District 17 Activists Discover a Buzz Word That Works

Networking is the new political buzz word. It sounds very
important because it is.

Cybernetic connections, the internet and such hook-ups as
FaceBook and Twitter have proven just how powerful that
computer on everyone's desk really is.

Just ask the TEA Parties. It's the preferred mode of
networking.

It really works when you take it to the right places.

As it turns out, you can dress it up - and you can take it
places, too. All you need are the right connections.

Hispanic Republican Club of McLennan County found out how to
network and strike deep into the heart of Representative
Chet Edwards' stronghold territory in Waco.

The start-up Hispanic Republican Club's need: a new place to
meet.

Earlier this year Mr. Machado and his associates found
themselves spurned by establishment GOP types such as
McLennan County Republican Chairman Joe B. Turner and Chris
DeCluitt. In fact, the minor dust-up was the subject of a
Waco "Tribune-Herald" account by that newspaper's political
reporter, Mr. Michael Shapiro.

The solution: Use the Bill Flores for Congress Waco Campaign
Headquarters at 3703 Franklin, right next door to La Fiesta
Restaurant.

So instead of meeting once a month for lunch, the start-up
GOP club will be meeting once a week on Monday nights, 7 to
9 p.m., to work - walk the blocks of the city's voting
precincts, meet people in person or by phone, get them
interested in voting for Mr. Flores and if they aren't
registered, help them with that piece of business, as well
as making application for absentee voting by mail or
arranging transportation to the polling places for early
voting.

There are phone calls to make, signs to put out, envelopes
to stuff, hands to shake and plans to be made.

Hispanic Republican Club President Duke Machado has the
people who are willing to do it all.

The project will be staffed by an anticipated 10 people to
start, but later this week, when the office is scheduled to
move to a new location, the numbers may rise.

You don't have to be able to get to the office to volunteer,
said Mr. Flores. People can work the phones from home, walk
the blocks with their fingers or their feet, and make those
all-important contacts on behalf of the only GOP candidate
to ever lead Chet Edwards in polls going into the General
Election season following the Primary run-off.

Give them a call at the Waco office at 254-230-9950.

Besides the fact that Flores is a Hispanic surname, his
family has been in the Texas area for 9 generations. The
son of a ranch hand from the Panhandle, he worked his way
through Texas A&M, got licensed as a C.P.A., went on to
serve as a CEO of offshore Houston oil exploration and
drilling firms, and retired to Aggieland as President of the
A&M Alumni Association.

Said Brazos County Republican Chairman Paul Rieger at a
recent Congressional District 17 Executive Caucus strategy
session, "No one will be able to out-Aggie Bill Flores."

Though he is from Waco, Mr. Edwards is also a graduate of
A&M.