Do you want to draft Gore in '08 AND elect Democrats this November?
Mon Aug 21, 2006 at 04:12:22 PM PDT
Back in July, when we spent the month in Iowa for the
Draft Gore 2008 PAC, I volunteered for a local Congressional campaign. Although in a heavily Democratic district, the race barely made Charlie Cook's
Competitive House Race Chart, due in part to the perception of the Republican incumbent as a moderate, and in part to general naivete (our Political Director's view) or inexperience (my conclusion) of the candidate and staff. However, I was a bit surprised to learn that at least one potential 2008 Democratic presidential candidate viewed the race as significant enough to place one of his own staff members, beginning in September, in the Congressional candidate's campaign office, to be reported to the FEC as an "in-kind contribution." I also recalled that when I worked on previous Democratic Presidential campaigns, we had a few staffers "loaned" to us by PACs, such as Emily's List.
A number of us on the Advisory Board at DG08PAC began to mull the idea over, and even sought clarification from the helpful (really!) staff at the FEC. It turns out that "draft" PACs, like their "leadership" counterparts, e.g., those headed by presumptive 2008 candidates, could in fact provide campaign labor as in-kind contributions, although our contribution amounts are limited to $2,100.00, versus the $5,000 limit for leadership PACs which have acquired "multi-candidate" status (at least six months since registration and contributions to three or more candidates.)
While we were in discussion over the potential benefits of such a program, to DG08PAC, to the Congressional candidates and even to contributors (all to be discussed in detail below,) we noticed the online ads on various left-leaning blogs for Russ Feingold's Patriot Corps, and then Senator Feingold's own diary on DailyKos. As the senator himself described the program:
As you may have noticed, either by our email, news articles, blogs, or blogads here and elsewhere, the Progressive Patriots Fund has developed a program to provide trained grassroots field organizers to targeted campaigns across the country. The Patriot Corps was originally designed to hire 15 energetic progressives, train them with some of the tools we've used on our successful campaigns, and send them out to work on races in Wisconsin and around the country.
In addition to our own cost-benefit analysis, with two potential 2008 campaigns now pursuing this strategy, we agreed it had a great deal of merit, and fulfills three criteria central to our mission:
1) It benefits DG08PAC, a) by providing hands-on, in the field training for field organizing staff, experience which is nearly impossible to impart in general training sessions; b) by developing strong relationships with activists and paid organizers in key states and districts; and c) by acclimating staff to local issues and concerns which may not be covered by non-local media and national interest groups. In addition, by helping to achieve a Democratic majority in the House and/or Senate, we remove many of the key obstacles to addressing global warming, namely obstructionist committee chairmen such as Richard Pombo and Jim Inhofe, from their positions of power.
2) It benefits the Congressional candidates by providing trained local field operatives during the last five weeks of the campaign, arguably the most crucial time. [Note: DG08PAC is committed, unlike other 2008 leadership PACs, to use local field organizers, and not "drop-ins".] While a contribution of $2,100 may enhance a Congressional coffer and allow for last minute ad buys or door-hangers, these are one-time benefits. A trained staffer is worth their weight in gold and over the last month of a campaign, particularly during GOVT, is a gift that keeps on giving, in energy and experience.
3) It benefits DG08PAC members and contributors, who get to both determine how their money and energy is spent, e.g., on bodies on the ground, not a 30-second TV ad (with a hefty commission to the inside-the-Beltway media consultant,) and where their money and energy is sent. Unlike other 2008 leadership PACs, which make the determination themselves, DG08PAC members will recommend which key races in our 2008 Tier states we should target, and after nominations are complete, will vote to prioritize our program's efforts.
In contrast to other presumptive 2008 candidates with leadership PACs, our strategy is focused on obtaining a large number elected delegates, not singleton PLEOs. Not all of the races we target will win; in fact, some will likely lose. Our goal is not merely to develop obligatory relationships with newly elected Congressmen; we're equally concerned with candidates, their staff and supporters, who are planning for the future, building long term support in challenging districts against entrenched incumbents. Candidates who may not succeed this year, but who will be swept in on Al Gore's coattails in 2008.
I recently put out a call for a dozen members to form the ad hoc committee charged with overseeing the Congressional staff "loan-out" program. A number of individuals have replied, but there still are a few slots left. If you're interested, please email me soon. I hope too that the committee is able to come up with a catchier title than I've labelled it with thus far.
Logistically, our goal is to hire five to fifteen organizers, at a cost of $2,100 each, as well as administrative costs of about 20% (travel, training, housing stipend, insurance, etc.) After the priority districts are set and arrangements made, we'll start accepting applications for local field organizers, those who are committed to working this Congressional cycle, and then participate in training other field organizers after the November election, and finally, in developing DG08's own field organizing program beginning in Spring, 2007.
We have to start moving, and soon. While the target date for placing staff is still six weeks away, we have a lot of work to do. I'll put up a separate post on DraftGore2008.org for Congressional candidate nominations later today, but we also have to start raising the funds to hire the field organizers. Every $2100 we raise puts another staffer on the ground. According to his PAC's email, Senator Feingold raised the cost of ten of his organizers in only a day, and their costs, at $5K per staffer, are more than twice ours. As we recognize that Al Gore's support is significantly higher than the honorable, but widely unknown Senator Feingold's and most other presumptive 2008 candidates with similar programs, our expectations are equally high, particularly for the reasons mentioned above, specifically the benefits to DG08PAC, the targeted Congressional candidates and our contributors.
So the three things we need immediately from Draft Gore supporters:
1) Nominate a Congressional candidate in a targeted Tier State (states and strategy here)
2) Become a member of the Ad Hoc Committee
3) Contribute (individually, or organize a fundraiser, such as a house party, to sponsor a candidate.)
Programs such as placing staff, in part to promote a sense of obligation on the part of the Congressional candidate, are part and parcel of "insider" politics; but there is nothing which says that grassroots campaigns such as ours cannot appropriate the very tools of the political elites' trade, seize their own battering rams to "crash the gates", and in the process, turn the system on its head. Thus, my one last recommendation would be for members to closely scrutinize their choices for potential Congressional candidates, focusing on those who would truly appreciate the human contribution, and not merely shrug it off as an entitlement due to having won their primary, or even prefer the cash equivalent. Those who recognize that we are all in this together are those most likely to support Al Gore in 2008.
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