so says Mike Lux of OpenLeft.
Of course, Mike is saying this in the context of the Iowa Caucuses. But it matters just as heavily to DECs and campaigns here in Florida, too.
Precinct captains who have been well trained and know their neighbors well alter the outcomes of elections and make polls seem inaccurate. Of course, precinct captains alone sometimes don't do the job completely - they often need the help of block captains, who manage pieces of the precinct.
Precinct captains are indeed the key.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Never Forget Why
When you're building any organization, much less a DEC, you will undoubtedly run into frustration and stress. If not, you're probably not changing anything.
There are setbacks, mistakes, arguments, etc. which can bring you down. However, in times like these, just remember one thing: why you're working hard in the first place.
For me, I grew up in Weirsdale, Florida, a rural country "town" in the middle of nowhere. Ocala and Leesburg were the "big cities." You get the picture. Poverty and desperation was everywhere with the exception of wealthy lake shore homeowners and those in nearby gated retirement communities.
The poor and their situation were largely ignored, the local elementary school was one of the worst in the entire county. It didn't start changing until people in the community started waking up, and through the leadership of local churches (one of them being my father's - Weirsdale Presbyterian) good things started happening. The school is now an "A" school and is no longer ignored by the School Board. I can't say the economic situation has improved (that will take both a Democratic President and a complete public policy priority shift at all levels) - that problem remains.
I learned that ordinary people, when organized, could do extraordinary things.
So when I face obstacles and frustrations, I always think "If we don't organize and fight - who will?" Kids aren't going to get better schools, better jobs aren't going to be created, healthcare access won't improve, growth won't be better managed if we sit around and complain.
That keeps me going - what about you?
There are setbacks, mistakes, arguments, etc. which can bring you down. However, in times like these, just remember one thing: why you're working hard in the first place.
For me, I grew up in Weirsdale, Florida, a rural country "town" in the middle of nowhere. Ocala and Leesburg were the "big cities." You get the picture. Poverty and desperation was everywhere with the exception of wealthy lake shore homeowners and those in nearby gated retirement communities.
The poor and their situation were largely ignored, the local elementary school was one of the worst in the entire county. It didn't start changing until people in the community started waking up, and through the leadership of local churches (one of them being my father's - Weirsdale Presbyterian) good things started happening. The school is now an "A" school and is no longer ignored by the School Board. I can't say the economic situation has improved (that will take both a Democratic President and a complete public policy priority shift at all levels) - that problem remains.
I learned that ordinary people, when organized, could do extraordinary things.
So when I face obstacles and frustrations, I always think "If we don't organize and fight - who will?" Kids aren't going to get better schools, better jobs aren't going to be created, healthcare access won't improve, growth won't be better managed if we sit around and complain.
That keeps me going - what about you?
Monday, July 30, 2007
Belated Weekend Links
Blogger flagged BFDECS over the weekend as a possible spam blog (which prevented me from posting all weekend), but that's all cleared up now.
On to links!
Myths About Online Volunteering by Jayne Cravens of Tech Soup
Whither Progressive TV? by Shai Sachs of MyDD
Finding Strategy for the Progressive Movement by Shai Sachs of MyDD
New Tools: Engage the Blogs by Jerome Armstrong for the New Politics Institute (NPI)
CrispAds Blog Ads
"Better Know" Who?
Is there an elected official or candidate for office at the state or local level that you think the public ought to know more about?
Submit your suggestions in our Better Know Survey and your suggestion may be used in an upcoming profile on Florida Netroots. The survey ends Tuesday August 7th at Noon.
Submit your suggestions in our Better Know Survey and your suggestion may be used in an upcoming profile on Florida Netroots. The survey ends Tuesday August 7th at Noon.
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