America needs a realistic policy for immigration, NOT amnesty, but a realistic plan that works, and it needs to come from the Republicans. Adryana continued on to explain that it is important to secure the borders. The government also must stop giving away entitlements because this just entices people to come here undocumented. She stressed that the GOP must get the Latino vote in order to be successful in the upcoming elections.

Adryana went on to explain that she does not vote for a particular candidate because the candidate is Latino but because the candidate is conservative. However, if the candidate is running in a majority Latino region, then it makes sense to vote for a conservative who is Latino. Adryana gave the example of Francisco Quico Canseco's race in the 23rd Congressional District of Texas and how important it was for him to win the GOP primary since his district is so heavily Hispanic.

A man at the meeting asked how non-Latino Republicans should reach out to Latinos. Manny and Adryana explained that non-Latino Republicans should focus on discussing the socially conservative values of the GOP. Judeo-Christian values are also a possible topic of discussion. Make Latinos feel included. Go to them, don't expect them to come to you.

A woman at the meeting then asked what she could do today to help the country not be in serious danger down the road. Manny said to get involved with phone banks, get involved with your local GOP leadership, and help with local campaigns, particularly campaigns in which there will be a close race. You can also go to the Republican Action Network or go to www.gop.com and click the Act! tab on the top of the homepage for more ideas on how to help. Another way to make a huge impact is to get friends, neighbors, and family members to vote. In the 2008 Presidential Election, the voter turnout for eligible Texas voters was only 54%. There is huge potential in reaching out to the remaining 46% of eligible Texas voters! Get a group of people together to go vote, keep reminding everyone you know to vote, get people to vote during the early voting period to avoid having to deal with crowds on election day, do whatever it takes to get people to the polls!

Manny Rosales and Adryana Boyne: