Organizing for America supports President Obama on the Keystone XL pipeline, whatever his stance turns out to be, and no matter what grassroots members want. The Web site is still BarackObama.com. But you can make your voice heard. I just got the announcement below for my local OFA State Conference in Indiana this coming Saturday, and I would like to put a group together to attend it and say something about President Obama's dreaded All of the Above energy policy that is producing record amounts of offshore oil drilling, coal permitting, and fracking, and looks like it will also give us KXL unless we step up to shame him. I would also like to become an OFA Issues Lead or Issue Captain (described in the OFA Organizing Playbook, linked below), preparing materials on Climate Change as well as other issues of importance.
So I say to Indianapolis Kossacks: Are you in? and to Kossacks everywhere in the US, tell us what OFA is up to in your state, and what you are doing in response.
Invitation below. The original e-mail included a link to this document, which I am sharing with you.
OFA May 2013 Organizing Playbook
If you want to attend the Conference and meet up, PM or call me. 812 764 0552.
I don't have to explain to Kossacks that we are at 400 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, with all of its known disastrous consequences, do I? I don't have to explain in detail how much carbon will flow through the Keystone XL pipeline, and how much carbon will have to be burned to extract and process the tar sands oil, and how much other pollution it will create, do I? It is estimated that KXL by itself will make a measurable addition to atmospheric CO2 of a few parts per million, from an EPA-estimated 1.25 billion tons of emissions over its lifetime, plus cutting down 740,000 acres of boreal (northern) forest that currently takes up and stores carbon.
But apparently we need to explain these facts and more to the President and to OFA. (VP Joe Biden says he gets it, and opposes the pipeline, but he is in a minority in the Administration.)
Subject: SAVE THE DATE: OFA Statewide Kick-off Conference on June 1st!
Hello OFA-IN,
It's here-- Organizing for Action's official kick-off in Indiana! We are excited for the important role Indiana will play moving our country forward. Many of you have been involved with our work to-date and I am looking forward to expanding our reach across the state! All of our Senators and Representatives are targets for one of our issue campaigns-- many for multiple issue campaigns-- so all of our teams have work to do.
So, let's come together to celebrate and learn how we can organize to achieve President Obama's policy agenda at the local, state, and national level at the Organizing for Action Official Statewide Kick-off Conference! Steve Sisneros, our national deputy regional director, will be at the conference-- and he is excited to meet you all as he has heard plenty about how fantastic our Hoosier team is. Here are the details:
What: Organizing for Action's Statewide Kick-off Conference
When: Saturday, June 1st
Time: 9am-6pm
Where: IBEW [International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers] #481, 1828 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis
RSVP
Please send this to anyone you know who might be interested in joining OFA's exciting next phase!
Breakfast and lunch will be provided. If you or anyone in your area who wants to attend needs supporter housing, please fill out this form.
This conference will not be like any previous OFA trainings you've attended. While Organizing for Action uses a lot of the same strategies and tactics we used during the election, we have to change our focus to issue organizing. At this conference, we will learn what the new OFA looks like, how we will be structured, and how to achieve our goal of earning the support of our elected leaders for comprehensive immigration reform, reducing gun violence, and other important issues we elected President Obama to work on. I've attached the May organizing playbook (PDF) to give you a glimpse of our next phase. You don't want to miss out on this conference!
One exciting new piece of our organizing campaign is fundraising. Indiana is one of just a few states that is setup to begin fundraising immediately! All the money we raise stays right here in Indiana and goes toward our grassroots movement. You can begin fundraising through this link.
I am excited for our kick-off conference, but I am more excited to see all of you! I am so proud of what we accomplished in 2012 and I know we will accomplish even more this year!
Cheers,
Chelsey
--
Chelsey Wininger
Indiana State Coordinator
Organizing for Action
(317) 403-8351
Here are the biggest issues that Leads and Captains have responsibility for.
- Gun Violence Prevention
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform
- Climate Change
- Women's Issues
- Budget/Economy
Good issues, as far as they go, except the two where one hand giveth and the other taketh away: All of the Above Energy vs. Climate Change, and Budget Austerity vs. jobs and infrastructure and reining in corporations on the economy.
Not LGBT issues, not workers' issues, not Guantanamo, not Wall Street crimes, not helping with mortgages, not voting rights, not the filibuster, all issues that the President has spoken about forcefully at times. Not drones (no surprise there). The usual overemphasis on austerity over stimulus.
Some might say that OFA is about elections, not issues. I say that the President said that we have to hold him accountable and help him/make him do what is good for the country, and by implication the world. That is true even if we have to make him do what is good for the Democratic Party.