Barack Obama/Flickr
In the 2008 president election, Barack Obama and his campaign team benefited from an amazing political infrastructure, including legions of volunteers, state and local affiliates, and arguably the most impressive voter-contact list ever assembled. And then after the 2008 election, the president and his team weren't quite sure what to do with it.
As Obama's attention shifted from campaigning to governing, "Obama for America" became "Organizing for America," which in turn was placed within the Democratic National Committee. As an entity unto itself, OFA's impact was largely muted.
In 2012, the president's team put together an even more impressive operation, and this time, they're prepared to do something different with the venture they assembled.
As he launches his second term, President Obama may get help from an ambitious new political organization being built out of his reelection campaign, a group that could reshape how future presidents harness supporters to press their White House agendas.
Run by former Obama campaign officials, the advocacy group will seek to leverage the campaign's sophisticated organizing tools and rich voter database to support the president's policy objectives, including raising the debt ceiling, gun control and immigration reform.
If it is able to sustain the passion that propelled Obama twice into the White House, the pro-Obama group may outstrip the role played by traditional interest groups, from organized labor to the environmental movement, and could form an independent power base outside the White House and the Democratic Party.
This is no small development in Democratic politics. This weekend, an event called the Obama Legacy Conference will feature 4,000 former campaign staff and volunteers, all of whom will kick off a new political group with an imposing database, voter list, donor-outreach program, and volunteer network of well-trained, highly-motivated progressives, led by veteran Obama aides who clearly know how to win.
And if that doesn't give Republicans pause, they're not paying close enough attention.
BuzzFeed added that this new group, which will reportedly be called "Organizing for Action," will be in the same form as Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS the advocacy arm of his super PAC American Crossroads. In this case, however, the president's organization, it was announced this morning, will voluntarily disclose its donors, which Rove's attack group refuses to do.
Politico reported that Jim Messina, the president's 2008 campaign manager, will serve as the national chair of the group, making Messina "the de facto political director for Obama."
Messina, a frequent visitor to the West Wing since the election, was Obama's chief in-house political aide during the legislative battles of 2009 and 2010 and is expected to expand that role on the outside, Democrats close to the situation tell POLITICO. Messina is especially adept at assembling coalitions and keeping them from splintering during tough political fights, a necessity if Obama hopes to marshal public support for his agenda on guns, immigration and the budget.
The Obama campaign finished with an unmatched list of millions of email addresses of supporters and volunteers tagged by geography and degree of devotion that was perhaps Obama's biggest advantage in mobilizing support for his second-term agenda. The campaign developed extensive technology for use in its organizing and finished with $5.3 million still in the campaign coffers.
I also learned this morning that Jon Carson is leaving the White House to run the group's day-to-day operations.
For the record, this new Obama group will not be a super PAC, though Priorities USA Action, also created by former aides to the president, isn't going away.
Leave a Comment:
If they decide to redeploy to battleground districts, I am all in- I have opinions on governance of the organization and direct democracy type methods for sending representatives advisory votes on House floor, committee measures, and trial ballooned policies, but even if I don't get any of those, if they are in the red to blue districts like they were in Ohio, then I am ready to donate big time to them.
No offence Steve Israel, but the old way of doing representative support is a dinosaur. The DCCC can play a role- mostly just staying out of the way and running interference for Messina over the inevitable turf wars about organizing.
What is often not understood, but Obama understands fully, is that, when 80% of the
What is often not understood, but Obama understands fully, is that, when 80% of the media is owned by a few .1%ers, the only way to reach people is through the social media. All of us must support Organizing for Action because through person-to-person contact, people who get only distorted information, e.g. through FoxNews, can be informed and their opinions changed.
One group that should be targeted are those who are pro-life (anti-abortion). If they are pro-life, they can't be for maintaining the availability of assault weapons which have killing as their only use.
Obama's people can work with state Dem organizations for the 2014 elections as well as supporting the president's agenda. Those people can be critical to swing districts and working on other districts where Dems may have a chance of an upset. In addition, there are going to be numerous state elections that can use these volunteers. But Dems will eventually have to create and renew their own state organizations and this could be a springboard.
Mike, I see it as a completely parallel organization with an utterly different methodology than that of the old guard, not a temp agency providing reserves of labor.
It is the data driven operation described in Victory Lab, but applied to conservative centrist battleground districts. So in some cases OFA would be pressuring Blue dog Dems to make the right vote.
No dem local organization is going to cotton well to any independent outfit organizing on their turf. IMHO they can cry a river. When pressing on a progressive agenda item like preventing more Sandy Hooks, where are our priorities- preventing ruffled feathers or more deaths from gun violence?
I was heavily involved in Obama's campaign in Fayetteville, NC, back in 2008, and, I was impressed with the operation as I had been with no other - either in politics, or business.
Applying that logistics and work-ethic to all states and Congressional districts, could be the game-changer we Democrats have needed in a couple of generations.
A couple generations, hell. It could turn things around in a decade, maybe less. The only thing keeping the GOP relevant is the massively gerrymandered districts all over the place, and even that isn't working as well as they probably expected. Look how Boehner has essentially caved on the Hastert rule over the past couple of weeks. Look how the whole party is starting to cave on the debt limit nonsense. And they're still saddled with embarrassingly useless "leaders", as Mr. Benen's earlier article about Sen. Rubio shows.
I was so upset back in 2009, watching this organization that had harnessed people's enthusiasm in a way I hadn't even been close to since watching RFK speak in Union Square in San Francisco in May 1968, that had accomplished what I had personally thought still impossible (but hoped to see) as late as the summer of 2007 (elect a black president), and then they just shut it down. And a month later, what started up? The "Tea Party" astroturf and all the takeovers of town meetings where a real grassroots organization should have been showing up too. Had that not been shut down in 2009, the losses of 2010 wouldn't have happened, and we wouldn't be dealing with ten more years of Confederate political obstruction.
So, "better late than never" as they say. I am really glad to see this happen. OFA definitely has more people to send e-mail to than Wayne LaPierre does, and the OFA folks are at least as motivated to get out and do things as the loons are.
from op
While I am a life long democrat , " I Myself " would not call DC dems and their motives PROGRESSIVE , liberals in Iowa watch these people buckle to wall st over and over , and do nothing to address the hoarding of wealth in america , among many other things like the war on drugs and their gitmo programs , and we are not all that motivated to fall in line quite frankly
Iowa will be replacing our liberal dem senator real soon , and we can rest assured the DC dems will put up a corporate stooge yes manto take his place , and he might have a good chance of getting there , but we will fight for a liberal dem as much as we can here , the obama team and agenda just are not all that PROGRESSIVELY impressive in FLY OVER LAND , it would be nice if this POLITICAL GROUP would be open to actually addressing DC dem failures , and I will participate in that capacity , since I am also on this list
Glad to hear this. After 2008, the Obama folks kept their distance from Democrats, and look how 2010 turned out (which we will be paying for for years to come). Hope they keep it up.
Re: #3
I don't think you can blame it all on the "Obama folks".
Remember back during the Health Care debates, when the Tea Party people were yelling about "Death Panels" and all of that nonsense. Where were the voices yelling back?
Remember back during the Health Care debates, when the Tea Party people were yelling about "Death Panels" and all of that nonsense. Where were the voices yelling back?
They weren't there because OFA had been shut down, which was perhaps the one big event that started getting the new activists who had been energized by the campaign in 2008 "dispirited", with the results we saw in 2010.
Sorry to be disrespectful but that's a bunch of MALARKEY! OFA was active in every state - it wasn't that "they shut it down" it's that "they didn't show up!" - they being the people, not the leader. I was part of OFA during the Health Care debate - the people didn't realize they had a voice against the tea party - now they do.
I don't know what universe you were in to assert that OFA stepped up but the people didn't. Former OFA and Obama administration member Van Jones put it this way- that after the election the DC elites told progressives “…You need to sit down and shut up and we will deal with this. And I think it turned out that that was wrong” (video- skip to 15:50- especially hang around to listen to what Naomi says.)
Obama turned the org over the DNC due to "sage" advice that this is what he had to do, but surprise surprise, DNC party hacks had no interest in OFA- they treated them with the same disdain they have for typical campaign volunteers.
About the only thing they did was a lame attempt at "contact your congressperson" drives during the Health Care debate.
Well, guess what. OFA in 2012 was about much more than just ginning up street heat for Obama. It can be much more than ginning up street heat against particular representatives in Congress. This could be a whole new comprehensive way of linking up the electorate with their representatives- so that if the electorate's interests are defied, those choices will translate into real political consequences in their re-election campaign.
You systematically go to all the informal leaders in the district. You identify all the likely people to support you on an issue, and those that are persuadable. Then there are events- mass write in, poll, town hall, or demonstration. The incumbent is free to ignore petitions from their constituents to take or reverse positions. OFA will remind the constituents how little the incumbent respected their opinions, and there will be hell to pay in 2014.
That's how we take the House in 2014.
If only Messina is thinking along similar lines. If not, I will go to some other PAC who will take that sort of approach.
I am not into nit picking , it is a waste of time , but as usual Mr JohnMesserly is spot on , and I will be brief , I remember me my brother and sister all looking around at each other after the fan fair of obama being elected and asking
" WERE THE HELL DID OBAMA GO" ?
he freaking disappeared , and when he did show back up , he did exactly what JohnMesserly is describing , we were all rather shocked
IMO the DC dem crew and obama felt it was best for him to " not be seen " for some bizarre reason , but it goes hand and hand with his 1st debate performance this last election , everyone needs to get under the podium so we do not frighten wall st and the gop to much ...FLOP
If the DC dems are open to a real progressive agenda , they will do well
John , I am leaving you a message on your NEWSVINE PAGE
In 2008, President Obama was elected and the Democrats in the House and Senate did really well. It was very exciting!
And then a lot of us stopped paying attention (there was that whole implosion of the economy to worry about) and 2010 came around and the Republicans won big at the federal and state level.
We can't let that happen again! If "Organizing for America" can help - then I am in!
You are right. If this group can work the grass roots as well as I think it can, the current CW about 2014 is going to be shaken to its foundations.
Hope your right. It seems our large concern is what the Repubs are doing at the state level, if that can be turned around it will be huge. It is what they are concentrating on & currently have a majority of states , wishing more is done to assure we have many more Dem Govenors. It all begins in the states.
The 2008 OFA post election group was not as largely muted as the press likes to think. Research former Congressman John Tanners statements during the Affordable Care Act debate - do you see anything missing? Yes - you do - there's little to no public statements against it - even though he was a long time moderate blue dog leader in the Democratic party. Why do you think that is? Respect for the president? Hardly - red state OFA'ers who had no chance of seriously winning TN for Obama turned their eye to the ACA and Congress. Tanner voted against - but he was boxed in by tea partiers and OFAers and couldn't lead an internal Democratic opposition. The work that this group took on during the ACA debates has to be viewed at the congressional level - and measured against where they are now. In my district - what was once a struggle (getting volunteers to speak out) is now easier and faster and the number of people willing to step up and take on leadership role has increased exponentially.
Ah, yes, the "slippery slope" arrives!
This is but the first step of Obama declaring himself "President for Life" and activating those FEMA camps!
(Before replying, check the batteries in your SnarkOmeter.)
Oh yes...and Rove is on FOX whining about 'ethics' and using OFA...lord almighty.
But isn't Obama's goal to be king? That's what Faux News Channel was reporting yesterday.
YES. We have been using OFA the last month to organize the National Day of Service. It has been great. We have the database, the enthusiasm and the PEOPLE.
One of the first items on this new group's agenda should be mobilizing for the 2014 elections. If Obama wants to get anything done, taking over the House will make things much easier. The group also has to pay attention to state gubernatorial and legislative elections--unless the Democrats enjoy starting every state and federal race from several lengths behind.
You know if congressional Republicans start worrying about the effectiveness of this group then their concerns about being primaried from the right might not be as powerful.
They need to start with school boards and city councils if they really want to affect things, just as the Religious Right has done. That's where things start and
where leaders emerge. We can't just ignore these things as too petty for our
lofty ambitions. Grass roots begin at the roots; all politics are local.
You don't get it. that's not what this group eve WANTS to do. It's up to the politicians and party leaders to woo these people. We are issues people. convince us that you're sincere about the issues we care about and maybe we'll help your campaign, but we aren't here for any DCCC staffer to decide to use. We need to be convinced - and trust me, it took a while, but we finally do realize exactly how valuable we are.
BINGO!!!!
Am I hearing the clarion call of bugles in the background?