This diary is really just a way for me to create a publicly accessible orientation to the Roots Project for my future use. Feel free to ignore it.
The Roots Project was begun by http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/, www.Firedoglake.com and www.CrooksandLiars.com and is growing. Updates are posted by me at Firedoglake.
This week we had an influx of volunteers, and I held a conference call to orient them to the Project, its purpose, goals, organization and history. Below the fold, I'm posting my notes (typos intact!) from that conference call, as originally sent afterward to our Roots Project members.
To join the Roots Project send me an email at stateproject at gmail dot com. Include your home state in your subject line, with no other text. Please include in the body of your email your kos user name and how you learned of the Roots Project.
My Quick Call Summary (note: I will have a repeat of this Call Sunday afternoon, and will formally announce it tomorrow):
1) History of Roots Project:
* NSA warrantless wiretapping hearings, Senate Judiciary: lobby committee votes
* censure, lobby senate votes
* Iran as the new potential Iraq, but bigger and worse: stop Bush and Rumsfeld
* common thread is: accountability agenda
2) Mission Thoughts
* continue accountability agenda, see where it leads us
* help build progressive movement infrastructure, moving people from netroots to grassroots
* create healthy local groups who act with initiative and independence
* promote an environment that fosters activist talent, identifies talent of different kinds, helping people find their niche
* do our part to chaneg the direction of the country
3) Organization and Structure
* Decentralized ("We provide the dance floor, you make the music")
* Groups encouraged to become mostly indepenent, supported by guidance from Christy, Jane and Pach (Firedoglake). FDL will stp in if needed to protect the groups from big problems, but the hope/expectation is groups will develop their own healthy, self-directed cultures.
* Pach will offer ideas culled from other progressive leaders and bloggers on messaging, but groups still decide what is best for their own local areas.
4) Q&A
* What do we call ourselves when we meet with represetatives or their staffers? Answer: Constituents. You can explain how you got together, but primarilty you are their as constituents. They work for you.
* The group could use more, better web enabled organizational tools. What do you have in mind? Answer: Google is a starting point. We are examining other platform options, including a proprietary option. Goal is to build platform that supports group autonomy with activist tools and best practices library open to all members. Please be patient but stay tuned.
* If someone is an expeert (for example) in physics and can prepare briefiing tools for those meeting with senate staffers, how does he get that information to all groups? Answer: Groups are intended to be laboratories of innovation and initiative. Build what you cenm post it in your group and prompt me to get it to the other groups. Until we have a centralized library, we will pass things along between groups. Go for it, no matter what your expertise may be. We feverishly want to identify and build upon the talents of our members!
* Will there be a written description of inappropriate group member behaviors? Answer: No. We don't want to build a legalistic culture focised on what people do "wrong." We want to focus our energy on highlighting best practicesm sharing information and sharing success stories. If someone steps out of line, is destructive or otherwise cats in a way to damage the group or the cause, then group can deal with. Jane, Christy and I will be the ultimate guardians of what is out of bounds, and we will protect the groups just as we (and others) protect the comment threads at FDL.
* Do we have a mission statement? Answer: No, and that is pretty much by design at this point. We are not creating a centralized "Roots Project" brand or mission. We wwant to provide flexibility and an environment conducive to local initiative.
* What if my reps are wingnut goopers? Do I miss out on all the fun? Answer: No. Refer to the Rubber STamp video FDL put together, with cooperation from Matt Stoller (MyDD) and PoliticsTV, posted at C&L. Theater can be very powerful. Remember also Jane gooper brain explosion question: at the burning fertility clinic, would you save the child or the five blastocysts in the petri dish? Put these people on the spot. Be creative. Get video. If you can't influence them, shame them. Also, write LTE's. Get involved in local, non federal campaigns. Brainstorm together. We're trying to promote a national movement, and what's good for NY is not good for South Carolina.
* What do I do if my state chapter is not very active? Answer: Recruit, and push us to help you recruit. Indentify friends, other grassroots activists, post an appeqal in the comments section at FDL. Let me know about your concern and I can make a front page appeal when Inpost on Roots Project. Also, please appreciate that having groups that wax and wane in activity is not a bad thing, as long as they know how to wake up for the big fights. Not everyone can be a 24/7 activist.
* How does the Roots Project fit in with other progressive groups, like MOveOn, and others? Is it redundant? Answer: That really is up to you. We don't do exactly what the other groups do, and we don't try to. It's not a competition. Some overlap in the progressive movement is good because it enhances our ability to "swarm" and to strike simultaneously from slightly different angles. In the end, the Roots Project will thrive if it has value and die if it does not, and that is as it should be. Go with where your heart is: we're all on the same side. From my own perspective, I'm in regular communication with many leaders of national groups, so there is already an element of productive collaboration and coordination.
MAJOR THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! You are volunteers. Your time is precious. Collectively, we really are making a difference. I can't always tell you how I know this, because some communications must remain confidential. All my appreciation and thanks to all of you, and to those who have helped me this week get the groups together and get the invitations up to speed.
Make a great day for yourself!
Pach