Power of 10

The Presidential Primary bird-dog challenge

The demand for sensible federal budget priorities must come directly from the American people.

Because New Hampshire citizens have the opportunity to meet and question every presidential candidate, our ability to shape the national agenda is unmatched anywhere in the country.

Just by attending public events and asking questions of those who would hope to be president, ordinary citizens can get candidates, their campaigns and the national news media talking about their issues.

We call it "bird-dogging." Like a hunting dog who chases birds into the open, we chase candidates from the safety of their rhetoric into public statements that reveal their budget priorities. It's easy, effective, and fun.

We are challenging PrioritiesNH members to participate in a bird-dogging campaign, from now through the 2008 Presidential Primary, aimed at moving America toward our mission:

• To change US budget priorities to reflect a national commitment to education, healthcare, energy independence, job training and deficit reduction -- all at no additional taxpayers expense - by shifting spending from obsolete Cold War and nuclear weapons.
  
  

Our bird-dog campaign is called The Power of 10. The goal is to have every Presidential candidate asked a Priorities question at least 10 times in New Hampshire. If there are 15 candidates, that would mean at least 150 Priorities questions being asked across the state during 2007!

Here's how it works:

• Go to the "Our Values Our Questions" page to see eight Priorities-related questions that you can ask the candidates or adapt.

• We're asking YOU to commit to attending at least 10 candidate events and putting our questions to the Presidential candidates -- Republicans, Democrats and Independents -- 10 times between now and January 2008.

• We will ask you to report back to Field Director Olivia Zink what question was asked, of what candidate, where, on what date, and what the candidate's answer was.

• Power of 10 participants will be encouraged to share their experiences -- and candidates' responses -- with other advocates on our Power of 10 blog.

We will offer prizes for the person who goes to the most events and/or asks the most questions.

Please help us build the Power of 10 into a powerhouse bird-dogging campaign by joining now. Contact Olivia to organize a training or to let her know you want to bird-dog the candidates in and around your community.

(Many thanks to our friend Mike Dater for the illustration on this page)

PrioritiesNH, 194 North Main St., Suite 3, Concord, NH 03301
(603) 224-3800 -- fax (603) 224-3818

Slice the budget pie your way!

Where are the candidates?

The PrioritiesNH Campaign Calendar is updated daily!

What questions should I ask?

Click here for eight Priorities-related questions you can ask the candidates

Tell us about your experience

Letting us know what the candidates say about federal budget priorities is just as important as asking the questions.

Share your bird-dogging experiences and learn what the candidates are saying about budget priorities at our Power of 10 blog.

NH bird dogs take ACTION!

March 22 2007 Update (.pdf)

Bird blogs

The Caucus (New York Times political blog): Bird-Dogging in N.H. and Iowa (3/1/07) profiles our bird-dogging campaigns in N.H. and Iowa.

techPresident : PrioritiesNH aims to set the agenda (2/9/07) "PrioritiesNH has put together an impressive bird-dogging campaign called the Power of 10."