OFA Taking Shape
Posted on January 30th, 2009 in Economic Stimulus, Organizing |
I’ve been wondering if Organizing for America was going to do something like this. OFA is asking supporters to organize house parties next week to discuss the economic stimulus. You can go to the Obama campaign’s website to sign up for a house party in your area or organize your own (and don’t forget to check out the cool map that lets you know how many jobs the stimulus is intended to save/create). The campaign website appears to be on the verge of becoming Organizing for America’s website, which would make a lot of sense.
In other OFA news, the other day I was talking with someone who has some knowledge of how OFA is taking shape thus far. I was told that there will be a very small staff directing things out of Washington DC. We know that Mitch Stewart will be leading the organization as ED and Jeremy Bird will be deputy. But there will also be a data director and several other senior staffers at the DNC in Washington. Then, there will be 5 regional offices throughout the country. The vast majority of staffers in OFA will be organizers within the states that OFA focuses on and they will work directly with volunteers. I’ve heard that the hiring of these local organizers will take place over the next few months and there will be several hundred organizers hired. Now, what exactly the organizers will do with volunteers is not yet clear to me. We know what the goals of OFA are–helping to pass the President’s agenda, organizing for local elections, communicating with the White House from the grassroots. But just how organizers will work with volunteers to accomplish these goals, particularly the first, is something I assume Mitch Stewart and Jeremy Bird are still working on. I’m also very curious about what role, if any, David Plouffe will have in OFA.
3 Responses
Here’s the key, in my opinion:
“By using his Organizing for America as a political bully, Obama will be able to keep his hands nominally clean of any messy lobbying of Congress. He’ll be able to attribute it to his supporters.”
How many of us are so very tired of hearing politicians say on T.V., “What the American people want is…”. I believe the majority of Americans are screaming at their T.V.’s, “That’s not what I want!”.
We need to actually tell our politicians what we want and we need to say it loud and clear. Let us be silent no more.
The inevitable economic changes that are coming could spell doom or they could spell opportunity. One thing I know is that we’ll all have to continue to work together, and the work starts in the community you live in.
Amen, sister! When the lobbyists try to kill health care like they did in Clinton’s first term, there will be millions and millions of people ready to be activated to fight back. I’m going to post over the next few days about the flip side of OFA’s power and potential: what happens when Obama does something unpopular with his base?
Glad you’re feeling better and back to work! Thanks for the info on OFA. Now that the Republicans have realized the importance of using the internet and having an ongoing grassroots organization (as the Democrats have done so successfully) they’ll be trying to outdo us. Must make them crazy that they were so out-foxed during the last campaign. They’re going to be a lot more formidable next time around, and from what’s been in the news, they’re starting to organize in earnest right now.
Carol