Based on what conservative bloggers are posting, the results of the 2008 elections have delivered a heave dose of “Change they can bereave in.”

It’s not at all surprising to see conservatives getting up on their soapbox and “venting their spleen.” After all, they’ve just endured watching the electoral embrace of candidates who are advocating more socialism as the “solution” to problems that were caused in the first place by too much government.

However, I have yet to find any conservative bloggers offering viable solutions that would win back the voters who have turned away from the party of Ronald Reagan.

To fill that void, allow me to point out an amazing exception to this year’s flight from conservatism. More importantly, this exception offers the blueprint for conservatives to regain the upper hand in future elections.

Running on an unabashed conservative platform, Utah’s Jason Chaffetz handily defeated an entrenched 6-term incumbent Congressman who had come to represent today’s Republican party and it’s abandonment of Reagan Conservatism.

Even more remarkable is how Chaffetz accomplished this victory:

• Chaffetz won despite the fact that the six term incumbent outspent him by $600,000 and despite the endorsement of the incumbent by President George W Bush, both Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett, all three local newspapers.
• The incumbent had a paid campaign staff, while Chaffetz defied conventional wisdom and utilized only unpaid volunteers.
• The incumbent spent thousands of dollars on trinkets and other inducements to get the delegates to vote for him, while Chaffetz wouldn’t so much as buy a meal for anyone whether they were working on his campaign or not.
• The incumbent’s campaign was funded primarily by PACs and special interest groups from outside of Utah, while Chaffetz received the majority of his campaign contributions from individuals within his district.
• Following what has become a standard campaign procedure, the incumbent’s campaign ran with a perpetually outstanding debt, while Chaffetz refused to go into debt and kept his vow to not spend a single cent that he did not have on hand.
• Despite all of these incumbent advantages (which as you know has resulted in the perpetual re-election of almost all incumbents), Chaffetz soundly defeated the incumbent by 20 percentage points, garnering 60% of the vote to the incumbent’s 40%.

How did Chaffetz pull this off? By tapping into the full power of local individuals properly motivated to combine with other like-minded people in the same cause (getting Chaffetz elected).

All of it was made possible by grass roots volunteers. As amazing as Chaffetz is as an individual and as a candidate, if he had not had his group of volunteers behind him, he would never have been able to win the election—particularly with the deck stacked against him and the incumbent holding all of the traditional cards. Our success was unparalleled in modern political history.

It started at the precinct level and and with over 1,000 volunteers actively working for the campaign, we managed to pull off a miracle. Because they felt so strongly about supporting a candidate who actually believed in the same conservative principles they did, volunteers stepped forward to distribute signs, get endorsement letters, make phone calls, put up door hangers, write blogs, participate in honk and waves, march in parades, set up and attend meet the candidate nights and cottage meetings, make videos and effectively get the message out to the masses using Web 2.0 tools. That my friends, is the power of the grass roots organization.

And it worked. Combining our integrity, we trumped the special interest money that the out of touch incumbent had previously been able to count on.

That same success can (and should) be duplicated all over the United States. Candidates who commit to uphold the core conservative values that made America great need to step forward and then local individuals need step forward to support their election.

Of course, the key question is exactly how do you get local individuals properly motivated to help you get elected? Fortunately, the people who actually accomplished the “Chaffetz miracle” are available to help you do just that.

If you’re a true (smaller government) conservative candidate within the state of Utah, you can find help by contacting the 3rd District Conservatives and asking for their assistance.

If you live outside the state of Utah however, an excellent resource is the Independent Caucus. They have educational material that will help spread your conservative message and they can help you build the exact same effective grass roots organization that we used to get Jason Chaffetz elected.

Both of these groups played a major part in getting Jason Chaffetz from Utah’s 3rd District elected to US Congress. Both are not just candidate based groups, but they also provide education and resources for those who have a desire to learn more about applying the principles of grass roots activism to promote good laws and put good men and women into office who share and commit to our conservative principles and values.

So now it’s up to you. You can be content with conservative bloggers dishing out their “post- game” analysis of why the Republicans got their tail kicked. Or you can get involved and get your family, friends, and neighbors involved to put good conservative candidates into office.

You can start on the path of political success by contacting either the “3rd District Conservatives” in Utah or the “Independence Caucus” anywhere else in the United States.

Now’s the time to get started. Via con Dios.

I used to think that voting every two years was enough to fulfill my civic duty. And every time I submitted my ballot, my cynicism would jade my view of what I had just done because in my heart and mind, I was certain that my vote didn’t really mean anything and wouldn’t make a difference. I believed that there were powers behind the scenes pulling the strings so that no matter how I and my family, friends, and neighbors voted, those power brokers would get their way.

Last year I had an epiphany that changed my worldview irrevocably. I had a strong impression that I needed to get more involved politically. Five years ago a dear friend introduced me to the whole concept of the caucus. She called me up and invited me to attend the local caucus so I could vote and I responded by asking, “What’s a caucus?” She very patiently explained to me how the caucus works and how it is the epitome of grassroots politics. After that I dutifully attended two caucus meetings every two years and cast my votes for state and county delegates and precinct officers. Precinct was a new word to me but through understanding it, brought me a renewed faith and hope in the entire political process.

They say “All politics is local.” And so it is. The precinct is the foundation of what happens from that level up. And understanding how you can make a difference in the political process at the precinct level is the essence of “the ground game” of political grass roots organization.

So when I had my epiphany I knew I had to do something more than vote. When the 2008 caucus was about a month away, I had another impression that I needed to run as a state delegate. I made it my goal to remove our incumbent Congressman (who happens to live in the same town as I) from office and as I knocked on doors and made phone calls putting my name in front of potential caucus attendees, I told them so. When I was nominated at the caucus I was asked to give a two-minute speech and answer questions after. I don’t remember much of what I said, except I reiterated my desire to remove the sitting Congressman from office and that I had an honest desire to make a contribution to my community in a meaningful way, and this was the best way I knew I could help.

I was elected and then spent the next few weeks before the State Convention attending the meet and greets of all the potential candidates. I took copious notes and asked many questions of the candidates. I observed their demeanor as they answered difficult questions and looked deeply into their eyes to ensure sincerity and purity of motives. Then I made my assessment and made more phone calls and organized cottage to report my findings and determine the “will of the people” based on my assessment.

The State Convention was unlike any other event I had ever attended up to that moment and I truly felt that I was inside the belly of the beast. And what a lesson in politics I received that day alone! At the end of the day, my chosen candidate had missed removing our incumbent by a mere nine votes. That evening I made up my mind that I could do even more than merely be a state delegate and I donated money to Jason Chaffetz’s campaign through PayPal and then sent Jason an email offering to help with his campaign. Again I received an amazing education in the political process and learned just how much one person could do to make a difference. First you just have to care enough!

I won’t bore you with the detail of what I did specifically to help the campaign, but five and a half weeks later, Jason was the Republican nominee for US Congress, 3rd District in the State of Utah. And besides interacting on a regular basis with Jason and seeing what a high quality man of integrity he is, I had the amazing experience of connecting with scores of like-minded people who shared my values and my passion for making a difference in the world by getting involved politically. Now that the election is over and Jason is our new US Congressman beginning in January of 2009, many of those same people are still working hard on effecting change through being involved in the political process at both the precinct level and the legislative level. You can also get involved and make a difference. Even if you’re not a citizen of the United States, you can turn your non vote into ten votes or more by talking to people and helping them understand their civic duty while promoting your cause and/or candidate. That’s the power we have as individuals banding together. If you also share the American values of liberty, freedom and financial success, I invite you to join our discussion group, Third District Conservatives by clicking on this email link and putting the word “Subscribe” in the subject line of the email and we’ll be happy to have you join our discussion. I still believe there are power brokers who work behind the scenes to have their way, but now I’m one of them. Get involved today in order to preserve our children’s tomorrows.