After my last posting on proposed general strategy for the new direction of the Florida Democratic Party, a good friend of mine involved in national and state politics asked about the elephant in the room: OFA. It's a great question and definitely very important to factor into what our party should look like here in Florida for the 2012 election cycle.
In short (& explained after the jump), we need to be smart to rebuild Florida and one entity simply can't hit every target group that's needed for a winning coalition. OFA and its members have a very important role to play in the presidential election. They should be tasked with targeting voters they were formed around - what inspires most of their true members - Obama voters. Then the party and local DECs can run their part of the coordinated campaign that is built around our pressing priorities. The crossover is that both OFA & FDP will overlap in collecting IDs for Obama and Nelson. By working together like this, it will show smarts in coordination, strength in sharing and using data & will allow the FDP to focus on creating and defining the new "Florida Democrat" which is so desperately needed.
So what does this mean? Well, first let's back up just a little bit for context and direction.
The truth is it's not in the interest of Florida Democrats - or Democrats anywhere - to be defined by a single candidate or election. While we may win everything because of that single candidate (see Obama in 2008), we can also lose everything (see Florida statewide results in 2010) because of that same single candidate/elected official. The real casualty here in Florida is that there is no strong message, specific plan or vision that comes out of our state party. In Florida, Democrats have to pick a candidate or float in the breeze on their own if they are not involved in a local DEC or a spin-off group/club that is all to common here. The Florida Party is supposed to be the central hub for all things Democrats.
At the same time, OFA seemed to deliver real results and enthusiasm in 2008. Whether that was a result of Obama being directly on the ballot or not, it did not materialize at all in 2010. Bluntly put, we can't afford that in 2012. My proposal for the new direction of the state party will put us on the path of running a real coordinated campaign that builds real, permanent infrastructure around the state. But as I said above, one entity simply can't hit every target needed right now because of the beating we took at the polls this year.
OFA was very ineffective this cycle. From what I personally saw along the campaign trail, OFA "organizers" did not know the basics of organizing or campaigning. They claimed to be a coordinated effort for all Dems yet were hired to target certain demographics (at least in some areas), did not play well with local and state candidates, and did not inspire the Obama voters to show up. Now of course, these are generalizations and specific to what I saw and heard along the trail. DECs complained daily about the efforts going on and that inspiration/enthusiasm coming from "leadership" was lacking. It was not the organizers' faults, there was no clear plan (that anyone on the ground could figure out) and no coordination or dialogue with campaigns on the ground (at least not that I saw).
But 2012 presents a unique opportunity because President Obama is back on the ballot. OFA should be tasked with what they were formed to accomplish - rally Obama voters and get them to the polls. We know these group of voters and we have further data from 2010 on who needs the most attention. If OFA focused on these gap voters and not general field efforts, they could take the lead on the Florida in-state presidential campaign and organizing. This would leave the FDP and DECs to focus on the state coordinated campaign outside of the presidential (Nelson, congressional, state and local) and rebuild the "Florida Democrat."
The overlap in the plan is that both sides would share the Obama ID and Nelson ID being collected through grassroots efforts and micro-targeting universes of voters for both entities would allow for real accountability and goal setting to turnout our win number. This would also set the precedent in state that entities should encourage and share data and work together to prevent overlap, increase effectiveness, save money and (hopefully) win.
This isn't to say that the two entities wouldn't work together or even overlap at events, meetings, etc. However, by prioritizing and delegating we can actually gain ground this upcoming cycle. It would also allow for the much needed internal party building to occur which will strengthen efforts in Florida for the next decade. Immediately, it would also give clear responsibilities to both organizers and staff at OFA as well as to the DECs. This will empower volunteers and Democratic members in their work and give them a true place in the coordinated plan, increasing local buy-in and follow through.
Finally, it would be very healthy for the state party and OFA (and others who have a role in the election) to have a serious conversation about targeting voters - this could present the best step to address it. By coming up with defined, specific target universes we can piece our way back to victory and finally put Democrats back in a position to better the quality of life and policies in Florida. I'm not going to pretend to have that conversation here in this post and we don't even have the data needed to determine "who is an 'Obama' voter?" right now, but thinking ahead, this is a possible answer to the question of what do we do with the elephant in the room.