Obama's Grassroots Network

The Other Transition: Whither Obama's Movement?
By Micah L. Sifry, from Personal Democracy Forum

While most of the country's attention is focused on the transition underway in Washington, another vitally important transition is taking place right now in Chicago. I'm referring, of course, to the future of the Obama movement and network, or what some organizers refer to as "OFA2" (as in, Obama for America II). Thanks to reporting by Peter Wallsten in the Los Angeles Times, we know that "This weekend, hundreds of field staffers and some key volunteers are planning a marathon closed-door summit at a Chicago hotel to begin negotiating details of what the network might look like when Obama takes office in January. A group of field organizers from battleground states has been enlisted to draw up a plan."

What exactly is going on? The Obama people are saying very little. For a team that has been refreshingly open about the transition in Washington--not only posting an extensive list of transition staffers and donors but inviting public comments on top issues like health care and the economy, letting everyone see those comments and rate their value, beginning to engage in open dialogue via YouTube and mass conference calls and community discussions, posting the names of the outside groups lobbying the transition as well as the text of their position papers, asking for comments on same--the transition to OFA2, which seems to be de facto centered in Chicago, has been a totally top-down, one-way affair.

Yes, the Obama political team has been asking for input from its supporters about the future of OFA2. BarackObama.com features a big online "supporter survey" and the campaign (I guess that's what we still have to call it) has urged supporters to schedule local "Change is Coming" house parties for the weekend of December 13-14. "These meetings offer supporters a chance to reconnect with one another and talk about the issues that are most important to them," says Obama staffer Christopher Hass, "as well as an opportunity to discuss what they can do to support Barack's agenda and how they can continue to make an impact in their own communities....Your input, through the online surveys and through these upcoming house meetings, will help guide the future of this grassroots movement."

But what kind of guidance can isolated individuals and disconnected house parties give, other than vague affirmations of the need for "change" and their desire to pitch in?

Full article at the Personal Democracy Forum

A Message From a Community Organizer

I don't think it's a coincidence that those who mock community organizing, also tend to be less tolerant on race, culture, tend to be more xenophobic, etc. It's also no coincidence that McCain voted against a national holiday for a certain community organizer. Now all of a sudden he's the equal rights guy too... (Can't understand how Obama has allowed McCain to steal half his platform).

The truth is... these people hold us in contempt.... The fact that Americans responded so positively to the racist code language and vitriol of the Republican Convention shows how divided America really is underneath the facade.

Hear a Community Organizer talk about sacrifice, sticking together, and discouragement.

A Sound Strategy: Go Local First

I get email updates from an organization called Progressive Majority. They are an organization which puts into practice the ideas that I touch upon in this blog post on the importance of running candidates on the local level and establishing a network of progressives in locally-based offices such as city councils, school boards, etc.

From their web site:

Progressive Majority recruits committed progressives to run for office at the state and local levels. More than 750 people have accepted our call to serve and, as a result, we've elected 259 to office. This work is changing American politics - we've helped flip control of four state legislatures and 27 local governments. Finally, the rise of the right wing is on hold and progressives are in charge!

Progressive Majority was founded in 2001 to serve as a multi-issue political action committee (PAC) by leaders from organized labor, Members of Congress, and progressive donors. Its network has since grown to over 50,000 progressives nationwide. They have programs in Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin. Their aim is to grow the movement until it is in the top 24 battleground states.

Liberal Arts Dude sez:

Regardless of how you feel about electoral politics (most, if not all of PM’s candidates will run as Democrats) an infusion of progressive candidates and leaders on the local level is sound strategy in building a national, progressive agenda. PM’s approach is long-term in scope and recognizes the principle that to have a viable political movement, the foundation for it must first be in place.

That foundation, for PM, lies in electing candidates in locally elected offices in key geographic areas. Get enough of your people elected in those offices nationwide and pretty soon you will find the progressives competitive with the Republican-corporate backed political machine on a national level. But this time, with an active base of local and grassroots support.

This is an effort that was clearly designed with a long-term goal in mind. The goal is to build a national movement and not just throw support to a big name individual or high-profile candidate in high-profile races. The goal is to build a strong political infrastructure on a state-by-state basis—much like the conservatives did for themselves in the last 40 years.

This is the type of politics which excites me and which gives me hope for the future.

Grassroots Power

When I talk about or discuss politics in blogging it inevitably is usually about national politics, issues and politicians. This happens by reflex—I don’t intend to focus on the national scene in my political rants and ravings on purpose.

I don’t mean to ignore or give short shrift to politics on a local, grassroots level. On the level of city council, school board, state assembly, advisory neighborhood commission, etc.

Most of the opportunities for participating in politics for ordinary people occurs on the local level. Whether it is being elected to a local office, or trying to affect public policy by being an activist for local issues, there is a lot of fertile ground for political participation I haven’t explored in blogging about politics.

This idea comes to mind to me because I would very much like to have an independent or third party choice in our national leaders. Politicians and activists who run outside of the two-party paradigm to shake things up and to effect real change in the gridlocked, polarized scene in Washington, DC.

Yet if the far-fetched notion of an independent or a third party politician winning a national level office does indeed happen, I shudder to think that this victory will be short-lived and won’t effect much change. Because we would have elected a head which will not have a body attached to it.

If an independent were to win a national office, that leader will not have a nationwide, grassroots network of allies and political comrades to turn to for support, legislative votes, and honest advice. He or she would be sitting ducks surrounded by potential enemies who would like nothing more than to trip them up and watch them fail.

Democrats and Republicans, by and large, don’t have this problem. Because they are organized grassroots to a national level—they will always have a network of Democrat or Republican activists to turn to for help, support, and legislative votes when they need it.

So given this situation, it is crucial for any independent or third-party effort to have a local, grassroots component. Don’t just focus on the high-profile, big-name races and offices. There is a need to have people from out of the political mainstream fill offices and be active on the local level.

Being a part of the local school board, alderman, or an activist applying pressure to city council may not have as much sexiness and political heft as Congress or the presidential race. But such offices and activities are crucial for a fully-functioning independent political movement.

Any serious political effort trying to effect change and to provide an alternative to the two-party system should look local to build its base, and then focus on the national scene once it has already built a solid, grassroots network of local bases.

Cross-posted in An Ordinary Person.