Let's start with ordering your "I'm the Grassroots" button with the union bug. See pricing below. Click here. Or you can call Donald Strand at 512-772-8844 and tell him you want the "I'm the Grassroots buttons." PC Signs is a union printer for political candidates. I will not benefit financially from these sales, but I will benefit (and so will you) by moving this movement forward.
I ask you to join my facebook fan page, "I'm the Grassroots."
"Politics is not a Spectator Sport"
My friend, Connie Mixon, who is a political science professor at Elmhurst College, told a group of elected officials and activists, that "politics is not a spectator sport." It was a hit and resonated with the audience. It inspired me to get out this election season. In 2001, Connie won the Illinois Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. In other words, Connie doesn't just teach. She does.
Let's take Connie's admonition to heart today. We cannot just sit by and watch. And that is what this is all about.
It takes time for these small grass seeds to take hold, but if we keep working hard and don't get frustrated, it can and will happen. Grass everywhere. You have to allow time for the seeds to germinate and that is what we are starting to see now.
I started this "I'm the Grassroots" movement several weeks ago and reconnected in my community with former allies and believe it or not, political people I would never have dreamed of working with. We need each other toward our common goal of electing our entire slate of statewide candidates in Illinois.
And wherever you live too.
Let's start with ordering your "I'm the Grassroots" button with the union bug. Click here. Here is the pricing. PC Signs is a union printer for political candidates. I will not benefit financially from these sales, but I will benefit (and so will you) by moving this movement forward.
Here is the pricing on various quantities of the buttons:
2.25 ROUND BUTTON WITH ATTACHMENT PIN AND UNION BUG
QUANTITY FREIGHT TOTAL
100 INCLUDED $96.50
250 INCLUDED $156.00
500 INCLUDED $210.00
1000 INCLUDED $306.00
2500 INCLUDED $610.00
5000 INCLUDED $1,112.00
Back to our mission: electing Democrats everywhere. I can tell you what we are doing here in Illinois. There has been serious neglect on the part of the regular party organizations regarding our statewide tickets. That is why the groups that started here in Illinois as far back as 2000, and came to life in 2004 and rose to a new level in 2006 and then the Presidential in 2008, are all back: stronger and energized. The buttons is what pulls us all together. You can order signs. They would certainly be much more effective than those sloppy looking Tea Party signs we see all over.
And less than four weeks to election day is a long time. Certainly enough time in politics for the voters, namely Democrats to wake up and smell the victory.
To let this go now would be a sin.
So let me briefly tell you about my activities. This Saturday I am organizing another canvass in my community on behalf of Governor Patrick Quinn, with the help of Quinn campaign staff. We will also include United States Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias, and candiate for Illinois State Treasurer, Robin Kelly. I have also been in contact with a committee called the Illinois Democratic Coordinated Campaign that is supporting the statewide Democratic ticket and will be working closely with "grassroots" groups.
We also hold monthly meetings at a local coffee shop that has been graced by the presence of people like President Barack Obama, Illinois State Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, Cook County Water Reclamation Commissioner Debra Shore, and Democratic candidate (and likely winner of Cook County Board President) for Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle. For one, we have decide to hold meeting several days a week at this local coffee shop, and recruit volunteers to spread out across Chicago and Cook County.
We have to get our voters out there.
And I encourage you do the same.
Please.
We need you and your help. Not just here in my community. The community next to mine. And all across this great land of ours.
Get organized.
So allow me to repeat myself.
President Obama sent out a clear and decisive message in Madison, Wisconsin recently.
"We need you to commit to vote. We need you to pledge to vote. We need you to knock on doors," he said, his voice going cracking at times as he shouted from the podium. "We need you to talk to neighbors. We need you to make phone calls. We need you to bring energy and passion and commitment."
Get involved in your community. Support your local Democratic candidate. Here in Illinois, for example, I am supporting Alexi Giannoulias for United States Senate, Patrick Quinn for Governor, and the rest of the statewide ticket. But it starts at the top of the ticket.
But it also starts from the bottom-up. The is the only way it works and we need all of you to get involved, as the President called out. And I am calling out from the Grassroots.
"I'm the Grassroots." And so are you and all of your like-minded friends. Help me help Democrats get elected.
I cordially invite all of you to join the "I'm the Grassroots" movement. But because of you, we have changed the "name."That is for simplicity's sake and branding of what we are trying to do. It is about mobilizing the grassroots behind the Democrats this year.
I can just here all the cheers.
"I'm the Grassroots"
"I'm the Grassroots"
"I'm the Grassroots"
We need thousands to join to make a bold statement. It is not enough to say you are getting involved. We will need buttons, campaign style, and they must include the union label. Any ideas or donors willing to pay the expense of the buttons would be appreciated. I am working on my end. Maybe Markos can get involved with this too.
It is now time to start a new movement. It is urgent we start today because time is of the essence. A grassroots movement from the bottom-up. That is the only way to win campaigns: from the bottom-up. And with all the Tea Part talk, we have to recapture the message from them. They are stepping on our grass now and we must chase them off. They are not used to this real grass, after all, they are used to Astro turf.
We must win. Saul Alinsky often said, pick the fight you can win. It energizes people. I pick this fight because we will win. We are on a roll right now and must keep it going. The 2008 victory caught them by surprise.
So let's plan another surprise and work our way to victory in the fall 2010 election. The defeat of the Republicans will just crush them. This is their one and only chance in a very long time.Let us deprive them of that one chance by outworking them. Put this Tea Party stuff to rest.
When the economy improves, and it will sooner rather than later, the Republicans won't have a chance.
Actually, the movement is just a new name but with all the exact same principals of "grassroots organizing." I have started a facebook fan page where we will list all the campaign events from around the country.
We'll start here in Chicago where the movement began back in early 2000 when an obscure state senator, Barack Obama, ran for Congress and lost.
But Obama learned so much about that defeat. We all did. Those of us involved back then.
Planting a seed here and a seed there and pretty soon grass started growing everywhere from that election in 2000 to the 2004 election when Barack Obama shocked the political world by defeating a large, well-known field of candidates.
And he did it with the help of hundreds of volunteers that volunteered because they wanted to and not because of some job they will receive in exchange for political favors. It was a pure movement.
In 2006, Barack Obama continued his journeyed, touring the country, meeting people, building alliances, and building an unprecedented organization. He backed a political novice, Alexi Giannoulias, and helped Alexi do the impossible: taking on Illinois powerhouse and speaker of the Illinois, Michael Madigan. Obama supported Giannoulias for Illinois State Treasurer and he did it with the same group that helped him in 2004..
And of course in 2008, Obama took on the Clintons and defeated them in the Democratic primary and then breezed past Senator McCain to become the 44th President of the United States. With the same group of people again, who migrated to Iowa, knocking on doors, calling voters, getting them to the caucuses.
And Obama took the "grassroots" to a new level. "Grassroots and Netroots Organizing on Steroids."
Admittedly, President Obama has stumbled since then and the effectiveness of the OFA (Organizing for America) has been limited for a variety of reasons which I would like to explore at a later date. Right now we have an election to win. We cannot let the Republicans take the House or the Senate. And do not underestimate any of our opponents. Christine O'Donnell is no laughing matter. Take it seriously. We can and will defeat them on the ground where we are the strongest.
Us grassroots people fly under the radar, like stealth fighters. They will never see it coming, but we will know.
So all of us "grassroots" people should come together and reform and recommit ourselves to the principals we believe in. The President needs our help, but even more importantly, the movement needs our help.
So what am I asking you to do besides joining my facebook fan page, "I'm the Grassroots." I am asking you to get involved in your community by starting a small group. No group is too small. No task too great. Three people is a great start. You will see it grow day by day. The main thing is to get started.
Recruit all of your like-minded friends. Get together on a regular basis on the same day each week leading up to the election. Have yard signs available. Have campaign buttons. Invite the candidate to fire up the base. Sometimes they will attend, but if they can't attend (the candidates), they will send staff. Blog on behalf of your favorite progressive candidate when possible. Spread the word. Donate and get others to donate. Act Blue is a good place. The campaign website of your candidate is another good place to donate.
For my part here in Illinois, I will be supporting Alexi Giannoulias for United States Senate. Patrick Quinn for Governor. Robin Kelly for Illinois State Treasurer. I have linked all of them to Act Blue in case you want to donate to these great candidates.
And surely, you will have your favorites too.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. Margaret Mead
John is the author of a book published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books.