A Message From Chairman Saul Anuzis

Thank you for your hard work, your time and energy, and for giving up those valuable moments that could have been spent at family barbecues, high school football games, visits with grandkids, and enjoying our beautiful fall, all on behalf of a Republican vision that is worth fighting for! Thousands of party leaders and activist across Michigan stepped up to the challenge and delivered a huge grassroots effort on behalf of all our candidates. No state Republican Party did more voter contact than Michigan's Republican activists did!

We are all disappointed by the Democratic wave that swept across the United States, not sparing Michigan. But in the past few days, I am sensing a growing resolve, a sense of gritty determination by the grassroots to get back in the ring and keep fighting for this Grand Old Party. This does not surprise me; it's a Republican trait. We stand for ideas and ideals. We never give up optimism and trust that we will win and make a real and meaningful difference.

I honestly believe 2008 will be a great year for Republicans. The Democrats are already divided. America will get an eye-full of Chairman John Conyers, Chairman Barney Frank and Chairman Hillary Clinton who will have to offer solutions instead of simply pointing fingers.

I have spent my adult life fighting in the trenches to advance this Party. I have never fought harder than I did the past two years as Party Chairman. The disappointment you felt on Tuesday was a disappointment I felt a hundred times over. But we cannot let up. I will fight just as hard over the next two years; fight to take back a majority in the State House, fight to keep and even expand our majority of Michigan's congressional seats, fight to win back county commission seats, fight for county and township offices that will be elected in 2008, and fight to deliver Michigan's seventeen electoral votes for the Republican nominee for President of the United States.

This election of 2006 is not a defeat of Republican values and ideas. It is a wake up call that reminds us we must remain vigilant in our support of those ideas and candidates who believe in them. We must now work together to craft a clear message about what Republican government means: a prosperous economy, securing our borders, and successfully defending America in the War on Terror. We are the Party of growth, prosperity and defenders of family, faith and community.

This is also a chance for us to reevaluate every single program, strategy and tactic we employed in 2006. We will keep the good, and make no excuses for the problems we uncover. We will fix what needs fixing. Together, we will build even stronger programs for 2008.

As I go forward and ask for your support, I will make a solemn pledge: I will never stop listening to what grassroots activists have to say and communicating as much as I can with the people who make up our grassroots army. I will again embark on a tour of the state to listen and learn directly from activists, and I will continue to hit those Saturday morning rap sessions at Krispy Kremes and Big Boys all around Michigan to get the best info.

Over the years, we have tasted the elation of a president from Michigan, two Reagan landslides, sat on the edge of our chairs counting votes for the 1990 Engler 17,000 vote "landslide" and the many victories that followed. We've won more than we've lost. But after each election, we get to ask one fundamental question: have we left the GOP stronger or weaker? Have we deposited anything in the bank -- politically speaking - and how do we add more over the next two years?

• Grassroots energy - Opening 27 Victory Centers, 11 more than in 2004, allowed us to increase overall volunteer achievement above the heights reached in 2004 Without this effort, we would not have re-elected Terri Lynn Land, Mike Cox, 9 GOP members of Congress or the Republican majority in the state Senate.

• The Republican majority in the state Senate - Strategically placing Victory Centers in key state House and state Senate districts provided extra grassroots support to the efforts of Republicans in both chambers.

• A model for the future - Hiring and deploying the largest field staff MRP has ever had - more than 60 people - to work directly with local party groups and grassroots activists.
  Michigan matters - Volunteers made more than 2,000,000 volunteer phone calls - more than any other state party in the country! Perhaps this is the reason we held on to the state Senate as chamber after chamber in other states went Democratic (The House and Senate in New Hampshire went Democratic for the first time in 100 years!)

• Our largest donor base ever - We raised more money in 2005-2006 than we ever have in a gubernatorial election cycle. More money to programs, more money to assist candidates.

• A New Headquarters - After more than 20 years at our 5,000 sq ft. location near East Lansing, we upgraded to a 15,000 sq. ft. facility located just north of the Capitol building in downtown Lansing.
  Nearly 1.9 million Republican voters on a first-class voter list - Hundreds of thousands of dollars were invested by the RNC and MRP to enhance the voter file, which is accessible to all local party groups and candidates. No list will ever be perfect. This is a resource today, but one that must be constantly improved.

• More than 2,000,000 additional pieces of voter ID - Invaluable hard-ID data about individual voters added to the voter file to reinforce the soft ID resulting from Microtargeting - far more than was added during the entire 2004 election-cycle!

• Vital Absentee Voter information -More than 2 million absentee voter applications, more than 2 millions AB "chase" mail pieces, and more than 500,000 volunteer phone calls to absentee voters. And we established a sophisticated statewide daily computerized tracking system to monitor exactly which voters requested or returned their ballots, giving us precise records on more than 600,000 absentee voters.

• Expanded coalition outreach - We recruited and energized 903 coalition leaders in key counties throughout Michigan. These included ethnic groups, business groups, churches, social issue groups, veterans, law enforcement, agriculture, and many more, expanding the coalition activist base in a way that will serve the Party for years to come.

• Unprecedented GOTV - Over the closing days of campaign 2006 our grassroots army made 1,012,868 calls, knocked on 233,784 doors, put up more than 300,000 signs, and distributed more than 1.1 million pieces of GOP slate literature.

• Re-vamped RSVP program - There were poll challengers at more than 2,000 precincts. We produced a training video and conducted more training sessions than ever before. We developed a sophisticated phone tracking system to monitor turnout throughout Election Day and then to analyze returns as the votes were counted. We encountered logistical problems, especially with credentialing, but let's not lose sight of the accomplishments - a program that serves as a strong foundation for an even better operation in 2008.

• Expanded Media Monitoring and rapid response system - We designed and implemented a sophisticated electronic and print media monitoring system that enabled us to monitor every local broadcast television station and newspaper in Michigan for news on issues or candidates, as well as campaign advertising. The news and advertising monitoring system allowed MRP to respond in virtually real-time to any opposition advertising or adverse news stories. Talking points and point-by-point refutations were quickly distributed to the media and grassroots activists so that the Republican response could be part of the immediate news cycle.

• A 100,000+ Email subscriber list - We grew our subscriber email list to more than 100,000 addresses - up from 39,000 in 2004. More than 25 million emails were sent to MRP's email list (up from 3.5 million just two years ago) providing critical updates. Every morning I wrote a short commentary that I included with my Articles of Interest to those who were interested.

• Blog - I launched my blog http://migop.blogs.com/blog/ early in 2006 and it quickly became one of the most widely viewed political blogs in the nation.

• No Debt - we woke up the day after the election without a massive debt hanging over our heads, for only the second time in two decades. We can hit the ground running preparing for 2008 right now.

Let's fight hard, fight smart and keep our eyes fixed on 2008. Winston Churchill once said, "The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." I am an optimist.  You have my commitment that I will do even more as your Chairman in days ahead; more to improve the organization and structure of the Party and our programs, more to improve our communications with the grassroots and the media, and more to improve our fundraising - than we did this year. I will do whatever it takes. I am confident that, with your help, our best days lie ahead!

Sincerely,


Saulius "Saul" Anuzis

p.s. You can join the my team by submitting your endorsement at: http://www.anuzisforchair.com/jointheteam.asp I look forward to working with you in the months ahead!