From the Globe’s Political Intelligence blog:
“We have to organize every damn precinct in the United States of America — all 185,000,” Dukakis told the Observer. “I’m serious. I’m deadly serious. I didn’t do it after the primary [in 1988]. Don’t ask me why, because that’s the way I got myself elected from the time I was running for town meeting in Brookline to the time I ran for governor.”
Dukakis continued, “And I mean starting a year in advance. I’m not talking about parachuting in with two weeks to go. That’s baloney. And these people are people who’ve got to be from the precinct, of the precinct, look like the precinct and talk like the precinct.”
Of course, Dukakis is almost certainly right, and it’s not the first time he’s said this. And Howard Dean seems to have gotten the message with his 50-state strategy, hiring organizers for party-building in every state. I don’t know specifically how that’s progressing, although the 2006 elections were certainly a good sign. Is Dukakis expressing worry about how far and well it’s gone so far?
In any event … I remember hearing about the supposedly turbo-charged ground-game we supposedly run in Massachusetts, that we really know how to do shoe-leather politics in a way that other states’ Dem parties and candidates just don’t: You know, voter ID’ing, giving folks a number to indicate how likely they are to vote your way … you know, typical stuff. And certainly John Walsh’s campaign for Deval Patrick was a hybrid of old-fashioned techniques with internet-era resources and tools.
But I want to pick the brains of some of the campaign veterans who read this site: What do you think works in Massachusetts? What tools would you most recommend to export to other states? What do we do right here that others could benefit from? What would you tell the Dems in other states?
I heard him give a version of this speech in person, and it’s very convincing. During Victory ’06, the stat was that nine more votes per precinct would have made Shannon O’Brien governor in 2002. On one hand, that’s a lot of total votes; on the other hand, precincts are large, nine votes should be easy enough to get.
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I don’t know what other states do or don’t do, but the example that always comes to my mind is the woman who beat Bob Dornan several years ago. One of the most conservative members of Congress, he was thought to be unbeatable, and an unknown Hispanic woman challenged him. He never took her seriously, and she won. Obviously it wasn’t media, it was message, as in direct message — people in the community reaching out.
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In my town, one of the few that Deval lost in 2006, he did win Precinct 3, where I made nearly 400 calls for him. Each time, I made sure to say “I’m one of your neighbors … “
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you should be asking. Those guys were great at voter IDing, assigning folks numbers, knowing who is voting your way, things like that.
Because if there was one thing that the Politburo supported, it was the idea of voting.
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Regardless, most of those folks are still working in the Russia that President Bush is doing his utmost to piss off.
The Politburo got out the vote, that’s why it was always a landslide. But you’re right, this is more like a Clint Eastwood movie, where everyone votes who the sheriff says votes. Between this and ActBlue, it doesn’t seem so much like promoting democracy so much as manipulating it, seizing advantage. Not that that’s anything new, but it used to be done kind of secretly, as if it was wrong.
You’re not researching the entire web and then going to wrongly scream “this was taken from, blah, blah, blah”. The process in “Working with Volunteers” a reply one down from you…(or are you trying to tie this into a Bush, Rovian, Republican trick), is taken DIRECTLY from the Democratic election playbook.
And so you will be more accurate on your next rant..I DID the research HAYES lost to “Jamie” getting 37% of the vote NOT 25%…For a first time run, no money, no party help, against a 3 term incumbent who cheats with funds, caught twice and will soon be nailed again, not bad…if the D’s would put up a real candidate in the 37th against Eldridge
He would get smoked, need proof, review 5th congressional polling results the boy has the potential to finsh 5th out of 5!
You can’t “take” something that you originally wrote.
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And what’s your deal with Representative Eldridge, anyway? Did his dog take a crap on your lawn, or did he dump you while in high school or something?
I don’t understand your first sentence, but whatever.
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What is my thing with Eldridge, simple;
1. He and those like him will be personally responsible for killing the real Democratic Party (Not here in Mass. This state is gone and is the laughing stock of 95% of the rest of the country)…The progressives should make their own party and get out of the Dem’s party…Eldridge is not the party of Blue collar, union working folks, JFK folks.
2. I can’t stand a liar, you know how he is lying, his lips are moving, I completely understand politics and the “need” to sometimes inflate issues…He has lied to the Vet’s, he makes appearances gets his name mentioned to the crowd and screws before the hard work, or taking care of returning troops, did it on 2006, want a reference? I can give you the name of a reporter that witnessed him doing that twice..beneath contempt.
Why don’t YOU call a few seniors at the Lunenburg Senior Center and see what he has done for them, mold on the buildings, people sick, and Eldridge rides in on his “White Horse” and has the Building bid for paint..(Paint does not kill mold and will not make the seniors there any better) I can hook you up with several sick and mad seniors..His Acton Plan, the only town that plan benefited is ACTON, his home town, and the plan itself is a house of cards, it will fall in of its own weight…His stance now, on weapons versus his proudly hailing his NRA and GOAL endorsement in 2006. His manipulation on campaign finances, to include his claim of being the only “clean elections” candidate and makes no mention of getting caught doing wrong and repaying funds to ontributors. His taking campaign funds to give to NARAL after pleading with the folks in the 37th that he needed the funds “as he was against a tuff opponent” (the SAME person YOU accuse me of getting the info on that web site, and YOU called the info CRAP, not discounting one item! because you can’t because it’s his record)
His WAR stance..i.e. “the war is lost” how does he know, must be all the military training he has had or his daily reading of the Globe or NY Times….How about his stance that he (as a single “man”) or the state government can better care for my family and my children than we can. How about his comment on the boarder “we should take the money for the fence and give it to the people for water and food…” (The richest man in the world is a mexican!)
You want more lies, corrupt practices etc…
I strongly believe in making an educated vote, simple research proves what he is. I attended a debate in 2006 and heard him say (It was taped if you need proof) “I could not look the family of an illegal in the eyes and tell them they could not go to school” BUT he could look the audience in the eye and say THEY will use your taxes, you work hard for and take YOUR childs seat and that does not bother me….
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You folks just getting to know him (Not in the 37th)glom
on as he labeled himself “progressive” (NOT in 2006, he knows that won’t fly out here) NO ONE can define what that is, within your ranks…Research in the dictionary progressive and socialist are almost identical.
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Enjoy the day…
ps..you are, if memory serves a teacher, it figures you would go for the likes of Eldridge (NOT AN INSULT) you want to see how he supports Unions? Ask the union with prison guards..in 2006 “they were a top priority” after working two/three years without a contract..and FYI ole MIT was dead wrong not paying our last line of defense against the animals locked up…Eldridge said a “top priority”, Ask them how their new contract is..oh wait
they don’t have one…
And do not think for a minute if the Teachers want too much or Eldridge finds someone more powerful that he can get support from, maybe the GLBT folks..you people will be in the same boat as the guards!
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See if you respond in a civil manner or fact check the above. But blinders are blinders… Enjoy the day,
rain tomorrow and Friday HOT thru the weekend!
Wow…I have no idea what you claim your affiliation to be, but you seem angry at the world. So angry you’re looking for enemies: I never said I supported Jamie. Frankly, I lean toward Finegold.
But it does not work..save your “wows” for someone who give a darn…I lean towards anyone other than “Jamie” I take offense to liars, and fools who condon liars to get what they want…do not care what YOU think my “leanings” are…I’m comfortable in my shoes…You have not read enough, I tore the “O” to shreds..he is as usless as “Jamie” I’m not looking for anything other than COMMON Decency…not found in your replies….FYI..NICE trick…skirt around the facts and try to change the subject…YOU tried it, with support from “Dave” on my first Eldridge fact sheet…did not work then, does not work here young lady!!!
You think I support Eldridge because I don’t foam at the mouth at the sound of his name.
You think I’m a woman because I teach, even though my handle is that of a world-beating general
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You probably think I have a full head of hair and live in a mansion, too.
by the wit of the continued retort. Foam now, this site has endorsed Jamie…so now the 20 or so folks on it can cheer…Still a 4th place
My mind started spinning as I thought about all the ideas of what you can do, expecially if you have the committed people to do them. So I thought I would start with my “five rules” for working with volunteers.
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This was actually written several years ago, but I don’t feel that anything is outdated. This was written before John Walsh became “the John Walsh.” When I learned that John had been hired to be Deval Patrick’s campaign manager, I mentioned to someone that John was a big fan of my “five rules.” Within 12 hours of that comment, John was calling me for a copy of the rules.
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Over my years as a volunteer in a variety of campaigns, I have developed five guidelines for working with volunteers. Although they were developed primarily for staffers, they are also appropriate for all of us are leaders of other volunteers, in our volunteer capacity.
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Guidelines for Creating a Successful Volunteers Base
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As some readers of BMG know, I am an experienced volunteer, both in the political and nonprofit areas. Over the years I have developed five guidelines for staff working with volunteers. They are simple, but important.
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1) Welcome us.
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2) Give us meaningful and achievable tasks – don’t waste our time.
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3) Treat us with respect.
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4) Feed us.
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5) Thank us.
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Twenty words, which are key to having volunteers successfully participate in your campaign. They are very simple, and with the exception of rule number two, very easy to follow.
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1) WELCOME US. Greet people, make us feel welcome. Introduce yourself when a volunteer comes into your office. Ensure that both the office and phones are configured and staffed to ensure that people are greeted and welcomed. A simple way to begin to accomplish this is to put a big sign that says “WELCOME VOLUNTEERS!” at the entrance. Part of the “welcome us” rule includes making sure that new people are introduced to other volunteers. Pair up experienced volunteers with newcomers.
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Skipping number two, for now and on to rule three,
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3) TREAT US WITH RESPECT. It is important to respect the fact that we are giving up time from our families and paying jobs to volunteer. It includes giving us the respect of responding to our phone calls and e-mail. Respect includes something as basic as asking us what kind of work we want to do. Volunteers understand that what we want to do may not be what best meets the campaign needs. Ask us what we want to do and tell us what you need. Most volunteers understand “campaign chaos” and the last minute nature of campaigns; but we still want the respect of giving us appropriate notice when asking us to help. One additional facet of point three is to tell volunteers what our specific task is geared to accomplish – – what the goals are. Part of treating us with respect is to not make people feel like failures, especially when dealing with forces beyond our control. Respect our experience and our knowledge of our community.
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4) FEED US. This can be as simple as offering us a cup of coffee during a cold standout or a bottle of water to bring with us on a hot canvass. Granola bars and raisins are easy to manage food. Some of us might find providing homemade snacks to be an enjoyable way to help. There are great cooks and bakers in the volunteer ranks. It saves money and adds a nice atmosphere. A little sustenance will make us more efficient, obviating the need for breaks to buy food.
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5) THANKS US. Make sure we know that our work is appreciated. It is key for staff to ensure that the candidate (or senior staff) knows who is volunteering. Thanking includes everything from e-mails to snail mail to phone calls. The occasional “thank you gathering” is never out of place. Even if we do not attend a thank you event, we appreciate the invitation. Thanking is so important that it needs to have a system in place. The system should include a mechanism for local volunteers to communicate to staff, in a structured way, the names of people who are volunteering in the community and are out of sight/out of mind for the office staff.
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2) GIVE US MEANINGFUL AND ACHIEVABLE TASKS – DON’T WASTE OUR TIME.
Rule number two is the most challenging. Some suggestions:
– Plan ahead. Have a job file of tasks that need to be done. These can include photocopying, responding to written requests, filing, data entry, writing thank you notes. Avoid a situation when a volunteer walks in to help and is told that there is nothing to do or a volunteer calls and is told don’t bother coming in.
– Be creative. Every time a staffer thinks, “This is important, but I don’t have the time,” think of how the task could be tailored to allow a volunteer to own it.
– Look at what staffers are doing and think, “Can a volunteer do this task?”
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Ideally campaigns should have available a variety of tasks. In some cases campaigns offer very little in between “Go hold a sign” and “Go organize a senate district.” If a campaign wants us to do more than we can achieve, give us the priorities. Example: Phone banks are a higher priority than lawn signs, if that is the campaign’s strategy.
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The corollary, “don’t waste our time,” includes good concise training. Don’t consider volunteer time to be an expendable resource. Some campaigns may consider it more efficient to do one big training, even if it means volunteers who are ready to go are waiting. Train volunteers in small groups, and then get us going. If we are coming to phone bank, have us go straight to the actual location. Going to headquarters to get assigned to a different location can waste time, and in this age of cell phones, can be avoided. Let us call on our way to our shift and give us our assigned site.
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CONCLUSION: Campaigns are challenging and exciting. Volunteers can and should be an important complement to staff. Below are real examples of how to succeed in following these guidelines. A campaign that consistently follows “Kate’s Five Guidelines” will succeed with volunteer recruitment. Thanks to John Walsh, Ginny Allan, Chuck Anastas and Catherine Bayliss for their assistance with this article.
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REAL EXAMPLES OF HOW TO MEET THESE GUIDELINES
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CAMPAIGN STARS: Submitted by John Walsh. Good campaigns are made up of many stars (the volunteers). When a volunteer does something for the campaign, create a star with the volunteer’s name. A digital photo can be included. On the star note the date and the activity, such as “6/8 – phone bank”. The star is posted on the wall of the HQ and each time the volunteer does something for the campaign, it has notes on the star, “6/10 – visibility.” Once the star has ten activities, they get a silver star. At twenty activities the star becomes gold and the volunteer receives a more substantial reward, like an embroidered shirt. The specifics can vary and it requires an advocate to be sure that the volunteers and staff keep it up to date. The candidate and senior campaign staff should make a point of checking on the stars. John guarantees me that this works; from my own experience with similar programs, I have not doubt that it will. His words, “It works!”
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SAMPLE INTRODUCTION TO PHONE SCRIPT: The below script introduction, modified form a real script sent to me by John, is an example of several of the guidelines. The themes of both respect and thanks are woven into the text. Good written instructions are an integral part of the “Don’t waste our time” corollary. The explanation of the purpose shows respect for us as volunteers.
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“Thank you for taking time from your busy schedule to help. Your support means a lot to the candidate. A few notes:
The goals of the Phone Bank are:
-Contact VERY LIKELY voters so they know we’re working early,
-Determine if these voters have made a decision about the race.
-That’s it. We’re NOT trying to convince undecided voters tonight.
-Don’t mention the name of any other candidate.
This suggested script is a guideline. If you feel comfortable reading it – go ahead and do so. As you work with it, you may find you need to make adjustments to reflect your personal style or comfort level. Make it your own! First, get comfortable. Read the script over a few times so you are familiar. Now – PICK UP THE PHONE and make a call!! Thanks again.”
truly understands the meaning of grassroots. She’s been there and done that for many years. I think she has some type of radar in her car that is set to autofind every phone bank and canvass within a 100 mile radius.
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As soon as I volunteered for Ed O’Reilly, the first thing I did was ask Kate for a copy of her rules. They are the grassroots bible for valuing volunteers.
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I had an interesting conversation with a former Dean volunteer yesterday. He feels that it’s about time for campaigns to treat volunteer hours with the same consideration or more than the maxed out big donors. After all, giving a donation requires a minute or two spent writing a check. Many volunteers (like Kate) work almost full time on campaigns, giving up huge portions of their lives to get a candidate elected. Not to mention any names, but some candidates couldn’t care less about their volunteers but drool over their high end donors. There is something very wrong when volunteers don’t get a thank you and people with money are lavished with attention and time. It’s about time to change the concept of what should be valued, and Ed O’Reilly gets it.
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Ed O’Reilly volunteer and grassroots enthusiast here.
onto the organizers of the -YearlyKos- Netroots Nation Conference. They’ve done wonderful stuff with the first two conferences, but now that the project has expanded beyond the original blog, and expectations are higher, the organizers would do well to remember these rules. I volunteered for the last conference, and I have a few concerns about the seat-of-the-pants volunteer organization they have depended upon to make the conference a success.
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Terrific stuff, Kate. Thanks for posting them. They don’t just apply to political campaigns.
Sharoney, Lori, Shack, et al,
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Thanks for your kind words. Sharoney, you are absolutely right that these apply to volunteers in any situation. With some adjustment, they fit in the work place as well.
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Since 2005 I’ve been trying to figure out the most important rule, which is more of a guiding principle, “HAVE FUN.” I hate to give up the tweny words, five rules symmetry. Suggestions on how to incorporate the concept of fun?
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Kate
Massachusetts has a lot to offer other states and regions, but we better watch our tone before we present ourselves as the experts of the “turbo-charged ground game” outside of the Bay State. What works well for grassroots organizing here may not be right elsewhere, and what works here in 2006 may not work in Ohio in 2008 (or what works June may not work in September).
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Do not lose track of Dukakis’ qualifier:
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If a state has not had much Democratic presence or activity for a long time, the approach will be different than it will be in Massachusetts. For instance, The Nation had a recent article about organizing in western North Carolina. People got mad and got organized, and there was a role for a recent transplant from the north – but he was a new, permanent resident, not an out-of-state expert organizer. If I recall correctly, the article said that the newly re-energized Dem Party recruited some candidates for local elected offices and held an old-fashioned ox roast picnic with stemwinder, fire-and-brimstone political speakers. It seems to be working for them, but these might not be the right first steps in another area.
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In another “for instance,” the city where my mom lives in Michigan is having an internal Dem vs. Dem battle right now. It may be a delicate task to organize grassroots volunteers for state and federal elections if people are still nursing resentments over the nasty local election.
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I’ve knocked on doors in New Hampshire and had someone say angrily, “You’re not one of those canvassers from Massachusetts, are you? I’m sick of you people.” I’ve heard a Massachusetts volunteer opine that Dems would have won Ohio’s electoral votes in 2004 if only he had been allowed to make speeches to the volunteers. Hubris does not win elections!
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Kate’s smart rules for treating volunteers (see above) have universal appeal, but we have to approach this nationwide organizing proposition as a chance to learn from other states and political cultures – and to let them develop their own strengths – at the same time we look to share the things that work here. My advice is to continue to support Dean’s approach: set grassroots organizing as a priority, and then give the local Party the money to get the job done according to their own instincts.
Given how Democratic the state is, and how thickly settled and educated, I’m not sure Massachusetts has the best profile from which to offer “lessons learned”. Frankly, in 2006 Democrats didn’t exceed expectations, but rather met them for the first time in a while. Though the 2006 ground game is worth looking at, there are better places to look.
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I’d rather have the party look at the Congressional Districts and candidates where we did surprisingly well, such as the campaigns of Carol Shea-Porter, Heath Shuler, and Tim Walz. Not coincidentally, if we can apply the lessons learned in New Hampshire, North Carolina, and Minnesota to just those states, we’ll be on the road to winning in 2008.
After reading the Dukakis article, I find it ironic that our former Governor gets how important Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy is, especially here in MA, and yet we’re not part of it.
Given that there are states where Dems do not control the lege or governor’s office, it makes sense for Howard Dean to say “Alaska and MIssissippi really need the DNC’s help–Massachusetts has the resources to take care of itself for now.”
I think Wellstone said it best:
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We are absolutely part of it. Why do you think Dukakis is involved?
A big part of the second phase of the 50-State strategy is empowering precinct captains to do voter outreach in their neighborhoods. The primary portal for this is the VoteBuilder website which is the VAN architecture we’ve been talking about. As far as I know the MassDems are not participating in this aspect of the 50 State Strategy nor do they have any plans to. Here’s the link to VoteBuilder:
VoteBuilder
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Also, for reference, here’s a link to a state where they have really implemented the 50 state strategy. This is the training for new precinct captains in Kings County Washington State.
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As you can see the precinct captain program is built around the VoterBuilder software and local access to the voter file.
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Warning: this is a large PDF file
King County Dems Training Manual
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As I’ve said on another thread this debate isn’t so much about the particular software being employed but instead the issue of local access to the voter file and an emphasis on voter contact as the primary duty of Democratic committee members.
I had missed the thread about VAN vs. Sage software so I went back to try to make sense of your assertion that Mass. is not participating in Howard Dean’s 50 state strategy.
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I can see that you are unhappy with the use of this software vendor in MA, but that doesn’t mean Mass. has opted out of Dean’s approach to organizing. I remember Phil Johnston reporting back to the MDP/DSC when Dean was running for DNC Chair, and explaining that candidate Dean would distribute resources to states that had recently been withheld by the previous DNC regime for use at the national level. MA was on board with the new approach and continues to put the Dean strategy to good use.
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I am not ignoring your concern about the “business as usual” approach to party insiders – this will always require vigilence. And I have suffered along with Michael F. Wilcox in trying to use canvassing packets generated by Sage. But a difference of opinion about a choice of software is not the same thing as rejecting Dean’s strategy. In fact, the choice of a different software package for MA might underscore Dean’s apparent recognition that each state, region, municipality, ward and precinct has individual preferences and will make different choices about what works best for grassroots organizing in their area.
since I’ve been researching this subject. The choice of software is a key to the 50 state strategy. Not to bore you with a full analysis, but there are key issues that have not been addressed in this decision that will seriously hamper MA efforts in the future. It’s not about my just being disgusted with bidness as usual. There has been no transparency or open discussion about this decision nor any sharing with the very people who are expected to contribute to grassroots efforts and use the tools (these are the key people). I find that typical of MA politics. It’s very easy to say “grassroots”, but it’s quite another thing to actually understand and walk that walk. So far, all I’ve heard is talking.
I’d heard complaints about SAGE from a number of different people.
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And Deval’s Community Tool was an awesome piece of software, it totally made it easy for me to organize my ward. But now that I’m a ward chair for the Dem. Party, and I don’t have the community tool, I don’t have any software for this, apart from whatever I try to do with MS Excel.
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So, I have to agree with lolorb that good software will be essential, and the state party needs to share access to it with ward chairs and precinct captains.
that the Community Tool, whose developer wished it to be offered to whomever wanted it, has become MDP proprietary software and has been offered to only the desired campaign(s). Such are the games being played over this issue, which I am sure was not the intent of Howard Dean and the DNC in making a choice of software that could be utilized by all candidates and would give power to the grassroots. VAN does not require customization to give the grassroots the tools needed. Hence, no extra Dem dollars have to be spent or volunteer customization hours utilized for VAN to work immediately. And, did I mention that it’s FREE to the state parties?
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I understand the whole concept of being good doobies and supporting your party (there are truly loyal soldiers). I just can’t understand having to be good doobies when the choice is detrimental to the very cause one is supposed to be committed to. Isn’t it time to change that?
I don’t normally follow BMG threads (I’ve been busy designing stuff, see below), but I heard that some misinformation had been posted here that I want to clear up.
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First of all, the Community Tool is certainly not MDP proprietary software. I have a very strong dream of propagating its ideas into the wider world – not only beyond the MDP, but also beyond politics.
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The Community Tool is not just a piece of software that you can install and then run a successful campaign – it’s part of an idea of how members of a community can talk to each other. Charles SteelFisher and I have been working all this year on the really tricky puzzle of putting this idea into practice in a way that will work. We’ve made a lot of progress, and I assure you that we’ll start turning on the pieces as soon as they become ready.
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p.s. Thanks for the complements on the Community Tool.
As I understand it, the Community Tool is being used only on the Tsongas campaign? I was already corrected via a phone call that the tool was not the property of MDP. Is it designed solely to interface with SAGE or is it designed to deal with multiple back ends? Are you and Charles (who was affiliated with the MDP, hence my error) planning on marketing this tool separately from other established packages?
…did the Boston.com web site really give the time of day to an embarrassment like Dukakis? He showed himself to be a fool when, in the presidential campaign in 1988, he popped up from a tank wearing a helmet and looking like a mushroom.
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Why don’t these washed up politicians just go away?
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What I’m always amused at is that the washed-up politicians can always land at universities, belief tanks and lobbying firms. It’s rather amazing. Get elected. Get ridiculed and unelected. And get hired and make a bundle of money.
You have to look at the whole career. Dukakis is all about public service.
You have to look at the whole career. Dukakis is all about public service.
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“Public service” can have many meanings, not all of which are complimentary. He got himself elected to political offices. So? Ronald Reagan and GWBush did to, and see where that got us. After his resounding defeat in the 1988 election, Dukakis ran the MA state budget into the ground: the “Massachusetts Miracle” had collapsed, and along with it the values of more than a few houses.
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Regarding Dukakis, recall that his administration in the mid-1980s panicked after the Globe revealed that they were allowing gay people to be foster parents. What did they do? IIRC, they severely limited, if not revoked, the right of gay people to become foster parents. Leadership? No. Public service? Not really. Dukakis service? Most definitely.
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BTW, it’s nice that you’re a film buff. Fiction is, of course, fiction.
I agree that the foster care episode was badly handled, and I disagreed with it at the time, and now. None of us are perfect.
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Re: the end of his term, the Legislature was in open revolt, refusing to balance the budget and making Dukakis make the tough budget cuts. It was a bad time for everybody, but it’s hardly his fault alone.
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Two months ago, I saw Dukakis speak out in the suburbs. He talked about graffiti along the turnpike and how his turnpike chair (I forget the name) would not let that happen. He also reportedly has been known to pick up trash he sees on his way to Northeastern. The guy cares about the public.
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I don’t know why you want to hijack this thread, but I’d rather keep it on point regarding field organizing. And since you know fiction is fiction, you must also know condescension is condescension. Sorry, but I am not playing.
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raj, this comment is off-topic. The subject is organizing voter drives, which you don’t even mention. Instead you have a bunch of ad hominem about Dukakis, who won a few elections.
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Stay on topic, OK?
The key quote from Dukakis:
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Even a year is not enough. We have to be always involved. The right wing, especially the church right wing, is all about constant local contact. The churches have multiple meetings per week. The local Republican bigwigs associate regularly with the local yokels. It’s all ongoing, all the time.
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In contrast, the left is fractured into discrete ‘interest’ groups. Local Democratic bigwigs disdain local yokels.
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The result is obvious: an engaged base for the right, a motley crew for the left.
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I’m just reading Joe Bageant’s book, “Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America’s Class War.” It’s all about the importance of meeting people on their own ground. A good overview of what’s missing and what’s needed for progressive politics to get anywhere in America.