In a recent series of posts, I have
written that, among other things,
The Christian Right has been as successful as it has been, because it has a vision for obtaining sufficient political power to advance it's agenda. The principal way it has advanced it's vision has been via the Republican Party and electoral politics. Therefore it stands to reason that any rejoinder to the Christian Right must include a broadly based engagement of citizens in electoral life. If one accepts this, it then follows that everything else is subsidiary to this focus. Does that mean that everything written or thought about the religious right needs to be processed through a filter of electoral politics? Of course not. However, in developing a political strategy, in my view, there is no substitute.
And Many of us talk a good game about democracy. But the embarrassing truth is, many of us don't really do democracy....[Therefore] It is up to... us to learn how to be skilled and knowledgeable practitioners of electoral democracy. If we do not do this, we are ceding the playing field to those who do.
But first I want to note that I have always been impressed by a political aphorism coined by veteran conservative activist Morton Blackwell. He says that which ever side has the most and best activists, wins.
I think there is not only a lot of truth to that, but that it is one of the not-so-secret secrets of the success of the conservative movement -- including the religious right. Blackwell has specialized in conservative youth recruitment and training via The Leadership Institute. The liberal/left and the Democratic Party is way, way behind in youth recruitment, training and leadership development. But I am not interested here in bemoaning that, so much as saying that while I know that that is starting to change, we have no time to waste, and that it is up to those of us who are aware enough -- to take action ourselves: To seek out the training that we need to become effective electoral activists and to begin to integrate electoral activism into our lives.
Here are some resources. If you know of other good ones, please add them -- with links -- in the comment thread.
Wellstone Action, is named for the late Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila, whose authentic grassroots campaigns defied the conventional wisdom and beat the big money time after time. Wellstone Action seeks to carry forward thier methods and values,and to do so have regular trainings for electoral activists - called Camp Wellstone.
This year there are also a series of trainings on college campuses for the first time.
They have also just published a book, Politics The Wellstone Way, in case you can't make a training -- or just to get you started.
Politics the Wellstone Way offers a comprehensive set of strategies to help progressives channel that energy into winning issue-based and electoral campaigns.
From the school board all the way to the White House, Politics the Wellstone Way instructs people on becoming better organizers, candidates, campaign workers, and citizen activists, empowering them to make their voices heard.
The state and local affiliates of the National Women's Political Caucus often hold multipartisan electoral training schools. They also have a book titled: Women Winning Campaigns, as well as a CD.
Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts, an organization I am involved in, is holding a number of trainings around the state in the next few weeks and months.
Many state Democratic Parties are also becoming more oriented to training grassroots activists. The Massachusetts Democratic Party, for example, is hosting a Democratic Campaign Institute the first weekend in March.
Such trainings tend to be broken down into two or three tracks; candidates; campaign management; and campaign volunteers.
So.
Do you want to win elections -- or just talk about what it might be like?
Shall we seek to defend and advance constitutional democracy by feeling it in our bones, and living it out throughout our lives in the biggest constitutional democracy in the world -- or shall we rue the seemingly inexplicable success of the religious right on the playing field of electoral politics as we watch the results on television?
[Crossposted from Talk to Action]