I’ve been told many times that getting involved in politics is stupid. It’s dirty and you should be afraid to get involved. Volunteers are used and abused. You get nothing out of it.
Well, I don’t care. If being involved is all those things, then it’s about time to change the perception and make it better. Maybe the volunteer experience can be made into a positive so that people aren’t afraid to get involved. Maybe if people are encouraged and thanked, more people will become active. Maybe if more people are active, change will happen at a faster pace.
I am proud to be volunteering for Ed O’Reilly, just as I was proud to be involved in the Deval Patrick campaign and before that the Dean campaign. “Together We Can” and “Our Nation’s Future is in Your Hands” were not just campaign slogans. The concept behind those campaigns was to open up the process to those who feel disenfranchised, betrayed by the votes of elected officials, ignored by their representatives and who want to do something to make it better.
Deval Patrick talked about community. He spent many months talking to people and listening.
He understood that the process had to be much more inclusive. All the punditocracy claimed he had no chance whatsoever. Many decided to ignore that and work for change. Guess what? It can happen.
If you don’t like something, do something to make it better. There are so many ways, large and small, to take action. Blogging can be part of that, but so can talking to friends, family and acquaintances, phone banking, canvassing, writing a letter to the editor. I don’t care if you are a Democrat, Independent or Republican. If you don’t like what’s happening, get involved. I know many Republicans who are as outraged about what is happening in this country as “liberal” Democrats. If you want to make it better, let your party know why. We are all responsible for change.
If you want to know more about Ed O’Reilly, and why I support his efforts to make a difference, you can find information or volunteer at his web site. Or, volunteer on another campaign. Links abound on BMG.
Sorry to not comment on the substance of what you’re saying here, but I have a question.
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Shouldn’t you have disclosed in this diary — http://www.bluemassg… — that you’re with the Ed O’Reilly campaign? Maybe everybody else knows that, but I didn’t, and I think it’s relevant to a diary that knocks John Kerry.
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Your criticism might be valid, but the fact that you’re trying to help unseat the guy ought to be disclosed, no?
I post here as an individual. If you would like (and I think you might), I will stop volunteering so as to post more about my about my disillusionment.
I merely think you should disclose involvement with the campaign, whether they pay you or not.
if only not to unintentionally besmirch your candidate’s campaign, lolorb. the appearance of “sending in the troops incognito” is poison for a campaign. that’s not what was happening here i’m sure, but i can see how someone might mistakenly think that. to protect your candidate, you really should make it clear that your are a volunteer, but that you are commenting here as an individual.
on BMG for a very long time. I posted about the Deval campaign both before and after I volunteered. I’m doing the same now. Every single thing I have to say about John Kerry and his lack of representation is from me and I would be saying the same thing even if we didn’t have a candidate challenging his seat (for which I am seriously grateful because at least there is an alternative).
This is a serious question. I’d estimate about 1/3 of us have some volunteer work in some campaign. Disclosed in relevant threads, or in the sig?
But if it were, my answer would be in relevant threads — which could be a lot, but c’est la blog.
Disclosing volunteer activity can become awkward and distracting.
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I recently posted some information on filing nomination papers for Democratic Town and Ward Committees. If I mention that as a volunteer, I am a Democratic State Committee member, does that add anything? If I do that, do I then need to say that I am not saying this in an official capacity, but simply as a volunteer? I don’t have my postings vetted by the Massachusetts Democratic Party so I would not want them to be blamed if I got something wrong.
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I would say that the fact that I am also volunteering for Jamie Eldridge, doesn’t relate to the nomination paper post. On the other hand, one could argue that it relates since my friendship and work with Jamie are a direct result of my efforts as a Democratic Party activist. (Jamie was the chair of the Acton Democratic Town Committee and currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Middlesex and Worcester Democrats, an organization that I chaired for several years while he held that position.)
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If I change my “sig” then it changes it for other posts, so “Kate Donaghue, Democratic State Committee Member” might suddenly be seen on something that was originally posted as “Kate Donaghue, volunteer for Jamie Eldridge.” I’ve been very careful about disclosing my role as a volunteer for Jamie Eldridge, putting it in my signature so as not to forget and to minimize the distraction element. Now that will mot be apparent to anyone reading old threads.
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I seem to recall that the rule of thumb was to disclose paid efforts.
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Signed,
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Kate Donaghue, Volunteer
If you posted a diary knocking one of Eldridge’s opponents, yes, I would hope you’d disclose that you’re helping him.
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If you posted a diary on Cape Wind, I don’t see the relevance.
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In the specific case I cited above, had lolorb posted the pro-O’Reilly post yesterday and the anti-Kerry post today, then I would have known where he (she?) stood and read the diary in that light. But even at that, I would expect to see the O’Reilly support noted in a diary about his opponent.
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As for the distinction for paid staff, I see the merits of that, but campaign staff make so little that I’d be inclined (note that I said me, and I’m not a boss around here) to include volunteers in that policy.
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from my post that I was obviously not a fellow John Kerry enthusiast, I don’t know what else I could have said to convince you. Since I’m known for being active, one could assume from anything I write that I’m going to be active. Not any big secret. Should I list all the other involvements I have and should I put them all in the sig line? If so, I guess everyone should do the same.
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lolorb
activist, volunteer and Ed O’Reilly supporter
I know.
we got that squared away.
I did find the ?rule? that I thought I recalled.
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David wrote ?
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?[W}e do request that if you are affiliated with the [xxx] campaign, you disclose that fact. Disclosure is not necessary if you’re volunteering.?
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I excluded the name of the campaign in question that triggered David?s comment.
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I?ll note that Lynne’s response to “Disclosure is not necessary if you’re volunteering,” was ?But generally, preferred. Knowledge is power!?