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Agean90
Jun 28, 2008


On the bright side, you now know your not the only one trying to get things done.

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HorseRenoir
Dec 25, 2011



Pillbug
You could probably make some quick bank for offering to make functional websites for local Dems on the cheap

Dr. Arbitrary
Mar 15, 2006

Bleak Gremlin

HorseRenoir posted:

You could probably make some quick bank for offering to make functional websites for local Dems on the cheap

This is true.
Someone please steal this idea and get rich.

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.
How about instead of making thousands of websites someone just uses an easy platform all the local sites can use so they dont have to do their own IT, they just have to update info. Get them out of the 90s into the early 2000s

Trabisnikof
Dec 24, 2005

HorseRenoir posted:

You could probably make some quick bank for offering to make functional websites for local Dems on the cheap

Yes, there are lots of companies and smaller firms doing this. From non-partisan NationBuilder to firms staffed by the ugly kid in the political dynasty.

ProgressiveExchange still exists I'm pretty sure if you're wanting to be employed in the political/tech world.

anime was right
Jun 27, 2008

death is certain
keep yr cool

pathetic little tramp posted:

Got an email from the local young dems organizer in the KY, lol at the ineptitude:

goddamn lol

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.
Like, provide it as a service where part of the service package is pestering peopl to keep the drat thing up to date

mrfreeze
Apr 3, 2009

Jon Arbuckle: Master of pleasuring women

So our state political race just got heated! My fiancee decided to run for chair of the Michigan disability caucus, because as it stands they only have about 40 members and hold no meetings and she is very passionate about making it an actual force in Michigan politics. A few weeks ago we found out there is at least one competitor for the job. A very passionate guy with hydrocephaly who also may be very mentally disabled we aren't quite sure. His emails and social media account would lend credence to this, but apparently he found out earlier today that there was no way him and my fiancee could be "co-chairs", so he will have to actually campaign for the position. This led to a phone call where he very eloquently accused my fiancee of stabbing our district chair in the back, basically accused her of being a political opportunist, And tried to convince her that if she ran it would ruin her reputation in the party. We then found out he used similar tactics when he ran for chair of his cities democratic club, and saw that he posted all over Facebook about people who "throw other people under the bus and harm party unity."

So... how the hell do you hit back at a seriously disabled guy who may not even have a firm grasp on reality at times?

Tewdrig
Dec 6, 2005

It's good to be the king.

pathetic little tramp posted:

Got an email from the local young dems organizer in the KY, lol at the ineptitude:

That is not ineptitude but by intent. Someone has control, just not willing to give it up. The person you emailed is a good contact and way in though. Very involved, good intentions.

Edit: seriously Kentucky is all kinds of screwed up. It's all people over 50 screwing it up and living in a world where democrats still control the state, and so just acting corrupt and like the gravy train of donations and friendly contracts will never end

Edit2: we were paying about $300/month for a lovely website for the county. $250 maintenance and about $50 for hosting. Now it's going to be $250 to set up a new site and $50/month all-in because some young dem took pity and decided to do it, and the young dem mentioned in the email was able to get it through county executive committee after a lot of lobbying.

Tewdrig has issued a correction as of 02:48 on Dec 13, 2016

Tewdrig
Dec 6, 2005

It's good to be the king.
On a lighter note, Travis County's site makes a big show about precinct organizing. How well has that worked in practice? I've also seen that most precincts positions are vacant, but the party claims to have. A lot of low dollar donors who at least keep the lights on every year, so it seems they are doing something right in Austin.

Dr. Arbitrary
Mar 15, 2006

Bleak Gremlin

mrfreeze posted:

Michigan disability caucus, because as it stands

Run a positive campaign and focus on the things she wants to accomplish. Kill with kindness, talk about how you think all the candidates have something to bring to the table and an election is a great way to get people involved and showcase the best of what everyone has to offer.

Get a Facebook page now, and make it look good.

Edit:

I just looked that other guy up. He seems to be really into toy cars and comic sans.

Dr. Arbitrary has issued a correction as of 03:26 on Dec 13, 2016

Raskolnikov38
Mar 3, 2007

We were somewhere around Manila when the drugs began to take hold

mrfreeze posted:

So our state political race just got heated! My fiancee decided to run for chair of the Michigan disability caucus, because as it stands they only have about 40 members and hold no meetings and she is very passionate about making it an actual force in Michigan politics. A few weeks ago we found out there is at least one competitor for the job. A very passionate guy with hydrocephaly who also may be very mentally disabled we aren't quite sure. His emails and social media account would lend credence to this, but apparently he found out earlier today that there was no way him and my fiancee could be "co-chairs", so he will have to actually campaign for the position. This led to a phone call where he very eloquently accused my fiancee of stabbing our district chair in the back, basically accused her of being a political opportunist, And tried to convince her that if she ran it would ruin her reputation in the party. We then found out he used similar tactics when he ran for chair of his cities democratic club, and saw that he posted all over Facebook about people who "throw other people under the bus and harm party unity."

So... how the hell do you hit back at a seriously disabled guy who may not even have a firm grasp on reality at times?

just ignore him and present a sane face to the caucus members

Dr. Arbitrary posted:

I just looked that other guy up. He seems to be really into toy cars and comic sans.

seems like he'll torpedo his own attempt

mrfreeze
Apr 3, 2009

Jon Arbuckle: Master of pleasuring women

Raskolnikov38 posted:

just ignore him and present a sane face to the caucus members


seems like he'll torpedo his own attempt

That's the thing. His Facebook makes it look like he doesn't actually have a firm grasp on reality, but he was drat lucid when he called making veiled threats. But yeah I agree with all of the above.

Serf
May 5, 2011


Not exactly Democratic Party, but I went to my local city council meeting, met all the council members and got the mayor to introduce me around to the police chief, city manager etc. I took a lot of notes the whole time and tried to get as many names and business cards as possible and put my name in for volunteering with the big festival we have in the spring and helping with a Vietnam War veterans memorial. Didn't mention political affiliation at all, just trying to get my name out there and get involved in the community.

I took so many notes they thought I was with the town paper lol. Next up I'm going to the county commissioner's meeting in January since I'm technically not a city resident.

Dr. Arbitrary
Mar 15, 2006

Bleak Gremlin

mrfreeze posted:

That's the thing. His Facebook makes it look like he doesn't actually have a firm grasp on reality, but he was drat lucid when he called making veiled threats. But yeah I agree with all of the above.

Intentionally misinterpret threats as obliquely as possible.

:argh:"I'm going to ruin your name in politics!"
:frogbon: "Oh, I am so glad to hear that. I admire your passion so much!"
:argh:"I'm going to murder your family!"
:frogbon: "And I hope you have a wonderful holiday too! I'm looking forward to seeing you at the next meeting and I hope I can count on your vote."

tower time
Jul 30, 2008




Since my dad is much more recovered from his hip replacement surgery and is able to walk without assistance I should now have the time to start attending meetings. As it turns out the Scott County Democrats here in Iowa are not holding regular meetings at their own offices, but instead the weekly meetings are happening at a UFCW union hall (from the website it seems they represent a large range of professions, but in this area they are especially prominent in food processing and the support staff that keep hospitals and medical care facilities functional). Thats at least convenient as they are a 4 minute walk from me.

I imagine the biggest issue will be the upcoming special election to replace this districts democratic state senator, who died in September after a two-year struggle with brain tumors. The Governor decided the best date to hold the election is two days after Christmas, so it is bound to be very low turnout and give the republicans their best shot at winning the very heavily blue district in years.

OhFunny
Jun 26, 2013

EXTREMELY PISSED AT THE DNC
So I was looking at the NH Young Democrats calendar for events and meetings and it's just blank.

Gave the contact number a call and got answered right away. Turns out there will be a meeting next week to schedule meetings/events for next few months.

Also got the email of the head of the NHYD. Suggestions on what to ask her?

Concerned Citizen
Jul 22, 2007
Ramrod XTreme

OhFunny posted:

So I was looking at the NH Young Democrats calendar for events and meetings and it's just blank.

Gave the contact number a call and got answered right away. Turns out there will be a meeting next week to schedule meetings/events for next few months.

Also got the email of the head of the NHYD. Suggestions on what to ask her?

imagine an organization solely occupied by that guy who wears a blazer to class, but with an extreme determination to avoid being useful at all. welcome to the young democrats

surfacelevelspeck
Oct 1, 2008

communism's sleepiest soldier

OhFunny posted:

So I was looking at the NH Young Democrats calendar for events and meetings and it's just blank.

Gave the contact number a call and got answered right away. Turns out there will be a meeting next week to schedule meetings/events for next few months.

Also got the email of the head of the NHYD. Suggestions on what to ask her?

If you've got any interest in it, I'd ask if there's anything that you can help out with regarding logistics/organizing or web administration. Otherwise, probably just introduce yourself and try to keep up on when meetings are so you can show up and make a good impression.

Ace of Baes
Jul 7, 1977

Concerned Citizen posted:

imagine an organization solely occupied by that guy who wears a blazer to class, but with an extreme determination to avoid being useful at all. welcome to the young democrats

Pretty much, you have to overthrow the leadership because I guarentee the only thing they care about is putting "president of the young democrats" after they graduate.

OhFunny
Jun 26, 2013

EXTREMELY PISSED AT THE DNC

Concerned Citizen posted:

imagine an organization solely occupied by that guy who wears a blazer to class, but with an extreme determination to avoid being useful at all. welcome to the young democrats

Ace of Baes posted:

Pretty much, you have to overthrow the leadership because I guarantee the only thing they care about is putting "president of the young democrats" after they graduate.
Thanks to NH's large state house 8 Young Dems are also sitting state reps. It seems like a good networking opportunity. Since all of my states reps are Republicans.

Syndlig posted:

If you've got any interest in it, I'd ask if there's anything that you can help out with regarding logistics/organizing or web administration. Otherwise, probably just introduce yourself and try to keep up on when meetings are so you can show up and make a good impression.

I have no web site skills. I'd like to push FULL COMMUNISM NOW while everyone's still reeling.

ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

:toot:

ChickenOfTomorrow has issued a correction as of 22:12 on Jan 21, 2017

ChickenOfTomorrow
Nov 11, 2012

god damn it, you've got to be kind

:toot:

ChickenOfTomorrow has issued a correction as of 22:11 on Jan 21, 2017

DAD LOST MY IPOD
Feb 3, 2012

Fats Dominar is on the case


i currently work in the Massachusetts state house and can arrange meetings with state senators and representatives if you genuinely have something interesting to tell them. I'm also personal friends with state party chair Gus Bickford but idk how much pull I have with him because I'm a bad friend and I don't call much.


This all lasts 1 more month then I move to the Virgin Islands to escape the blasted hellscape of trumpmerica and especially to get out of the blast radius of any major city so ask now if you have an ask

Gene Hackman Fan
Dec 27, 2002

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
I've been making an attempt at getting involved with the Dems here in my little backwater county of Tennessee (Claiborne), and for a want of starting somewhere, I'll cross post what I wrote in the Democrat thread:

quote:

as goofy as it sounds, i've been trying to come up with something for, at the very least, building a sense of community in my area.

calling it the 'cornbread coalition.' the idea is to have regular meetings with free soupbeans and cornbread for attendees to talk about problems they're facing and brainstorm on solutions or find the people and resources who could help them out. at the very least, giving them a sympathetic ear into which they can grouse.

so far, i've managed to get four local people on board, but actually putting anything together is something a little different. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If I knew what I was doing, I would already have something going. Anyone have any advice? I've been trying to get in touch with the chair of my county, but we've been playing a lot of phone tag.

Agean90
Jun 28, 2008


Gene Hackman Fan posted:

I've been making an attempt at getting involved with the Dems here in my little backwater county of Tennessee (Claiborne), and for a want of starting somewhere, I'll cross post what I wrote in the Democrat thread:


If I knew what I was doing, I would already have something going. Anyone have any advice? I've been trying to get in touch with the chair of my county, but we've been playing a lot of phone tag.

Only thing i can think of is to try and get your local party (if any) and local chruches involved.

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.
I don't know much about Clairborne - anything you could tell us about the people, the area, the demographic makeup, the cultural centers, that would be a good place to start. Still, any advice I could offer would mostly be hypothetical, so make sure to keep us informed of how things actually go.

It sounds like what you're going to be trying to do here is form a sort of Democratic affiliate organization based around community organizing and empowerment, which is great! From a general perspective, here's a few pieces of advice:

- Obviously, contact local Democratic party leadership and find out more information about how things are working there.
- Consider doing some non-partisan advocacy to help local causes - this is a great way to get things moving. It can be done in collaboration with other groups like Churches or Freemasons or Veteran's associations, which gives you some organizing connections, and it can also be a great source of connecting with potential supporters. Basically, start by spending your time helping others in the name of your organization, and use that to build your membership.
- Figure out how you plan on funding your "free" stuff. Getting some enthusiastic volunteers to make it themselves and provide is the best option, but of course that requires you to have already acquired enthusiastic volunteers! And also means you risk outstripping your suppliers if you grow too quickly or haphazardly.
- Have stuff written down to refer to, about what your goals are, what you want to be. Refer to it often and make sure you don't drift too much without doing so - but don't be afraid of drift if it's in a more productive direction, just be sure to codify it if that happens.

Segmentation Fault
Jun 7, 2012
Some other people and I are starting a Lower Hudson Valley chapter of the DSA, if you're in the Hudson Valley or Dutchess County area let me know and I can get you in.

HorseRenoir
Dec 25, 2011



Pillbug
Here's something that's been floating around that might be of interest for this thread. Some former congressional staffers wrote a paper on how to resist Trump based on the political strategies of the Tea Party: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DzOz3Y6D8g_MNXHNMJYAz1b41_cn535aU5UsN7Lj8X8/

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.

HorseRenoir posted:

Here's something that's been floating around that might be of interest for this thread. Some former congressional staffers wrote a paper on how to resist Trump based on the political strategies of the Tea Party: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DzOz3Y6D8g_MNXHNMJYAz1b41_cn535aU5UsN7Lj8X8/

How can a guide spend so many words without really touching on the single most effective strategy of the tea party, without which every single thing they've proposed here falls apart? I mean, geeze, come on. There needs to be a concerted effort to challenge incumbents in safe seats during the primary, and to actually beat them. The tea party didn't succeed by begging their already elected politicians to heed their words the way this seems to ask us to do - they won by replacing enough of them to establish a power base of their own (that was basically employed to keep an eye on the others and make sure they stayed in line) and scare the rest into line lest the same happen to them.

It feels like nothing they've described in this document matters without that crucial piece of leverage.

Doktor Avalanche
Dec 30, 2008

GlyphGryph posted:

How can a guide spend so many words without really touching on the single most effective strategy of the tea party, without which every single thing they've proposed here falls apart? I mean, geeze, come on. There needs to be a concerted effort to challenge incumbents in safe seats during the primary, and to actually beat them. The tea party didn't succeed by begging their already elected politicians to heed their words the way this seems to ask us to do - they won by replacing enough of them to establish a power base of their own (that was basically employed to keep an eye on the others and make sure they stayed in line) and scare the rest into line lest the same happen to them.

It feels like nothing they've described in this document matters without that crucial piece of leverage.

Possibly because it's written by congressional staffers and if their bosses get primaried they're out of a job? Unless they're employed in another way, dunno.

Serf
May 5, 2011


Barbe Rouge posted:

Possibly because it's written by congressional staffers and if their bosses get primaried they're out of a job? Unless they're employed in another way, dunno.

Pretty much this exactly. They want us to be angry and riled up to vote... for the establishment candidates.

Baby Babbeh
Aug 2, 2005

It's hard to soar with the eagles when you work with Turkeys!!



There's that, but I also think there's a genuine discomfort among liberals when it comes to talking about power. Especially for neoliberals, the policies they want are just self-evidently the right ones, supported by data and backed by reason and science. Liberalism is thus inevitable and post-political. People just need to be told what the data shows, and they'll simply rationally accept these things that are in their own self-interest.

Power, in this context, is immediately suspect. It seems like a corruption. If things happen not because they're self-evidently the right move, but because some group has seized enough power to get them done, then that's the system breaking down. This resonates emotionally even if liberals aren't aware of it at a conscious level. It's why they don't push as hard as they could when they have power and why the resistance they mount when they don't is closer to playacting than knife-fighting.

The problem, of course, is that the struggle for power isn't a corruption of the system, it's the system itself. Western democracy is founded on the idea that no one person has the answer, but the people, collectively, can find it. This search takes the form of a kind of intellectual Darwinism where advocates for different answers combat one another for the approval of the crowd. It can't function when one side thinks it's above the fight.

Baby Babbeh has issued a correction as of 22:51 on Dec 15, 2016

Barracuda Bang!
Oct 21, 2008

The first rule of No Avatar Club is: you do not talk about No Avatar Club. The second rule of No Avatar Club is: you DO NOT talk about No Avatar Club
Grimey Drawer

Baby Babbeh posted:

There's that, but I also think there's a genuine discomfort among liberals when it comes to talking about power. Especially for neoliberals, the policies they want are just self-evidently the right ones, supported by data and backed by reason and science. Liberalism is thus inevitable and post-political. People just need to be told what the data shows, and they'll simply rationally accept these things that are in their own self-interest.

Power, in this context, is immediately suspect. It seems like a corruption. If things happen not because they're self-evidently the right move, but because some group has seized enough power to get them done, then that's the system breaking down. This resonates emotionally even liberals aren't usually aware of it at a conscious level. It's why they don't push as hard as they could when they have power and why the resistance they mount when they don't is closer to playacting than knife-fighting.

The problem, of course, is that the struggle for power isn't a corruption of the system, it's the system itself. Western democracy is founded on the idea that no one person has the answer, but the people, collectively, can find it. This search takes the form of a kind of intellectual Darwinism where advocates for different answers combat one another for the approval of the crowd. It can't function when one side thinks it's above the fight.

The latest episode of Chapo Trap House had an interview where they talked partly about the left's aversion to power, and how that dooms them.

Aurubin
Mar 17, 2011

The 2017 DNC Chairperson race is supposed to be on or before March 31st, so here's some stuff:

Dunno if this the right strategy, but here's a list of DNC chairpeople as well as a Vox article on how the election works if anyone is interested in contacting potential electors. Endorse anyone you wish, except Jamie Harrison, Tom Perez, and Raymond Buckley.

https://ballotpedia.org/Democratic_National_Committee#Chairpersons_of_the_DNC Scroll down for current state chairpeople.

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/11/23/13703720/dnc-chair-election-rules-members

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_National_Committee_chairmanship_election,_2017

Dr. Arbitrary
Mar 15, 2006

Bleak Gremlin
My goal is to be an elector.

Nonsense
Jan 26, 2007

establishment cries somebody is being anointed lol

Anime Schoolgirl
Nov 28, 2002

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/democrats-open-to-replacing-obamacare-232589

i think we should start putting pressure on these people maybe going as far to ask if they'll eventually sign off on gas chambers

GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.
Some history on political organizations for light reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriot_Party_(1960s%E2%80%931980s)

quote:

The Patriot Party was an American socialist organization of the late 1960s and early 1970s that organized poor, rural whites in the Appalachian South and Pacific Northwest. The party was formed after a split with the Young Patriots Organization. The YPO's membership was drawn from street gangs of Appalachian whites in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois; it became politicized after working with the Young Lords, an ethnic Puerto Rican gang; and the African-American Black Panther Party.

The Patriot Party was a member of the original Rainbow Coalition, formed by Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party and others to create a broad-based, multi-racial political coalition. It formed after the United Front Against Fascism conference held in Oakland, California in 1969. The coalition included the Young Lords, the Brown Berets and I Wor Kuen. Hampton's intention was to have multi-ethnic gangs working together to accomplish peaceful solutions, rather than battling each other.

The Patriot Party borrowed strategies of community organizing from the Black Panthers, with whom they were especially close. For instance, they established a Free Breakfast for Children program. The Eugene, Oregon chapter, location of the University of Oregon, garnered much community support with their "Free Lumber" program. At this time in the Northwest, some poor people still relied on wood-stoves for cooking and heating, and cheap wood was hard to come by.

In 1970 the FBI arrested the entire central committee of the Patriot Party[who?] and charged them with various felonies. They later dropped the charges but, by the mid-1970s, the FBI's COINTELPRO program had effectively suppressed the organization.


These people split off from the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Young_Patriots_Organization

quote:

The Young Patriots Organization was an American left-wing organization of the 1960s and 1970s. Growing out of an Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) project called Jobs Or Income Now (JOIN), its first leaders included Doug "Youngblood" Blakey, the son of Peggy Terry; Jack "Junebug" Boykin; Bobby Joe Mcginnis; William "Preacherman" Fesperman; and Hy Thurman. Originating in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, the organization was designed to support young, white migrants from the Appalachia region. However membership was open to all races. [1] With Fred Hampton of the Black Panther Party, José "Cha-Cha" Jiménez of the Young Lords Organization, and Katiri LaRouge of the Native American Housing Committee, the Young Patriots Organization helped to form the Rainbow Coalition (unrelated to Jesse Jackson's later Rainbow/PUSH Coalition). The group's early interactions with the Black Panthers are shown in the 1969 documentary American Revolution 2.

The Young Patriots wore a rebel Confederate flag on their blue jean jackets and berets, and fought against racism. They participated in demonstrations against police brutality and housing discrimination. In 1971, a portion of the Young Patriots attempted to build a national organization, renamed the Patriot Party, which had no relation to the right-wing group of the same name.

I've actually just purchased the book that talks about them (Hillbilly Nationalists, Urban Race Rebels and Black Power: Community Organizing in Radical Times) and am looking forward to devouring it.

GlyphGryph has issued a correction as of 19:32 on Dec 16, 2016

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GlyphGryph
Jun 23, 2013

Down came the glitches and burned us in ditches and we slept after eating our dead.
I'm going a little crazy not being able to go to any meetings or poo poo this month, I want to be out there doing poo poo.

Gotta find other ways to get involved.

Unfortunately, I really gotta to some actual work right now, so if one of you guys can put together the info for someone from Alpine County, CA it would be super appreciated.

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