Interesting news, and I think a good thing overall. The Obama campaign is not closing up shop. It is transforming itself:
President Barack Obama’s remaining campaign apparatus will relaunch Sunday as a tax-exempt group to support his second term agenda
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The new organization will be separate from the Democratic National Committee, with Obama’s 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina serving as the national chair of the group.
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The Obama campaign finished with an unmatched list of millions of email addresses of supporters and volunteers tagged by geography and degree of devotion that was perhaps Obama’s biggest advantage in mobilizing support for his second-term agenda. The campaign developed extensive technology for use in its organizing and finished with $5.3 million still in the campaign coffers.
Since he won re-election, Obama’s campaign has emailed supporters to drum up support for the president’s positions during the fiscal cliff stand-off and, on Thursday, on Obama’s proposed gun violence reforms.
Politico
It still will be an OFA. This time, Organizing for Action. More from New York Magazine:
According to the Associated Press, the tax-exempt group will be called Organizing for Action, and will be officially launched on Sunday at a D.C. event for Obama staffers and volunteers called the Obama Legacy Conference. As a 501 (c) (4), the organization can run ads on issues, but can't support the election of a specific candidate. [Update: According to AdamB and others, this statement is incorrect. The (c)(4) can support candidates See the comments below]
The group won't be required to disclose its donors, but an official says it will do so voluntarily. The organization plans to accept contributions from individuals and corporations, but not lobbyists or political action committees.
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Jim Messina, the president's 2012 campaign manager, will be the group's national chairmen, and several former campaign and White House officials, including Robert Gibbs and Stephanie Cutter, will be on the board of directors.
New York Mag: Obama Campaign Lives On As Nonprofit, Will Tackle Gun Control
Politics does not end with elections. We need both issue activism and electoral activism. I think this can be a great help on some issues.
This could make a big difference both on issues and in keeping people involved for 2014 when we win back the House.
Update I: From tb mare in the comments, the email/letter going out today:
Since you went above and beyond to support the campaign, I wanted you to be the first to know: Today, we're launching Organizing for Action, the next phase of this movement.
It will be a supporter-driven organization, as we've always been, staying true to our core principles: "respect, empower, include." We'll work on the key battles of our generation, train the next generation of grassroots organizers and leaders, and organize around local issues in our own communities. We'll continue to support the President in creating jobs and growing the economy from the middle out, and in fighting for issues like immigration reform, climate change, balanced deficit reduction, and reducing gun violence.
We have a remarkable opportunity right now to change our country, and if we can take the enthusiasm and passion that people showed throughout the campaign and channel it into the work ahead of us, we will be unstoppable.
As the chair of Organizing for Action, I will be deeply involved in this new organization, but it will be supporters like you who will determine where it goes. I have no doubt we can take this grassroots movement to new and extraordinary heights.
I'm excited for this next step -- and I'm glad to have you with us.
Stay tuned,
Messina
Jim Messina
Chair
Organizing for Action
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