Chairman’s Report - October 23, 2014

When speaking of his party taking back control of parliament, British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said, “The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.”
 
Each week, the Executive Committee and the AFFT board of directors are taking steps to ensure that AFFT and FairTax® are positioned to make a huge impact when the new Congress convenes in January.  Regardless of who controls the House and Senate, AFFT and the FairTax will be ready.
 
FairTax.Org
 
One item that has received much criticism is our FairTax.org website. Many people complain that it is hard to use and is not of the same quality as other similar groups. 
 
After reviewing the capabilities of several web designers, AFFT has selected Political Media (politicalmedia.com) to build a new FairTax.org. I personally met with Larry Ward, the owner of Political Media, and found him to be a knowledgeable and ardent FairTax supporter. I was gratified to know of his support for the FairTax Plan, and very pleased to learn that his firm has designed numerous websites incorporating the critical elements that you wanted in your FairTax.org. We anticipate the new FairTax.org being ready in about six weeks and will keep you posted on the progress of this important undertaking.
 
Texting
 
Many of you have expressed interest in having texting capabilities for the FairTax campaign. Thanks to AFFT director Marilyn Rickert, AFFT will be testing a texting program that will provide AFFT with the ability to ask a group of people to text a number using the keyword “Member” or “Info.” AFFT will then be able to send a response directly to their smartphones. Why is this important? When you are speaking with someone about the FairTax Plan and they express an interest in receiving more information or say they want to become a member, you will now be able to use text messaging to immediately fulfill their request. Additionally, given most people’s busy lives, texting technologies have become their preferred communication vehicle and AFFT needs to be able to communicate with them in their preferred modality. As such, we believe that incorporating texting into AFFT’s communication’s portfolio will prove to be a major value-ad for our recruitment, membership and communication initiatives, and will begin rolling out a test within the next week.   
 
Club 535
 
Club 535 is AFFT’s initiative to fund a new FairTax office in Washington, D.C. The new Club 535 website is up and running and we have already experienced an early surge in paid memberships. To become a member of Club 535, an individual simply agrees to sponsor the FairTax education for one of the 535 members of Congress for one year ($1,000). All of funds that are raised through Club 535 membership will only be set aside to underwrite the Washington FairTax office. If you are interested in sponsoring a Member of Congress, contact Autry Pruitt at autry.pruitt@fairtax.org. If you are not able to join Club 535 at this time, but would like to help establish the Washington FairTax office, you can share the Club 535 opportunity with your friends and colleagues and invite them to sponsor a Member’s education.  Alternatively, if you and a group of nine FairTax supporters each want to contribute $100 (10 total individuals contributing $1,000), you and your friends can become a group member of this exciting new phase in our journey to making the FairTax the law of the land.
 
AFFT Paid Membership
 
The AFFT membership program has taken off and I am pleased to report that FairTax supporters are signing up! We know that AFFT having 3,000 to 4,000 new paid members in a Congressional district can change the course of an election. With a national average of 40,000 votes per Congressional primary election, incumbents almost always win. In fact, many Congressional primaries are decided by fewer than 5,000 votes? Yet, in races with a 55% victory, there is often only a difference of 3,000 to 4,000 votes between the winner and loser.
 
That’s right, if we have just 3,000 paid AFFT members in a Congressional district, we can ensure that candidates listen to we FairTaxers. That’s because we, and the people we influence, can become the deciding margin for the candidate’s victory or defeat.  
 
Additionally, the AFFT membership program conveys to certain sitting Members of Congress, who currently give AFFT a deaf ear or say they support the FairTax but never talk about it; that not listening to AFFT or actively promoting passage of the FairTax legislation may result in AFFT’s paid members and their family and friends going to the polls to support candidates willing to stand FairTax strong.
 
If you haven’t signed up for AFFT paid membership, or want to sponsor your friends and family for paid membership, simply go to http://fairtax.org and in the upper left corner click on the gold "Become a Member" button. We have membership levels for every budget – from $5 to $500.
 
FairTax Petition
 
In her book, “Sign It Into Law: How To Put Your Petition On The Ballot,” Victoria Stoklasa said, “By making the government a combination of elected officials and citizen-backed initiatives and referenda, there can truly be a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.”
 
The FairTax campaign is the ultimate “We the People” grassroots initiative and as such, we are petitioning the Congress to immediately enact H.R. 25 / S. 122, “The FairTax Act.” You can print copies of the AFFT membership or petition form by clicking here, and while you are at it, print a few extra copies and have your friends and neighbors sign a petition too. Then present your signed petitions in person to your elected Representative when they are in their district office.  You can also follow-up with your petition signers and answer any questions they may have about the FairTax Plan, and to inquire if they would like to become an AFFT member or attend a local FairTax event.
 
More next week.