Bob Brigham worked for Dean Dozen candidate Ginny Schrader in the 2004 election
The Democratic Party needs reform. Without discussing whether we need to move to the right or the left, what can we do to reform the way we do business?
The following is a compilation of some of the best ideas I've read, coupled with my experience as a political hack young enough to have grown up with computers but old enough to have a few cycles of experience in traditional Democratic campaigns (in both red and blue states).
Lead America
If we only follow the polls, we will be reactive to the whims of Americans and unable to win in the long run. We need to lead on issues. This Gonzalez nomination is a great example—instead of having a debate about whether we should oppose him, we should have a debate about whether a torture supporter should lead the Justice Department, and then hit him with everything we have. We need to stand up for what we believe in!
Go Young
People under the age of thirty are the only age group that we won. The young vote was turned out by young people managing organizations with enough resources to succeed. We need more young people in decision-making roles at the DNC, and in positions where they have the resources to maintain and expand on our successes with young Americans.
Offer Alternatives
We cannot offer compromises. Instead, we need to offer coherent alternatives to Republican proposals. These proposals must be crafted with an eye towards framing the next election.
Canvass the Internet
We need visionaries who can see the vast potential that lies in the future of the internet. We need to fight in real-time across the internet, the blogosphere, and on search engines. We need an online war room that never stops and interjects our positions into every conversation online. Every site with a conversation needs our comments and links.
Be Disciplined With Email
Cut back on fundraising emails. Cash-appeals turn people off, and the Kerry campaign burned their list early on. As people stopped opening the emails, the campaign suffered a huge opportunity lost when they needed to organize supporters in the end. Emails should be used to initiate interaction. Once people are vested in our actions, they'll help fund the effort.
Offer E-Training
How many trainings on e-campaigning has the Democratic Party hosted? With a couple of cycles experience in online politics, let me be the first to say it would have been nice to have had somebody teach the tactics instead of having to figure things out as I went. I've been to multiple Party and progressive organization trainings on organizing which taught me a great deal. Other than the one training I have given myself, I have yet to hear of any trainings on how to campaign online.
Make Voting Simple
We need to make voting as easy as possible. That means same-day registration and early voting. We need to make sure every vote counts and provide a paper trail for black box voting. With more voting machines, there will be shorter lines.
West Coast Offense
Yes, I saved the sports analogy for last. We had the largest GOTV ever and we still finished 10 points shy from where we needed to be. The Kerry campaign thought they were going to win and tried to run out the clock in the last two weeks. We can never let this happen again. We need to campaign every single day of every year like we are 10 points down, because we are. We must never again finish an election like we only needed to make it to field goal range, and GOTV will put us over the top.
We need to be winning beyond the margin of error and let our hustle and determination show that we want to win more than the GOP. We need to contest every down, force turnovers, and inside the pile we need to claw and poke and squeeze and do whatever it takes to make sure we have the ball in the end.
Thanks for reading.
—Bob Brigham.
