There's a great piece in Harper's last month ("Star Search: The Race to Rebuild the Democratic Party") that looks at Run for Something and Knock Every Door and the whole kinda ecosystem that's sprung up this year that I'd argue these folks fit neatly into. Let a thousand flowers bloom imo. In some states the state parties are coming to these orgs saying like "hey......we don't really have a bench of who to run. Do you have names?" I think that's very significant, and if the people being put up to run are well trained in effective campaigning (which many of these orgs seem prepared for), efforts like these could be a significant contributor to the wave I'm expecting this November.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 21:02 (six years ago) link
I wonder about the overall viability of RFS's strategy of running a glut of hyper-locally-focused campaigns (a thousand Danica Roems demanding fixes to local highways) without demanding any particular strong commitments from candidates--but then I think Our Rev can go too far, demanding all their candidates sign onto a high-bar Bernie-leaning vision of the future of the party. So it's good we've got variety.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 21:05 (six years ago) link
Max Sawicky:
https://thebaffler.com/latest/alabama-shaken-sawicky
― Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 22:13 (six years ago) link
i like this guy
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 22:27 (six years ago) link
I'm skeptical of the article Sawicky links to as evidence the party had been quietly involved from early on--
Behind the scenes, however, Democrats were heavily involved. The Democratic National Committee invested nearly $1 million in the Alabama race, focused on organizing and mobilizing. The party also sent paid staffers to the state to help out, particularly in engaging African-American and millennial voters. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent the full legal amount ― $366,700 ― to help the Jones campaign pay for expenses on staff, resources and other needs.
like, ok, aaaaand comparatively
MoveOn.org endorsed Jones early on, and its members gave more than $250,000 to the campaign and sent more than 93,000 text messages to voters persuading them to vote. Democracy for America chipped in nearly $72,000, and thousands of its members chipped in volunteering for the effort. The League of Conservation Voters contributed nearly $300,000 to Jones’ campaign and a pro-Jones super PAC. Senate Majority PAC said it spent more than $6 million on its program to elect Jones, including TV, digital advertising, mail and on-the-ground turnout operations focused on African-American voters, who were key to Jones’ win. It also partnered with Priorities USA on a $1.5 million digital campaign.
The strategy laid out in the article ("expand the electorate, organize like hell to turn out our voters, hope the other side stays home") is presented as a fresh approach developed for this race, evidence of strategic thinking form the national party invested in Alabama, but these (perfectly fine) criteria were the parameters of both Perez & Ellison's competing platforms for the DNC chairmanship. "Expand the electorate & organize like hell to turn our people out" was part of my pitch line trying to wheel votes for Keith at the April DNC meeting. Maybe I'm just eternally wary of crediting the DNC with too much, but as far as I'm concerned when you line up the facts this was a grassroots-driven victory first.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 13 December 2017 22:35 (six years ago) link
The DNC is good at gathering money, less good at directing money where it ought to go, not much good at organizing, and demonstrably weak at forming a winning national strategy. The root cause of this inverted pyramid of effectiveness is that the DNC is disconnected from policy. It is hard to do politics when you have no policy.
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 13 December 2017 23:38 (six years ago) link
There's a great piece in Harper's last month ("Star Search: The Race to Rebuild the Democratic Party") that looks at Run for Something and Knock Every Door and the whole kinda ecosystem that's sprung up this year that I'd argue these folks fit neatly into. Let a thousand flowers bloom imo. In some states the state parties are coming to these orgs saying like "hey......we don't really have a bench of who to run. Do you have names?" I think that's very significant, and if the people being put up to run are well trained in effective campaigning (which many of these orgs seem prepared for), efforts like these could be a significant contributor to the wave I'm expecting this November.― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, December 13, 2017 4:02 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, December 13, 2017 4:02 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I thought those orgs came off pretty bad in the piece
― flappy bird, Thursday, 14 December 2017 06:46 (six years ago) link
RFS particularly, yes--I'm skeptical of their coziness with the party & was disappointed the piece's author didn't talk to anyone at Our Rev or one of the organizing directors at Indivisible.
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Thursday, 14 December 2017 15:30 (six years ago) link
thank you hoos
― 𝔠𝔞𝔢𝔨 (caek), Thursday, 14 December 2017 17:05 (six years ago) link
yeah the woman interviewed from RFS seemed like a delusional Clintonite that had learned nothing from that campaign's mistakes.
― flappy bird, Thursday, 14 December 2017 19:05 (six years ago) link
encouraging numbers
https://report.actblue.com/
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Friday, 15 December 2017 22:59 (six years ago) link
On Northam’s comments re: Medicaid and “skin in the game”
https://splinternews.com/do-democrats-want-to-make-medicaid-work-for-people-or-1821398768
...Why is a Democrat adopting conservative rhetoric on healthcare at all? Why is a Democrat talking about “skin in the game” and “incentivizing good health,” let alone god damn work requirements? Moreover, why is he conceding ground to Republicans before he has to, and not starting from, say, a more progressive version than he expects to get?
― Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 20:20 (six years ago) link
speaking of virginia, the dems just took the virginia house of delegates after a recount flipped a result blue:
https://pilotonline.com/news/government/politics/virginia/simonds-wins-house-of-delegates-seat-by-vote-balance-of/article_bbb3bb17-b131-5643-afd0-a1a7aadad1e2.html
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 21:26 (six years ago) link
by a single vote, right?
― sleeve, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 21:26 (six years ago) link
that rules
― the pleather of pleather paul (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 21:30 (six years ago) link
yep
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 21:31 (six years ago) link
holy shit, that's great.
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 22:00 (six years ago) link
i think someone mentioned that upthread and i didn't really process what happened
pretty remarkable and shows for the millionth time how important it is for people to (shit, goddamn) get off their asses and vote
― porg and bess (voodoo chili), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 22:01 (six years ago) link
If you wanted any argument for the importance of voting, all you need do is notice how diligently the powerful work at suppressing the vote. Their actions prove they fear the power of the ballot.
― A is for (Aimless), Tuesday, 19 December 2017 22:03 (six years ago) link
― Karl Malone, Tuesday, December 19, 2017 10:00 PM (three minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
ya in the pol thread somebody noted it might flip--looks like it did!
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 22:04 (six years ago) link
her face on the air when it was being announced
https://i.imgur.com/TYNHaOy.jpg
same, lady, same
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Tuesday, 19 December 2017 22:30 (six years ago) link
hell yeah
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 01:49 (six years ago) link
Well, they tied it 50-50
― Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 02:23 (six years ago) link
right right, my flub
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 02:31 (six years ago) link
hey, an article about a thing i help with
https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/12/20/16798026/rebuild-left-democratic-party-democratic-socialists-tenant-rights
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 14:58 (six years ago) link
Democrats, who hope to recapture the House and Senate in 2018, are trying to understand their unexpected success in Alabama so that they can replicate it next year. But it was painstaking, careful organizing by black organizations that seems to have made the greatest difference—and black activists are drawing their own lessons from their successes in Alabama, as they seek to empower their communities.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/sparking-an-electoral-revival-in-alabama/548504/?utm_source=atlfb
― BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Wednesday, 20 December 2017 15:36 (six years ago) link
it was painstaking, careful organizing by black organizations that seems to have made the greatest difference
so the take-away is to strengthen community organizing everywhere, which is always very hard work and is pretty much the take-away from every successful progressive movement in history.
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:00 (six years ago) link
ORPHANS > CORPORATE JETS
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:13 (six years ago) link
A brief thought on basic organizing...
As a matter of strategy, organizing requires opening a trusted channel of communication within the community being organized, so important news can be shared and activities can be coordinated. The internet, email, mobile phones, and social media provide glaringly obvious tools for creating such open channels.
However, as a matter of tactics, people respond far more strongly to voices they connect to faces, and most especially to trusted people whose character they know and understand. This is why churches have always proved such fertile ground for community organization. Electronic media are disembodied and faceless. It's their glaringly obvious weakness.
I suspect that social media are being overly relied upon by progressive organizations as a simple, cheap and fast solution to communication and the human connection piece of organizing is getting short shrift. The ease of electronic communication also leads to its abuse, by overloading it with junk messages and incessant fundraising appeals. This ends with it being swiftly tuned out. iow, it fails its purpose and proves to be an empty waste of effort.
All of which is just to say this is a big rake in the middle of the path waiting to be stepped on by newbies to organizing. The old-fashioned shoe leather and church basement organizing will never stop being the most effective and lasting methodology, even though it is the most time-consuming and difficult. Electronic media need to be an adjunct, not a primary tool.
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:35 (six years ago) link
I think that's already the approach most left orgs are taking tbh
― Simon H., Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:42 (six years ago) link
I suspect that social media are being overly relied upon
lots of stuck up "liberals" out there and sadly, long gone, no more ACORN. o'keefe (a caricature, sure. . .) has cause more damage than dems know
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:53 (six years ago) link
ACORN was targeted because it was effective
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 20:57 (six years ago) link
Dems might not have lost 2010, 2014, and 2016 if ACORN had never been o'keefed. weird they haven't figured that out yet
― reggie (qualmsley), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 21:20 (six years ago) link
if they are fighter jets though 2/3 of Dems are still happy to give Trump even more money than he asked for.
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2017/roll631.xml
unashamed bipartisan support for the war economy damages their brand far more than a silly O'Keefe video
― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 21:22 (six years ago) link
The war economy is unwarrantedly popular across much of the US population. It connects so directly to fear-based voting that it's a consistent vote winner.
― A is for (Aimless), Wednesday, 20 December 2017 21:29 (six years ago) link
Franken uses his final speech to lay out his core political values. In a country that believes in pulling yourself up by the bootstraps, he said, the federal government can give families the boots."That's why I'm a Democrat," he said. "That's why I'm a Democrat." pic.twitter.com/XAEn1tfB7B— Jennifer Brooks (@stribrooks) December 21, 2017
― j., Thursday, 21 December 2017 16:57 (six years ago) link
Bear in mind that the war economy is one of the only industries where we actually still make the shit here. tanks, submarines, destroyers and fighter jets are still handcrafted and assembled in the USA. The DoD budget has become the most straightforward and uncontroversial way to preserve jobs in your community and it's been going for so long it's not even seen as corrupt. On the other hand, a scientific research or infrastructure investment is a significant political risk with almost no upside. There's a reason Reid put a $22M UFO pork project through under the banner of DoD instead of using NSF or NASA etc.
― El Tomboto, Thursday, 21 December 2017 17:05 (six years ago) link
did someone post that UFO pork project NYT story? cuz holy shit
it's too bad some of those missiles wind up w/ ISIS tho
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 21 December 2017 17:50 (six years ago) link
how is there not a thread for the US DoD’s latest UFO program
― sleeve, Thursday, 21 December 2017 17:50 (six years ago) link
Come next NovemberBe sure to rememberRepublican treasonous plots.
I see no reasonRepublican treasonShould ever be forgot.
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 21 December 2017 18:33 (six years ago) link
unless you want to actually connect with voters
― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 21 December 2017 18:35 (six years ago) link
Yup, "the other guys are horrific" is not a compelling reason to vote if you can't prove you are just are horrific. You have to offer something positive to look forward to.
― A is for (Aimless), Thursday, 21 December 2017 19:17 (six years ago) link
what's the frequency thomas
http://deadline.com/2017/12/donald-trump-tweets-fox-friends-to-brokaw-newt-gingrich-at-war-1202231049/
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 21 December 2017 19:17 (six years ago) link
xp -aren't as horrific
― A is for (Aimless), Thursday, 21 December 2017 19:18 (six years ago) link
It's still empirically untrue. As long as you are in the opposition, that is.
― Frederik B, Thursday, 21 December 2017 19:20 (six years ago) link
donald trump is the soviet union's revenge
― reggie (qualmsley), Thursday, 21 December 2017 20:58 (six years ago) link
Qualmsley, drop the Russia stuff for a little while, please
― Google Murray Blockchain (kingfish), Thursday, 21 December 2017 21:16 (six years ago) link
I thinks it’s cool that we have a celeb like Eric Garland posting here.
― louise ck (milo z), Friday, 22 December 2017 03:31 (six years ago) link
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/26/off-message-bill-de-blasio-216168
― j., Wednesday, 27 December 2017 15:26 (six years ago) link