An idea on taking back the House and Senate...

[dorktv]

I was talking to a fellow DUer the last month and I outlined this idea:

There are around 60-70,000 on this board. Many post quite frequently and others post once in a while. Not all of us have lots of money but most could squeeze out $10-50 a month to various candidates. Imagine if 10,000 of us did that once a month to a congressional candidate.

10,000 x $10= $100,000

12 people we could give something like that to means that 12 people would have a MUCH better chance to beat the other side. In some cases that would help free up other money (like with Emily's List and so on)

So what do you all think about my idea?

[JNelson6563]

1. One flaw in your plan

There are not nearly as many active posters as there are "registered" ones. Remember, that number includes everyone who ever registered. Those who never posted once, all the sockies from the primaries, all the Freepers and lots of people who were TS'd. I'd work from model that puts actual posters at about 10% of registered posters.

Julie

[kevsand]

2. You're absolutely right.

In fact, the actual number of active posters is probably even lower. However, it is entirely possible that a fair percentage of "lurkers" (always hated that word; prefer to think of them as "read-only") would be moved to contribute, as well, so the number becomes difficult to estimate.

In most blind or random direct mail solicitations or questionnaires, a return of 2% to 3% is considered normal. I suspect that the participation rate here would be much higher due to the self-selecting nature of the population.

We need someone who does this for a living to sift through the numbers for a decent estimate, but I love the concept. Even if it only helps a handful of candidates, that's an edge we might not have had otherwise...

[JNelson6563]

3. I suppose but

I am really partial to local efforts. You would be surprised how many others are too. Especially areas that are neglected by their state party.

Additionally, the figures you give on rate of return may well be accurate for some kind of national direct mail effort but I have much better experience for local mailings. Each mailing I have done has yielded great results. I am not sure of response count but I can tell you this much: each mailing has has yielded at least a 10-fold return of the mailing cost. Again, these were local efforts; membership drives for local party, fundraiser notices and a solicitation for a school board race in progress right now. That last mailing for the SB has almost completely paid for the campaign.

I would bet big that if I sent solicitations to the same list for some far off and distant candidate the return would be meager.

I'd like to see DUers building their local party, both in members and financially. Only when we have our own backyard in order can we then look to spread our resources.

Not that your idea isn't a good one. There are a lot of DUers and if all pitched in what time and treasure they could much could be accomplished. I just think that if we all did what we could within our own little corner of the world all the state maps would be much bluer.

Just my .01254 worth. I appreciate your intiative and enthusiam.

:toast:

Julie

[kevsand]

4. Again, I couldn't agree more.

I think we can do both. The overwhelming majority of my focus and time this next year is going to be on a local state senate race that we know we can flip from an R to a D.

But there may also be a governor's race here that requires attention, and a handful of U.S. House races in Illinois that need help from the rest of the state. We can and should help everywhere we can. In that light, there will almost certainly be a handful of key U.S. House races in other states that could benefit from national attention.

Your experience with your local list agrees perfectly with what I was saying. My 2-3% figure relates to cold contacts. Your list is obviously more targeted and has been worked over time. You clearly should get much better results from that list, especially on local issues.

In a similar fashion, the DU membership is by its very nature more attuned to national issues and scope, and is self-selected to be so. And while it will probably never achieve the returns that you do locally, it should still do much better than the 2-3% baseline.

The only way to find out for sure is to try it. That raises the inevitable question of how to select the targeted races...

[Joebert]

5. What to do if your local party doesn't bother with pushing a candidate?

My local state rep is insane.

I had to write "NOT HIM" on my ballot.

I've emailed my state secretary of state (redundance anybody?) and asked why they show him with 100% of the vote. I want to see if I was the only person in town who voted against him (via write in) or if there were 100? 1000?

If the local party doesn't run somebody, I might figure out what it takes to run myself.

[JNelson6563]

6. If a local party doesn't run someone

it probably needs work. Hard to run for office without the support of local party network behind you. If I were to run the firs thting I'd do is beat the bushes (as it were) in my own county and make sure I had the support of every possible Democrat in it. I'd grow the hell out of my party's membership and coffers and THEN I'd run.

Julie

[Joebert]

8. I've emailed the state rep from the next town over.

Since she's in the same county, she might have some insight into how this works with my local party.

I've also asked for direction on what to read, how to get a visitors pass to go watch, and so on.

My local rep, the nutjob that ran unopposed, was none other than Jim Welker. He's the lovely human being that equated homosexuality to beastiality.

Therefore, 559 days before the election in '06, I am going to figure out what it takes to do it.

[dorktv]

9. First, read the statutes governing elections.

This is very important so you know how many signatures that you need to get. What campaign monies you can receive, and how much (In AZ you can get like max 350 for a state leg. race) and from WHERE (sometimes out of staters can not donate :( ). And other things like that.

Second, go to every local meeting of community groups you can find. You will meet lots of good people who probably would LOVE to have a challenge to this guy. And then you can see who could work on your campaign for free and not be dependent on the Party.

Third, find out what issues are important locally. Is it the fact that the governor has been dropping school funds because of budget crunches? Or is there an icky business that has been screwing employees over?

Fourth, get three issues and STICK with them. Repeat them at ever opportunity. You might be sick of them when you are done but you will have been clear, concise and CONSISTANT.

Fifth, talk to your family and make sure they understand that you are going to be MIA for a long time on this campaign.

Sixth, think of anything that might embarrass you and think of ways to neuturalize it. Bankruptcy? "I am hear to talk to you about hard times. Our district is going through a rough patch and I was one of the people who had to deal with it. I had a bankruptcy. It was hard but it made me realize that...blah blah blah" I am sure you can come up with something.

I could come up with more but you are probably sick of me. :)

I ran for office with no party support but I did well so just go for it!

[JNelson6563]

7. You make great points

and I agree on all counts! We could use a hundred of you. :-)

Julie

[dorktv]

10. I just pulled those numbers out of the air but Federal candidates

need ALL the help they can get. So what if it is only 200 people but they all send 10 bucks? It is a start and it HELPS.

[Hippo_Tron]

11. Another problem, nobody will agree on what candidates to support

Many will even refuse to donate to the DSCC or the DCCC.

[dorktv]

12. But we would not be giving to the DSCC and DCCC,

we would be giving to people that are known by the DU as generally progressives or even our own DU members.

[calimary]

13. Well, I think it's GREAT. SUPERB!

Look - ten dollars a month - that's 120 dollars by the time a year's gone by. If you helped EVEN ONE candidate (my preference would be Richard Morrison, who hasn't given up against tom delay. Can you imagine the beauty, AND the media overkill dividends THAT ONE, ALONE would pay? It would be "the OTHER big story of the night" on Election Night 2006, a single, collosal symbol of the stake in the heart to the republi-CON invincibility machine. They'd be trembling and squirming under the "if it could happen to tom delay, it could EASILY happen to ME!!!!"

Hopefully, those who could - would be willing to contribute just a tiny bit more.

Or maybe those who are better able to do so could "adopt" another DUer. One DUer here promoted such a campaign during one of the quarterly fundraisers here - adopt another DUer so they can get their star as a donor. A number of people took advantage of it. What if we ran that kind of thing again - where some of the better-equipped members among us could donate just even a few dollars extra to someone else's candidate? It could be like a junior version of the Dean Dozen.

It certainly sounds good to me, anyway. These people need help. Think of the daunting machinery they're up against, that the republi-CONS are able to assemble at what seems like a moment's notice. You wouldn't believe the shrill, shrieking anti-Hillary and anti-Bill and anti-Teresa Heinz Kerry and anti-UN stuff my elderly mother gets (in fact, I'm thinking of sending her some of MY material under another cover - she likely will NOT know the difference).

[dorktv]

14. THANK YOU!

Finally someone who is ready and willing to think about DOING something rather then just talking.


I know I was not the only DU person who posted and was a candidate out there, if we could get a commitment to have a fundraiser for DU Candidates (posters on DU) once a month, could we have some people to run for the Senate or House?

If not then maybe we could do a submission of progressive, liberal candidates and then they could post one each month?