Two prominent progressive organizers argue that it's time we prioritize relationships and networks over data-driven transactional targeting, while a third asks hard questions about power-building.
Your talk about tight scripting it’s right on the money. When I went in for the first day of volunteering during the first Obama campaign, the guy in charge was on the phone and handed me a script, told me he’d be with me in a minute. The script was excellent, but when he got off the phone, he asked me to explain why I was there volunteering for Obama. I told him I had two young children, and was concerned for their future, as well as a short laundry list of other concerns. He literally took the script out of my hand and said here’s a list, talk to these people and tell them what you just told me. Here is also a list of policy positions, etc., but use your own story, that’s what people will relate to….
As someone who canvassed in Pennsylvania for Kamala Harris several times this fall--one of many committed volunteers to do this--and returned home wondering what, exactly, I'd accomplished, I agree with much in this this piece. In addition to what's advocated , I would add this question: How do we win in the court of public opinion, where we face a far-flung and formidable foe? Our thousands of Pennsylvania canvassers were no match for Fox News, right wing talk radio and social media influencers--plus simmering racism and sexism (which right-wing outlets are masters at exploiting). We need to figure out a way to win the communication and echo-chamber battle, which means clear, entertaining and humorous messaging along with vehicles yet-to-be-created to deliver this messaging on many fronts. Community organizing, building relationships and one-on-one communicating--YES. And YES as well to challenging right-wing dominance in the public square.
Thank you for highlighting Charlotte Swasey's excellent article. I largely agree and offer a few solutions:
1. We must - and we can - rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up, not the top down. That means volunteer-led organizing committees in every town and county in the USA. Many Indivisible groups are already doing this work. Why don't we simply make it a collective goal to organize every town and county?
2. As other commenters have noted, COLD (stranger) texting is counterproductive. The alternative is RELATIONAL texting - activists texting their friends. We built a free app for that called SwipeBlue - give it a try!
3. All Democratic campaigning shares one fundamental flaw: we mostly talk AT voters. So what's the alternative? I call it #AskDontTell. As any good canvasser knows, the best way to persuade a voter is to ASK them what issues they care about most - and then explain how our candidate will address those issues. So why don't we redesign all of our canvassing around this basic concept of #AskDontTell?
If I want to refer a friend to a website that tells me, at about a 3rd grade level (the level Trump is assessed at speaking much of the time), in simple quickly comprehensible language, accompanied by short, compelling videos, (1) how government positively affects us all every minute of the 24 hour day; and (2) why the Democrats are (at least potentially!) infinitely better motivated and capable of providing those governmental services; (3) why a party providing good government is NOT a "nanny state" supporter or anti business; and (4) SPECIFIC easy to relate to and understand ways that the Republicans in general and Trump's Project 2025/Tech Bro/white christian nationalist regime is lying and tearing apart this government which is absolutely essential:
There is not a single place on the web to send them.
Heather Cox Richardson, in her substack and weekly chats, does much of this, but she talks and writes at a level that I would say a minority of college graduates can understand, much less put to practical use.
Where else can you go? If you read a half dozen of the highest quality online substacks and media publications, watch similarly a half dozen or so of the best quality online videos presenting this information, you can find it. But who is going to do that?
I'm not talking about something like Al Gore's Air America, which apart from being dull as dishwater, did not really make the 4 cases I see as essential.
It seems to me just ONE reasonably well funded person, working full time on this, could easily do this on a daily basis, giving a broad outline of this information AND responding daily (both to counter the lies and to continue to show positive effects as new governmental bills or hopefully, programs are having a positive effect.
But rather than one person, have a group, situated in different parts of the country, able to meet people in person in addition to making videos and writing about this, holding town halls, and educating (in a thoroughly enjoyable, celebratory way, not with boring data analysis - don't get me wrong; I love data analysis but it will have next to no effect on most).
And be aware of how successful the vast right wing media disinformation campaign is; recognize their tactics; some (Trump included) have a genius for manipulating people's emotions of fear and rage; no need to copy it but be aware, the last 40-50 years of boring, analytic thinking among the democratic intelligentsia drawn from recondite corners of annoyingly progressive/regressive academia - if it continues, will kill the Democratic party.
Starting Monday you can send those folks to our brand new Democrats.com.
It's the first progressive video hub designed to battle the daily onslaught of rightwing propaganda and lies with the truth. Our community finds, upvotes, and shares the best videos from a new generation of passionate creators.
We will change the narrative every day by crowdsourcing and amplifying persuasive videos across all platforms - BlueSky, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
Very interesting and thought provoking. Two things: 1. Have you read the paper by Josh Kalla, David Broockman and others that was getting a lot of play yesterday? Curious about your thoughts. https://x.com/j_kalla/status/1927375331347910986 2. You mentioned craftivism. Markers For Democracy recently started a montly Handcrafters Zoom where we meet online and talk about our knitting, crocheting and other projects. Unlike our morning postcarding Zooms, the Handcrafters Zooms are not overtly political but we've had speakers join us whose crafting is political. It's also a way to get people involved and build community. https://www.mobilize.us/markersfordemocracy/event/755481/
Great post. I agree with Charlotte that much of the power building folks long for a time where they can also Maga! That is, make America Great Again by going back to a time that simply doesn't exist and will not exist ever again. Just like Trump wants 60s manufacturing jobs back with Middle class wages, we are not going back to a time of community based organizing for Democrats. At the end of the day? Follow the (consulting) money and where the incentives lie for them. Hmmmmm
Thanks for sharing our piece, Micah, (and thanks for following, Charlotte - will do the same!). What it comes down to for me is whether we see elections as means and not the end goal. More rich info and perhaps debate to come.
It is always such a delight to read your comments about my posts, not least because I am constantly acerbic and full of anxiety and you are calm and hopeful. I'm not sure I agree with you here, but I'll be subscribing to the We Choose Us substack, super interesting.
While we go about “uplifting young leaders" and "building leadership cohorts at scale,” we should stress particularly potential leaders from working class backgrounds. That’s what the playbook needs most. We don’t even know what should be in the playbook until we hear them speak.
I don't see much to indicate that the big D democratic party is interested in "relationships and networks over data-driven transactional targeting." But that doesn't mean that its supporters and voters aren't interested in it (and doing it).
Local news organizations are one place where there's a lot of thinking about user needs and creating physical and virtual spaces for relational network building. Kat Abughazaleh's campaign is creating space and systems for community needs organizing, not just political wins. Room for much more.
Perhaps healthy politics follows thriving communities, not the other way around. Funders, nonprofits and parties who make organizing possible could put more into building networks that help people.
Great post! I think the either-or isn't the right approach. And waiting for the centralized Democratic Party is a recipe to wait forever. They will, they just will, put out mass-emails begging for funds. If we are lucky they will use data-driven techniques ... that are driven by short-term data because you can't easily measure longer term results.
What do we do? How do we get ourselves out of the loop of constantly telling the professionals what they should be doing, when quite often their jobs depend on them doing what they are doing now?
A lot of our communties — my community — is adrift on facebook learning how to be powerless. What would it look like to have something a tiny bit like Prager U but infused with deeper progressive values and oriented BOTH towards getting better at talking about issues in ways that pull more people in, and also at getting progressives to organize. Not wait for the DNC to organize. How do you make me (how do we make me) into an organizer, prepared when someone doom-posts to be one of half a dozen of their 500 friends who interrupts the doom loop with calls for local action?
very interesting article. What is your take on the viewpoint in the following link? (basically, that the Democrats have to get their values right first before looking at messaging):
This is a very important conversation! Yes to everything observed and no to the conclusion that reliance on data is a problem. Orange County Ca flipped to blue, slipped back to red, and is building blue again. This was accomplished through grassroots organizing with the Dem Clubs and increasing numbers of unaffiliated orgs. The answer, as usual, isn't either/or. It is both and timing. But less reliance on top down decision making is a universal truth. I need to say more, but it will have to come later.
Your talk about tight scripting it’s right on the money. When I went in for the first day of volunteering during the first Obama campaign, the guy in charge was on the phone and handed me a script, told me he’d be with me in a minute. The script was excellent, but when he got off the phone, he asked me to explain why I was there volunteering for Obama. I told him I had two young children, and was concerned for their future, as well as a short laundry list of other concerns. He literally took the script out of my hand and said here’s a list, talk to these people and tell them what you just told me. Here is also a list of policy positions, etc., but use your own story, that’s what people will relate to….
As someone who canvassed in Pennsylvania for Kamala Harris several times this fall--one of many committed volunteers to do this--and returned home wondering what, exactly, I'd accomplished, I agree with much in this this piece. In addition to what's advocated , I would add this question: How do we win in the court of public opinion, where we face a far-flung and formidable foe? Our thousands of Pennsylvania canvassers were no match for Fox News, right wing talk radio and social media influencers--plus simmering racism and sexism (which right-wing outlets are masters at exploiting). We need to figure out a way to win the communication and echo-chamber battle, which means clear, entertaining and humorous messaging along with vehicles yet-to-be-created to deliver this messaging on many fronts. Community organizing, building relationships and one-on-one communicating--YES. And YES as well to challenging right-wing dominance in the public square.
Thank you for highlighting Charlotte Swasey's excellent article. I largely agree and offer a few solutions:
1. We must - and we can - rebuild the Democratic Party from the bottom up, not the top down. That means volunteer-led organizing committees in every town and county in the USA. Many Indivisible groups are already doing this work. Why don't we simply make it a collective goal to organize every town and county?
2. As other commenters have noted, COLD (stranger) texting is counterproductive. The alternative is RELATIONAL texting - activists texting their friends. We built a free app for that called SwipeBlue - give it a try!
3. All Democratic campaigning shares one fundamental flaw: we mostly talk AT voters. So what's the alternative? I call it #AskDontTell. As any good canvasser knows, the best way to persuade a voter is to ASK them what issues they care about most - and then explain how our candidate will address those issues. So why don't we redesign all of our canvassing around this basic concept of #AskDontTell?
Something perhaps to ponder:
If I want to refer a friend to a website that tells me, at about a 3rd grade level (the level Trump is assessed at speaking much of the time), in simple quickly comprehensible language, accompanied by short, compelling videos, (1) how government positively affects us all every minute of the 24 hour day; and (2) why the Democrats are (at least potentially!) infinitely better motivated and capable of providing those governmental services; (3) why a party providing good government is NOT a "nanny state" supporter or anti business; and (4) SPECIFIC easy to relate to and understand ways that the Republicans in general and Trump's Project 2025/Tech Bro/white christian nationalist regime is lying and tearing apart this government which is absolutely essential:
There is not a single place on the web to send them.
Heather Cox Richardson, in her substack and weekly chats, does much of this, but she talks and writes at a level that I would say a minority of college graduates can understand, much less put to practical use.
Where else can you go? If you read a half dozen of the highest quality online substacks and media publications, watch similarly a half dozen or so of the best quality online videos presenting this information, you can find it. But who is going to do that?
I'm not talking about something like Al Gore's Air America, which apart from being dull as dishwater, did not really make the 4 cases I see as essential.
It seems to me just ONE reasonably well funded person, working full time on this, could easily do this on a daily basis, giving a broad outline of this information AND responding daily (both to counter the lies and to continue to show positive effects as new governmental bills or hopefully, programs are having a positive effect.
But rather than one person, have a group, situated in different parts of the country, able to meet people in person in addition to making videos and writing about this, holding town halls, and educating (in a thoroughly enjoyable, celebratory way, not with boring data analysis - don't get me wrong; I love data analysis but it will have next to no effect on most).
And be aware of how successful the vast right wing media disinformation campaign is; recognize their tactics; some (Trump included) have a genius for manipulating people's emotions of fear and rage; no need to copy it but be aware, the last 40-50 years of boring, analytic thinking among the democratic intelligentsia drawn from recondite corners of annoyingly progressive/regressive academia - if it continues, will kill the Democratic party.
Starting Monday you can send those folks to our brand new Democrats.com.
It's the first progressive video hub designed to battle the daily onslaught of rightwing propaganda and lies with the truth. Our community finds, upvotes, and shares the best videos from a new generation of passionate creators.
We will change the narrative every day by crowdsourcing and amplifying persuasive videos across all platforms - BlueSky, Youtube, Instagram, TikTok, and X.
Very interesting and thought provoking. Two things: 1. Have you read the paper by Josh Kalla, David Broockman and others that was getting a lot of play yesterday? Curious about your thoughts. https://x.com/j_kalla/status/1927375331347910986 2. You mentioned craftivism. Markers For Democracy recently started a montly Handcrafters Zoom where we meet online and talk about our knitting, crocheting and other projects. Unlike our morning postcarding Zooms, the Handcrafters Zooms are not overtly political but we've had speakers join us whose crafting is political. It's also a way to get people involved and build community. https://www.mobilize.us/markersfordemocracy/event/755481/
Great post. I agree with Charlotte that much of the power building folks long for a time where they can also Maga! That is, make America Great Again by going back to a time that simply doesn't exist and will not exist ever again. Just like Trump wants 60s manufacturing jobs back with Middle class wages, we are not going back to a time of community based organizing for Democrats. At the end of the day? Follow the (consulting) money and where the incentives lie for them. Hmmmmm
Thanks for sharing our piece, Micah, (and thanks for following, Charlotte - will do the same!). What it comes down to for me is whether we see elections as means and not the end goal. More rich info and perhaps debate to come.
Excellent read, Micah.
It is always such a delight to read your comments about my posts, not least because I am constantly acerbic and full of anxiety and you are calm and hopeful. I'm not sure I agree with you here, but I'll be subscribing to the We Choose Us substack, super interesting.
While we go about “uplifting young leaders" and "building leadership cohorts at scale,” we should stress particularly potential leaders from working class backgrounds. That’s what the playbook needs most. We don’t even know what should be in the playbook until we hear them speak.
I don't see much to indicate that the big D democratic party is interested in "relationships and networks over data-driven transactional targeting." But that doesn't mean that its supporters and voters aren't interested in it (and doing it).
Local news organizations are one place where there's a lot of thinking about user needs and creating physical and virtual spaces for relational network building. Kat Abughazaleh's campaign is creating space and systems for community needs organizing, not just political wins. Room for much more.
Perhaps healthy politics follows thriving communities, not the other way around. Funders, nonprofits and parties who make organizing possible could put more into building networks that help people.
I like the work that Liza Minella is doing around this. She has a podcast called Demfluenced.
Great post! I think the either-or isn't the right approach. And waiting for the centralized Democratic Party is a recipe to wait forever. They will, they just will, put out mass-emails begging for funds. If we are lucky they will use data-driven techniques ... that are driven by short-term data because you can't easily measure longer term results.
What do we do? How do we get ourselves out of the loop of constantly telling the professionals what they should be doing, when quite often their jobs depend on them doing what they are doing now?
A lot of our communties — my community — is adrift on facebook learning how to be powerless. What would it look like to have something a tiny bit like Prager U but infused with deeper progressive values and oriented BOTH towards getting better at talking about issues in ways that pull more people in, and also at getting progressives to organize. Not wait for the DNC to organize. How do you make me (how do we make me) into an organizer, prepared when someone doom-posts to be one of half a dozen of their 500 friends who interrupts the doom loop with calls for local action?
I have many thoughts on this; you've contributed to some of them and I cite them here. https://amypritchard.substack.com/p/hemorrhaging-the-people-who-power
very interesting article. What is your take on the viewpoint in the following link? (basically, that the Democrats have to get their values right first before looking at messaging):
https://jaredyatessexton.substack.com/p/the-whole-dumb-joe-rogan-thing
and also the ideas expressed at: https://www.carlbeijer.com/p/how-democrats-should-take-power
This is a very important conversation! Yes to everything observed and no to the conclusion that reliance on data is a problem. Orange County Ca flipped to blue, slipped back to red, and is building blue again. This was accomplished through grassroots organizing with the Dem Clubs and increasing numbers of unaffiliated orgs. The answer, as usual, isn't either/or. It is both and timing. But less reliance on top down decision making is a universal truth. I need to say more, but it will have to come later.