Pushing Back, Moving Forward.
February 10, 2010
By Peter Hardie, Pushback Network
The Democratic Party is facing a dilemma, one whose definition seems to elude them. On the heels of their recent losses in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia, I am increasingly dismayed by the space that was created for such monumental defeats and demoralization. Unless the Democrats turn to the base that elected this President and remarkable majorities in the House and Senate, progressive activists in and outside the party cannot rely on the Democrats to move genuine change in this country.
The losses in Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia were not solely a reflection of a reconsolidation of the Right. There is a science to voter engagement and voter turnout. Increasing civic participation is not based on guesswork. To get people to the polls, you must engage with citizens, earn buy-in, and effect action. Every serious local campaign staffer knows that success is generated one identified voter at a time, with lots of eyes, ears and feet on the ground. Recently, national (and many state) campaigns have been reduced to television ads and polling data, with little to no engagement of grassroots communities, possibly excepting Obama’s presidential campaign.
The problem: Obama’s campaign has no coattails, and his field operation has been weakened by the administration’s approach of “tack to the center”. The solution: Investment must be made by the Democrats to get out into the communities and knock on the doors of people of color, the poor and working class who came out for change in 2008. If they don’t reengage with these voters, they will stay home in 2010, and support for a progressive agenda in Congress will abate.
Five years ago, grassroots activists from AL, CA, KY, MS, NM, and NY assembled and agreed on certain basic premises:
• You can’t simply parachute campaign staff into places and expect to win presidential or any elections.
• People need more than television ads and robo-calls to persuade them to participate in elections.
• Participation in elections should be part of a long-term civic engagement strategy, and not just isolated events.
• Winning requires coalitions and alliances, diversity of ideas and perspectives and willingness to move through those differences to build a common electoral and policy agendas.
To carry out a strategy based on these principles, they formed the National Pushback Network. Read More
