Randy Brinson
Encyclopedia
Dr. R. Randolph "Randy" Brinson (born 1957) is a political activist and gastroenterologist from Montgomery, Alabama
. In 2003 Brinson founded Redeem the Vote
, an organization originally modeled after the youth-vote Rock the Vote
campaign to register young people of faith to vote. The organization has since moved to issue advocacy and mobilization of an email list self-reported at 71 million names.
A life-long Republican, Brinson grew up in Jacksonville, Florida
and went to boarding school in South Carolina, where he worked on the successful gubernatorial campaign of James Burrows Edwards, the first Republican to hold that office. He attended Valdosta State College, where he met his wife, Pamela Bennett. After attending the Medical College of Georgia
he was a resident at the University of Florida College of Medicine
. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship back at the Medical College of Georgia, then moved to Alabama.
From 1987 to 1989 Brinson was staff gastroenterologist at Maxwell Air Force Base
and then went into private practice. In the late 1990s he advised governor of Alabama Fob James
on health-care issues and helped found the Christian music
radio network WAY-FM
. He serves on the state board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
, and the Board of Trustees for the University of Mobile
.
's The Passion of the Christ
, who he hired to promote the organization.
By October 2004, Redeem the Vote had enlisted 47 Contemporary Christian music
groups, including Steven Curtis Chapman
, Point of Grace
, Jeremy Camp
, FFH
and Jaci Velasquez
, to register young evangelicals and promote political participation.
Sponsors included Sean Hannity
and Fox News, the American Tract Society
, Focus on the Family
, FamilyNet
and the Gospel Music Association
. Gov. Mike Huckabee
of Arkansas, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship
and Gary Bauer
of American Values were members of the national advisory board.
The group estimated it registered between 70,000 and 78,000 members based on the 30,000 forms distributed at concerts and 40,000 over the Internet.
Meanwhile, its email list grew in connection with the promotions for "Passion of the Christ," reaching 12 million addresses by the election. A video message recorded by Christ portrayer Jim Caviezel was shown in churches across the country and e-mailed to more than 60 million people.
More recently, during the 2008 Republican nomination campaign, Brinson's group partnered with the Mike Huckabee
campaign. Huckabee had been an RTV national chairman in 2004, and the Huckabee campaign showed the most interest when a Redeem the Vote list manager, Webcasting TV, pitched their services. RTV claims to now have 71 million addresses, 25 million belonging to "25 and 45 years old, upwardly mobile, right-of-center, conservative households." The campaign got over 414,000 Iowa
contacts from Brinson's list, which is four times the expected participation in the Iowa caucuses
.
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
. In 2003 Brinson founded Redeem the Vote
Redeem the Vote
Redeem the Vote is a Christian right organization founded by Randy Brinson during the 2004 presidential campaign to register young evangelical Christians to vote, in the model of MTV's youth-vote Rock the Vote campaign...
, an organization originally modeled after the youth-vote Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit organization in the United States of America whose mission is to engage and build the political power of young people....
campaign to register young people of faith to vote. The organization has since moved to issue advocacy and mobilization of an email list self-reported at 71 million names.
A life-long Republican, Brinson grew up in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
and went to boarding school in South Carolina, where he worked on the successful gubernatorial campaign of James Burrows Edwards, the first Republican to hold that office. He attended Valdosta State College, where he met his wife, Pamela Bennett. After attending the Medical College of Georgia
Medical College of Georgia
Georgia Health Sciences University formerly known as, and now home of the, Medical College of Georgia , is a public academic health center, with its main campus located in the Medical District of Augusta, Georgia. It is the smallest of four research universities in the University System of Georgia...
he was a resident at the University of Florida College of Medicine
University of Florida College of Medicine
The University of Florida College of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Florida. It is part of the J. Hillis Miller Health Science Center, with facilities in Gainesville and Jacksonville...
. He completed his gastroenterology fellowship back at the Medical College of Georgia, then moved to Alabama.
From 1987 to 1989 Brinson was staff gastroenterologist at Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...
and then went into private practice. In the late 1990s he advised governor of Alabama Fob James
Fob James
Forrest Hood James, Jr., known as Fob James , is an American politician, a civil engineer, and an all-American half-back...
on health-care issues and helped found the Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
radio network WAY-FM
WAY-FM Network
The WAY-FM Network is a national, non-profit radio broadcasting network in the United States that primarily plays Contemporary Christian music operating in 25 states . It is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, while most programming originates in Franklin, Tennessee.-Origins in Fort Myers:WAY-FM...
. He serves on the state board of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Fellowship of Christian Athletes
The Fellowship of Christian Athletes is a non-profit interdenominational Christian organization founded in 1954 and that has been based in Kansas City, Missouri since 1956. It falls within the tradition of Muscular Christianity. Although established by evangelical Protestants, the concept has...
, and the Board of Trustees for the University of Mobile
University of Mobile
The University of Mobile is an American four-year, private, Baptist-affiliated university in Mobile, Alabama. The master's-level university has an enrollment of 1,577.-History:...
.
Redeem the Vote and other activism
Brinson founded Redeem the Vote in 2003. In February 2004, Brinson attended a national religious broadcaster convention and met the marketing firm for Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
, who he hired to promote the organization.
By October 2004, Redeem the Vote had enlisted 47 Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
groups, including Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman
Steven Curtis Chapman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, actor, author, and social activist.After starting his career in the late 1980s as a singer/songwriter of contemporary Christian music, Chapman has since been recognized as one of the most prolific singers in the genre,...
, Point of Grace
Point of Grace
Point of Grace is an all-female Contemporary Christian music group. The trio consists of Shelley Breen, Denise Jones, and Leigh Cappillino. The group started out as a quartet in 1991, with original members Breen and Jones, as well as Terry Jones and Heather Payne...
, Jeremy Camp
Jeremy Camp
Jeremy Thomas Camp is a contemporary Christian musician from Lafayette, Indiana. Camp has released seven albums, four of them RIAA-certified as Gold and two are live albums, and 17 number-one hit songs...
, FFH
FFH
FFH is a Contemporary Christian band from Lancaster, Pennsylvania in the United States. The band is occasionally known as Far From Home. They released six independent projects before being signed by Essential Records. Since then, they have released seven studio albums, as well as a "greatest-hits"...
and Jaci Velasquez
Jaci Velasquez
Jacquelyn Davette Velasquez is an American Contemporary Christian and Latin Pop singer—in both English and Spanish languages....
, to register young evangelicals and promote political participation.
Sponsors included Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
and Fox News, the American Tract Society
American Tract Society
The American Tract Society is a nonprofit, nonsectarian but evangelical organization founded on May 11, 1825 in New York City for the purpose of publishing and disseminating Christian literature. ATS traces its lineage back through the New York Tract Society and the New England Tract Society to...
, Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family
Focus on the Family is an American evangelical Christian tax-exempt non-profit organization founded in 1977 by psychologist James Dobson, and is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Focus on the Family is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations that rose to prominence in the 1980s...
, FamilyNet
FamilyNet
FamilyNet is a broadcast television network owned by ComStar Media Fund and based in Atlanta, Georgia. The network was founded in 1979 as the National Christian Network, and took the name FamilyNet in 1988 under the ownership of Jerry Falwell. The channel was acquired by InTouch Ministries in...
and the Gospel Music Association
Gospel Music Association
The Gospel Music Association was founded in 1964 for the purpose of supporting and promoting the development of all forms of Gospel music. There are currently about 4,000 members worldwide...
. Gov. Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
of Arkansas, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship
Prison Fellowship
Prison Fellowship is a Christian prison outreach and criminal justice reform organization. Its programs reach prisoners, ex-prisoners, and families of prisoners throughout the United States and, through Prison Fellowship International , in 112 countries worldwide.- Leadership :Charles W...
and Gary Bauer
Gary Bauer
Gary Lee Bauer is an American politician notable for his ties to several evangelical Christian groups and campaigns.-Biography:...
of American Values were members of the national advisory board.
The group estimated it registered between 70,000 and 78,000 members based on the 30,000 forms distributed at concerts and 40,000 over the Internet.
Meanwhile, its email list grew in connection with the promotions for "Passion of the Christ," reaching 12 million addresses by the election. A video message recorded by Christ portrayer Jim Caviezel was shown in churches across the country and e-mailed to more than 60 million people.
"In order to preserve the God-given freedoms we each hold dear, it's important that we let our voices be heard. Voting is not only a privilege, but also an important responsibility to let your voice be heard. It's critical that you participate in the political process, and we encourage you to get involved. Together we can make a difference by voting on Nov. 2. See you at the polls."
More recently, during the 2008 Republican nomination campaign, Brinson's group partnered with the Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
campaign. Huckabee had been an RTV national chairman in 2004, and the Huckabee campaign showed the most interest when a Redeem the Vote list manager, Webcasting TV, pitched their services. RTV claims to now have 71 million addresses, 25 million belonging to "25 and 45 years old, upwardly mobile, right-of-center, conservative households." The campaign got over 414,000 Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
contacts from Brinson's list, which is four times the expected participation in the Iowa caucuses
Iowa Republican caucuses, 2008
The 2008 Iowa Republican caucuses took place on January 4, 2008. The Iowa Republican caucuses are an unofficial primary, with the delegates to the state convention selected proportionally via a straw poll...
.
External links
- Randy Brinson Bio at Redeem the Vote