I'm starting to get really worried

[TrogL]

I know it's not the first time I've posted this but election time is getting closer.

I'm quite frankly concerned that you do NOT have your shit together in terms of getting your candidate elected. And if you don't start really, really soon, it's gonna be too late.

I've worked on election campaigns and for Elections Canada and I know what it takes to get a candidate elected - and very little of it has to do with the candidate.

Granted, Obama is a great candidate but that's useless unless you can actually get him elected. That means getting ballots into ballot boxes (or the mechanical or electronic equivalent) and having them counted and having the results matter.

The one big thing a great candidate will get you is great and committed volunteers. You're going to be needing them. Lots of them. You're going to be needing them for long haul so treat them nice. Get them top of the line tools to use; good computers, and phones. If you are volunteering, we need to hear from you loud and clear that it's a positive experience so others will want to join in.

You're going to need paid staff as well such as professional fundraisers, lawyers and campaign managers. Up here an election can be called almost literally at the drop of a hat. A friend of mine is a professional campaign manager. As soon as the writ is announced, his phone starts ringing off the hook 'cause everybody knows he's the best.

You need to know who your voters are. That's a long and arduous process. You've got to track them down wherever they are following changes in phone numbers and addresses. Ideally, you should be starting nearly a year in advance unless you've got one hell of a lot of volunteers. Once you've got this list, everything else follows. Guard it with your life.

You need to know that your voters can actually vote. You need voter registration drives. You need to tell us about your successfully voter registration drives and encourage others to do the same. As we found out in the last election, there is a concerted effort going on to disenfranchise voters. You need to find out if your people have been disenfranchised. If they have been, you need to get them un-disenfranchised (is that even a word?). This can be a long and arduous process so you need to start NOW! Get out your phone list and get on the phone. Tell us how it's going.

You need to make sure that your votes are actually counted. If you've got Diebold machines - scream bloody murder. Tell us so we can scream bloody murder. If you've got some other wierdass system (eg. connect the arrows), do the same. If the person in charge of elections is in bed (perhaps even literally) with the Republican candidate - tell the world.

You need to line up your people for election day. Make sure they get to vote (perhaps by absentee if it can be trusted). Keep harassing everybody on your voter list to actually get out and vote and don't leave them alone until they do. Send a driver for them. Hell, send a taxi for them. Fuck it - go for the limousine if that's what it's gonna take (assuming that's legal).

On election day, nothing is more important than the scrutineers. I've been one and seen the damndest things, including my opposite number going behind the curtain (figuratively) to see how people were voting. He would say anything, even completely fantasy, delusion or barefaced lies to get a vote counted his way. You need to line up your scrutineers and get them trained. You need to tell us how it's going.

What's really concerning is not what I'm hearing, that Obama is great, but what I'm NOT hearing - the "chatter" associated with a great campaign getting off the ground.

Get to it. For everybody's sake.

[snowbear]

1. You just need a hug...

.....

Now come on.

No more worrying Trog.

[Labors of Hercules]

25. He just needs to come down here and work with us his damn self...

You don't have to be a citizen. We're working our little hineys off down here in NC, but if you're willing to put your Adidas where your mouth is, We're doing constant PR and registering new voters every night, and we'll be glad to show you how it's done!

:toast:

[Egnever]

2. Interesting post

I think I get your point.

[billyoc]

3. Are you sure this isn't the first time you've posted this?

I don't remember telling you to shut the fuck up.

[TrogL]

4. Here's the previous incarnation

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/TrogL/18

Welcome to ignore.

[lojasmo]

9. I agree with BillyOC

What's this "your candidate" shit. Who's your candidate? Why the fuck aren't YOU out there?

[Marrah_G]

11. If you bothered to read the post you would realize he is in CANADA

You would also realize his is dead on in encouraging us all to do more work at the grassroots level.

[lojasmo]

27. Being Canadian only precludes one from DONATING.

If S/He is so concerned, S/He might want to try working for Obama.

[Phillycat]

24. You might want to learn to read for comprehension.

[lojasmo]

28. Thanks for the gratutious ad hom.

Piss up a rope.

[POAS]

5. I hope you'll consider this good news

Our local Democratic community has sponsored a local campaign office every 4 years since 1992 mostly on local community effort without any national support and minimal from the county level.

This year we already have a National campaign team on board. The lead person in this effort has already personally registered 1000 new voters in our area and an organizational meeting is taking place August 2nd.

I'm encouraged that the National effort is reaching so far down into the grass roots.

[RBInMaine]

6. You need more facts. Dems are working hard every day at every level.

Here in Maine we have 25 field offices up and running, the most EVER for our small state and more coming. We are more organized than I can remember in Maine Dem politics. The Obama campaign is out in force, trying to put into effect a truly national campaign and is going strong in at least 35 states as of now. Hopefully they'll be able to play hard in all 50 states, but certainly it's a much larger effort than in '04 and '00. So hold onto your hat because we've only just started.

[Marrah_G]

12. More encouragement to everyone to get involved never hurts

We can't get over confident.

[AtomicKitten]

7. Obama has run a spectacular campaign.

His organization and ground game are second to none. He's lawyered up and knows the stats down to excruciating detail in each and every state.

Have some faith in the guy. I think he's earned a teensy bit more confidence in his abilities.

[WinkyDink]

8. If you think the organization is somehow missing or unready, you are whacked.

I don't think a Canadian would have his finger on the pulse here, do you?

[Zynx]

10. Were you familiar with Obama's primary political machine?

I saw it first hand here in Madison, WI and it was just about the most impressive thing I've ever seen. I'm not worried. It took care of every issue except for the voting machine one because we have optical scan here.

[JTFrog]

13. Is that how you got Harper elected?

:puke:

By the way, just how do you think Obama beat the Mega Clinton Machine? Do you have any clues just how many people are involved in the grassroots movement? Any idea how many new voters have been registered? Any idea how many individual donors have given to his campaign? Do you have any idea how many miles have been walked or phone numbers have been dialed?

The reason you aren't hearing the "chatter" associated with a great campaign getting off the ground now is because you are several months late.

[TrogL]

15. Actually, I was working on the Martin campaign

[TexasObserver]

14. Well ... all you suggest has been in progress the entire year.

Your suggestions are accurate, but your implication that no one is doing them is wrong. We just went through the most comprehensive primary season for Democrats in decades, and during it, the Obama campaign organized better than any Democrat has in several decades.

I think your criticism is therefore invalid. Your suggestions are things we have done for decades to prepare for elections. The problem in the past has been the lack of a good candidate to run. Gore and Kerry were good guys, but had their weaknesses. Bill was ok, but Dukakis and Mondale were weak candidates.

In summary, your negative tone is unwarranted.

[TrogL]

16. I wasn't trying for a negative tone

I'm just baffled that there's been nothing on the Spokane or Detroit news (yes, I get both) and what little has been on here mentions a lack of resources eg. phones.

[TexasObserver]

17. Cool

I have an instant resistance to any thread where the OP feels like a sermon, exhorting sinners to stop sinning.

[CreekDog]

18. Amen.

It's getting old isn't it? :eyes:

[CreekDog]

19. Obama's campaign is doing everything you are exhorting him to do

How valuable is your opinion when your post suggests that none of this is being done?

My goodness but your ignorance is astounding. I think your entire premise is that Obama needs to plan for turnout and execute a get out the vote strategy.

Obama's been doing this for months!

Remember, Bill Clinton was in 3rd place before the Democratic Convention, and he was running a terrific campaign.

How ridiculous. :rant:

[Alcibiades]

20. I've been involved in politics my entire adult life

I have a PhD in political science and have been active as an activist for the last decade or so.

I have never, ever, ever seen anything like this. Sometimes you get the grassroots fired up, as we saw with Dean; sometimes you get a candidate who can get the big bucks, like Clinton; sometimes you get a campaign that's really well run, like... well, at the presidential level, pretty much only the Republicans. This time, we have all three. This is unprecedented in my lifetime, though I suppose you could say RFK had this kind of potential, but I was just a zygote at that time.

We had ten times the number of people volunteer for the primary for Obama than we had volunteer for the general election for Kerry, and that's a lowball guess. I imagine that this has been mirrored across the nation. We have thousands of folks who will volunteer, have volunteered, and will volunteer in my town of 250k alone, and the interest is still building (lots of folks have summer plans that et in the way of electioneering, so I expect it to increase in September from its already high base). The 50-state strategy is working. Much of the credit for the success of this campaign must go to the campaign's national leadership. Usually, you can count of Democrats to find a way to lose, but in this case they're very competent. Paid staff? We have them in record numbers, in a state not normally contested seriously by Democrats. (An article in the News and Observer yesterday on that very subject.) We're even working to inform ex-felons about their voting rights, because in NC, they can vote, so long as they are not on probation or parole. I've registered some ex-cons myself.

I have the good fortune to live somewhere with a good BoE that works hard to enfranchise people, not to steal their right to vote. (We have verifiable optical scan devices.) The voter registration efforts in my town have been outstanding--you can check the Durham County BoE stats if you want to. The same people who worked so hard to win NC in a landslide for Obama are working our tails off to win it for him in the GE, and McCain's not going to win the GE if he doesn't have NC. GOTV? I'll be involved in that quite a bit myself, and will have more help than ever. (BTW, harassing is the wrong verb. We are persistently, strongly encouraging, not harassing.) Lack of transport isn't the biggest problem here, but we have that covered (over-covered, in fact), too. Our poll workers in the primary were trained by folks (well, a lawyer) who taught them to be alert for shenanigans, and we'll be doing this again, but moreso.

My feet are going to be sore, and, on election day, I'm probably going to give myself brain cancer, I'll be on the phone coordinating so many teams of volunteers for GOTV. There are reasons to be afraid, but this isn't it. If we lose this time around, it will be because the election was stolen, not because of any lack of interest on the part of donors, the grassroots activists, or incompetence on the part of the staff.

[Alter Ego]

21. Your concern is duly noted.

No, really, it is. If you weren't from Canada I'd dismiss you as a concern troll.

As for organization, maybe you should take a closer look. Obama's shattered fundraising records, opened huge numbers of state offices--in places where Democrats have no business competing, normally--and he's attracting a massive spectrum of voters.

The GOP is scared to death of him--don't let them fool you. As much as I hate to admit it, Obama is our Reagan--except he's not trying to convince people to vote AGAINST their economic interests.

[Alcibiades]

22. Voter registration jumps in NC

http://www.newsobserver.com/100/story/1149050.html

snip

An elections watchdog group warned today that voters could face long lines at the polls in November, judging from increases in voter registration.
“You can look ahead and see this horrible traffic jam," Bob Hall, executive director of Democracy North Carolina, a Durham-based research and advocacy center, said in a news release.

Hall urged election officials to add more staff and one-stop voting venues before Election Day.

Statewide voter registration reached nearly 5.9 million as of last week, an increase of nearly 5 percent since Jan. 5. In April alone, 100,000 voters were added just before the May primary, according to Democracy North Carolina.

In the Triangle, voters have registered by the thousands since January. Wake County registration is up 6 percent to 551,209; Durham County is up 7 percent to 174,522; Orange County is up 6 percent to 96,549; Johnston county is up 5 percent to 95,621; and Chatham County is up 5 percent to 39,961, according to Hall's analysis.

Statewide, Democrats have added eight times as many new voters as Republicans since the beginning of the year, Hall said. He noted that there are fewer registered Republicans today in 15 counties than in January, including Durham and Orange, the release said.

According to Hall's analysis, one-third of the new voters are black; two out of five live in the state’s six largest counties; and 10,000 identify themselves as Hispanic -- a 25 percent increase in this new category.

[Alcibiades]

23. Obama brings the fight to McCain in N.C.

http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1150873.html

snip

Contest revs up early in state that usually votes Republican


North Carolina is amid an unusually intense and early presidential campaign -- with television commercials, the opening of campaign headquarters and the hiring of field staff taking place weeks before the national conventions.
Driving the activity has been Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, who has launched a major effort here.

"North Carolina has not traditionally been a battleground state," said Marc Farinella, a veteran consultant who recently arrived in Raleigh to take charge of the Obama effort in the state. "But this cycle, it is. We are going to work hard to win it. It's going to be a very, very strong and intensive campaign here.''

There was evidence of that effort Tuesday night as about 200 people crowded into the local Obama headquarters in downtown Raleigh, where supporters were urged to take part in an effort to register new voters.

"We have been registering thousands in this office and tens of thousands across the state," said Zack Koutsky, the regional Obama field director. "That is how we will flip this state."

[Alcibiades]

26. national media not reporting on our organizational strength

Which is, in part, a good thing. I'd prefer the Republicans not to fully realize the extent to which we have our shit together. They would have to leave their offices in Washington and New York and the other big media centers and do some reporting. They're too lazy to do that, but, if they did, they would be shocked. Whatever "love affair" they supposedly have with Obama, it does not extend to covering the fact that he has created not just a campaign, but a political movement. We are going to serve McCain a heaping helping of his own ass. Much of the credit should (but won't) go to grassroots activists, many of whom are here on DU.

Some of the credit should also go to the national campaign for not getting in the way. A bad campaign moves in paid staff and tells local people they have everything covered. The Obama campaign has come in and asked not only what we can do to help them, but what they can do to help us help them.

The election won't be stolen in my town. What I worry about is shenanigans elsewhere, as we saw in Florida and Ohio. We need to have, and I hope the national campaign is developing, a strategy to respond to attempted election theft. Such a strategy should involve not only lawyers, which I know they have covered, but a national protest, a real version of the fake Brooks Brothers riot. We need to be ready to drop 10 million people on the doorstep of the White House, the Supreme Court, or wherever else they are needed.

[crankychatter]

29. I was in a rural Missouri town full of closed businesses downtown last week

store fronts are cheap to rent

Democratic Headquarters had a store front with a GIANT BANNER

it said

"FED UP? VOTE DEMOCRAT!!!"

I think that's pretty cool and says something VERY important.

The money is there... the will is there... the conditions are right.

[raebrek]

30. I've tried to write this 3 times now but I'm at work and busy.

Is this what you are saying in short. Start talking about how you can help and what needs to be done instead of just basking in the glow of Mr. Obama's amazing run for president? Fear that some will sit and praise Mr. Obama over and over again but not spread the enthusiasm to others so they will also vote for Mr. Obama.

Raebrek!!!

[blm]

31. It NEEDS a SECURE election process. Dems failed great candidates we had in 2000, 2002 & 2004

by allowing the RNC and GOP officials to gain control of every level of the election process where the votes are allowed, cast and counted. And especially in crucial states like Florida and Ohio.

Then, of course, those who failed to do their job the most blamed the candidates.

[Virginia Dare]

32. What makes you think people aren't working?

I was out in 95 degree heat over the weekend working for Obama.

[JackORoses]

33. Concernadian?

[Bluenorthwest]

34. Thanks for reminding people

That we have to do the work. And also thanks for being upfront about your locale...there are several posters here that pontificate and never speak of their own actual campaign work, and I can tell they live in Canada, but they never say so. They seem ashamed to be in Ontario or whatnot...

[dsomuah]

35. You have obviously never set foot in one of his campaign offices

I encourage you to take a trip.