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Special election is coming up for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana December 10th:Roll Call posted:Kennedy, the state treasurer, said he has received calls from Republican senators offering their help after he won the Nov. 8 open primary with 25 percent of the vote. Campbell finished second in the 24-candidate field with 17 percent. But more than 60 percent voted for Republican candidates compared to 36 percent who voted for Democrats.
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Nov 15, 2016 17:25
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:Attendance is so important. There will also be 'lifers' who once they see you're not just some flash in the pain will do one of two things: try to co-opt you or try to undermine you. Lots of old retired folks treat this as their exclusive club and may not like you coming in and stirring the pot and making them uncomfortable. Some are batshit crazy and have successfully driven away scores of people before you with this attitude. Perservere. Bring friends. Noone lives forever and I guarantee you you will not be the only one who finds them toxic and annoying. Do not let them drive you away. In turn please do not turn into the crazy annoying toxic person who tries to sabotage anyone who shows up looking to help if they don't do it 'your way.'
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Nov 17, 2016 17:42
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Azuth0667 posted:Holidays are coming too which will slow anything that was going to happen.
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Nov 21, 2016 23:38
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Veyrall posted:Those fucks are taking december off. Well, okay then. Time to find out when the next town hall is meeting. Print out an agenda and be ready to vote on poo poo like what to work on first, who'll be doing what, who's in charge of what, etc. Bring friends. Have copies of contact information of local, state and federal representatives ready to go both paper and electronic (email) forms to organize call ins. Make a list of all positions at all levels in your town/city/county/district/state that have people running unopposed or have noone running at all (DO NOT FORGET TO LOOK FOR SPECIAL ELECTIONS. PEOPLE STEP DOWN MID-TERM ALL THE drat TIME AT LOWER LEVELS. THESE POSITIONS CAN BE WON WITH AS FEW AS A HUNDRED VOTES) Encourage people to run for public office. If people ask what they can do to help, HAVE A LIST OF THINGS READY TO GO. GET CONTACT INFORMATION FROM ALL PARTICIPANTS. Have a site people can go to to sign up for things (Facebook is fine). Free websites exist for organizing things and making mailing lists. SignupGenius.com, groupvine.org, volunteerspot.org there are tons just google them. Learn how to use them, teach other people how to use them. Never rely on just one person who's really good at X to just do X, because I guarantee you that one person will move/die/get transferred to a new job and suddenly be unable to help and you will be stuck. CROSSTRAIN. Sell various positions as ways to get valuable experience that looks good on resumes. Everyone always wants experience. Don't forget to ask WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR VOTERS not just what voters can do for you. Arrange to volunteer at soup kitchens or donate blood as a group. This builds cohesion, makes you feel like you're accomplishing something, and puts your name out in a positive way in the community. Find needs and fill them and make drat SURE people know who's got their backs. Get to know your local reps by name. Encourage them to reach out to their constituents. If they don't, do it.
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Nov 29, 2016 20:07
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Veyrall posted:Well alright then Because you are in small town Mississippi (and this goes for anyone in the hinterlands but can also apply to bigger cities) KNOW YOUR LOCAL HISTORY. There will be names that keep popping up, over and over again. These will be the movers and shakers of your area. The ones that own all the property, have streets named after them, buildings, banks, parks, public buildings. They will also sit on boards and hold various unelected but powerful positions (or their wives/children will). They will all know each other. Some will hate each other. Make it your goddamn mission in life to know all that poo poo. You'll be amazed what you can find out with a little digging at your local historical society. Like why the expressway runs through the neighborhoods it does or how come that one lovely company got the contract to resurface all the streets. If you're not good at this find some little old lady that loves genealogy to do it for you. They will be thrilled at the attention to their hobby and boy will they know some obscure poo poo that may come in handy. You may even dig up some poo poo some people would have rather remained buried. This is called leverage. You want this. Then you get into the stuff that will make you feel all dirty and impure. Sucking up to the people in the above paragraph. Ingratiating yourself with them. Figuring out what they want, what their pet projects are (all rich people have them, some are less odious than others) and how to use that to get them to do what you want (make life better for people). This is probably more advanced than you are ready for, work on building up your base org first but if you like history hey, can't hurt to start laying some groundwork. Remember that most people are hungry for COMMUNITY, a feeling of belonging. Give them something to belong to. Give them a place to go where they can find likeminded people. Bar, coffee shop, bowling alley, whatever. Pick a hangout and be found there. Do not denigrate social functions as a waste of time, they are how you build relationships, and while people may not give a drat about the party they will give a drat about Bill who was there for them when their car broke down or Jen who watched their dog when their mom was sick and they had to leave town suddenly. And if Jen calls in that favor by asking them to do some data entry, or show up for an hour or two at the local farmer's market to man a signature gathering table, or make some phone calls, they're a lot more likely to say yes. You will during the course of this learn who the hangers-on are, who's only in it for the feels good man vs who your worker bees are, the people who are consistent, who show up, who get poo poo done. Don't worry about the hangers on, they will always exist. Just don't give them anything vital that needs to get done. These are the people you task to bring the cheese tray or balloons or whatever. The worker bees, cultivate them. Nurture them. LOVE THE gently caress OUT OF THEM AND SHOW THEM APPRECIATION. But do not try to make them do what they don't want to do. If Leslie loves data entry and is a goddamn machine at it and is your most dependable work horse, do not try and get her to run for public office or take on the position of secretary if she doesn't want it. Let her do what she's good at and makes her happy even if you think she'd be the best drat secretary of all time. Some people just like to show up, do a job, and leave. And those people are gold. Don't abuse them and don't go to that well too many times or they will suddenly stop showing up because you've burned them out. If Pat just wants to make cheesecake and talk about her grandchildren, by god let her make a drat cheesecake. Pizza gets real old, real fast and that poo poo's a morale booster. Make your people feel valued. Its worth more than a paycheck to volunteers. You should ALWAYS have at least one box of thank you notes on hand at all times. Emails do not cut it, especially with older people. Hand write that poo poo. IT MATTERS. If you are not good at the social poo poo find someone who is or start learning (yes its a learned skill just like any other skill. You weren't born knowing algebra, popular people weren't born knowing what's in this season. Like math or sports some people are naturally better at it than others but it doesn't mean you can't learn. There are lots of books about it. 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' is the hoary old classic). How do you find someone who is? Think about your own social circle. Who never forgets your birthday or your mom's name. Who's always planning social outings. Who does everybody always want to invite and are disappointed if so and so doesn't show up? That's your boy/girl. Sometimes they are extroverted sometimes introverted. Extroverted ones are good for public office. Introverted ones are good for assistants who whisper you the name of so and so and remind you that their mom just got out of the hospital as you shake so and so's hand, call them by name and ask how their mom's doing. Are you seeing a pattern yet? If you want people to care, you have to care. Not just about social justice or the environment or global communism now, but about PEOPLE. THESE PEOPLE, in particular. You need to know their names, their kids, their pets, their parents, their financial situation. What brings them here. What motivates them. What they're good at. Where they're weak. What they need to hear. What they want to hear. And when to deliver either. This is how you become effective. People are a resource but they are also ultimately what you're going through all this drat trouble for. And when you don't have money and you don't have power, people, dedicated people, are what will make the difference.
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Nov 30, 2016 08:05
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Misogynice Job! posted:Haha, no he's not. Just wondering if it would be appropriate - I haven't had many issues with him but I've never really tried communicating with a landlord about anything other than apartment stuff.
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Nov 30, 2016 19:10
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Kekekela posted:In the US, at what point will it make sense to just switch over to the Republican party and start trying to bring them left? I feel like my local and the national Democratic party are on the mark socially but not economically (I don't feel like being pro-NAFTA and saying you're for Joe Manufacturer is really viable, this isn't a "whats the matter with Kansas" situation where the messaging just needs improvement), and they're so far from doing anything effectual that I really am starting to feel like I'm spinning my wheels devoting hours to them. I don't even care about national policy reform, just doing something actually useful for the community that we could point to would be great, but instead of Food Drives etc we'll just set up a booth at the Fuckem-Dixem Corporate Gala.
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Dec 6, 2016 18:41
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Star Man posted:I want to complement Oracle's post on how to get into local office with one thing. He just turned 70. There are a lot of old people who belong to these orders and they are somewhat to very involved in their communities. Lots of politicians as well (keeping in mind the average age of politicians in D.C. is something like 70). You will have to learn their rules, regulations and secret handshakes and poo poo so if that kind of thing strikes you as open to ridicule well, find another org cuz they take all that poo poo seriously and you WILL be tested on it in order to move up in the ranks. On the plus side they own a lot of property in some very expensive areas of major cities and have a lot of income from dues and the like to put towards your favorite charitable cause, and do a lot of volunteer work that you may be able to steer in a desirable direction. Mostly the benefits are networking, however. Nota bene: if you are not planning on staying in the same area for awhile (like ten years+) you should probably skip Masons as membership doesn't transfer and your 'mother lodge' is where you belong forever and its considered highly suspect to go switching lodges. Just one of those things that's 'just not done.' You can visit other lodges all you like, however. If you're non-straight and non-white and wanting to feel welcome, Kiwanis, Optimists Clubs, Toastmasters, etc will feel a lot more welcoming to you. They are also always hard up for members and almost pathetically excited to see new helpful faces as a general rule (this may apply less in the richer suburbs where you'll notice certain people have a stranglehold on your local society). Either way be prepared to grin and bear a lot of ignorance-based racism/sexism/bigotry. These are by and large old people who don't interact with 'others' too drat often and it will show in casual remarks they won't think twice about but which would cause fainting spells at your local college for their insensitivity. Once you've established yourself you can start trying to make a dent in this but honestly, its probably not going to do poo poo and you're just gonna have to wait for them to die off. Bigotry is tied to emotion and its often one of the last things to go in the senile, which is why they no longer ask who's president as a way to see if said person is oriented because they can be incontinent and forgetful of their children's and spouse's names but give you a spirited earful on 'that X in the White House.' I will also throw in a plug for your local PTA. They by and large welcome any and everyone, dues are cheap (and go entirely to the org to do things for kids after state and national dues are paid for) and lots of people you want to know have kids. You yourself do NOT have to have children or be a teacher to join the PTA, in fact some PTAs will have 'membership drives' for grandparents, aunts uncles etc to join that are basically thinly-veiled fundraisers. In return you get to vote on things the PTA is considering and get a newsletter on what's going on in the local school (assuming they're that organized). Some PTAs have a shitton of money (seriously, in the Chicago suburbs their budget is in the millions of dollars and they've bought like swimming pools for the local public school) and poor or inner-city ones will have maybe four members and a thousand bucks in the bank if they're lucky. Again, if you are male expect some guarded responses as everyone suspects you're a child molester because why else would some young single non-teacher track guy want to get involved with the PTA. If you can volunteer through your college (assuming you're a student) or some other organization (model rocketry club, Masons, whatever) you'll be able to sort of 'borrow' their legitimacy and be less likely to raise alarm. As a volunteer in the school system you'll still be subject to a background check, however, which may include fingerprinting, so if you have a criminal record, try elsewhere. People are VERY protective of their kids. Big Brothers/Big Sisters is also a great organization. Not necessarily a good way to network but it gives you volunteer cred, if you want to move up into the board levels of such things you can again meet people who it may be good to know, but this is more 'this is a genuinely good thing to do as a human being on planet earth.' Good for those who want to do something but are scared of politics and maybe want to get their feet wet with something first. Star Man posted:But, when you're on the younger side of things and you join a group that is full of old white people, it feels like you're stepping into a time warp in the fifties. I encourage anyone that joins these organizations to remain as long as possible, especially if you're a minority. Sometimes the mere presence and regular association of different groups of people can be enough to win over an old white racist. The more minority members of these organizations, the more it can help turn over these bigots. It's hard, but it's not impossible. The other benefit of being in these organizations is that they are opportunities to network. Almost every politician that I have ever met were invited guests of my Kiwanis club. And there's a ton of overlap with these kinds of groups and politicians. Eisenhower and Kennedy were Elks Club members. Nixan and Truman were Kiwanians. And there's a million other organizations out there that I didn't mention. I only brought up those service groups because I have either been a part of them or have family that are. Get involved. I will do another big ol' post about churches and organized religion at some point.
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Dec 9, 2016 19:18
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:I want to plug Toastmasters again. It's not free, but I think most places love guests. Also a lot of people will freeze up when a tv camera is pointed at them and that light shines in their eyes and they're asked for their opinion and look like complete idiots. Things to practice that are good for not just politicians but protestors as well (helpful hint: take the goddamn fake vampire teeth out of your mouth when being interviewed on tv or else you'll sound like a Simpsons caricature of a headgear-wearing nerd and your message will be totally lost in the ensuing mockery. Jesus Christ, I cringed when I saw that).
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Dec 9, 2016 22:41
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:That's good, I'd have to find someone who knows more about it. Find someone who does PR for a company. Chances are they are a former journalist/reporter. They will tell you exactly what you need to know, which is basically: spoonfeed them. Learn how to write in inverted pyramid style. Make your press release look as much like a newspaper article as you can in style, length and tone. Bulletpoint your facts so they are easy to see and read. Use electronic copies in commonly-used formats whenever possible so its easy to just cut and paste (yes newspapers will loving do this I am not kidding). Provide quotes on questions you want asked from your org/candidate. Predicting what questions they're going to ask gets pretty easy (does it answer who/what/where/when/why/how?) Try not to speak/write above an 8th grade reading level. Make sure to point out how it benefits the people you are trying to reach. If asked a question you don't want to answer, turn it around into a question you do want to answer and answer that one. ("how much money did X pay you for your house before you gave him that cushy position?" "Are you asking me how the real estate market is doing in my area? Well, Candy, it turns out its great right now. Our area is a very desirable place to live thanks to the robust industry, wonderful people and welcoming climate.")
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Dec 9, 2016 23:07
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Interesting article from Bill Moyers on what's going on in Richmond, CA (small city just outside SanFran/Oakland that's had a lot of left grassroots success). I'll be getting this book when it comes out.quote:Well, I think the success of the Richmond Progressive Alliance as an electoral force really is due to the fact that it has taken an exceptionally ecumenical approach. It has welcomed people who are left-leaning Democrats, who are independents, who are registered members of third party like the California Greens or the California Peace and Freedom Party. There are members of different socialist groups. But it’s a broad charge, and under the banner of a local progressive movement, people have agreed to set aside disagreements that they or the organizations they belong to nationally might have about some issues in the interest of getting things done in a kind of united front at the local level. And that’s, as I’m sure you know, not characteristic left behavior in this country. Too often, people can’t get beyond their petty factional squabbles and ideological differences and compete rather than cooperate. So creating that kind of united front and kind of rebranding as the Richmond Progressive Alliance and welcoming people with different views and organizational affiliations on a left-liberal spectrum was really important.
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Dec 14, 2016 17:59
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Veyrall posted:gently caress yeah Oracle.
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Dec 17, 2016 04:43
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yellowyams posted:I have very little experience with politics but now that my shock and overwhelming anxiety is starting to wear off I'm finding myself increasingly agitated with the state of the Democratic party. I'm a hair's breadth away from joining the DSA but before I commit $40 I wanted to know if that really is the best way to influence the party further to the left and to get them to properly address income inequality and stop empowering representatives who are okay with bombing the poo poo out of civilians in foreign countries or if there's some alternative I missed. The most I've ever done is phone calls to reps and petitions so I feel unsure of the next step in terms of actually getting involved, I just want to do whatever I can to get Dems to stop repeating the same mistakes, will joining the DSA actually help me do this? I'm sure they're helpful for organization regardless, just want to make sure it's the right choice since my funds are very limited.
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Dec 19, 2016 07:05
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RiotGearEpsilon posted:I joined the DSA. It turns out that doesn't actually stop you from getting involved in Democratic politics, like, at all. He asked how he'd be most effective, and I gave him my opinion, having gone the third party route and been completely discouraged/disgusted by what I'd seen, and having gone the other way and seen more results. quote:He's not joining a party.
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Dec 19, 2016 16:55
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Women's march in Chicago est 250k possibly more, they couldn't march because the entire route was filled with people so it became a rally instead. Illinois may have its problems but hating fascists ain't one. Even my podunk town managed 5k and more that wanted to go but couldn't.
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Jan 21, 2017 21:51
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Teriyaki Koinku posted:Any recommendations for pursuing paid work in political organizing/government/Democratic party apparatus management/etc in Ohio besides door-to-door canvassing?
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Jan 31, 2017 18:07
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jackpot posted:Like this, but in Richmond, Virginia and wanting to get involved. Don't have much money, don't have a ton of time, but wondering how I can get the most bang for the buck in making the world a little less of a shithole. Should I just cold-call (email) the Henrico county Democratic party and offer to help, or is there some smarter, more effective way to spend my time?
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Feb 15, 2017 20:48
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As you know, the 2016 presidential race in Michigan was very close. What you may not know is that voting machine issues and irregularities in the city of Detroit may have disenfranchised as much as a third of the city's overwhelmingly Democratic voters.quote:He blamed the discrepancies on the city’s decade-old voting machines, saying 87 optical scanners broke on Election Day. Many jammed when voters fed ballots into scanners, which can result in erroneous vote counts if ballots are inserted multiple times. Poll workers are supposed to adjust counters to reflect a single vote but in many cases failed to do so, causing the discrepancies, Baxter said.... Now City Clerk is up for election (the person that handles voting machines and training poll workers etc) and Garlin Gilchrist II is running for it. Throw him some money, its a three-way race and the incumbent is currently leading though with a huge percentage of undecideds. You can also hear Garlin speak at this link.
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May 4, 2017 19:50
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PTA meetings also use it.
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Sep 16, 2017 16:38
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HEY NONG MAN posted:So it’s coming up on intern season at work and once a week we get a handful of engineering interns who are by default funneled into a union membership orientation that I help facilitate. You need to do a quick history of unions (why the hell have these at all anyway where did this come from) point out how with declining union power comes poo poo being hosed up and bullshit (stagnating wages, increases in on the job accidents due to weakened/unenforced regulation (Coal mines are a wonderful very recent example of this) and how hours worked are going up without compensation. Make sure you point out the bullshit salaried employee expected to do unlimited overtime for no extra comp cuz that hits them where they live generally (any math you might be able to do to show what they'd be getting if they were legally obligated to be paid time and a half OT would be helpful here too). Also inoculating them against anti-union propaganda by showing them the bullshit corps like Walmart put out so they know what to look for with a point by point rebuttal would also be helpful.
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Apr 6, 2018 18:26
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HEY NONG MAN posted:One anecdote I trot out regarding the union being there to help you is that one time I had an accident using a company vehicle and they wanted me to take a drug test the next day but the union informed me that if it had been 8 hours or more, they aren’t allowed to do poo poo.
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Apr 6, 2018 19:15
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HEY NONG MAN posted:The other hard part is that we don’t want to give the impression to brand new folks that the company is out to gently caress them (even though it’s true) because that tends to turn people off. Just put it in terms they can understand: its just business. "What is the company for? What is it purpose?" Wait for them to answer obvious poo poo like 'make widgets' or whatever the hell company produces. "No. This company exists to make money. The more money they make, the happier they are. So anything that costs them money they are going to not like and seek to reduce that cost. Only makes sense, right?" "Because they exist to first and foremost make money, you are a number on a balance sheet. Its nothing personal. And the instant you start costing them more than they want to pay they're going to look for ways to reduce that cost. Which is why you need a union. Because you can do absolutely everything right and still get dicked over because they want to save money so they make more money. And the union doesn't think you're a number on a balance sheet. They don't think anyone should be treated like that. That's why we exist; to make sure you are treated like you deserve. To make sure you get a fair shake. And since there's strength in numbers we band together to make sure we have the power to get you that fair shake. For them, its business. For us, its personal." Make sure you also stress that if they DO gently caress up it doesn't mean you can save their job, it just means you can make the company cough up proof that you hosed up instead of just them going 'because we said so.' One of the other myths people commonly believe about unions is that they make it impossible for people to get fired and it makes everyone in said union look bad when one schmuck who sucks at his job stays around forever because its too hard to fire him. If by 'too hard' you mean management actually has to do their loving job and document instances of incompetence and gather evidence to back up their claims and give you warnings, then sure, its hard. A good manager keeps track of performance so they can weed out bad apples. A bad one blames the union because they don't want to do the paperwork.
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Apr 6, 2018 22:27
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Dr. Arbitrary posted:For every time you hear about a manager who is frustrated by being unable to fire their incompetent subordinates, ask yourself, how many incompetent managers have you seen? What if the real problem is that with a Union, an incompetent manager can't fire their competitent subordinates. Or alternately, keeping incompetent subordinates around while blaming the union makes the union look bad AND you can do so without having to actually do any work! Win/win!
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Apr 6, 2018 23:51
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