One of the worries I had during 2004 was that the energy of the progressive movement that had started to try to get rid of Bush would dissipate after the election. To my great joy, that clearly is not the case. If anything, more people are filling the ranks as the republicans show their real priorities. There are numerous people with lots of energy, but seemingly little in the way of politics to do. We all can write letters to the editor, give money to causes and contact congress about certain issues, but it still seems that a bigger outlet is needed for some people to pour their time into.
More after the fold...
A series of observations have come together in my head in the past month to create an idea of what to do with this extra energy.
- Some of the material I have read in the past year indicated one of the most powerful methods of swaying people's opinions on political issues was contacts by friends and neighbors. This was far more powerful that the typical campaign methods of cold calling , direct mailing and going door-to-door.
- People are actually much more progressive than they realize. Robert Reich's book, Reason has the results of a survey in the first appendix that shows most people want the environment protected, even if it hurts business, are willing to pay more taxes to improve education, want to help the poor and think that US foreign policy should work with other nations and not be unilateral, My father is a perfect example. He has always voted for republicans, but believes in a clean environment, social security, good schools, etc. The problem is that these fundamental principles that many people hold have been disassociated from the democratic party and progressives.
- Howard Dean's campaign (and Wesly Clarks's BTW) showed how powerful the internet and grassroots organizing could be for driving the campaign and fund raising. Some of this activity was driven through meetups and house parties. The house parties seemed to be very effective vehicles for raising funds and bringing people into the process. One of the things that may have been missed, is that these house parties also created buzz about Howard Dean. Do not underestimate the power of word-of-mouth. This is how 15-30 somethings find out about things. They are very leery of advertising and other conventional methods of finding out about products, but do trust their friends.
By stitching these observations together, we can come up with a plan of action. Political tupperware parties. Organize house parties, centered around certain themes and use this time to educate attendees about the issue at hand, what the problems are, and progressive solutions to them. The main goal being to rejoin people's natural progressive tendencies with sensible solutions offered by progressive politics. The house parties can also attack an important issue of the day, for example the social security debate that is now raging. In subsequent elections, when they hear democratic candidates articulating these problems and solutions, they will immediately identify with them.
Note that these are different than meetups, where like-minded people come together to work on a common goal. At the get-togethers I am suggesting, people may not agree with you polictially, but would have an open mind.
This plan requires that democrats and progressives come together and develop a core set of values that we stand for and then relentlessly push them. The development of materials that assist in the presentation of the issue at hand would also be a huge benefit. Both of these activities would require national organization and is something that the new DNC headed by Howard Dean would be perfect for. The numerous talents of people on dKos would also be a great help.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.