I found the detailed playbook the TPartiers used to take over the GOP if you're interested.

[Waiting For Everyman]

Maybe we could do the same with the Dems:

http://theprecinctproject.wordpress.com/


Concord Project videos:
http://youtu.be/KMBa713YCUI What is a precinct and how it works
http://youtu.be/Nczt5cN8hd4 The importance of precinct committee members
http://youtu.be/yMkTdMXwhbE How you become a precinct committee member
http://youtu.be/MendmDZ-iu0 The time committment for a precinct committee person



This next guy is a little wacko but pretty good on this subject:

http://www.wagthedog2010.com/


His page describes a "Total Victory Plan 2012" like this:

"precinct strategy + committees of safety + oath keepers = victory"

I think I know what that means but the link is dead. Anyway, we may as well use what the TPers have figured out, why re-invent the wheel, right?

I see no reason why we couldn't get Progressives into the Dem party the same way, and shift that whole structure Left. If enough of us Dems did it, it would work the same way. It took some digging but I scrounged up the info for my state.


I forgot to add... there is a Facebook page for Progressive who are beginning to do this:

Flash-Mob the county party executive committees
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=211258725592719

[grahamhgreen]

1. " ONLY elected precinct committeemen get to elect the Party leadership"

And most slots run unopposed!

I like it.

I think ill give it a go!

[Waiting For Everyman]

2. Wouldn't it be funny...

TPers learned from Obama, and then we learn from them.

We're told how to volunteer easily enough, but not how to get a say in the Party.

I have a hunch there are lots more unopposed seats in the west than in the east. Several counties in my state had a few. BUT, people often quit too, and we can ask to be appointed as replacements by the county chair. The terms in my state run for 4 years and end in 2014, but that's ok. It could get interesting.

[MaeScott]

56. K and R. nt

[watrwefitinfor]

3. Kicking. This is not a new Repub strategy.

I remember when they sent out the call in the mid 1970s, for repukes to join their precinct committees and school boards and any and all other local offices and take them over. That's exactly what they did, while the left just sat back when the war ended and thought we had changed the world somehow.

Wat

[Tatiana]

4. Keep this kicked, guys...

I do believe this is the way to go. Also, the people have to take control over the local Democratic party offices again, both municipal and county, for starters. Retired teachers, union members, and those from the poor, working and/or middle classes need to start building coalitions and throwing their name into the hat for local races (ESPECIALLY if they will be unopposed).

When Dean lead the party, this was his goal: for there to be a bottom-up approach to leadership. He invested in local parties and paid staffers who were not from Washington or the establishment to run the offices. We had a much more representative platform and party leadership then. We need to take it back to that early excitement and enthusiasm. This depression only serves to keep the ruling class in power.

Another thing the Teanuts do is they have litmus tests and they aren't afraid to primary "safe" Republican candidates. We need to do the same. Honestly, every non-progressive Democrat deserves a primary challenge. At the very least, we can use these races to further our own platform.

[StarsInHerHair]

16. also FIRED teachers, scientists, working-class-out of a job, come get this 1

it doesn't pay immediately, but it gives you power.

[Tatiana]

19. GREAT point! n/t

[StarsInHerHair]

22. yeah, I keep thinking BOUT THE 99ERS, & all the other people out of work

& I want them to get in power, they know firssthand how it feels, & they have the time-especially the....what are they called? disheartened from looking anymore?

[Waiting For Everyman]

23. They also might make some contacts that could lead to a job.

Ya never know.

[bananas]

27. k&r nt

[Raksha]

29. I agree with you about the litmus tests.

Re "Another thing the Teanuts do is they have litmus tests and they aren't afraid to primary "safe" Republican candidates. We need to do the same. Honestly, every non-progressive Democrat deserves a primary challenge. At the very least, we can use these races to further our own platform."

Progressives are often castigated by the self-proclaimed moderates or centrists for our alleged purism, but the Democratic Party desperately needs MORE purism, not less, to counteract the toxic DLC influence.

[laylah]

5. K&R

[Stuart G]

6. k & r

[TalkingDog]

7. How about a 5th column for the Republican precinct committees?

Yeah, I'd have to bite my tongue and put up with their bullshit. But given that I live in a small red town, my life would not change all that much.

[tavalon]

13. Like a DLC or Third Way within their party

Destroy it from within like the above mentioned did to our party.

[StarsInHerHair]

17. Eisenhower Republican is a genuine Republican, if it works for you do it

[Waiting For Everyman]

8. Kick

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Old as pie, but old things are new again

[Waiting For Everyman]

10. Kicking to get the info seen.

I know I didn't do this OP very attractively or very well. Sorry, I was tired at the time.

[StarsInHerHair]

18. it's am outline, better than burying it in endless words, for me at least

[dreamnightwind]

11. This is a great strategy!

Roll up our sleeves and actually participate in the Democratic party. Take it back from the ground up. Absolutely, this is important.

Also I like the idea of litmus tests. We need a mechanism of screening out the phonies. Does such a mechanism already exist? Is there a site or organization that thoroughly examines candidates' statements, history, and funding sources to see how they measure up as reps of the people verses reps of big money? If not, we need one, ASAP.

Thanks for the OP and the research.

[beltanefauve]

51. Here's one resource:

http://www.opensecrets.org. It's a good way to follow the money.

[tavalon]

12. Kick!

[PoiBoy]

14. Michael Moore on Democracy Now...

talks about this type of grassroots activism in his personal life...

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/7/5/michael_moore_on_his_life_his

MICHAEL MOORE: Yeah, you know, Patti and I, you know, were very vocal and worked for Ralph back in 2000. You know, the way our system is rigged, it’s not like other democracies where you have four, five, six political parties. You know, you watch the Canadian elections. All five political parties are at the debates. They all get an equal amount of air time. You know, it’s a fairer system. Britain’s going through it right now, and their election season will last four weeks. So, it’s rigged against a third party.

So, either that has to change, or — I guess what I’ve tried to encourage people to do locally, and essentially we did it in Michigan — we moved up into northern Michigan to basically just, you know, be away from everything. And it’s in the woods, and it’s a county that always votes for Republicans. And there were four dues-paying members of the Democratic Party there in this county when we moved there. And so, we decided, "Why don’t we just take over? Let’s just get eight of our friends to come, and we’ll be the majority, and we’ll just take it over." That’s a lot easier than starting something new. You know, they’ve already got stationary printed, and they’ve got a logo picked out. And you know how many fights can happen over the logo.

So today there’s 350 dues-paying members of the Democratic Party in our county. And when Bart Stupak, who’s our congressman, was going to derail the healthcare, the "healthcare" — sorry, if you’re listening on radio, those were the air quotes I was giving it. When he was going to derail that because of his own personal religious views, we got active very quickly and put an enormous amount of pressure on him, and one of our own announced her candidacy to run against him in the primary and totally turned his life upside-down. He was forced to vote the right way. And I saw that happen, that citizen power on a local level, with the work we had done just in four years of building the local Democratic Party into essentially a very progressive-left political organization that uses the free ballot space called the "Democratic Party" on the ballot. And I’ve encouraged this around the country, and I’ve heard of other people doing similar things. And we go to the state convention, and we just — you know, we cause a ruckus whenever we can with the other Democrats that really should be calling themselves Republicans.

What a great and inspiring example...!!!


:hi:

[tosh]

24. Great story...

thanks for posting this!

[chill_wind]

15. K & R.

[Fire1]

20. bookmarked. We should try everything. n/t

[southernyankeebelle]

21. Maybe some enterprising democratic can do the same.

[riderinthestorm]

25. Bookmarked for a more thorough read when I'm not so tired. Sounds great though

on first scanning the initial information. K& R!

[Turborama]

26. K&R BTW That "Wag the Dog 2010" site still works

Here's a link to the cache of it, in case it goes down again: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:V5JVyIONPhYJ:www.wagthedog2010.com/+wag+the+dog+2010&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&source=www.google.com

[Raksha]

28. K & R - Great information! Bookmarking.

[FarLeftFist]

30. knr!

[noiretextatique]

k&r

thanks for this important info. i need something to do anyway :kick:

[noiretextatique]

31. k&r

thanks for this important info. i need something to do anyway :kick:

[SpartanDem]

32. this should be a sticky

[Enthusiast]

33. I love this concept.

Unfortunately I do not feel well enough to pursue this. I do not feel well enough to go to my dental appointment this afternoon. But hopefully I will make it.

[xchrom]

34. kick for exposure. nt

[Warren Stupidity]

35. I agree. And what a blast it would be to see the head spinning

as 'Democratic Party Loyalists' would be fighting tooth and nail against Democratic Party candidates everywhere - even here.

[klook]

36. The Tea Party is an Astroturf movement

funded by the Koch brothers, and organized by Dick Armey's FreedomWorks organization.

The Tea Party movement is remarkable in two respects. It is one of the biggest exercises in false consciousness the world has seen – and the biggest Astroturf operation in history. These accomplishments are closely related. - Source: The Guardian

I'm not saying an effective grassroots progressive movement is impossible, but I am saying we shouldn't kid ourselves into thinking that the Tea Party is any kind of grassroots movement. It's more like a kind of "zombie astroturf" movement, where creeping astroturf transforms real grass into plastic. See also: Astroturf Wars.

[Waiting For Everyman]

39. May be, but they ACTUALLY are taking over the COMMITTEEMAN positions.

That is not imaginary. Funding or not, it's still being done.

They do have an advantage in that more than half of their committeeman positions are VACANT. So all they have to do to get them is say so.

More of the Dem's committeeman position are filled. But it still isn't that hard to get them. It's very, very local. It's people in our neighborhoods. And it usually doesn't take many votes to win - a handful in most cases.

This is about NUMBERS of PEOPLE (voters), not money. Numbers we have, and can get more as we persuade people to join us.

[klook]

43. OK, no disagreement from me there.

I do like the approach and I think it can be effective for progressive Democrats in a lot of places.

[harun]

44. They all claim it is grassroots but it is 100% astro-turfed.

[drm604]

37. K&R

:kick:

[lapislzi]

38. Every able DUer should be able to do this.

It's easy, and a great way to get to know your neighbors, educate them on the issues. I was chair of my local Dem committee until I could no longer make the time commitment. Elections are won door-to-door. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Here's how it works: you drop in on your local Dem committee. Any registered Dem can attend. Your board of elections will have the names of all committee members on file. Call one of them. You'll be appointed temporarily until the following spring, when you'll carry candidate petitions in your electoral districts. You'll need 10% of registered Dems in your district to sign for your appointment. You'll be carrying for other candidates for state, local, and federal offices, also. You hand in your signed petitions at a convention, and you're appointed to a 2-year-term. This enables you to attend all county meetings, conventions, and functions.

Get to know your local issues, down to the most minute details. One lady had a complaint about the animal control officer. I did a little digging (and I do mean a little) and discovered that he wasn't even a resident of our town. I raised this at a committee meeting, and we lobbied the town council to appoint a local resident to the position.

I stood strong with my committee when we refused to go along with a cross-endorsement of a Republican that other precincts wanted to go with. We broke that stalemate.

A resident complained about an abandoned car on town property. I called the sheriff and got it removed.

Pay a visit to your local American Legion (hold your nose), VFW, or other civic organization. Go to their functions. Buy a few raffles. Get your face out there. Find out what's on people's minds, be it sewage treatment or Little League. Learn the ins and outs, and the who's whos. As in, who's in whose pocket, and why?

People remember stuff like that on election day. Elections are won door-to-door.

[dreamnightwind]

42. Thanks for sharing your experiences

That's real grass-roots. I hope a lot of people see your post.

[lapislzi]

53. We also had precinct coffees

Just little get-togethers on a Saturday morning. We invited ALL the neighbors, regardless of party affiliation. We were totally transparent about being Democrats, but we made it clear that we wanted to hear what people thought of their local government, and what we could do to make it better.

If we could rope a candidate (any candidate) or elected official into putting in an appearance, so much the better.

One of my very smart Dem colleagues swears by the "three face" contact rule. Every potential voter should be met and greeted three times if possible.

The committee's latest project (which I'm not involved in) is to get the Repub town council to permit video of the council meetings for airing on the public access channel. All the other towns around here do it. Slogan: what's Patterson got to hide?

[kick-ass-bob]

40. Is this the same thing as a "precinct chair"?

http://precincts.wakedems.org/

So if I go on here and see my precinct is not organized, I could get this position above? I'm a bit confused on the terminology...

[uponit7771]

41. Shameless bump

[Optimus_Prime]

45. Michael "Precinct Level" Dukakis

The Duke was my professor in graduate school at Northeastern in Boston.

He used to always hammer the point to his students and anyone that would listen that elections were won at the precinct level.

Because of him (and reading this thread), I'm seriously considering getting involved at the committee level.

Thanks Waiting For Everyman!

[Frankiesue71]

46. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Hello,
This is my first time posting on here, so I apologize if someone has already asked this question with regards to my particular location. I'm in Elgin Illinois, Kane County, and I'm trying figure out how to become/run to become a Democratic precinct committee-person, but I'm not having any luck. I keep pulling up the Google link to the local Republicans (yikes...)but nothing for the Democratic precinct. Is it really this hard to track this information down, or am I just looking in the wrong place? Any help at all would be much appreciated. Thanks everyone!

[Rhiannon12866]

47. Why don't you try the Illinois forum here:

And welcome to DU! :hi:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=150

[cbayer]

48. You might want to ask this question in the Illinois forum

Welcome to DU!

[LiberalAndProud]

49. This may be a good starting point.

Kane County Democrats:

Fourth Tuesday of every month,

at Kane County Government Center,

719 Batavia Ave.

Geneva IL. 7:30pm.


http://14districtdem.com/7.html

[Waiting For Everyman]

52. Some links for you.

Kane County Democratic Central Committee (not a very good website, but at least you can contact them from there)
http://www.kanedems.org/

Democratic Party of Illinois
http://www.ildems.com/

Kane County Election Info
www.KaneCountyElections.org

Current Kane County precinct committeemen for Elgin (just who they are currently)
http://www.kanecountyelections.org/Committeemen/PctCommList.aspx

Illinois State Board of Elections
http://www.elections.il.gov/

Here's where you can find out your precinct:
http://www.kanecountyelections.org/VoterInfo/Search.aspx#b

Elgin Township precinct map
http://www.kanecountyelections.org/Maps/TownshipMaps/06.pdf

2009 Township caucus guide
http://www.elections.il.gov/Downloads/ElectionInformation/PDF/2009TownshipCaucusGuide.pdf



If you don't find what you need call up and ask these: IL Dem party, Kane Co. Dem party, IL state board of elections. If you still can't find out, pm me here I'll try to help.


Ah... here we go (I think)... the Illinois Democratic County Chairmen's Association (ILDCCA)
http://www.ildcca.org/

Here's your county chairman: http://www.ildcca.org/chairmen.html
Kane County
Mark Guethle
1566 Hartsburg Ln.
North Aurora, IL 60542
630.768.1804
[e-mail]

Contact the ILDCCA:
http://www.ildcca.org/form/contact-ildcca-26.html

[TheKentuckian]

50. Super easy.

1. Get a shit ton of corporate ca$h.

2. Have the entire corporate propaganda system hyping and promoting you even if port a potties outnumber participants.

3. Have party insiders and strategist, including a former Speaker falling all over themselves to promote you.

4. Have the national party to either help the insurgency or at least stay hands off.

5. Shit tons of corporate ca$h.

7. Get even more help from the corporate propaganda system.

8. Have your ideas legitimized by the opposition.

[SpartanDem]

54. It doesn't take any money to get off your butt

and really participate in the process.

[TheKentuckian]

55. So, I don't participate? I must have went to Total Recall and had those memories implanted.

Why didn't I get the Mars 007 vacation instead of talking to thousands of people face to face, phone banking, helping in the campaign offices, and never missing an election?


You also willfully ignore the reality of the teabagger movement or are you saying I got it twisted? Maybe you should debate Maddow on this instead of me because I only have simulated memories of not sitting on my butt.

They are astroturfed with insiders organizing them, billionaires funding them, and a complicit media promoting them.