Does your Congressman recognize you and remember your name?

[Radical Activist]

Have you spoken to your member of Congress in person enough times for that?

What about your city council member? State Representative?
Do you know who your Democratic precinct committeeman is?
Are you on friendly terms with the leaders of a local progressive organization like NAACP, Sierra Club, MoveOn, OFA, or your union?

If the answer is yes, then thank you. You're surely making an important impact in your community.

If the answer is no then you're not doing your fucking job. You aren't going to make a difference by bitching about national politics on the internet. Your power to influence decisions is greatest when you get local. If you answered no to all of these questions (and you don't have a disability that keeps you from getting around) then it's time to stop wasting energy on distractions and learn how to be an effective activist that gets something done!

Don't whine. Organize.




That's my friendly suggestion for the day. :toast:

[slackmaster]

1. Yes, and she's not particularly fond of me because I've been vocal about a few disagreements

http://members.cox.net/slack/images/political/Slack+Lori.jpg

My City Council member knows me quite well, because I helped run a campaign against him.

;-)

[Radical Activist]

6. Awesome.

My Congressman isn't my biggest fan either, but he knows my name when people mention it. :)

[FrenchieCat]

2. Thanks!

My congressperson knows my name, and I have spoken to her quite a few times.
She's a treasure!

[EstimatedProphet]

3. It would scare the hell out of me if he did. We've never met.

:)

[Radical Activist]

17. Any special reason why?

You seem like someone who cares about issues happening right now.

[EstimatedProphet]

26. Just moved to the area a few months ago.

[Radical Activist]

28. Oh!

That's a good reason. Hope you enjoy the new place.

[MineralMan]

4. Yes, yes, yes, and I am the DFL precinct chair in my precinct.

Bravo to you for pointing out the need for organization and work. Only through a concerted effort of all of us can we succeed. Complaining does absolutely nothing. Working does. I encourage everyone to get directly involved in Democratic politics. Since few do, a few can make a huge difference.

Here is the URL for my Precinct website and blog: More updates are coming immediately following the primary in August:

http://saintpaulw6p13.blogspot.com/

[Radical Activist]

7. Wow.

Great idea to have a blog for your precinct. I know some ward committeemen in Chicago do that but I haven't seen it anywhere else before. And the wards include multiple precincts.

There are many county party organizations in the hands of conservative Democrats. It would be relatively easy for liberals to take many of them over if they made a coordinated effort. But, it seems like most progressive groups don't bother organizing at the local level.

[MineralMan]

9. I'm working with some other precinct chairs to get blogs for

theirs, too. It took me less than an hour to set up that blog on blogger.com. I get several emails a week from people who visited it, and I've lined up a pretty good precinct-walking campaign through them. More is to come after the primary.

It's all absolutely free. Here in Minnesota we use the caucus system, and very few people show up at the precinct caucus level. Anyone who wants can be a precinct officer and a delegate to the state senate district convention. Getting to the state convention isn't all that much harder. You just have to want it and be able to speak intelligently.

It's harder in non-caucus states, but it would not take many progressives to take over any local organization. You just vote out the old leadership and vote yours in. Democracy is funny that way.

Local organizations are the first step to district and state influence.

Trust me, anyone who runs in my district is on the phone with me on a regular basis.

It's all so simple, yet few people even bother to show up, much less become active. It's depressing as hell.

[Radical Activist]

11. What I've found about being a precinct committeeman/captain

is that you get information, access and invitations from elected Democrats at every level, including US Senator. If you live in Iowa or New Hampshire you'll even get phone calls from Presidential candidates. And you're listened to. Politicians know they need help and there are very few people who actually work a precinct well.

Anyone who can deliver a precinct has power and influence. All it takes is knocking on the doors of your neighbors a few times a year.

[MineralMan]

13. Yup.

The funniest thing of all is that if you Google Saint Paul Precinct with nothing more in the search, my little blogger.com blog pops up as the third hit. That's why people are coming to it. So far, I have the only precinct website in the area. Folks appear to be using it for the handy links to everything DFL in Minnesota.

It's just so damned easy.

Hey! Progressives! Pay Attention!

[Turbineguy]

5. Strangely enough...

the Congressman in the next district does.

[Radical Activist]

19. Now that you mention it.

Three congressmen whose districts are in my area know me fairly well. One of them likes me.

[11 Bravo]

8. My former congressman does, my current one does not. I have been friends with one of my Senators ...

Jim Webb, for over 20 years.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Would never know me to see me, but would know my name.

I am emailing, writing, and calling enough for my name to bring a sigh.

[Radical Activist]

12. Very few of those get passed along from a staffer to the member of Congress.

But you never know.

[MineralMan]

14. The key to getting elected officials to read your mail is to

work on their campaigns and in the party organization. I have zero problem contacting elected officials and getting direct responses from them.

[Curmudgeoness]

22. Agreed. And I get personal responses from many elected officials.

But as far as Congress, that is just too big a group of supporters for her to remember me personally. I have met her, worked for her, but just too many others have too. But then again, there are workers on campaigns who care only about the prestige of being around a candidate, and there are workers who just do the mundane (although most important) work of knocking on doors, etc.

[MineralMan]

15. I see the unreccers are out.

What on earth could anyone find about this OP to unrec? I do not understand.

[Radical Activist]

16. They probably got offended

for being called out on doing nothing but watching Olbermann and commenting on blogs. :shrug:

It's fine to do those things if you enjoy it. I obviously comment on here frequently as a distraction. But it isn't real organizing.

[MineralMan]

18. I write a lot on DU. That does not mean I don't do other things.

I think some folks are just embarrassed at their own non-activism. I also think they should be.

[proud2BlibKansan]

20. Yes

[mdmc]

21. He knows me as "The Dean dude from Newburgh"

In 2003 I suggested that he would support Leiberman because that is what the rest of the NYS Dem establishment was doing. He got pissed off and ended up endorsing Dean.

My Congressman has been to my parent's house for fundraisers, but he does not know my name off the top of his head. His local office manager knows me well enough..

[Radical Activist]

23. lol

funny story.

[RB TexLa]

24. My Democratic US Senator does.

[madamesilverspurs]

25. Staffers, mostly.

I know staffers for both senators and for my congresswoman, knew a couple of them before they got their present jobs. Their 'bosses' recognize my face, I'd be amazed if they remembered my name; but it tickles me to be at a public event and get surprised by a hug from one of them. I've met and spoken with the governor on a couple of occasions, but I doubt that either was memorable for him. My rep in the state legislature knows me, as does my soon-to-be state senator. Two members of the city council are friends. We're working on getting a Democrat on the county commission, and he definitely knows my name since I produced some of his campaign graphics.

I'm not a big campaign donor, I can't walk neighborhoods and knock on doors for candidates. But I'm a whiz at stuffing envelopes and sticking stamps and answering phones. And if there's something going on that I want to know more about or that they need to know more about, I can pop into the local office and have conversation about that. I think that's how it's supposed to work, yes?

Besides, it just tickles my Republican mother no end when I send her a picture of me with a senator, even if he is a Democrat. . .


-

[DFW]

27. In Dallas? You gotta be kidding

My congressman USED to be Martin Frost (who I am friendly with) but ever since DeLay's gerrymandering,
we now have the very reactionary Pete Sessions--no friend of mine or yours.

I am also friendly with a few people I admire like Helen Thomas and Howard Dean, with whom I discuss lots
of things. But I am stationed in Germany, so "local" to me means the Kinderschutzbund, B.U.N.D. and other
local progressive organizations. Besides that I do my "fucking" day job as well. I'm neither whining nor
apologizing.

[lapislzi]

29. Yes to all.

I AM the local precinct committee person.

I adore my congressman, John Hall. His antithesis, the Cancer Known as Greg Ball, not so much (he's my assemblyman...and I have gotten in his fucking smarmy face more times than I can count, including one time when the urge to run him over with my Jeep while he was doing a photo op was so strong I had to wrench the steering wheel).

Yeah, they know me.

One of our town council members, a Palin clone, gets her nails done at the same place I do. In the nail place, there's nowhere to hide. }(

[Radical Activist]

30. hah

nice!

[tabbycat31]

31. I think he recognizes me

most recently I marched in a 4th of July parade with him and handed people flags and lapel stickers. I've been to his office several times and have been to several of his events.

My assembly members and governor are useless pieces of shit though.