techPresident - organizing - Comments

Bottom Up Rules to Remember:

Paul Currier — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:57:04 -0500

What Interested me from the news we are getting within the MyBO groups, with regards to both the Chicago and Harvard Meetings on the future of the Obama Movement is that the grassroots were left out as if to marginalize the true strength of the Obama Campaign.

From the trenches, my sense is that 2 million Obamerican Campaign Volunteers are standing still, with our motors ideling. This current standstill condition will not last. No Countywide or "Local Set of MyBO Groups" need Washington or Chicago to tell us what to do, or who to support. We have corruption throughout all levels of government as well. Chicago does not have a monopoly on operating a grease pit. In San Francisco, our past Mayor Willy Brown stated "it's not what you do, it's whether you get caught!". This Attitude and Mindset is what the grassroots will change from Local Governments, thru to our State Governments, and to Our Federal Government. Change will come from the bottom - and the Community Action Networks will not stand still, waiting, motors running.

Local Communities do not need to be told what to do - rather Government needs to listen. Throughout the last election phase - the grassroots were always out in front. I don't expect Government will change unless pushed - hard!

This will happen. But the "Roar" heard around the world on November 4th 2008 is only an opener! We want change. We will work hard to bring change. All politicians who don't get it, may need an education from the grassroots. It's not a New Deal - Its a New ERA!

Katherine should look to the ranks. We seemed to all lay low since November 4. No longer. If not now - when? If not us - who? The grassroots have a deep sense of urgency. It's the Party's and their Leaderships, which takes the People for granted.

I see and hear thousands of Citizens already stirring - restless - ready in a moments notice to fire it up and move. That old axiom always holds true: You can lead, follow, or get out of the way. We have a deep love and respect of Barack Obama. I believe the media and politicians do not yet understand that We Will Change. Applied to politics: You Can Not Change and Remain The Same.

I don't believe the grassroots will wait to begin to recruit and organize 3,260 Counties, and all 50 States.

Paul Currier
Internet Community Organizer: CAN (Community Action Network)
San Francisco, California

http://My.BarackObama.com/page/community/blog/PaulCurrier

Bottom Up Rules to Remember:

Paul Currier — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 03:56:54 -0500

I don't believe the grassroots will wait to begin to recruit and organize 3,260 Counties, and all 50 States.

Paul Currier
Internet Community Organizer: CAN (Community Action Network)
San Francisco, California

http://My.BarackObama.com/page/community/blog/PaulCurrier

comments on "Report from Chicago"

Katherine Hahn — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:14:58 -0500

I'm surprised by how closely this report mirrors my own thoughts and questions following Nov 4.

The "goals" you reported were exactly what I've boiled things down to while planning for the "Change is Coming" meeting this weekend.

By all accounts this has been a stellar campaign (the best ever?)and by my own account a life changing 20 months of work. I'm honored and thankful to have been part of it.

So the following may seem sort of sour... but the only kind of organizing I want to be a part of IS bottom-up. That's why I got involved. And it NEEDS to become a dialog, or the fundamental change we have worked for will not, in the end, be realized.

Under "observations" the most interesting point to me was #5.

I was a Colorado county coordinator in Aug 07, when we had only one paid Obama staff member. As things heated up I focused on my house district, and continued as the hub for our grass roots organization through Nov 4, when I was one of two staging location directors.

Between Dec 07, when all of our staff were (wisely) sent to Iowa, and Nov 08, the campaign began to seem(to me)less bottom up. The sense I had between June and Nov 07 was that the field staff believed they were here to organize volunteers. We were already well-organized.

Now, having heard nothing from field staff since Nov 4, my hunch is that either 1.)my corner of CO is now off the radar (understandably), or 2.) at least from the point of view of field staff, both information and directives flow DOWN from Chicago, through them (the field staff), to us (the volunteers), if they think it's important to keep us in the loop.

It doesn't need to be said, but I'm going to say it anyway: we volunteers worked our butts off over a very long period of time for no pay.

To be fair, I've been complicit in this; I make a point of not "bugging" higher-ups unless something truly urgent comes up, and since Nov 4 I've been laying VERY low. I have not sought any contact. But maybe it's time for folks like me to raise our voices.

KHahn

10% response rate?

marclaitin — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:30:12 -0500

Micah, this is some good intel and a fascinating addition to what we know about what might happen with OFA2, but i'm not quite sure where you get the estimate that a 10% response rate is a reasonable target for an online survey. If I recall correctly, the obama online survey required a fairly heavy lift (it was four dense pages) and in my experience, albeit none with lists of that size or attentiveness, a 10% participation rate is about the max rate that one can hope to get for a great petition, much less a survey. In my consulting days I would typically advise clients to expect a 1-3% response rate to a survey, which this number is well within.

On a broader note, which you acknowledge, having 500,000 people fill out an online survey about the direction of an organization is simply astounding and is probably close to an order of magnitude larger than any other organization could get for a survey of that level of detail.

It's a walksheet, Photoshopped into the iPhone

Gene Koo — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:21:12 -0500

I was looking around for a walksheet but don't seem to have any lying around now. This was the best I could find CC on Flickr, thought the map in the pic was bonus but actually it all looks kinda confusing...

iPhone picture?

Luigi Montanez — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:42:10 -0500

What exactly is on the iPhone screen in the first picture?

Leftmost Bit

Spare me the Pitbull

JuliaBellafloresBlake — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:46:02 -0400

Spare me the Pitbull

Palin's acceptance speech was not only a let down, but an outright insult to American women and men. How stupid do they think we are; how gullible and naive? Haven't they heard of the Internet and the advances in technology and communications that dominate our present and shape our future? Do they really think that their lies will go unnoticed?

I, for one, have no time for soap operas, reality shows, and sarcastic political speeches lacking the one thing that America needs today more than ever: truth. I am too busy trying to keep a smile on my face while I balance my job as a public high school teacher, two 18 year old sons in college, a husband who served 20 years in the USAF, now recovering from a stroke and brain surgery, banks that could care less, insurance companies and hospitals that want their money NOW, and a lifestyle change that requires fruits and vegetables that I can't afford.

When I take away from the precious little time I have to enjoy with my sons and my dear husband to listen to a presidential candidate talk about our future, I expect, no, I demand that their message be with my future in mind, not theirs. Do I sound selfish? I am not. I am a United States citizen of the present, of the future, and as such I repudiate the dirty, mafia style political tactics of the past. I want the truth; I demand the truth in detail. Tell me straightforward, without lies or fantasy trips of denial, what your plans are for my future, for the future of the United States of America.

As many Americans, I was curious. Who was this Palin woman that was able to create all this media mayhem in such a short while? Oh, yes, because after listening to her speech, I have no doubt that all this family drama was staged to divert our attention from the fact that she had to be holed up for three days in order to "get prepared" for her speech. Was it worth it? Was it worth dragging that teenager through all the mud "hoping to quell Internet rumors about Palin's youngest son"? In their delusional minds it was. They needed the time to prepare the pitbull because they are counting on the brainwashed herd that will follow the maverick to win the election. They are counting on that pitbull to bark and snarl and bite any strays that think of leaving the herd.

What they are not counting on is that the new America, the America of the future is characterized by many mavericks with minds of their own, with the guts to stray away from the herd and choose the path that is best for themselves and their families. A path paved in nothing less than the truth and respect that they deserve. In the new America, there isn't one maverick, there are many, many brave, intelligent, fearless mavericks that see the pitbull for what it is, a "breed of dog that was historically used for dog fights", is legally banned in many places or must be "registered as a vicious animal", a breed that "must be muzzled and leashed in public". (I love Google and Wikipedia!)

The millions and millions of mavericks that will vote for Obama in November are not afraid of the pitbull. They see the dog for what it is, a vicious fighter that belongs in our past and should be muzzled and banned from public speech.

Please forgive me; I know my message does not directly address the economic and social issues that are so important to us all, but I've been watching the Republican convention on and off for the last 3 days, and, well, you know, bad habits stick easy.

September 4, 2008
Julia Bellaflores Blake

It's not immediately clear;

andrew s. — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 11:09:16 -0400

It's not immediately clear; but you have to distinguish between group fund-raising pages and personal fund-raising pages on my.barackobama.com. Personal fund-raising (linked to individual user accounts) was a launch feature and has had a huge impact. The campaign has done a number of things to nurture the program, including a Chris Hughes–figureheaded "Grassroots Fundraising Committee" to help people raise a minimum of $1k each.

Group fund-raising, however, was a late addition that cratered and never amounted to much. At minimum, it should have allowed people to link their individual fund-raising to their preferred group; but as is, the two initiatives continue to compete with each other.

There's also an unmentioned third way to fundraise, via events. Again, there's no link to individual or group goals, but it's out there and has been pretty well-utilized.

Beyond any specific dollar amounts raised, though, the greatest contribution has been to the grassroots spirit of the campaign—from day 1, the campaign has been sending the message that it's *our* job to both donate *and* raise the funds—the success of this strategy is hopefully by now self-evident.