For the last several months, Organizing for America has been hosting strategy sessions for the Vote 2010 plan. In California we have had almost 100 of these sessions with big and small groups in communities up and down the state, to get feedback on our plan to make a big difference in the midterm elections.
Today starting at 4:30 p.m. EST, OFA is hosting an online version of our strategy session for anyone across the country who wants to tune in to hear the plan and participate in the conversation. It is being led by David Plouffe, the campaign manager for the historic 2008 Presidential campaign, and Mitch Stewart, the director of OFA. As Mitch said in today's email:
Today's session will be a special insider briefing you won't want to miss -- you'll get details on what OFA's planning for the midterm elections and how you can help candidates fighting for change.
Click here to RSVP, and read on to learn more.
OFA VOTE 2010 ONLINE STRATEGY SESSION
I'm really excited about Vote 2010, the OFA plan for the midterm elections. It is focused on turning out "the Obama surge vote" -- the people who voted for the first time in 2008, who were registered and turned out by the Obama campaign in states all over the country.
Here's how David Plouffe describes the plan:
I believe we can avoid the nightmare electoral scenario that Republicans in Washington have already convinced themselves will happen. But only if we work together.
Two years ago, we challenged a group of young and disaffected voters to participate in the 2008 election. They cast votes for the very first time and helped us elect a new president. You told us that your top priority for 2010 was to help these people head back to the polls -- and we built our plan around that goal.
Last week, wmtriallawyer diaried about how in his county, these surge voters could be the difference between winning and losing.
Let me just run the numbers from my own County. In 2008, we had over 35,000 Democrats who voted who didn't vote in 2006, the last off-Presidential year/Statewide election we had. Of that number, fully a 1/3 of those Democrats -- over 12,000 -- were newly registered voters.
Which gets the brain whirring...if I can turn out just 10% of those voters in 2010 -- 3,500 more D votes than we had in 2006 -- we'll beat back any Republican threat.
Don't think so? Yeah, I know. 10% isn't a lot. But in a swing county like mine, believe it or not, that 10% is the difference. Between a Republican County Executive and a Democratic one. Between one Republican State Senator, two Republican State Delegates, and two Republican County Councilmen and Democratic ones.
As I wrotewhen OFA announced the plan last week:
The Obama model gave us the Obama surge. Can OFA, working with David Plouffee produce an unprecedented midterms result? I'm willing to take that bet. Because who is better positioned to reach out to and persuade the voters we registered and turned out last time?
Will it be enough? Hard to say. Midterms are always tough for the incumbent President, and with the economy and the challenges we face, I'd expect the Republicans to gain seats. But I'm expecting far less of a gain because I think we will get out some portion of the Obama surge vote this year.
And here's why that is so exciting - it has an effect that goes far beyond simply winning seats in November. Research shows that the more often people vote, the more they become likely voters. The first time voters from 2008 right now aren't considered likely to come back because they have voted only once. Get them to vote again, and for a Democrat, and you start to lock down these voters -- many of whom are young voters and people of color -- for the long term. And that's what can start changing the Democratic Party in ways many of us would like to see.
And one of the best parts of the plan is how it has been vetted, discussed, and worked through with feedback from OFA volunteers around the country. Each state has its own plan for implementing vote 2010 on the ground, and has been working on it directly with the people who will take the lead on carrying it out.
In California, we have not only held scores strategy sessions with our volunteer leaders around the state, but we also hosted a packed to the rafters strategy session at the California Democratic Party convention a few weeks ago.
And this online national strategy session will feature state-specific breakouts to let organizers talk to each other and with OFA staff about what is happening in your state.
So sign up and tune in at 4:30 EST - you can even submit your own question for David Plouffe:
OFA VOTE 2010 ONLINE STRATEGY SESSION
I am a volunteer with Organizing for America in California. When I write here I speak for myself and not the organization. My diaries, and all the words in the them, are my own.