Go get one more person, that's my goal. Just one more.

In 2004, it took me six months to convince one person in NH to vote for John Kerry for President. We started out talking just after the primaries and kept talking, off and on, for six months until I finally got that wavering vote. Six months for one vote, wow! Now that was hard work.

That's what I want to do going forward, I want to go out and get one more vote. That's it, just one more vote. I want to have the resources so that I can answer questions and tell about things that are going on, but those resources are going to be used to go out and get one more vote.

I like being in the grassroots. I like talking to people. I love going to coffees and just trying to get people to see what is going on in this country. I want to have the resources available to me to answer questions and put the truth out there. I want to take some campaigning classes that my local Dem Party is organizing because it might help me get that one vote perhaps faster than I did before. But that's what I want to do, go out and get one more vote. That's my job and that's, bascially, what it's all about.

Just out of curiousity, how many people here had a similar situation? It either took you a long time to convince someone to vote for the Dems in '04 or you were that person who took a while to 'come into the light' and vote Dem. (LOL!) Just curious, that's all.

Speaking of "campaigning classes that my local Dem Party is organizing": I live in a red area of a safely blue state. Last month (the national kickoff parties organized by the DNC), I got together with a few people in my area, equally frustrated with what's going on all around us. The problem the way I see it is that none of us has much experience with this kind of thing (I personally have none), and we are pretty much at a loss as to what to do next. From what I was told, the party structure in the area is pretty much useless, and when the lady that organized the meeting contacted the DNC through the web site (I think) for advice, additional information about the training that was suggested in the initial materials about the kickoff parties, etc., all she got in return was an email about giving money! This is not all that surprising, but rather demoralizing nevertheless. I understand the value of grassroots and all that, but on the other hand, if each small group has to reinvent the wheel on its own, it's highly ineffective and counterproductive. I have a one month Christmas break now, so hopefully I will be able to do some digging of my own on the DNC web site and see if I can find anything useful, but I would also welcome any suggestions/ideas/whatever from people here.

:hi: :silly:

Actually, I'm also part of a group called the Democracy Cell Project and that's an activist site that can really help you. Here's the link: http://www.democracycellproject.net

And that's exactly how and why the DCP got started. Though it's still a new endeaver, we're quickly building mometum towards that very goal.

Please join and post your location in the forum or hop in the irc and ask questions. Especially if you only have a short month, the irc might work best for you for right now. Give me a pm and let me know what time you can chat in the irc and I'll make sure we can help get you rolling.

I know about the democracycellproject site, it is actually the first one I started reading (and posting a few messages, not much, most of you guys seemed like such a tightly knit group, and so much more knowledgeable about these issues than me, and I am stupidly shy at times :blush: ). I like the site, and I still visit quite often, the people there are grown-ups, no matter what the age, while unfortunately DU while an easy read and entertaining at times, is way too often discouragingly silly and superficial. Bashing right & left is an exercise in futility, and it is sad that so many people whose hearts are in the right place do not also make the effort to also use their heads in more productive ways. But I digress... I'll PM you & thanks.

Edited to add: ever noticed how difficult it is to type with a small cat curled in your lap?

Also check out the Wellstone Action site. This was a movement put together to honor the memory of the late Sen. Paul Wellstone from Minnesota. http://www.wellstone.org/

They have an incredible amount of info on 'getting started' and how to be an effective organizer in your community. There is also a book out from these people that has a lot of their ideas in it. It's worth checking out. (Or putting on your Holiday wish list LOL!)

It's like when I joined the kerry forum here, I saw what a tight knit group they were but they were happy to welcome me into their group.

We had several of these last year. IIRC, there was central training and then trainings on down to the local level. I went to so much stuff, I don't remember it all. I may have some packets of info left over around here somewhere. Is this the kind of thing you need? I'll see if I can find some stuff if it is.

http://www.dpo.org/inside/convention/convention.html

... something like that. Also I clicked on the link you provided for Oregon, looks much better than anything I was able to find for IL.

I'll keep plunking around web sites. Here's a few pages that might help you put together a strategy. Our little town broke into working groups around 6 issues. Then we gather info, actions, write letters, etc; and report at the monthly meeting. During elections, we have an additional monthly meeting specifically to organize phone banking, door knocking and GOTV.

http://www.multdems.org/links
http://www.linncodems.org/getinvolved.htm
http://www.polkdems.org/precincts/job.html
http://www.registerfivedemocrats.com/

I saved your message & will spend some time with your links later.

that Kerry was the FIRST lawmaker to investigate and expose the funding of terror.


I also make sure to note that if the rest of DC joined his efforts instead of blocking them from being seen and understood by the American people, a 9-11 would NEVER have happened.

Ok..TayTay, you asked for it! :rofl:

I myself have voted both directions. I proudly felt I was an independent thinker to be able to do that. Though at times my opionions range from the deepest greens to the rather conservative reds. Sure, I probably voted dem more than rethug, and I believe I even wasted a vote on a third party candidate once!

But the rethugs have been taken over by the neoCONS and their brand of conservatism has crossed over the line of morally right or wrong. I fear where this neoCON and O'Lielly people will bring our country! I'm darn frightened about the Christians feeling victimized here and having the media to disperse more hate speech. Scary!

Ok...so now I'm pretty much a dedicated liberal. Liberal and Love it! That's my new motto. Afterall, being liberal and pro-HELPING THE poor (oops, they're pro-poor! they create more every day!), pro-peace, and pro-business, pro-careful budgeting, pro-national security...is not a bad thing. Sadly, more of the older people think of "liberals" as being wild, sex craving, bra burning activists from the sixties. (To all those bra burners in the sixties...Thank you for the freedoms you've made possible for women everywhere--including those women on the conservative side too! They don't seem to realize without YOU, they would not be doing what they love either!)

And so here I am part of the grassroots. I try to sit and watch the grass grow greener. I tried really hard to give people space now that it's not an election year, but alas...I can't just leave it alone.

So let's see if I've managed to spread any green grass anywhere....


Hmmmm...my Republican brother said, "I'd almost be a democrat except for a few things..." And I think I now have him convinced that there is no liberal media. I think I also have him convinced that most of the Republican ideologue now belongs to the democratic party. (It's why the dems are so split! I firmly believe the DLC is the old moderate Republicans.) Of course, he still hates Clinton, and God knows he hates Kerry's liberalism. But he's slowly opening up. I think he did vote for GWB though he threatened to abstain from voting this year because he couldn't vote for "the most liberal...." Would he vote for HC? Heck NO! So I think he's just a dino Repub. who can't give up the old belief system even though Repub just doesn't mean what it use to mean.

My other brother, hmmm...I thought he was more open, but I discovered him telling me Rush talking points. He thinks I am just "one of those liberals who just hate Bush". Yep. I sure do! But I can give 100000000 reasons why. Well, I sent him information on Air America and Ed Schultz and I noticed he added the progressive stations to his preset dials. So at least now he's got Ed and Rush. Please let Ed win out!


I send my fundie inlaws stuff, but usually try to limit it to the MAJOR stuff--like the spy story or the stolen election and repeat that it's not a liberal media if you haven't heard this. Of course I don't expect that to go any where!

A lot of Republicans don't like the direction the country is going in anymore than a lot of liberals do. Some of these people can be persuaded over to 'the light.' One of my brothers is a Navy vet and is a moderate. He voted for Kerry last year because of the military argument. (Bush is ruining the military. Anyone who does care for the American military is scared about the abusive way that Bush and Co are using it and how much it is going to cost ot repair the damage they have done.)

My brother would never call himself a liberal. But he would vote for John Kerry again in NH in a heartbeat. Whew! That was a lot of work and still requires periodic maintenance to make sure he understands that he is a moderate and that you can vote for reasonable people who are to the left or right of you politically as long as you get the sense they can work with others at consensus. This is a big thing that we have lost in the last few years. The current gang is a 'my way or the highway' bunch and never reach out to anyone. My brother knows that Kerry is 'left of center' but he also sees him as a smart and reasonable man who would put the needs of the country before rigid ideology. (I don't see John Kerry as surrounding himself with yes men. That matters a lot. You need people around you who say, 'No you can't do that,' once in a while. It's vital.)

I have a few cousins who have been brain-washed by Faux News. (These folks are so easy to spot. They speak in simplistic soundbites and always seem to deflect any argument against a Bush policy into an argument that, 'The Dems did it first.' I'm working on them. Cuz, I really do want that one more vote.

She lives in NH and decided to vote for the first time in her life - for Bush. It took the combined effort of Tony and me, and almost the entire year of 2004 to persuade her and her husband to give Kerry a look. What finally convinced both of them was the war, and how badly it was already going at the time the election came around. They realized that Kerry would be the man to trust when it came to repairing relationships around the world, and cleaning up Bush's mess.
As an aside, they plan on voting for him again, both in the primaries, and the general, should he decide to run :-)

After hanging out with people for years and becoming really close friends, it’s hard to understand why they would even consider voting for Bush. Then an all-night conversation in summer ’04 brings it all out in the open, but it goes on and on with no end in sight, until we all get tired from the frustration and call it a night. We find a lot of common in the day-to-day aspects of our lives: working, hanging out, etc. The crucial difference is in the conclusions we draw, and often times these never come out in normal conversation.

But that night a number of issues were discussed. These are the ones that stick in my mind:

Patriotism – This is a hard one to tackle. It’s the “for country” aspect of it that confounds the whole argument. A friend who served in the military. No need talking to him about the reasons we shouldn’t be in Iraq. Even as he agrees there was no link to 9/11, he harbors the belief that Saddam was helping terrorists, was a dictator and the world is better off without him (ends justify the means).

Speaking of terrorists (pretty much everyone in the Middle East is lumped into this category): F*** em! (Bush never overtly says this, but a lot of Bush supporters will blurt this out in a heart beat. For them it’s, “my safety first.” The Iraqis don’t matter really (they should be thanking us for bestowing liberty on them and enlightening them to the American way of life). Iraq itself bears no consequence to the future. Higher oil prices? “Just pay!” Limited oil supply? “We’re not going to run out of oil” (it’s almost as though they condone taking the oil as a consolation prize for delivering “freedom”). Global warning? Don’t even go there. No big picture thinking whatsoever.


Personal responsibility – as far as social programs, the government doesn’t owe us a thing, that is, until something happens to them. It would be similar to Trent Lott’s experience with the Katrina Administration. Lott certainly expected FEMA to be there for him.


Bush’s corrupt family and ties to wingnuts? All politics. Don’t dare tell them Bush doesn’t care about the country. If you do, prepare for the “that’s ridiculous” type comments and a hint that they’re ready to end the conversation.


The common thread here is that they see this as just political wrangling, even in the face of evidence. If we can never agree, no problem. No consequence. Want a beer?

And Bush despicably goes about tearing down American institutions and anything else in his path, but they will never connect him to these things.


That’s the kind of person I want to know how to wake up.


I'm rambling, so I hope this makes sense.

It really is. This is the sort of thing that we need to trade info on. What works with these folks? How do you know when you are dealing with 'true believers' and are wasting your time trying to convert those who will never convert?

The group that, election fraud notwithstanding, the Dems lost in the last cycle was single women. (Single urban women, to be exact, if I remember correctly.) They were down in Dem suport by 7%. (That was the ballgame.) What works with that group? (We do need to have grassroots campaigns in all 50 states and in the 'red states.' But is this a long-term investment that won't pay dividends for years and years?)

What was that about? 9/11? Career and money?

With Bush looking more and more foolish, there is a huge opportunity to awaken this group to the reality of how messed up Bush and his policies are.

I mean, the Dem vote count went up by 6 million. (That's not nuthing as we say around here.) So it's actually hard to say what happened. It could be that Bush has a deep and abiding connection with a particular section of the electorate that he just owns for now. (The evengelical base. Hey, the Rethugs did a phenomenal job of blanketing the churches and getting out the vote. It's not treasons to say this, they did a good job. And they increased their share of the Catholic vote, because the Catholic vote is so strange right now.)

I think we can get the 'security Moms' and the 'Security singles' back. (If this is what happened. It's hard to have the two hats on at once. On the one hand, you have to deal with the figures as they are. On the other hand, I suspect election fraud. How much does that skew the numbers. Arrrggghhh. My head is going to explode)