As I fall into the routine of a family with an infant, things start to progress with the campaign.
In the last few days, my prodding has paid off. I have come into contact with an impressive grassroots organization supporting Obama in Evansville. They have a core organizing group of 5 close friends and regularly pull in over 100 people for their events. They are pleased to have support in Chicago, as they have been frustrated by the lack of support from the campaign. I find it easy to empathise.
However, on the campaign's side, things are coming together, as well. I have established some sort of heirarchy within the campaign. Furthermore, we now have communication with the appropriate person within the campaign.
And things are progressing quickly. The emailbox (is that a word?!) is filling quickly. Issues are being addressed, but, more importantly, a dialogue is commencing.
Amidst all of this, support is coming through from within. At each step, I communicate back to Cali to find Kelli (musicbox) right there with me. We're quickly establishing a rhythm for the tag team we'll need come crunch time. With this support, I have the assurance that the Galveston peeps are in the wings, too.
So thanks everyone, if you read this!
Showing posts with label campaign trail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaign trail. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Chess
First day in the Chicago office.
By now, I'm pretty used to showing up to an office only to be relegated to a phone bank in the corner of the room. Without a contact, I might as well support Hillary. Luckily I have a strategy.
This strategy has three fronts.
First, I build on the coalition formed in Galveston. This group of people is probably the greatest godsend that I could have hoped for. We have a new operation forming in Indiana, and my first priority is to see this form into action. My first rush of adrenaline in this new phase came today when I received an email from Kelli, ending in all caps: "OWN IT, NICK!"
Second, I plan a trip to Philly. This comes down to one word... experience. In Galveston, there was one guy who kept quiet, but was always there when something important happened. If there's one person I want to show me the ropes, it's him, and he's going to be in Philly for the PA primary.
Third, I search for the holy grail... that strategy team that is hidden behind the smoke and mirrors of "grassroots organization." My quest has had some clear leads. I have identified an external consultancy that models the importance of precincts based on demographics. After some careful research, I now have a treasure map. All that's left is getting past the ogre of secrecy and closedmindedness that guards the gates.
With these three fronts, I will have a network, experience, and expertise, to make up for a lack of money, wit, and boyish charm. And who needs any of those when I have Obama on my side?
By now, I'm pretty used to showing up to an office only to be relegated to a phone bank in the corner of the room. Without a contact, I might as well support Hillary. Luckily I have a strategy.
This strategy has three fronts.
First, I build on the coalition formed in Galveston. This group of people is probably the greatest godsend that I could have hoped for. We have a new operation forming in Indiana, and my first priority is to see this form into action. My first rush of adrenaline in this new phase came today when I received an email from Kelli, ending in all caps: "OWN IT, NICK!"
Second, I plan a trip to Philly. This comes down to one word... experience. In Galveston, there was one guy who kept quiet, but was always there when something important happened. If there's one person I want to show me the ropes, it's him, and he's going to be in Philly for the PA primary.
Third, I search for the holy grail... that strategy team that is hidden behind the smoke and mirrors of "grassroots organization." My quest has had some clear leads. I have identified an external consultancy that models the importance of precincts based on demographics. After some careful research, I now have a treasure map. All that's left is getting past the ogre of secrecy and closedmindedness that guards the gates.
With these three fronts, I will have a network, experience, and expertise, to make up for a lack of money, wit, and boyish charm. And who needs any of those when I have Obama on my side?
Monday, 10 March 2008
Houston (Part II)
Recovery.
Somehow, I have the feeling that the campaign trail will consist of a cyclical stress/recovery tradeoff. I just have to be careful not to get too relaxed during low tide.
Fortunately enough, Sandra keeps me on my toes. One of the great joys about the campaign is the excuse to engage the country, and the life I left behind for two years. I get to see the country that I love, immerse myself in the subjects that inspire me, and re-kindle friendships across the country. I am already used to the process of re-grouping with my LA friends, so the real comeback campaign starts in Houston.
No doubt, inserting myself into the life I left behind will be difficult. I have missed crucial periods in all my friends' lives. It's like I left an agricultural society and returned to an industrial one. Each person will have made the transition from a student to an adult. They will have made strides in answering the nagging question that was plaguing all of us for so long: "what are we going to do with our lives?" Across the country, separate lives will have been forged, with new jobs, friends, and romances. With each city, I will insert myself into a new life, see personalities from memory in complete fruition, and yearn for a life that will include the disparate activities of those I have shaped myself around.
But this is all too sentimental. In reality, I visit NASA, taking pictures posing as a rocket, or getting stuck in a 3 story slide, I learn the two-step while Texas cowboys laugh at my ignorance of country music, I listen to embarrassing 80's music that I missed so much in the UK (they have 80's but it's just not the same).
And all the while, I move forward. While enveloped the Obama campaign, I have my own cause, my own campaign. My friends are my supporters and my advisors, and my cause is my world view. Campaigning for someone else has given me a focus to build my own world.
Friday, 7 March 2008
Recovery
The day after...
I arrive at 9, hours after the office would normally begin bustling with the day's new strategy. Today, however, the doors are still locked. My colleagues are finally receiving the sleep they so often complain about missing.
To me, this is a welcomed obstacle, as I was in the mood for a coffee. At Starbucks, I run into the Hillary supporter that nearly came to blows with one of ours last night. I offer an olive branch, and he takes it:
"So I hear you picked up those two delegates in district 336."
"Yeah, I was sent there to suffer, but at least I redeemed something."
We talk about the different candidates. The natural tendency is to size each other up, but I already know that he's a cut-throat Hillarist and he knows I'm an idealistic Obamamaniac. So we talk about the media and campaign governance. We both concede that the race is divided along social lines, with blacks and intellectuals almost unanimously supporting Obama and latinos and rednecks going for Clinton. We both concede that the campaigns are somewhat lacking in leadership (I secretly take pride in knowing that his campaign is notorious for in-fighting), and we both claim that the media's criticism of our candidate has made issues from nothing. We have a pleasant conversation, but there is always the nagging knowledge that this guy wouldn't hesitate to go for my jugular if the heat turned on again.
Back at HQ, things are starting to bustle again. Bins of paper, both shredded and full sheets, are filling quickly. Putting together packages of extra food for homeless shelters, I am astonished by the amount of junk food lying around the office. Between Obama and Clinton, so far we have raised close to $350 mil, and I'm willing to bet most of it has gone to oil companies, telephone companies, airlines, rainforest destruction, and America's snack food industry.
There is one piece of drama the day after the storm. Kelli, one of the out of state volunteers, was supposed to drive back to California with another volunteer. However, on the ride from Cali, there had been some tense moments. So Kelli woke up the morning after the election with a missing travel companion. Her belongings that had been in the car were piled neatly next to her bed without a note. The problem was solved when one of the local volunteers gave up a free travel voucher for Kelli to get home. I can't help but postulate based on this experience that when people come together the ability to hurt each other is greatly outweighed by the inclination to help.
Altogether, the end of a campaign, even an unsuccessful one, is uplifting. We are constantly reminded of the small successes we made along the way. Even the ability to rent and equip an office amazes me. Somehow, we found a donor for the furnature, a Bangladeshi man who runs a second hand furnature store. We managed to equip our office with all the necessaries, including tidbits such as a mop, a refrigerator, and reading lamps. People stop by all day to say goodbye, to thank us for our involvement, and to offer help down the road.
I am reminded why I got into this--because there was something big going on. America's strengths are being renewed, as we remind ourselves who we want to be as a society and as a country seen from afar. This election, and this campaign in particular, is bringing politics back to the community, engaging demographics that haven't been politically active for decades, and forming coalitions based on positive ideals, so that we can trust those around us to participate with us. These ideals are what make me feel safe as I walk from door to door in a neighborhood where I stand out like a sore thumb.
I arrive at 9, hours after the office would normally begin bustling with the day's new strategy. Today, however, the doors are still locked. My colleagues are finally receiving the sleep they so often complain about missing.
To me, this is a welcomed obstacle, as I was in the mood for a coffee. At Starbucks, I run into the Hillary supporter that nearly came to blows with one of ours last night. I offer an olive branch, and he takes it:
"So I hear you picked up those two delegates in district 336."
"Yeah, I was sent there to suffer, but at least I redeemed something."
We talk about the different candidates. The natural tendency is to size each other up, but I already know that he's a cut-throat Hillarist and he knows I'm an idealistic Obamamaniac. So we talk about the media and campaign governance. We both concede that the race is divided along social lines, with blacks and intellectuals almost unanimously supporting Obama and latinos and rednecks going for Clinton. We both concede that the campaigns are somewhat lacking in leadership (I secretly take pride in knowing that his campaign is notorious for in-fighting), and we both claim that the media's criticism of our candidate has made issues from nothing. We have a pleasant conversation, but there is always the nagging knowledge that this guy wouldn't hesitate to go for my jugular if the heat turned on again.
Back at HQ, things are starting to bustle again. Bins of paper, both shredded and full sheets, are filling quickly. Putting together packages of extra food for homeless shelters, I am astonished by the amount of junk food lying around the office. Between Obama and Clinton, so far we have raised close to $350 mil, and I'm willing to bet most of it has gone to oil companies, telephone companies, airlines, rainforest destruction, and America's snack food industry.
There is one piece of drama the day after the storm. Kelli, one of the out of state volunteers, was supposed to drive back to California with another volunteer. However, on the ride from Cali, there had been some tense moments. So Kelli woke up the morning after the election with a missing travel companion. Her belongings that had been in the car were piled neatly next to her bed without a note. The problem was solved when one of the local volunteers gave up a free travel voucher for Kelli to get home. I can't help but postulate based on this experience that when people come together the ability to hurt each other is greatly outweighed by the inclination to help.
Altogether, the end of a campaign, even an unsuccessful one, is uplifting. We are constantly reminded of the small successes we made along the way. Even the ability to rent and equip an office amazes me. Somehow, we found a donor for the furnature, a Bangladeshi man who runs a second hand furnature store. We managed to equip our office with all the necessaries, including tidbits such as a mop, a refrigerator, and reading lamps. People stop by all day to say goodbye, to thank us for our involvement, and to offer help down the road.
I am reminded why I got into this--because there was something big going on. America's strengths are being renewed, as we remind ourselves who we want to be as a society and as a country seen from afar. This election, and this campaign in particular, is bringing politics back to the community, engaging demographics that haven't been politically active for decades, and forming coalitions based on positive ideals, so that we can trust those around us to participate with us. These ideals are what make me feel safe as I walk from door to door in a neighborhood where I stand out like a sore thumb.
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Day one
Today, it all begins.
I've unpacked the British and French cheese from my luggage, contacted the people I need (one of whom commented, "I've missed these offbeat conversations... welcome back"), and unloaded my travel companion, Lester (a stuffed monkey), from my bags.
The last 3 days have proven useful. After reading Madam President: Is America Ready to Send Hillary Clinton to the White House?, I am convinced that the answer is still, simply, "no."
It was interesting contrasting this book with the Audacity of Hope, as the case for Clinton was very strongly a case for feminism. To be fair, Madam President is written by a pundit, whereas Audacity of Hope is in Obama's own words. However, Clinton is portrayed as a lifelong feminist: despite living in her husband's shadow she has created positive, long lasting relationships that helped her establish her own political career. Thus, a vote for her is an endorsement of this progressive practice. Obama, on the other hand, specifically discusses his governing philosophy and the changes he'd like to see in the US. For him, being part of a minority provides a perspective to build a broad reaching coalition rather than providing a special interest for him to challenge. In his words, "I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or victimhood generally," but "I can't help but view the American experience through the lens of a black man of mixed heritage."
Thus, Hillary argues that feminism would make her a great first female president, whereas Obama argues that being black would make him a great president.
The difference is significant considering the current debate over torture. Viewed from the narrow lens of a feminist movement, this torture can be viewed as macho culture, and from a racial perspective, this can be viewed as dominant aggression. However, from a broader scope, the issue lies in the ideals we live by... that we are committed to preserving individual freedoms and to curbing the government's natural disposure to compromise human rights for bureaucratic, political, or short-term national interests. Only from this "lens" can we justify systematic checks on the government's leeway into human rights.
I've unpacked the British and French cheese from my luggage, contacted the people I need (one of whom commented, "I've missed these offbeat conversations... welcome back"), and unloaded my travel companion, Lester (a stuffed monkey), from my bags.
The last 3 days have proven useful. After reading Madam President: Is America Ready to Send Hillary Clinton to the White House?, I am convinced that the answer is still, simply, "no."
It was interesting contrasting this book with the Audacity of Hope, as the case for Clinton was very strongly a case for feminism. To be fair, Madam President is written by a pundit, whereas Audacity of Hope is in Obama's own words. However, Clinton is portrayed as a lifelong feminist: despite living in her husband's shadow she has created positive, long lasting relationships that helped her establish her own political career. Thus, a vote for her is an endorsement of this progressive practice. Obama, on the other hand, specifically discusses his governing philosophy and the changes he'd like to see in the US. For him, being part of a minority provides a perspective to build a broad reaching coalition rather than providing a special interest for him to challenge. In his words, "I reject a politics that is based solely on racial identity, gender identity, sexual orientation, or victimhood generally," but "I can't help but view the American experience through the lens of a black man of mixed heritage."
Thus, Hillary argues that feminism would make her a great first female president, whereas Obama argues that being black would make him a great president.
The difference is significant considering the current debate over torture. Viewed from the narrow lens of a feminist movement, this torture can be viewed as macho culture, and from a racial perspective, this can be viewed as dominant aggression. However, from a broader scope, the issue lies in the ideals we live by... that we are committed to preserving individual freedoms and to curbing the government's natural disposure to compromise human rights for bureaucratic, political, or short-term national interests. Only from this "lens" can we justify systematic checks on the government's leeway into human rights.
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