Trump supporters are trying out a new club approach.
Grassroots Groups Can Make a Difference in Elections
Are you tired of being bombarded with negative TV and radio ads during election season? Well, there’s hope! Grassroots groups are forming to provide voters with meaningful personal interactions that might sway their votes. And one such group is being formed in Pennsylvania, a critical swing state, to build support for former President Donald Trump.
“There are so many people who are for Trump, but they don’t have that outlet,” says Dr. Anthony Ruffa, who is leading the formation of the new group called AmFirst 47 in Erie County.
The AmFirst 47 group is patterned after a similar organization in Florida, where Club 47 USA, the nation’s largest organized group of Trump supporters, has drawn droves to its meetings in Palm Beach County. Ruffa saw the success of Club 47 USA and joined forces with four politically savvy people to launch AmFirst 47 in Erie County.
Supporting Trump’s “America First” Policies
The Florida and Pennsylvania Trump groups welcome people of all political stripes as long as they support Trump and his “America First” policies–shortened to “AmFirst” in the Erie group’s name. These pro-Trump clubs differ from conventional political organizations. Neither group raises funds for any politician. They’re also not directly tied to any specific political party or candidate’s campaign organization, although they’re happy to work with political leaders.
Leaders of both Trump clubs shy away from talking about his political rivals. Instead, they remain focused on correcting misconceptions about Trump, neutralizing criticisms of him, and educating potential voters about his successes and plans for the future.
Building Connections with Voters
Although online fan groups support Trump, Biden, and other politicians, it’s unclear whether any organized in-person “clubs” exist for presidential candidates other than Trump. But scholarly research, coupled with anecdotes from Erie County voters and politicos, suggests that personal connections with voters could pay off at the ballot box more handsomely than high-priced advertising.
AmFirst 47’s leaders are contacting participants in dozens of civic and issue-oriented organizations. These include pro-life causes, Moms for Liberty, National Rifle Association members, Hispanics, college students, and others who share conservative values. Hispanic outreach is significant, says Ruffa, who speaks Spanish. Hispanics are more likely to vote Republican after they learn that the party shares their pro-life and pro-family values, he said.
Key Connections and Avoiding Constraints
AmFirst 47’s leaders are well-versed and well-connected in politics. “Our members have personally met presidents Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton, George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump,” the group’s website notes. Board member Louis Aliota has a special connection to Trump. His father worked for Trump’s dad, Fred, in the 1950s and ’60s.
AmFirst 47 hopes to attract 15,000 members before the primary election on April 23, 2024. The Erie County Republican Committee’s bylaws forbid endorsement “of any candidate for political office…prior to the official Primary Elections.” By then, it would be too late to form a solid network backing the Republican presidential nominee. But AmFirst 47 isn’t bound by such a constraint; that’s why the group is trying to build steam for Trump now.
AmFirst 47’s leaders hope their approach will be a game-changer for the 2024 election. They want to flip Pennsylvania back to Republican “red” after it turned Democrat “blue” in 2020. The Epoch Times sought comment from the Erie County Democrat Party but received no reply by press time.
For the past three months, Ruffa and others have been laying the groundwork to roll out their group’s first meeting, which they intend to set in the coming weeks. They’re waiting to hear whether Trump will accept an invitation to make the group’s kickoff speech. Ruffa said they also hope to line up appearances of well-known conservatives, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, author Dick Morris, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell.
So, if you’re a Trump supporter looking for an outlet to get involved, AmFirst 47 might be just what you need. Join the movement and help make a difference in the 2024 election!
Meet the Patriots of AmFirst 47: Fighting for a Constitutional Republic
“I went to military academy,” says Aliota. He adds, with a chuckle: “I should have stayed friends with him.”
AmFirst 47 is a group of patriots who are fighting to preserve our constitutional republic. They are a diverse group of individuals who have come together to support conservative causes and candidates. Their mission is to ensure that our country remains true to its founding principles of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.
One of the members of AmFirst 47 is Aliota, who has a personal connection to the Trump family. He admired “the appreciation that the Trump family gives to those individuals that give a day’s work, loyalty, and integrity.” Aliota campaigned for Trump in 2016 and helped erect 300 four-by-eight campaign signs, which may have helped Trump win Erie County and Pennsylvania.
Another member of AmFirst 47 is Ruffa, who has a long history in politics. He served in the White House under Republican President Ronald Reagan and held positions in the U.S. Congress and the Pennsylvania Senate. Ruffa is now semi-retired and is diving headlong back into politics.
AmFirst 47 leaders have learned from past mistakes and are focused on changing voting habits. They understand the importance of mail-in ballots and the need to set aside the reliance on in-person, Election-Day-only voting. Melanie Brewer, another AmFirst 47 leader, is at “the epicenter of Erie politics” and is a key player in elevating AmFirst 47.
Brad Peganoff, another AmFirst 47 leader, has the unusual ability to establish rapport with people from various backgrounds. He’s connected to Trump’s son Eric, but also has ties to “Republicans that I never even knew were for Trump. He has a great relationship with all of them,” Ruffa said.
Erie County, where AmFirst 47 is based, is home to about 173,000 voters. The county has a dichotomy between large white-collar and blue-collar workforces. The Republican Party’s chances for victory in Pennsylvania are most remote, according to Nathan Gonzales, the publisher of InsideElections.com. However, AmFirst 47 is fighting to ensure that Pennsylvania remains true to its founding principles.
Pennsylvanians: Good at Picking Winners
From 1900 to 2020, Pennsylvanians have voted for the winning presidential candidate 77% of the time. That’s a pretty impressive track record! According to Ballotpedia.com, the state has a history of picking winners.
Voters Cross Party Lines
Erie County, in particular, is known as a “bellwether” county, meaning it’s a predictor of how the political winds are blowing. But don’t assume that its citizens are predictable in their voting choices. Even party leaders have been known to break rank and vote for the other side.
Several high-powered Republican politicians broke rank and voted for Biden in 2020.
Perhaps the most prominent, respected defector was Tom Ridge.
Tom Ridge served multiple terms as a Pennsylvania governor and U.S. congressman. He was such a trusted GOP leader that President George W. Bush appointed him the nation’s first homeland security director after the terrorist attacks on America on Sept. 11, 2001.
Like Ridge, many citizens in the Erie County area have been known to split their votes among Republican, Democrat, and Independent candidates. Joe Wisinski, an 86-year-old retired tool-and-die maker and avid fisherman, says he has voted Republican most of his life. But that doesn’t mean he won’t vote for a Democrat if he likes them.
Joe likes Trump’s policies but takes issue with his brashness. “He can’t shut his mouth,” Joe complains. Still, he hasn’t decided which presidential candidate will get his vote. Making a voting decision is difficult because it’s hard to find trusted sources of information about candidates, Joe says. “I listen to the news, and I ask myself, ‘Is that really true?'”
Despite the challenges, Joe takes pride in being a faithful voter. He and his wife “have never missed voting” during their 70 years together, 64 years as a married couple.
Support for Biden Wanes
Kevin Asmus, a 45-year-old father of five who served in the Marines and works as a welder-mechanic, says, “I’d like to see Trump back in there again… Biden is just an embarrassment.” But he, too, wishes Trump would ease off on the rhetoric.
AmFirst 47 leaders recognize that is an issue the former president faces. “People complain about his mean tweets” or other inflammatory remarks Trump makes, Hayes said. He counters: “How’s it going to affect you personally? It’s not. So, when you look at that, get over those tweets. With everything that’s going on right now, it’s not going to take a Mr. Nice Guy to come in and fix it.”
Brewer thinks that many people who voted for Biden are regretful now. “It only hits home when it hits pocketbooks and when it hits their own family,” she said. “I believe that the average voter is looking back on the 2020 election now and saying, ‘Would we have Ukraine and Russia? Would we have the high gas prices?’ I feel like the average voter sees now the benefit of a strong CEO-like president like we had.”
‘New’ Info Affects Votes
In addition to policy concerns and economic conditions, personal connections can heavily influence voting decisions. Even though many candidates rely heavily on political ads, “the most effective way to turn out voters is with high-quality, face-to-face conversations that urge them to vote,” a pair of researchers wrote in a 2014 Vox article.
“Two decades of rigorous random experiments” proved that “having an actual conversation is crucial.”
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