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David Van Os' recent 4-part email rant was pretty interesting. He's not a warm and fuzzy kinda guy in my personal opinion, but he makes some valid points, I think.
From a personal perspective -- as someone who volunteered for several campaigns in the past year -- it didn't go quite far enough. Here are some things *I'd* like to see the State Organization doing (can't really see that they did much in 2006):
The state party organization (ironic that I call it that, huh?) has to get up off its big fat white upper middle class butt and start supporting Dem candidates. It needs to:
1. Create basic starter packages for candidates (media contact lists, for instance, that don't have to be developed from scratch for every campaign but are created AND MAINTAINED at the state level for every city, county, district, region, and interest group). If you already do this, forget I said anything about it.
2. Educate potential candidates (for instance, hold classes to educate potential candidates about what they can expect if they decide to run and hold them EVERY QUARTER in every large city and every region -- part of the problem with finding quality candidates is there is too much uncertainty in the nomination and campaign process, so eliminate as much uncertainty as you can, for pete's sake). If you already do this, forget I said anything about it.
3. Create a cadre of campaign organizers, people who know how to get things done, who know how to set up and organize campaign offices, have a CLUE about manpower requirements. What is more frustrating for volunteers than going to a campaign office and being giving makework to do? Volunteers want to DO, even if it's licking envelopes. If you don't need volunteers this week, TELL THEM SO. Especially frustrating for older volunteers is being given pointless work by organizers who are 30 years younger than they are. Find OR CREATE people who know how to motivate staff and volunteers and communicate with the world outside the campaign office, and preferably have a history of accomplishment in private industry, not just politics. To do this, you might have to figure out ways to pay actual people actual living salaries. Otherwise, you just lose a heckuva a lot of ability and watch your state offices go to Republican goons and brown-nosers. If you already do this, forget I said anything about it.
4. Start fundraising NOW. Encourage the base to start Christmas Club funds for the campaigns ahead. Most of us aren't rich and have limited resources, but we can afford $5 to $20 a month. If you set up a mechanism that makes saving to these clubs easier, better still. If you already do this, forget I said anything about it.
Think I'll post this on Texas KOS too.
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