I got a voice message from my kid sister today, who is in that "youth vote" block. She never gave a hoot about politics, and barely even noticed the nightly news. This year, she got pretty charged up about John Kerry, voted for him, and was upset with the (current) results.
So I was worried that she might disengage, and be lost to Democracy forever.
Her voice mail proved me wrong, and it dawned on me that we must keep her and other new recruits energized and ready to go.
In her message, she asked me:
"I wanted to talk to you about myself becoming involved in the 'Democratic party of America.' I don't know what to do or what I should do, but I want to start recruiting people and making people more active, so - you were really good at it and I wanted to get more help from you... Call me back! Bye!"
So, I need to keep her involved. And we all need to keep our new recruits involved. Here's how:
- Nurture their energy. Tell them how proud you are that they voted and got involved. It's important to keep their morale up - so make them understand how close we were from recapturing the White House. Stress how close the election was, and how their energy and passion is needed for the road ahead: Bush's appointees, '06 election, '07 runup for the next presidential race. And keep them informed on the issues, and debunk the right-wing B.S. that they will be attacked with.
- Redirect their energy. Most of us directed our new recruits to the johnkerry.com volunteer site. We need to redirect them now. Find out what they are most concerned about. Environment? Push them to Greenpeace. Pro-choice? Get them the NARAL site.
- Lock in their energy. In addition, we have to keep them engaged with the Democratic party (or some sort of progressive movement). Find out who the local Dems leadership is, and get them on their mailing list. Push them to the meetings/Meetups! (On that note, we need Kos Meetups!)
- Multiply their energy. Our recruits have recruits too. Find out more about your recruits' friends and family that may be hopeful or current additions, and help your recruit reach out to them. Have them use the steps in this list.
- Cultivate their energy. Finally, stick with them. When we know who our '06 candidates are, get them involved in their local race. When we have our '08 hopefuls, get them to pick a person and get involved.
I'm a proud big brother today, and I'm sure you are all proud of your recruits as well. Let's keep up our end of the process, and keep them active!