That's right. Tuesday, October 20, the phones in DC will be ringing off the hook. Probably District offices, too. Senators and Representatives are going to get an earful from the American people.
Organizing for America is doing what it does best - organize a huge group of people to take small individual actions at the same time across the country. OFA plans to get 100,000 people in a single day making or committing to make calls to Congress for healthcare reform. It's called Time to Deliver On Healthcare.
It's a big goal, but that's because it is going to take that kind of massive public pressure to make sure we get Congress to pass the best possible legislation.
After the nearly two years I spent organizing for Obama in California, there's nothing I love better than a massive, semi-insane phonebanking goal.
During the California primary, we set and shattered a goal of 100,000 phone calls statewide in one day. During the general election, we rolled out rally phonebanks - large scale outdoor events where we organized hundreds of people at once to make calls to voters. And then there was GOTV phonebanking, where heroic volunteer efforts and crack organization generated previously unthinkable numbers of calls.
When the President was in San Francisco last week, he made that hilarious comment about the mop. But he also said something else that I made note of in my account the following day:
The last bit [of the speech] . . . was the most powerful to me:
I need you guys to understand that what we're trying to do is hard. And I want you to be excited by that. I want you to be energized by that. Because if it was easy it would have already been done. If it was easy it wouldn't have been worth all the effort to get here.
And I want everybody to know who are standing in the way of progress: I'm not tired. I'm just getting started. You can throw whatever you want at me -- keep it coming, we're going to get this done.
"I want you to be energized by that." Energized, not daunted, by the challenge. He gave us a classic organizer view of the world. Fear, cynicism, doubt, apathy -- all these emotions are barriers to action. Organizers can see a hard fight and be energized by it. Energized by anger, tempered with hope and the belief you can make a difference.
Energized. That's what a big goal can do. There is nothing more exciting than knowing you have been asked to do something that seems nearly impossible, while at the same time understanding it truly is possible if you go all out.
So Tuesday, we're going all out. There will be opportunities to make calls all over the country. There will be big phonebanks and small house parties. There will be sidewalk phone booths and rallies with phonebanks. You can find one by searching here. Don't forget to bring your charged cell phone with you. And if you can't find one, you can call yourself from home using the online calling tool at the OFA Healthcare Action Center.
If you need any more incentive, the President will be speaking to everyone at these events via a live webcast on Tuesday. Somehow I have a feeling he will be pretty good at firing people up.
One day. 100,000 calls. Trust me, this is going to be a lot of fun.
Update: Good morning - awake here in California now, and glad to see a lot of folks have stopped by since last night. I wanted to respond to a question that has come up in the comments about what the calls will be in support of. The calls will be in support of the President's stated plan from his address to Congress. That plan, as detailed on the website, includes new regulations, a health insurance exchange with a public option, subsidies to help folks with affordability, and many other key provisions.
Questions? Here's the four minute video that lays it out:
Now these are your phone calls. And I always tell people when they call that you need to put a phone script in your own voice. Why do you support healthcare reform? What is your story?
Look, if you want a public option in the bill, Congress needs to feel extreme pressure. Congress needs to know the American people are paying attention and that they can't just slide something through. This is one powerful way to send that message, by a huge number of calls supporting all the key elements of a really progressive bill. But if you don't want to participate, call on your own. Or go to an HCAN or other event.
Get your mop, whatever style you prefer. It matters more that you are mopping, even if you don't want to stand next to me and do it. But don't sit on the sidelines and then complain that the place isn't clean enough.
Disclaimer: I am a volunteer with Organizing for America in California. When I write here I speak for myself and not for the organization. My diaries, and all the words in them, are my own.