Today, Wisconsin working family voters are taking another step to take back their government from Gov. Scott Walker's (R) radical, anti-family, anti-community, pro-Koch Brothers agenda. And they have to defeat a Republican dirty trick to do it.
For months, the problem for Democrats was correctly identified as the "enthusiasm gap"--the idea that the progressive base of the party was not excited about voting. The exit polls from Tuesday's vote confirm that many Democratic-tending voters failed to show up. How, then, does one square this fact with the idea that Obama and Democrats were pushing policies that were considered too left-wing? If that were the case, then presumably more of those base voters would have voted to support that agenda. It is difficult to fathom how both things could be true.
The grab for this group of voters has generally been coordinated by a seasoned team of professional campaign staff operating in war rooms and spending millions in mobilizing voters. But new efforts among progressive voters, musicians, and grassroots groups are saying the way to be "big" in '08 is to "go small." And how resources are spent in this election and after, could determine whether the Democratic Party is about short-term voter excitement or permanent citizen engagement.
This new group of efforts focuses on local leadership, small circles, and cultural organizing. They are taking their strategies from the anti-slavery movement, groups like craigslist, and most surprisingly, a new Christian movement. "
Potts and other organizers note that while overall church attendance has steadily declined since the 1990s, a new form of church has taken off--the house church. Unlike traditional churches, the house church movement doesn't meet in a specific house of worship, but instead, as the name suggests, in people's homes.
They note the key to the success of these churches is threefold:
1. Shared values rather than on autocratic rule.
2. Peer circles, rather than as a large, rigid, top-down hierarchy.
3. Leading through inspiration rather than by formal authority, allowing, but not forcing, others to follow them.
As Potts, who is organizing with musicians during 08, puts it "The conservatives have churches every Sunday, progressives have concerts every night." From an organizing perspective, concerts are for progressives what churches have been for conservatives.
The number of people registering to vote has increased markedly, adding a new generation of voters to the electorate and making the outcome of the election even more volatile, according to a survey of marginal constituencies conducted by the Guardian.
With the increase in the number of smartphones, more people have the ability to scan QR codes. QR codes are a two dimension barcode that link to web pages. Political campaigns are using QR codes on election signs to get their message out to voters and capture voter contact information.
Lisa Murkowski promised to get out of the race if she lost the primary. Lisa ran as an independent promising to support the GOP, promising to stay conservative like the Alaskan voters wanted. Lisa won based on ideals that the voters bought - lock, stock and barrel. Everyone loves an underdog right? Question is, what flag will she fly in the Congress?