The netroots is always trumpeting the merits of organising and 50-state strategies – now Obama is putting that into practice. Good article from WAPO about his efforts in Kansas to build the party. Even if no Democrat can likely win there in November, a legacy will be left behind.
In the Democratic nomination fight, more states are being courted and coveted than most strategists imagined a few months ago. Obama and Clinton each won two of the year’s first four contests and come equipped with campaign coffers that match their national ambitions. Money and staff that might have seemed wasted on Kansas, North Dakota or Idaho in years past could prove important if the race remains close.
A high point of Obama’s efforts here came Jan. 17, when 13 Kansas legislators gathered in the statehouse rotunda to endorse him. Two things about the event stood out: the legislators’ description of how hard Obama’s team worked for their support and the fact that this happened in Kansas.
“People are generally very surprised to hear from us,” Obama volunteer Cori Allen said as she made calls in Lawrence that night. “When you call back in Kansas, people will say literally, ‘You want to talk to me?’ Even the Republicans stay on the line longer.”
Kansas, with its record of Democrats winning office by drawing support among moderate Republicans, is one of a half-dozen Feb. 5 caucus states where ground organization is considered crucial. Obama, who likes to say he got his name from Kenya and his accent from Kansas, enjoys the added benefit of Kansas kin. He will hold a rally Tuesday in his grandparents’ town of El Dorado.
Obama staffers, arriving when their candidate was stuck far back in the polls, began last fall to pull people together in whatever constellations they could muster. On the day before Thanksgiving, they started to see progress when 36 people from the state’s conservative western reaches came to a meeting in Wichita.
One tack was to reach out to Democratic state legislators. The idea was to enlist surrogates who could help introduce the freshman senator. In one twist borrowed from the community organizing playbook, they called some legislators only after mustering activists. By saying voters in their districts were supporting Obama, the staffers persuaded the politicians to take a closer look.
“It’s a response to voters who are telling us whom we should support,” said state Sen. Anthony Hensley (D), the Senate minority leader, who endorsed Obama. He was one of a few legislators who heard from the campaigns of all three major Democratic candidates. Only one among the dozen who stood with him had heard from another campaign.
“I was repeatedly contacted and offered ways to get involved,” Sen. Marci Francisco said of the Obama campaign. Sen. David Haley said the Obama campaign is as well organized in his Kansas City district as any local campaign he has seen in 20 years. “They had the foresight to prepare,” he said.
GO BAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wins in RED states will prove these two points.
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p>I am not afraid of the horizon