I'm sure many of you have received the email survey from the Obama campaign asking, "what now?" It's a wonderful gesture on their part, and fitting. It gives us ample room to express our thoughts and desires, so please take advantage once you see it in your inbox.
Here's what I wrote in response to the question, "what would you like us to do in the coming years?"
As President Obama said in his emotional speech to volunteers in Chicago, the good he can do in the next term will pale in comparison to what our youth will do in the coming years. I agree. But it would be a mistake to think that's true without the structural and tactical advantages that you've spent 8 years building.
I believe this org is as much THE engine for progressive movement in the coming years as anything the President will achieve by 2016. After all, even if he gets 100% of what he wants, it could all fall apart once the GOP gets its crap together and wins.
You've been the brain and soul of our progressive victories. But the heart of your work has been the president and his agenda. Many volunteers stepped up because they believe in him. While that could be frightening for those of us focused on winning in 2016 and beyond, I think there's an opportunity here. Assuming the president spends a lot of his time keeping us in the fight for the next four years, I have high hopes he can move our hearts on to the next candidates up and down the ticket.
He can do this by trumpeting this organization as the key to progress for all Americans to plug into. I'd like to hear about the org as often as I do any other political subject. In fact, I'd like to hear it mentioned along with every political news item, like a stock ticker that runs while a talking head talks about the business. Or like the "Like" button. Imagine a world where newscasts do a story and the segment ends with SPONSORED crawling text that says "Text the president at 76989 to see what you can do." Imagine the same message being pasted to the end of every Huffington Post story. Hell, if you pay for the space even Fox would put it on there!
Okay, that's a little optimistic.
The bottom line is that I want to see a call to action after everything and I want your org to be the button that's activated by our passions. When we show interest in making a difference, you should be there.
Sure, it's a lofty goal but it's one I think you could accomplish if you think big. Yeah, it'll freak out the GOP. They'll call it a reprogramming project, a socialist trojan horse, blahblahblah. But as President Obama goes on with his life in 2017, the fire he's lit could fade without his org there for us to plug into. With your tremendous talent and leadership to back up our hope and hard work, progressives finally feel empowered. For the first time in my lifetime, I've moved past wanting to make a difference. Now I know I can make a difference.
Thanks for your hard work.