Announcing "Adopt a District 2006"
Wed Aug 03, 2005 at 11:30:41 AM PDT
Words can't express the gratitude this liberal feels for Paul Hackett, his campaign team, the folks on this site that donated time, energy, and even money for an exciting race that has given us all hope. So, too, should tons of credit go to the folks at
ActBlue,
Swingstate, and
Mydd -- as well as Atrios and Kos, of course -- that really did yeoman's work getting us all involved to whatever degree in the OH-2 race.
However - the point of this diary isn't another "thanks", "kudos", or analysis. It's keeping the momentum on track for '06. With OH-2 as the only game in town - it was easy for all of us mere mortal Kossacks to stay involved, keep up with the news, and connect with the folks that needed help.
--more below the fold --
It'll be different in 2006.
If we're really going to run with a 50 state strategy in 06; if we're really going contest every seat; if we're really going Hack(ett) into every race -- or as many as possible -- the big boys at the usual places are going to need some help.
What I'm proposing is an "Adopt-a-District" approach.
Call it a contest to get YOUR race chosen for dkos dozen in 06 or front page status at Swingstate.
So how do you "Adopt a District"?
In short - you become everything or anything from a cheerleader to a fundraiser, a campaign volunteer to a sort of blogosphere press secretary, an investigative journalist to an opposition researcher. You're taking the dkos point position for a congressional candidate, or, helping out someone already covering the point.
In terms of real action items -
• A recent open thread mentioned the incredible blog birth rate -- likely most people reading this have their own blogs. Start writing about "your" district. The candidates. The issues. Local press. If you don't blog -- consider a weekly diary update here on Kos.
• Start actively fundraising for your candidate -- e-mail requests to friends, including your candidate's site or Actblue contribution page in your signature, earmarking whatever funds you can spare and were planning on giving to a targeted race or 2.
• Get to know your candidate. E-mail, call, or visit. Find out the area issues, your candidate's strengths, his/her opponent's voting record, etc.
• Help out with local media coverage -- local tv/radio, newspaper, etc. Track what's written about the race and share it with the class. Beyond the strictly political stories -- track the big local issues in general.
You're not auditioning for campaign manager -- most folks have jobs (I'm at work right now watching over my shoulder for my boss, to be honest), other responsibilities, etc. Whatever you can spare -- time, effort, money, influence -- for YOUR district and YOUR candidate.
How do I find a District to adopt?
Need some help on this one --- this diary has a list of vulnerables in the comments. ActBlue has a listing for every district in the country. I'm sure other resources like swingstate, ourcongress, etc can also be of great help.
In general, though - I'd suggest that geographical proximity is most desirable. In addition to whatever volunteering you can do yourself, it would be great to share experiences from phonebanking or canvassing, alert the community to important news, issues, or campaign events. Share any lessons learned. Perhaps most importantly -- you can help funnel needed help to a campaign, be it somewhere to drive canvassers around on any given weekend, someone to help spiff up a website, etc.
Ideological proximity is also good -- if stricter gun laws are your cup of tea, a rural Texas district probably isn't a good fit; maybe a suburban district is better. Try to find a candidate you can really get behind and an area you've got a "feel" for... at least initially. We can discuss shifting around when we see where the help is needed.
The point of this project isn't to bring order to the loose confederation that is the netroots -- I think one of our strengths is the way the blogoshpere is so adept at "filling in the cracks" where needed. However, if this project takes off - I think there are a lot of advantages:
• perhaps we can start coordinating say "Midwest Mondays", "Deep South Tuesdays", "Mountain West Wednesdays", etc for blog posts, diaries, etc.
• relieve some of the load from "clearinghouse" sites like Swingstate - by all means feeding information and whatever support they need, but letting the big boys handle big picture coordinating, secure in the knowledge that us "foot soldiers" are keeping an eye on individual races and making sure nothing gets missed and emerging opportunities (strong candidates, weak incumbents, etc) get noticed ASAP.
• Build OH-2 like excitement in places that might not otherwise get it.
• Give each campaign a resource -- research, oppo tracking, whatever -- for free that might allow them to dedicate campaign resources in other areas.
• Build a REAL 'ownership society' in the blogosphere. I.e., this is MY race, and I'm going to get MY guy/gal elected!
• Provide a big picture sense of which races are gasping for resources and help, and which are well-covered.
• Some races STILL NEED CANDIDATES! See this diary for some suggetions.
If this is well-received -- I'll try to keep the diaries coming in the next few weeks (and set up a blog for the project itself) and try to track who adopts which races, so we can get a sense of which districts need help and which are well-covered. Obviously - the goal is get multiple adopters for EVERY district.
I'll kick it off by saying I'm adopting IL-11 (www.pavichforcongress.org) - it's a pretty easy drive for me, and I've already met, donated to, and really like the candidate, John Pavich.
I'm also going to do what I can in IN-2, which is the district I grew up in (and still have family/friends as residents).
You don't have to put blinders on to state, local, senate, or other House races -- just pick a manageable 1, 2, or 3 Districts YOU can adopt and take responsibility for helping!
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