Following is a recommendation that I just sent to Marshall Ganz, Brent Messenger, Buffy Wicks, and Pat DeTemple, who are central to Obama's national organizing strategy.

If you believe that this proposal merits consideration and are in contact with any of these individuals or anyone else in the national office who might be interested, please let them know what you think. Your communications might help bring this message to their attention.

Also, please feel free to send this email to others who might be interested, especially people who are known and trusted by folks in the national office.

Thanks,

Wade

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HomeBaseOne: Transforming the Democratic Party

On June 7, a diverse group of Obama activists launched HomeBaseOne, a project dedicated to transforming the Democratic Party into a community that fights for its principles year-round. By slightly modifying the Obama campaign's house-meeting format, we aim to advance personal responsibility, self-improvement, self-reliance, and solidarity -- values that Obama has affirmed so powerfully.

Will the Obama campaign fold into or merge with the Democratic Party? What should the relationship between the two be? If they do not merge, how can duplication be minimized? I know that Obama has placed staff at the DNC, but don't know how all this will break down on the local level. In the past, I’m told, the San Francisco Democratic Party has conducted GOTV for the State party. Will Obama volunteers, some of whom don’t care for the Democratic Party, plug into that operation?

While working to win the November elections, Democratic Party activists need to begin transforming the Party into a grassroots, activist organization that mobilizes its members year-round to implement its platform. We can start now to create new, easily reproduced models for how the Party can do more than just work on elections.

As soon as the Presidential election is over, we must follow through with ongoing action.  Franklin Roosevelt once told some reformers, "I agree with you. I want to do it. Now make me do it." The next President will likely hold that same sentiment.

The "system" will still be in place. The super wealthy, giant corporations, and their allies will continue to exercise great influence on Congress, the media, the economy, and throughout society. To overcome that power, promote democracy, establish justice, and protect the environment, the American people will need to mobilize as never before.

Barack Obama speaks eloquently about self-reformation. At a commencement in New Hampshire, he affirmed overcoming selfishness. On Martin Luther King Day, he discussed enhancing empathy. In The Audacity of Hope, he presented a vision of profound moral renewal. In his speeches, he regularly addresses the importance of taking personal responsibility.

We, the American people, need to help each other practice what he preaches.

One way you could achieve that goal would be to invite friends and/or relatives who want to work together in support of the Obama campaign to participate in an "Obama Support Group." The proposed agenda for the gathering could be something like the following:

We progressive activists need to change ourselves as well as the world. Self-reformation can enhance both our personal quality of life and our political efforts.

In my investigations, including the Questionnaire of Self-Improvement, the most frequent self-improvement goal reported has been to become less judgmental and more understanding of others. Many progressive-minded individuals also say that activists, including themselves, need to be less arrogant and more humble, more joyous, better listeners, less competitive and more cooperative, less dominating and more democratic, less intellectual and more intelligent emotionally, less ideological and more accepting of various points of view, less obsessed with objective goals and more present in the here and now to the whole person (not just his or her "political" side), and better able to take care of themselves for the long haul.

These are only some of the many ways that we can better ourselves and grow supportive, activist communities dedicated to transforming our social system.

Following is the latest draft of "What We Stand For." With input from many others, some colleagues and I have developed this statement of principles, or worldview, as the basis of unity for a proposed new project, a "network of home-grown communities." It is presented here to illustrate the kind of declaration that could help strengthen and hold together broad, ongoing, progressive coalitions.

As stated in the Book of Proverbs, "Where there is no vision, the people perish." And, to paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson, the ancestor of every political movement is a statement of purpose.

Popular culture includes many references to "the system." Mass advertising, for example, occasionally affirms "beating the system." The American Heritage Dictionary recently added the phrase "the system" and defines it as "the prevailing social order; the establishment."

By building on this common-sense knowledge and clarifying the nature of today’s dominant social system, we can lay the foundation for transforming that system.

A system is a group of elements that work together as an integrated whole to perform a particular function. These components create a reality that is greater than the sum of its parts.

Most anti-poverty rhetoric misses the mark. By emphasizing indirect measures like education and training, advocates discount direct measures like public-service jobs and increased incomes.

As I address in my online book, Economic Security for All: How To End Poverty in the United States, in 1989 the Solutions to Poverty Workshop determined what is required to end poverty in the U.S. and where we can get the money. Though the specifics need to be updated, the same logic still applies.

By responding to the comments/topics below or by posting your own comment/topic, you can join in a discussion of how the progressive movement might be more effective. I'll begin by posting comments/topics on:

*A Clear, Concise, Comprehensive Vision Statement
*Communicating from the Heart
*Overcoming Arrogance

Together, we might refine proposals for action that could help us move forward.

As expressed in "Obama’s Post-Election Plans," Congressional District (CD) organizing is essential. The turnout in CD primary elections is low, most CDs are relatively small, and primaries are every two years, which means Congresspersons have limited time to repair fences. They know that a well-organized campaign might defeat them in the next election, so they're fairly responsive to grassroots pressure. The House of Representatives, therefore, needs to be a major focus for any movement that wants to help make public policy more progressive.

As a long-term Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) member, this concern recently led me to the PDA website, where I was encouraged to learn that PDA CD-based organizing efforts are growing. We still have a long way to go, however.

By sharing reports on our efforts, we can encourage and learn from one another, increase our collective wisdom, and boost our effectiveness. Members from other organizations could benefit from these public discussions as well.

The movement sparked by Barack Obama will continue after November. "We're not only going to win an election," Obama has declared.  "We're going to change the country." Obama's commitment to community organizing guarantees the movement will persist.

Careful planning is needed to maximize this potential. By proceeding wisely, we can establish effective structures and avoid both fragmentation and excessive centralization. I invite you to help develop ideas to recommend to Obama, his staff, and his supporters.