Voter Non Contact or Why We Lose, Reason #29

I'm on the political committee of the state chapter of an organization which will remain unnamed for now.  Suffice it to say that it is a large non-profit which endorses candidates, and would be one of the groups which you would consider a member of the progressive coalition, even if we do slip up and support the occasional Republican.

Yesterday at our meeting something happened that froze my blood and suddenly it all made sense why we keep losing.

We were discussing sending out a special newsletter to our 25000+ members statewide (Massachusetts) shortly before election day with our endorsements.  A fine thing to do.  

Then the chairperson announces "...and the state Democratic Party was nice enough to share with us their database of regular voters.  This way we can save a few thousand dollars by only sending the newsletter to regular voters."

My jaw dropped, and I quickly sputtered out some arguments.

"But regular voters are already engaged, and probably already know who they're voting for.  It's one thing not to mail to children or non-citizens, but don't we have the MOST to gain by contacting irregular voters?"

"How will people ever start voting if a group which they send $35+/year to won't spend 50 cents asking them to help us out on election day?"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUGH!"

----------------------------

The reply was "we can predict who will and won't vote.  And getting people to the polls isn't our job, it's the job of the Democratic party and the camapaigns.  We need to move on with other items on the agenda."

So there you have it.  The Democratic party is assisting allied groups is not contacting potential voters who agree with them.  While the allied groups play along and say it's the job of someone else to get people to actually vote.

•  Tip Jar

  Someone remind me why I haven't moved to Canada yet.

  Will also be accepting brick walls to smash my head against.

  by Go Vegetarian on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 07:20:58 AM PDT

  •  I agree

    As you know.  :-)

    How do we fix this?  How do we get these groups to see that it's everyone's job to encourage people to vote?  

    by 2pt5cats on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 07:36:53 AM PDT

•  Republicans rely

  upon a declining base of voters and have no interest in increasing the number of registered voters or people who vote unless they are a narrowly defined target group, usually white conservative evangelicals.  Democrats need to work at increasing the number of voters instead of following the Republican practice of targeting a group of voters and trying to polarize them.  Republicans will always win that game because it is easier to polarize their groups whether because they hate minorities or women or are greedy or ignorant or what have you.

  by msstaley on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 07:37:20 AM PDT

•  I'd rate this as #1 reason D's are losing ground

  I've seen it in Virginia and I've seen it here in Montana: the D's are more insular than the R's and appear to have given up the fight. I'm appalled at the meager attempts to reach out and understand the issues faced by single moms, retail workers, and workers making less than $50K a year.

  The group of educated, concerned, engaged citizens that were a byproduct of civic education in the 40s, 50s and 60s are fast dwindling, leaving in its wake a pool of citizens who grew up with low expectations of government, witnesses to monumental excesses of hippocracy, and nurtured on the religion of "I got mine" which is not just accepted, but promoted in US culture.

  I've done a little initiative work, and realized that the fault lies in a couple places. Funders of grassroots outreach tend not to resonate with the problems of people they are ostensibly supporting. And the operations of grassroots campaigns tend to embrace a martyr-like ethic of overwork, self-abnegation, and snarky cynicism (think Dennis K or Ralph N), which their "victims" see through in a minute as a neo-Leninist attempt to concentrate power in the hands of a new priesthood.

  I'm pretty sure that the Ds will fail (unless Bush fails for them even worse). There's nothing in their organizational and management behavior that appears to be different from the same old same old.

  Gov Schweitzer is riding the coat-tails of a monumental failure in perception by MT Republicans. While he is very personable and down to earth, he definitly comes across as a traditional, old time, effective, politician. But I think he's adept at riding the tide, not changing its direction.

  We do have a few bright lights here who get it (Mary Cafero for instance), but they are few and far between. I'm not sure it's going to be enough to turn things around.

  Each D chapter needs to set itself a goal of increasing the # of donors by 50% over the next 2 years, and figure out how to get it done by looking at their message, their approach, and organizing techniques. This is the time to do it. The Rs have opened plenty of holes to exploit, and if the opposition party can't take advantage of it, shame on us.

  by captbobalou on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 07:52:46 AM PDT

•  yes, if you research it a bit, you'll find plenty

  of arguments by Democrats and Democratic strategists arguing that voter registration/outreach to the HALF of eligible voters in this country who don't bother to vote is a waste of time and money.

  I've been truly astounded by this attitude -- found here as well as in the Beltway -- that it's better to spend millions and millions (and to "moderate" your positions and policies) in an effort to sway just enough of those "middle" voters to win.

  generally, I can only assume that D.C. Democrats and their consultants are as uneasy with the thought of 'true democracy' -- i.e., a nice big majority of all eligible voters participating -- as the GOP.

  Of course, there's an alternative theory -- D.C. Democratic consultants get a percentage of the TV ad buys done by candidates, and don't make a dime from voter registration campaigns.

  by jennifer poole on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 08:19:52 AM PDT

•  Contact EVERYBODY

  Co0ntact everybody.

  
  I learned electoral politics from the Chicago Independents, and they learned from the Chicago machine. You knock on every door. You get a poll sheet so that you contact registered voters close to election day, but you knock on every door. When people tell you that tehy aren't registered, you ask if they want to be.

  by Frank Palmer on Thu Mar 09, 2006 at 09:38:31 AM PDT