Via Jon Keller, the New York Observer gets Dukakis to talk and he’s got serious criticism for Obama. Serious as a heart attack.
Sen. Obama needs to improve his organization too, Mr. Dukakis said. “Obama hasn’t done anywhere near as good a job at the precinct level in the primary states as I would have expected,” he said. “There was no precinct-based organization in Massachusetts. None.”
“Kitty Dukakis has been contributing to Obama since last spring,” he said, referring to his wife, “an Obama fanatic.” “She’s never received an e-mail saying, ‘Will you be a precinct captain?’ And the guy’s got, what, 1,200,000 contributors-every one of whom, in my judgment, by this time should have been enlisted at putting together a 200,000-precinct, 50-state operation. I don’t know why that hasn’t happened.”
“I think we’ve got to be laying the groundwork for this 50-state campaign,” he said. “I don’t mean call 25 of your friends. That is not a precinct-based grassroots organization. Precinct-based is a precinct captain and six block captains for every precinct, accountable and reporting in every Sunday night-how many 1’s, how many 2’s, how many 3’s, how many 4’s. And thanks to [the Internet] you can do this for nothing.”
Is this true? Forget that mularkey about a preacher and bowling. Is it true that Obama had no precinct-level organizing across Mass? Because precinct-level organizing trumps media bias (who gets the donuts?) on Election Day, and if Obama hasn’t done this kind of organizing in the primary states, he better drop everything and start now.
So, local Obama campaigners, is it true? I think cities like Cambridge, Boston and Somerville had precinct-based organizations, but what about Natick & Marlborough & other towns outside the urban areas?
But my impression was that no attention was paid to Massachusetts until after New Hampshire and you just can’t develop a precinct-level grassroots operation in a month and a half.
When you want go-to advice for winning a Presidential election, Mike Dukakis is your guy.
Does that make any of what he said invalid? Attack the message, not the messenger.
I like him, but he is not the best person to comment on campaign strategy. Also, perhaps Obama just decided not spend that much effort on MA, after all, Clinton totally ignored many states.
Dukakis won gubernatorial elections against opponents far stronger than Alan Keyes. I support Obama, but if he isn’t organized, that’s bad.
The vast majority of the effort in MASS was directed towards NH and fundraising, starting in March of 2007. Kudos to the hard working folks that made that happen, many of whom grace this page on occasion.
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p>I would have preferred to take my home state, but NH proved that Hope is not a fluke.
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p>My crystal ball tells me that this very thing will happen again this fall. If I have my way, I would have Mass activists up in NH this summer. They have 2 first time members of the House, Carol Shea-Porter & Paul Hodes defending their seats. Not to mention a very tough Senate race with Jeanne Shaheen running against Sen. John Sununu. (Sununus have never lost in NH) The Republican brand isn’t nuetered in NH. And McCain will give this cycles nom a run for thier money.
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p>These seats are critical to our party and to our region.
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p>So take The Duke’s words to heart, things could have done better and will be done better in the future. Bear in mind, putting The Clintons on the ropes speaks for itself, imho.
C’mon, that’s just CRAZY talk….
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p>’sides, they might have guns!
Totted an AT4 and a M60 back in the day.
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p>Ne Desit Virtus!
If we spent more time electing better Democrats here, and building up our own damn precinct organizations in the state, so when candidates come calling, we have something to offer.
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p>I am tired of MA being treated like an ATM and central casting for campaign volunteers for other states.
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We should do both.
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p>NH is a battle ground state. Went to Bush in 2000.
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p>Though I wonder in MI goes to OH every cycle or NY to PA?
The ATM thing isn’t going away, we’ve got a lot of wealthy Dems here so D candidates in need of money are going to keep calling, as they should.
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p>However, I do think your idea of doing precinct level organizing outside of the party establishment is a beautiful idea. The only folks I know who do things like that are the Progressive Voters Network but they are mostly in swing states it seems. Maybe Mass Alliance too? They are local, but I don’t know if they develop and maintain a network of precinct leaders…
is entirely focused on this kind of state focused political capacity building.
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p>http://www.progressivedems.org/
I am on all the candidates lists, and while I didn’t get asked to be a precinct captain, but I was asked by the Obama campaign to to to New Hampshire, and get on the phone using their web tool to call voters (similar to what MoveOn did in 2006).
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p>Obama seems to have a pretty good field operation if you ask me. I don’t see how it makes sense to invest time and energy into block captains in MA at this point or any other. It is a problem if folks in close races aren’t getting the call though.
to precinct level outside of urban areas surrounding Boston doesn’t usually happen, even in statewide races. I can say that the Clinton campaign was far better organized in my area. The ID calls were consistent, repetitive and handled by volunteers. I’m not sure the Obama campaign was comparable. I never received a call from the Obama camp (maybe because most of my friends were on the Obama campaign and put me down as a 5, but I doubt it).
I remember reading these comments months ago-
Dated June 27, 2007.
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p>More from the referenced interview:
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p>PS. You should watch most of Bowes3 vids. He has a great local, primary season catalogue for 2007-08 and more.
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p>He is also a huge grassroots asset. Check out BelowBoston
Even DP, who had a very good grassroots organization, did not have a precinct-level organization in 128-belt towns like mine. There just aren’t that many people who want that level of responsibility. But DP had an excellent network of Senate district coordinators and town coordinators and superb online tools. Obama’s campaign here had none of these. Obama’s campaign had only 5 official campaign liaisons for the state, each covering a vast district. None that we dealt with was very impressive. They did not return phone calls; did not do a good job of connecting town coordinators with people who showed up at events or meetings or had donated money and might have been good prospects to volunteer; appeared to have no knowledge of local politics and grassroots leaders; and provided very limited access to online tools so that it was difficult to use the system for anything except calling targeted voters, one at a time. Our clear sense was that the “A” team had been assigned to other states, where Obama’s prospects of winning were higher. Perfectly valid campaign strategy – but I sure hope a better effort will be able to be mounted with the backing of the Democratic party assuming Obama does become the nominee.
Mike, you are right. It does take precinct-level work and elitists will never get it because they don’t want to get their hands dirty. Shame on those who have millions of donors and no ability to follow up with them.
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p>Elitists never do their home work. You learned that the hard way with Ed King. Vision only got you so far.
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p>Democrats should never concede any issue to the Republicans. Whether it is national security, foreign affairs, the economy, health care, crime, etc.
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p>We run into problems, of our own making, when we are seen as elitists. Let’s do something about childhood obesity, but not get ourselves branded as focused on Fluffanutters.
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p>Elitists forget to say thanks on the way up because they think they deserve to be there. Well, nothing is given to someone. Elitists need to realize that.
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p>Put down your Chablis and try on a blue collar for a change!
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In the spring of ’07, I watched the Obama campaign recruit heavily for interns from ivy league institutions. The son of a teamster, I was put off by the apparent classism. I asked the NH out of state coordinator, whazzup?
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p>First, these kids parents have deep pockets and ambivelant parents will frequently lean towards whoever the kid(s) are working for with $$$. Second, the silver spooners can live on very little compensation. School is paid for and the ATM hardly ever dries up.
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p>That was the short answer.
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p>Being closer to Edwards then Obama on the classism issue, I was stunned by me emotionally signing off on the explanation. We blue collar types need not scorn the latte drinkers. They can find a proper niche in the movement, just as we can.
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p>The big question for me is who cuts the cordwood that makes the planks of our party platform. Here elitists can do a disservice to those of us scraping by. Yes I am over simplifying on many fronts, but John and Elizabeth Edwards are still in the campaign discourse because they represent a mind set that is “in tune” with the “struggling class.”
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p>I am with the AARP: Divided we fail.
and he took his responsibilities of working around his home in Brookline registering voters, knocking on doors, and performing voter ID very seriously.
You talk about Obama’s campaign in Somerville – it was a joke. I know at least four people who tried to help, but nobody got back to them.
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p>They did not know what they were doing. Hillary had bodies knocking on doors and she won some precincts in east Somerville by 2-1 margins. Obama only won Somerville by 800 or so votes…he should have done much better here.
My wife’s parents live in PA. My father-in-law is a Korean war vet who canvassed for Obama. My impression is that Obama had an extensive low-level network in PA. When we were down there last weekend, we got calls from the campaign to verify that my wife and father-in-law knew where to go and what to do on Tuesday (going door to door to get the vote out), got calls on election day to make sure we voted, etc. It was very high-touch. There were ~100 volunteers from the MetroWest area that were in our area of PA at some point during the weeks leading up to the election.
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p>It clearly wasn’t enough, but I would hardly say that Obama’s loss was due to lack of low-level organization. I felt his organization was extensive and well-coordinated.
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p>Part of this may be generational. Traditional precinct-level organization is kind of hierarchical, old-school stuff. My impression is that the Obama campaign is much more organic, much more “Web 2.0”. Now, maybe the more hierarchical precinct approach would have worked better in PA, who knows.
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p>But my first and second-hand experience has been that Obama has a very good organization. See http://my.barackobama.com/ to get involved.
E.g. PA Neighborhood Teams
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p>By the way, while comparing Obama and Hillary’s site, I came across this great video with Rob Reiner. Funny and instructive. I’m an Obama supporter, but this was well done.
As in NH, the energy of Mass activists was focused on PA.
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p>Many, many solicitations for organizers to travel and on-line phone banks were pushed over the intertubes through groups like Progressive Mass for Obama, Mass for Obama, Boston for Barack and Mass Action for Obama.
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p>Activists were traveling to PA and more were phonebanking from MA.
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p>The effort is there. Could it be better? What couldn’t?
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p>****A dominant theme in Obama for America is that this movement will sustain beyond the election cycle. This grassroots thing is more then a ploy to win. I have seen policy greats like Samantha Power and Susan Rice sit down with folks for real input. As vets, myself and others are working with Obama’s speechwriters and policy wonks.
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p>First we must win, then we can help govern. This movement is truly about America as a whole. Yes We Can!
Look, I hate to defend the guy, since I’m miffed that people like him so much in the first place. But honestly. The guy won like ten straight contests, some by 20-point margins, in the month of February. No ground game? Give me a break.
And the Duke’s main complaint, and evidence for his whole theory, is that his wife wasn’t asked to be precinct captain. Seems more like he’s miffed that the game has passed him by.
I think Dukakis’ main complaint is that Obama should have asked everyone he knew was a supporter to be a precinct captain. Since Kitty is a subset of everyone and was not asked, he knew that that had not happened.
and that has gotten him a lead in delegates but he should have done better in primary states, is D’s point.
Overcoming institutional bias that comes with the Clinton brand is no small feat. Hell, Edwards was on the ticket in ’04 and has been wooing labor during the run up to the primary season. Bill ‘n Hill ate his lunch.
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p>Obama is flawed.
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p>The worst thing is that it is that what makes him best, makes him vunerable. He won’t reinvent himself as he goes into a state. He has “stuck himself with himself.” Hillary spins off the latest press narrative and morphs into the flavor of the most favorable demographic.
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p>Pandering is how you win, but is impossible to use as a tool for governing. The Clintons have excelled, until now, at campaigning. Governing, not so much.
I really think the Obama campaign has run a very strong groundgame and been amazingly successful in many places putting an organization and infrastructure together from scratch. That is why they have dominated the organizationally challenging caucuses everywhere they’re held, which in a sense, means winning the precinct-based contests.
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p>Obama has built really strong organizations in States across the country where Democrats have long been outhustled and this infrastructure will be important in the fall. It may not be all it can be yet, but it is the reason Obama leads in pledged delegates today.
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p>I also think with regard to Massachusetts, Obama’s campaign did have to make some hard choices in where to put bodies and resources and Massachusetts probably did not look as favorable as other states given that the Clinton brand was always really popular here. A 50-state campaign is the aspiration but even in such a world where all 50 are competitive, tought choices about time, bodies and money will always have to be made. Obama, facing the much better known Clinton on 5th Feb/Super Tuesday had to be strategic with how much they could organize each state – and where to do it for 23 contests. Big ask. But, on the day he basically won more states and delegates and that helped propel him forward. Credit where credit is due. He may have lost Massachusetts and not had a campaign pyramid here, but he kept the margins respectable and got a good haul of delegates, while whipping Clinton in caucuses and small states. That was his game plan and it was implemented well.
I think Dukakis is drifting too close to the “he isn’t winning the way I won, so he doesn’t know how to win.” Geographically based campaigning is not as relevant as it was 20 years ago, to me.
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p>Obama’s successes speak for themselves, as do Hillary’s.
Just what is the relationship between Obama and Dean around the 50-state Strategy? Obama has just announced his own 50-state voter registration campaign, along with, last month, his organizers summer training program. Although that interfaces with the DNC 50-state strategy, I don’t know whether it’s really coordinating or whether it’s intentionally independent.
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p>In light of what Obama’s been saying for the last 4 months, going on 5, I’m not confident that he’s intending to work with existant structures at all, since they have been proving themselves to be of use to the old politics.
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p>I do know that the Cape is not organized through the Obama site, the Cape Obama organization cannot be located (yet) by a visit to the site and search there.
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p>I posted a missive on that subject to the Wake Up Cape Cod yahoo forum last week and no change has occurred yet.
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p>This is what I said:
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p>”Two days ago I had a conversation with someone who is leading the Obama effort on the Cape and Islands. I found his name from an article in the CCTimes. I have been trying for two months now to locate Obama people on the Cape so I went to the Obama site, figuring that whatever was going on on Cape would be affiliated with the campaign and I would find it through the campaign site. Well, there are quite a few groups on Cape on the campaign site. All the Cape ones have 5 or 10 or maybe 30 people subscribed. Curious. Why so few? Why are many of those people not really Cape Codders, but reps from the campaign in Chicago, or Boston, or fercrissakes, Texas even?
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p>So I subscribed to two of those groups and then dead silence. Nothing. No emails, despite that there are a bevy of things going on – phonebanking, letter writing to superdelegates etc., trips to PA to knock on doors or register voters. Silence.
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p>Where is everybody? Is everybody on the Cape in Mrs. Clinton’s pocket? Are there no people on the Cape interested in or getting committed to Mr. Obama?
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p>So I call this guy down Cape and have a chat. He tells me he’s got 300 people on his email list to contact when things need doing for Mr. Obama. I ask him about the fact that I couldn’t find him through the Obama site. Why not? Well, “we’re all set up here, in touch with the Boston office, they steer people to us when they register at the campaign site. We’ve been to NH, door to door, carrying signs, etc.”
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p>Yes. But why can’t I find you through the campaign site?
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p>”Well, they’re sending new contacts to us when they register.”
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p>Well, I registered at the site 2 months ago, have you heard from me? “
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p>Well, what’s your name?”
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p>I give him my name and there’s no evidence that he’s ever heard from he, he says. So I say “seems to me you’d want to make the Cape Obama people accessible to newcomers. I suggest you get the Cape group affiliated through the campaign site you people can find you.”
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p>So it’s two days later. I check the Obama campaign site, note that Mr. Obama has added 80,000 NEW donors since the end of the PA primary. And that the Cape and Islands for Obama group is STILL NOT affiliated with the site.
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p>Hmmm. Now I think I understand even better why MA voted for Clinton and is moving to the right.”