So as it turns out, there are actually a few people who read this blog and have complained that it is no longer functioning. I honestly didn’t know anyone read it at all but I’m thrilled to hear that some people do. First, I’ll update you on what I’ve been up to in the post, then I’ll try to throw up some thoughts and funny pictures every or every other day.
As you may or may not know, I have changed jobs. My original job was at Greer Margolis Mitchell and Burns. Yes, it is was as soulless and boring as you would guess based on the name. It was a PR/Consulting Firm that works in politics and policy. I was essentially a paid phone-banker lining up outreach events for a children’s healthcare outreach program. The cause was good, but the passion wasn’t there. People were more concerned with “pleasing the client” then “helping the kid” and spent half the fucking day writing memos and logging billing hours. YUCK!
So, I called up people I know. My former boss at the Dean campaign Karen Hicks is now the Field Director for the National Coordinated Campaign (as in, she runs the national party’s (read: JOHN KERRY) field operation). So, I called her seeing if anyone needed free labor, and she hooked me up with a job working for another guy I know from the Dean Campaign at the organization that trains all of the field staff: DemocraticGain.
Now, Karen is changing the party’s approach to field. Instead of spending a lot of money on paid door-knockers and machine phone calls, we’ve adopted the program we used in New Hampshire. In it, paid organizers (of which I was one) use relational organizing (ala the civil rights, farm workers or union movement) to build local leadership and organizations that do the voter contact (phone calls and door-knocking) in their own neighborhoods.
The advantages to this program are three-fold: First, rather than spending the money, the party engages volunteers to do it. Because of McCain-Fiengold the party can’t raise soft money (unlimited checks) and can’t afford to fund a national field operation based on paid work. Second, voter contact done by neighbors and friends instead of someone calling from a the other side of the country is much more effective. Someone you know, or who is at least from your community, is much more persuasive. Finally, building local volunteer organization can help the party in the long-run. Precinct leaders can run for city council or state rep. The volunteer organization can work to elect democrats for a long time…
