Don't forget The League of Women Voters who have a well established 50-state plus D.C. project running to demand fair redistricting, People Powered Fair Maps. Contact your local league and see how you can support getting fair maps drawn in 2021
Again, we will be dealing with the mismatch between where the activists are (blue cities) and where embattled Dem minorities need help. (In my observation OFA foundered on this -- who wants a bunch of squabbling urban lefties intruding on the struggling local Dem politics of California's Central Valley?) We need focus on what people can do remotely, without making a nuisance of themselves to local actors.
I see it as Dan's role to help point us to organizational entities that can channel energy of outside actors to become more a help than a distraction.
Meanwhile, who is devoted to replacing GOPer Mike Garcia in Orange County with a Dem in 2022?
There are actually state and local elections this year. Including the NJ governors race. Perhaps a shift in focus to more local races this year will achieve all your goals - keep people engaged with measurable important work, defend democracy and maybe expand Dem representation, and register more voters.
Additionally, what the GOP has done so so so much better than Dems is messaging around how and why policies and legislation are helpful and important to Americans. They were mostly all lies or at least equivocations (see tax travesty) but the messaging worked. Dems have to figure out what to say, how to say it to make it resonate and then how to get everyone, no matter the organization, singing from the same song sheet (I think we can look to Georgia for some lessons here too)
-Defending the House and Senate is existentially important. Huge implications for long-term. WI is getting its act together. Everyone else must as well.
-Support all efforts to make businesses whose advertising money supports the right wing media system accountable. If they start losing money when they ramp up the anti Biden hysteria it may have an impact.
Once Obama was in office, every email I received was about an issue that I was to "add my name in support" then a request for a donation. Three sets of mailing lists (Obama, DNC, etc), three pleas for cash. There were NEVER other actions requested. It really turned me off, and I eventually tuned out the (seemingly bullshit) "add your name" emails. They were just dressed up requests for money I needed for groceries. If volunteers can sense make-work, supporters can sense when all they are is a piggy bank. We need to do more to get people engaged - then ask for money. But give them something real to do to keep them engaged and channel their enthusiasm.
I would hope that these national organizations collect some sort of location information on people who have donated to them so they can recommend local issues to get involved with that the donors would support.
Amy McGrath getting the money she did from small donors is money wasted. It would have been better to tap into that energy though for people in KY or who care about Breonna Taylor to be prompted for those kinds of donors. Considering most states are red, there’s a lot of opportunity to increase local engagement so long as there is national-local coordination.
Love love love this and am emailing this to my London American group to congratulate them and encourage them to act by clicking on one of the links in your email to stay involved. (I'm sticking with my home state of Wisconsin but making it monthly). Am also encouraging them to sign up for The Message Box. Both are sustainable contributions to keep America alive -- from this day forward. Happy January 20th at 17:00 London time, everyone! You'll find me wearing proper trousers, not a t-shirt and real shoes to welcome and celebrate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris -- my god it feels good to say that. Thanks as always, Dan.
Here is a small suggestion. The most successful groups I have been a part of this last year are two small groups (other agendas) on zoom. They involved meeting new people, focusing on a serious topic. But of course we became friends. If we could have access to lists of potential volunteers or even new voters or potentially new voters, and could build cohesive small groups like this viz zoom meetings, well for me it is the best chance I have of inspiring others as that magic happens by itself, esp during covid when it is the closest thing to real connection and relationship building. Small "Action Groups." I'd be in and take leadership.
Also, Dan, we do donate to various candidates local and national, but I ran into a real problem with Act Blue (maybe they were just overwhelmed) who made some costly mistakes. It took forever (many repeat emails) to get them to fix this problem, to the point at which we found ourselves no longer trusting their process, or software, or whatever it was. There have to be other ways to donate; would appreciate if you found and listed some here. For now we are not willing to trust our donations to Act Blue and that is a big problem. Thanks.
On the Sustainable Political Infrastructure front… We need our own online platform: some combination of ActBlue, Facebook, Twitter, MeetUp, and Square Space. The recent deplatformings (?) of Trump, Parler, etc. prove that on some level we are all at the mercy of our technology providers. I would love to see an online Democratic portal / infrastructure that securely handles the plumbing, manages payment processing, serves as a hub for organizing, and in general adds a bit more “community” to the party.
Thanks for this info. I’m also referring back to your book “Untrumping America “. Would you say there are many updates to your recommendations in the book?
Great, great advice, Dan. I'd add one more thing to your Grassroots Groups suggestions: local elections. Anyone who has experience working in a campaign - whether managing/coordinating, phone banking, canvassing, fundraising, or whatever - your skills are needed by your local DTC and/or town council candidates. Every minute you spend supporting local elections will be valuable, and will help you learn more, stay involved and prepare for whatever work you choose to do for 2022. My personal motivation for staying active and inspired (aside from supporting the Biden-Harris administration and my senators and rep in Congress) is Obama's book, which I'm halfway through. Also, thank you so much for donating Message Box subscription dollars to Run for Something!
Don't forget The League of Women Voters who have a well established 50-state plus D.C. project running to demand fair redistricting, People Powered Fair Maps. Contact your local league and see how you can support getting fair maps drawn in 2021
Again, we will be dealing with the mismatch between where the activists are (blue cities) and where embattled Dem minorities need help. (In my observation OFA foundered on this -- who wants a bunch of squabbling urban lefties intruding on the struggling local Dem politics of California's Central Valley?) We need focus on what people can do remotely, without making a nuisance of themselves to local actors.
I see it as Dan's role to help point us to organizational entities that can channel energy of outside actors to become more a help than a distraction.
Meanwhile, who is devoted to replacing GOPer Mike Garcia in Orange County with a Dem in 2022?
There are actually state and local elections this year. Including the NJ governors race. Perhaps a shift in focus to more local races this year will achieve all your goals - keep people engaged with measurable important work, defend democracy and maybe expand Dem representation, and register more voters.
Additionally, what the GOP has done so so so much better than Dems is messaging around how and why policies and legislation are helpful and important to Americans. They were mostly all lies or at least equivocations (see tax travesty) but the messaging worked. Dems have to figure out what to say, how to say it to make it resonate and then how to get everyone, no matter the organization, singing from the same song sheet (I think we can look to Georgia for some lessons here too)
Excellent points.
Would add 2:
-Defending the House and Senate is existentially important. Huge implications for long-term. WI is getting its act together. Everyone else must as well.
-Support all efforts to make businesses whose advertising money supports the right wing media system accountable. If they start losing money when they ramp up the anti Biden hysteria it may have an impact.
Once Obama was in office, every email I received was about an issue that I was to "add my name in support" then a request for a donation. Three sets of mailing lists (Obama, DNC, etc), three pleas for cash. There were NEVER other actions requested. It really turned me off, and I eventually tuned out the (seemingly bullshit) "add your name" emails. They were just dressed up requests for money I needed for groceries. If volunteers can sense make-work, supporters can sense when all they are is a piggy bank. We need to do more to get people engaged - then ask for money. But give them something real to do to keep them engaged and channel their enthusiasm.
I would hope that these national organizations collect some sort of location information on people who have donated to them so they can recommend local issues to get involved with that the donors would support.
Amy McGrath getting the money she did from small donors is money wasted. It would have been better to tap into that energy though for people in KY or who care about Breonna Taylor to be prompted for those kinds of donors. Considering most states are red, there’s a lot of opportunity to increase local engagement so long as there is national-local coordination.
Love love love this and am emailing this to my London American group to congratulate them and encourage them to act by clicking on one of the links in your email to stay involved. (I'm sticking with my home state of Wisconsin but making it monthly). Am also encouraging them to sign up for The Message Box. Both are sustainable contributions to keep America alive -- from this day forward. Happy January 20th at 17:00 London time, everyone! You'll find me wearing proper trousers, not a t-shirt and real shoes to welcome and celebrate President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris -- my god it feels good to say that. Thanks as always, Dan.
Here is a small suggestion. The most successful groups I have been a part of this last year are two small groups (other agendas) on zoom. They involved meeting new people, focusing on a serious topic. But of course we became friends. If we could have access to lists of potential volunteers or even new voters or potentially new voters, and could build cohesive small groups like this viz zoom meetings, well for me it is the best chance I have of inspiring others as that magic happens by itself, esp during covid when it is the closest thing to real connection and relationship building. Small "Action Groups." I'd be in and take leadership.
Also, Dan, we do donate to various candidates local and national, but I ran into a real problem with Act Blue (maybe they were just overwhelmed) who made some costly mistakes. It took forever (many repeat emails) to get them to fix this problem, to the point at which we found ourselves no longer trusting their process, or software, or whatever it was. There have to be other ways to donate; would appreciate if you found and listed some here. For now we are not willing to trust our donations to Act Blue and that is a big problem. Thanks.
Excellent! So glad that you did this. Time to stay focused and energized is now.
On the Sustainable Political Infrastructure front… We need our own online platform: some combination of ActBlue, Facebook, Twitter, MeetUp, and Square Space. The recent deplatformings (?) of Trump, Parler, etc. prove that on some level we are all at the mercy of our technology providers. I would love to see an online Democratic portal / infrastructure that securely handles the plumbing, manages payment processing, serves as a hub for organizing, and in general adds a bit more “community” to the party.
Thanks for this info. I’m also referring back to your book “Untrumping America “. Would you say there are many updates to your recommendations in the book?
Great, great advice, Dan. I'd add one more thing to your Grassroots Groups suggestions: local elections. Anyone who has experience working in a campaign - whether managing/coordinating, phone banking, canvassing, fundraising, or whatever - your skills are needed by your local DTC and/or town council candidates. Every minute you spend supporting local elections will be valuable, and will help you learn more, stay involved and prepare for whatever work you choose to do for 2022. My personal motivation for staying active and inspired (aside from supporting the Biden-Harris administration and my senators and rep in Congress) is Obama's book, which I'm halfway through. Also, thank you so much for donating Message Box subscription dollars to Run for Something!