While Phillies’ new pitcher Michael Lorenzen was throwing a no-hitter against the Nationals Wednesday night, representatives of Americans for Prosperity were scoring points with fans of low taxes and economic growth at an RV tailgate in the Citizens Bank Park parking lot,
AFP’s “Prosperity is Possible” workers handed out free hotdogs, chips, drinks, T-shirts, hats, reusable bags, and other swag, along with brochures about the organization’s principles of free markets and individual liberty.
“What Prosperity is Possible aims to do is connect voters, connect concerned taxpayers in Pennsylvania that the status quo we’re living in –gas almost $4 a gallon, grocery bills three times as high as what we’ve seen in previous history—doesn’t have to be this way,” said Emily Greene, state deputy director.
The RV and AFP community outreach workers are going around the state and around the country to spread that message, Greene said.
“We reached a lot of people we wouldn’t ordinarily reach (by coming to the Phillies game),” she said. “People get caught up in donkeys vs. elephants, get caught up in partisan politics, and what we’re looking to do with prosperity is take a nonpartisan approach to solve some of the problems plaguing taxpayers here in Pennsylvania.”
(Left to right) Isaac Gardner, Charles Gates, Roslyn Williams, Javin Fulson, Clayton Rasche, and Charles Rodgers.
Roslyn Williams leads the AFP grassroots efforts in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley. She used to be a community organizer for the Democrats until they required that she get the COVID vaccination, she said.
“I left the Democratic Party almost three years ago,” she said.
“This organization is about freedom. I’m a freedom fighter,” said Williams. When she discovered AFP, “I found my people.”
Then she rhymed: “Biden didn’t build back better; He built back broke; Check your pockets; It ain’t no joke.”
At the national level, AFP has actively and openly encouraged Republicans to consider a presidential primary candidate other than former President Donald Trump. The group is sending mailers and running ads in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
In February, AFP Chief Executive Emily Seidel sent a memo to her staff and activists saying the free-market organization would get more directly involved in Republican primaries.
“Here’s the hard truth as I see it,” Seidel wrote. “The Republican Party is nominating bad candidates who are advocating for things that go against core American principles. And the American people are rejecting them.”
A DVJournal poll of likely voters in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties found Biden’s popularity has sagged since 2020, and just 33 percent of voters in this Democratic stronghold want Biden to run again. However, in a head-to-head matchup, Biden handily beats Trump 50-39 percent.
Greene said, “The Prosperity is Possible tour hangs on three rungs. We want to empower the workforce, combat inflation, and unleash energy abundance. We have a whole host of legislation in Washington that would help solve some of these problems. And what we’re looking to do is just encourage people who would otherwise be interested in talking politics at a Phillies game, connect them with the policy solutions to help drive down the cost of gas and the cost of groceries, and encourage them to reach out to their member of Congress.”
In Pennsylvania, AFP has reached tens “of thousands of people” through email and digital ads, she said.
“But most importantly, what makes this a grassroots effort and a true AFP endeavor, we’re talking to them by phone and on their doorsteps…the bulk of it is door-to-door conversations with individuals, neighbors, and over the phone, which has been very fruitful.”
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