progressive activists
Is Friendship Passe in Politics?
by GlennWSmith [courtesy of Firedoglake]
Democracy and friendship arise from the same ethical root: responsibility for one another. 
Posted July 13th, 2008 5:00 PM by Syndicated
Obama Specifically Told Me We Should Take Him At His Word
by David Sirota [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted June 29th, 2008 2:46 AM by Syndicated
Taking Obama At His Word
by Chris Bowers [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted June 29th, 2008 1:39 AM by Syndicated
Obama Opts Out Of Public Funds For General
by Chris Bowers [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted June 19th, 2008 2:50 PM by Syndicated
State Bloggers Protest Credentialling Decision
by Matt Stoller [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted May 20th, 2008 7:28 PM by Syndicated
The Blogosphere's Role in the 2008 Presidential Race
by Mike Lux [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted May 14th, 2008 11:00 PM by Syndicated
Defining Obama's Mandate
by Chris Bowers [courtesy of Open Left - Front Page]
Posted March 2nd, 2008 8:37 PM by Syndicated
Google-bombing McCain won't be enough
by Shai Sachs [courtesy of MyDD]
Yesterday Chris Bowers got the ball rolling with the Googlebomb John McCain project. I admire Chris's work a great deal, and in particular I think his innovative Google-bomb campaigns have been absolutely phenomneal. But I think beating John McCain will require a lot more than just a Google-bomb.
Google-bombs work best in a low information election. For background, the point of a Google bomb is to cause a negative but neutrally sourced news article about a candidate to appear high in Google search engine rankings when web users search for the candidate's name. So Chris's Google-bomb for 2006 House Republican candidates worked really well because voters quite often didn't know much about those candidates. In the weeks before the election, voters sought out information about those candidates by typing their names into Google, and came up with the negative stories that bloggers helped push high into the search engine results.
The problem with John McCain is that he's extremely well-known, in a shallow way, by a lot of voters. The general perception is that he's a maverick clean-ethics Republican, and is therefore more moderate than the rest of his party. There is also a quiet perception that he's very hard to beat, and that "most" voters like him. This meta-opinion about the election is perhaps just as damaging to our activists as the fuzzy notion of McCain as a whole, because it dampens the effect of our enthusiasm gap.
Posted February 23rd, 2008 8:00 PM by Syndicated
Special Announcement: Activist Training Scholarships
Would you like to become a more effective activist? Are you considering running for office? Or helping run a campaign? Or just being a super volunteer?
If you want to know more about how to be a more effective political advocate, Sonoma County DFA wants to help. We are offering scholarships to up to five people who want to attend DFA Training Academy when it comes to the Berkeley Campus on March 1st and 2nd.
A Rare Opportunity
Since its founding in 2004, the DFA Training Academy's mission has been to focus, network, and train grassroots activists in the skills and strategies to take back our country. Democracy for America's unofficial motto has always been "You have the power." The DFA Training Academy empowers ordinary Americans to manage successful campaigns and run for office themselves. Every weekend in cities across America, the DFA Training Academy is building a grassroots infrastructure of skilled progressive activists in all 50 states.
At the DFA Training Academy, top campaign consultants with decades of experience give you the skills to run a winning campaign. Topics include: field planning, voter contact, fundraising, communications, volunteer recruitment and more.
Attendees will also get to hear directly from some of the most exciting 2008 candidates in their area and get a copy of the DFA Training Manual packed with over 180 pages of campaign info.
Refreshments will be provided throughout the day and a social event will be organized Saturday evening so you can mingle and network with other activists in your area.
This is a comprehensive and intensive training, running from 9am to 6pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
The workshops cover:
- Field Plans: Vote Goals, Targeting and Strategy
- Building an Activist Base
- Developing a Message
- Fundraising
- Voter Contact
- Get Out the Vote
- Working the Media
- Networking
- Precinct Organizing
- Mobilizing Young Voters
- Online Fundraising
Tuition to DFA Training Academy is extremely reasonable: $60 to attend both days worth of sessions... but Sonoma County DFA is prepared to cover tuition costs for up to five local volunteers.*
If you're interested in a sponsorship, contact Kathleen Shaffer at: dfasonoma@gmail.com
For more information, check out: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=26527
* Travel expense and lodging not included
Posted February 22nd, 2008 5:50 AM by Miles
