Taking Ownership of the Political Process: Progressive Majority

Howard Dean put it this way: "You have the power!"

His brother, Jim Dean, now head of Democracy for America, put it this way: "We have to take ownership of the process."

Since the highly flawed 2000 election, progressives have slowly, ever so slowly been waking up to the need for taking ownership of the political process. At first, in all honesty, we were pretty lame at it at first. As recently as 2005 I saw the progressive grassroots, at least in NYC, largely unable to get its act together in any effective way. But by 2006 we started to see real results from what began in 2000.

The extreme right wing of the Republican Party took some 30 years to take nearly complete control of our political system. They did it by patiently and doggedly focusing on every elected position, no matter how low, in every state. They did it by repeating their agenda, their talking points over and over until people started absorbing it without even realizing it. They did it by taking over the media, station by station, newspaper by newspaper. They did it by focusing on LOCAL politics.

Progressives had lost that connection with local politics. But they have been rediscovering it. And that has led to a wave of new organizations that are revitalizing grassroots politics and reconnecting Democrats with their local community, a connection that should never have been lost.

Democracy for America, Wellstone Action, Blue Tiger Democrats, and Progressive Majority are, each in their own way, probably the most effective of these new organizations. Each has its own focus, its own strategy, and collectively they are making a real impact.

Today I had the opportunity to meet Gloria Totten, president of Progressive Majority, and discuss her organization in a small group. In 2007 I highlighted candidates endorsed by Progressive Majority, but I think it might be worth discussing the organization itself.

From their website, here is the mission statement and agenda of Progressive Majority:

Mission Statement

Progressive Majority's mission is to elect progressive champions. We accomplish this by identifying and recruiting the best progressive leaders to run for office; coaching and supporting their candidacies by providing strategic message, campaign, and technical support; prioritizing the recruitment and election of candidates of color; and bringing new people into the political process at all levels.

Agenda

* Economic Justice: Prosperity should be accessible to everyone, not merely the few.

* Civil Rights: Every individual's civil rights must be protected; discrimination and harassment based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or physical and developmental ability should be banned.

* Health Care: Every individual should have affordable, quality health care.

* Education: It is essential that we invest in quality public education for all.

* Environment: We must commit to restoring and protecting our environment.

* Reproductive Freedom: Women and men - not politicians - deserve the right to make personal decisions about their reproductive health in accordance with their own personal and moral beliefs.

Nice, simple, and to the point. And an agenda that resonates well with the vast majority of Americans.

So what do they do to further this agenda? Very simply, they target specific states (currently up to eight: Arizona, Wisconsin, Washington, California, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota) and on a local level recruit, train and help elect candidates for a wide variety of positions, from sheriff, port commissioner and school board, through state legislatures, up to secretaries of state. Local and state level positions are their focus because these are the next generation of national leaders. You can't pull many true progressive Congressional Candidates and Governors out of thin air. You have to start from the bottom and work up.

They begin with recruitment. They look ahead to upcoming elections--not just the next election, but they look for opportunities way in advance. They find candidates who fit their progressive agenda which resonates so well with Americans and who fit the community and the office being targeted. They then provide the following help to these candidates: (from their website)

* Regular small-group training sessions in the areas of campaign planning, fundraising and budgeting, targeting, voter contact, message development and delivery, and media;

* Help meeting key political benchmarks requiring that candidates are developing viable campaigns;

* Intensive one-on-one support with developing and implementing campaign plans and budgets, developing a winning message and stump speech, fundraising, developing effective websites, and building strong field and GOTV plans;

* Assistance with hiring campaign staff and recruiting volunteers;

* Individual mentor relationships with local and national political professionals;

* Comprehensive campaign manuals providing guidance at all stages of campaigning, including helping secure re-election once elected;

* Assistance raising money for their campaigns;

* Access to, and assistance receiving endorsements from, allied organizations and progressive leaders; and

* Direct financial support.

In addition to finding candidates who are true progressives and have good leadership potential, they also encourage women, minority and union candidates, and in particular like to encourage young candidates get their start.

They do this with a minimal staff and a modest (but rapidly growing) budget.

Their success rate? It varies from year to year, but they average about a 50% success rate. Which is actually quite good considering that they seek out relatively tough races and emphasize first time candidates. Most organizations, including some I have worked with, focus on easy wins to boost their win rate: opting for mainly incumbents and big money candidates. Progressive Majority doesn't do that, and they still reach a 50% success rate.

Eight states (so far), local elections, young candidates. This is shaping the future of politics in America. They have already recruited, trained and backed candidates who helped flip state legislatures from Red to Blue. You can check out their 2008 endorsed candidates (more to come) here. I will try to highlight some of these candidates, when I get the chance, in the State focus segments of this blog. So watch for their endorsed candidates in your area. You might want to help some of them out if you can, either with donations or, if you live in their area, with some time. Or you can join Progressive Majority to help expand the whole movement. THIS is the future of American politics and I am happy to be a part of it.