We did this in 2008:
- Tackled an issue that was getting tiny MSM and not significant progressive coverage (right?) and dramatically amplified awareness of the issue.
- Sourced our members directly from Obama supporters. “We love you, but.” — this provocative identity was an attention-grabber.
- Had at least one very specific goal: pressure Obama to vote a certain way on a certain issue (corporate immunity for domestic spying lawsuits).
- Tackled a wonky issue.
- Used online/social media for organizing in a way that was novel at the time.
(What am I missing?)
Now i’ll address each of those as they apply today.
1: The issue is getting a ton of press. The progressive press is doing a pretty good job and even the MSM coverage isn’t horrendous. So i don’t think we have anything special to add here.
2: Is there anything we can do that’s analogous today? “We are ______ supporters, but.” There’s nothing I can think of, but maybe others have more ideas.
3: We have no specific goal to strive toward.
4: Here’s somewhere we can maybe add something. We are pretty wonky, and if we make it a goal then our wonkiness can expand.
5: Hopefully we can do a competent job with organizing via social media again. But… maybe there is something more we can add? Some other new media/method we can foray into?
In summary: if we are just wonky, I don’t know how much we can get done. If we can think of a provocative identity, this would significantly help focus us and get attention. If we can think of a way to be innovative with spreading information and organizing then that will help us further and will be fun. And maybe if we stick around for a while, we’ll figure out a specific goal to strive for.
What do you think? Who should we be, and what should we do? Discuss in the comments below!
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Great post, I really like the way you broke things down. I agree that #5, our social media presence, is a huge strength a place we can add a lot of value. The distinction between competence and adding something new is a good one; a few meetings ago we talked about video hangouts and google+ as a potential new area. A few additional thoughts:
– on #2, what about “We are *former* supporters”? i still think it’s worth thinking about another open letter. after all, he asked us to hold him accountable.
– for #3, there are three specific goals called out in the open letter to Congress (and they’re also on StopWatching.us): reforming FAA, section 215, etc.; a special commission to investigate; and accountability.
– for #4, a few ideas. first of all it seems to me that there’s a lot of good description out there already, but not a good collection of the best links … so I guess I’m thinking of a curating role. also, nobody’s yet talking about the most difficult issue of all: what does it mean to get fisa right? we had a couple of posts on this a few years ago, perhaps we should venture in again?
jon
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