Exley on how to fix the Democratic Party
Zack Exley, ex of MoveOn and ex Internet guy for the ex Kerry campaign, kicks off his new blog with a Rosen-length piece — and it’s just part 1 of 4 — on what the Democratic Party ought to do to get itself back together.
Zack is not as much of a soft-headed, touchy-feely Web guy as I am. And that’s a good thing. We need people like Zack if we’re going to win elections, although, IMO, we have to do the touchy-feely stuff if we’re going to transform democracy. But let’s make damn sure we win some freaking elections already.
Zack’s ten-point proposal for “building a permanent field program with the New Grassroots” suggests a way to quickly build up a field organization that does the hard work of traditional politics. He says it combines the benefits of democracy and hierarchy. Conclusion:
Using the online assets that Democrats built in 2004, we should be able to jump light years ahead of the Republican field organization. If we do, it will not be thanks to Internet Magic, but rather thanks to mixing new online tools and resources with good old-fashioned grassroots organizing, focusing on results.
I don’t know enough about how politics actually works to be able to evaluate his plan, but I have a lot of respect for Zack. And, yes, his proposal is all about reinventing how the Democrats can do the work of traditional politics — building a clean database of vote information, organizing phone banks, raising money, etc. — and not about building communities and enabling lateral conversation. But, this is not an either/or. And if what Zack proposes can help us change our government’s current direction, I’m all in favor of it.
Besides, he has another 3 parts coming.
Categories: Uncategorized dw
David, Thanks for this thoughtful review! And dang it, I totally left out the part about all the grassroots leaders in the organization participating in discussion forums, blogs, etc… I should go add it, or maybe fit it into the next instalment.
My advocacy of structure in Internet campaigns has never ruled out blogs or forums. And a web-enabled grassroots organization with workers in every precinct absolutely needs the lateral communication and sharing that only the web makes possible. (In fact, in 2000, I (almost unwittingly ) sparked a nationwide organizing effort that was based on a network of discussion forums.)
I’m 100% pro-touchy feely. I just want us to, as you say, win elections while touching and feeling.
Zack
The Bill Clinton strategy? ;-)
(Sorry, couldn’t resist)
David (and Zack :), because I can’t comment on your blog),
Hear hear. As I said on PD, people should read Zack’s suggestions.
Also, I think the “its not either/or” is really important.
I love the structure of what Zack is trying to do, and I hope the DNC takes it and does it. I ALSO think we need to revitalize continuous offline communities that are NOT election focused –voluntary associations — and while the DNC can be part of that, its not the only part. If we can keep going on those two tracks, great things can happen — and blogs and forums can be used for both as well.
Z
Based on the cuurent debacle that is bi-partisan politics in America, both parties need to be re-invented/eliminated.
The organizing needs to start now
My favorite quote from Camp Wellstone was Pam Costain’s refrain, “Win or Lose on Nov 2, the organizing needs to start again on November 3.” Zack Exley, former Internet guru on the Kerry campaign, has written what is destined to be an influential blog p…
The organizing needs to start now
My favorite quote from Camp Wellstone was Pam Costain’s refrain, “Win or Lose on Nov 2, the organizing needs to start again on November 3.” Zack Exley, former Internet guru on the Kerry campaign, has written what is destined to be an influential blog p…
But what does the Democratic Party stand for? Merely opposing (a spewing venom at) George Bush at every turn falls way short of a vision for the country’s future. And a socialist economic policy is just a “me too” next to the current crop of Republicans. For those of us who have read Friedman’s “The World is Flat”, the socialism of Kennedy et al represents the wrong direction entirely. It seems to me the grass roots effort needs to be preceded by a reworking/rethinking of the message.
Republicans couldn’t get elected if their opponents weren’t Democrats. Maybe it’s time to take some sensible positions on the real issues facing the nation.