DNC

Update: I'm trying to find out more about O'Malley Dillon. Meanwhile, Marc Ambinder has more on the new DNC team and how they might work with OFA 2.0. He paints a sunnier picture than I did, which is encouraging, but his reporting is more general and not at all youth-specific. Notably, Ambinder suggests that the 50 State program will not only continue, but will actually expand.
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The Washington Post reports that Virginia Governor Tim Kaine will replace Howard Dean as the head of the Democratic National Committee. Kaine will serve in a part-time capacity until 2010 as he finishes his term as governor. Jennifer O'Malley Dillon will be named the Executive Director of the DNC and handle day-to-to day operations.

So what does this mean for youth within the DNC and any hope of seeing a coherent, long-term youth strategy emerge from the party? It's unclear at this point.

A friend involved with the Young Democrats tells me that this could be good for youth organizers. YDA ran a strong program in Virginia in 2005, and Kaine was very supportive of their efforts on his behalf. And in 2006, young voters in the state played a crucial role in the election of Sen. Jim Webb. All that, along with his early support of Obama's youth-driven campaign, gives hope that Kaine "gets it" and will support efforts to increase young people's participation in the party infrastructure and as a key target in their strategies.

Yet at the same time, Kaine is only going to be on board part time and I haven't heard anything either way about Dillon. She worked for Edwards in Iowa, where he garnered very little of the youth vote, despite efforts by the campaign to court young voters through it's One Corps service program. But she also switched over to the Obama campaign during the general election. Who knows where that leaves her when it comes to increasing youth participation within the party.

I'm also discouraged by a simple fact that a colleague reminded me of this morning. Every Democratic Chairman in the last 16 years who served under a Democratic President has left the party in a weaker position than he found it. Generally this is because the party is subservient to the needs of the President during the time he is in office. During a Presidential term, the party in power focuses on helping their President achieve short-term goals instead of focusing on long-term infrastructure building. The two counter examples are Terry McAuliffe and Howard Dean, both of whom were independent of a Democratic President and left a drastically improved party in their wake.

Not to be a pessimist, but history seems doomed to repeat itself. Obama For America 2.0 looks like it will remain an independent entity, separate from the DNC. This of course is in the name of "post partisanship." The Obama folks don't want to scare off any supporters who may not want to be associated with the Democratic Party, so they are going to operate outside the party. That might be smart politics in the near-term, but if it means that the DNC is neglected, or an after-thought, that's also a recipe for an atrophied Democratic Party, potentially undoing the work of the past eight years.

This seems particularly true of the young people supporting Obama. We're already stuck in the less than ideal position of having YDA and CDA competing for the Democratic youth brand. With separate structures, one inside the party and one outside, one heavily funded and one drastically underfunded, and no real coordination between the two, Democratic Party youth organizing isn't as strong or as unified as it should/could be. Now add into the mix an extremely popular Students for Barack Obama 2.0 organization. It's got more credibility than YDA and CDA among students, but it doesn't necessarily build party loyalty or help anyone other than Obama. It will compete with YDA and CDA for money and bodies, potentially siphoning off valuable resources, yet even if it out-organizes YDA and CDA in the short-term, there is no guarantee that it will outlast either organization. SFBO is tied directly to the Obama brand. Once he is out of office, the organization loses it's core mission - supporting Obama. The potential is there to build a stellar organization that disappears at the end of the Obama administration, leaving nothing in its wake.

Maybe I'm too much of a pessimist here. I hope so. Time will tell. The DNC Winter Meeting is on January 21st in DC. I'm attending as a member of the youth council. It's my first DNC meeting, so it should be interesting. I'm doubtful, but maybe we'll get some light shed on these questions.

Thomas Bates and Jason Carter of Democrats Work have an opinion piece in Roll Call today calling on the DNC to reorganize itself in part around the principles of community service during the "off season:"

From Roll Call (subscription only):

In 2006, a decade after the initial inspiration and still believing this idea was too good to keep on the shelf, we began building a new service-based approach to politics. We launched Democrats Work to help connect Democratic volunteers with service projects in their neighborhoods.

In just two years, we mobilized thousands of volunteers to work at food banks, plant trees and help with disaster recovery at over 140 events in a dozen states. These volunteers work proudly and visibly as Democrats, just as church members or employees of the local bank do under the banner of their organizations. Along with groups like Blue Tiger Democrats and Obama Works and candidates like Tom Perriello in Virginia and Charlie Brown in California, we have tried in our own plucky and underfunded ways to make community service a cornerstone of political activism.

The time to take these efforts to scale is now. The place to do it is within the DNC.

The piece goes on to (rightly, I think) note that new technologies that facilitate local organizing, and millions of new supporter brought in by the Obama campaign, make the time ripe to engage in such a drastic reorganization of the DNC away from "fundraising and attack ads," and put the focus back on being of real service to the community:

We believe the Democratic Party could be the largest source of volunteers in the country. Call it the audacity of scope. With over 10 million people engaged by the Obama campaign and DNC and millions more activated by local campaigns and organizations, Democrats can support community organizations of all stripes – nonprofit, municipal, religious – with an unprecedented volunteer army. This is not about politicizing service but about elevating politics and changing the way the Party relates to our communities.

Online tools provided by the DNC and the Obama campaign – through the Party Builder platform and My.BarackObama.com – have empowered the grassroots to organize service events. To harness and sustain that energy, the DNC needs a new Office of Community Service and dedicated staff to coordinate a truly national effort, working with state and local parties and training on-the-ground organizers to strengthen our communities year-round. Moreover, the Party should provide scholarships to students who are organizing on campus and fellowships to uber-volunteers who have become the precinct captains of the 21st century. The Party also should marshal its resources and volunteers to assist relief organizations that continue to rebuild places like New Orleans and are ready for the next emergency.

These efforts would transform our communities: food banks filled with donations and volunteers, after-school programs packed with tutors, neglected streets cleaned up. We would “keep the band together” year-round, ending the boom-and-bust cycle of political volunteer mobilization and management. And we would continue to grow the ranks of committed volunteers. Over half of the volunteers mobilized for community service by Democrats Work had never done any traditional “political” volunteering but embraced the opportunity to engage in electoral activities this fall.

Really good stuff. And something that I think would be inspiring to a lot of Millennials. It presents an interesting model to compare, or perhaps compliment, the independent nonprofit model proposed by Winograd and Hais as a potential way to keep (young) Obama supporters involved beyond the election.

Ari Melber wrote a thoughtful piece in the Washington Independent in part responding to my blog post recapping the Democratic Convention. Ari had a valid critique of my final thoughts on the lack of youth at the podium addressing the convention:

There was, however, at least one major youth speaker on Thursday night at the stadium. Ray Rivera, 29, a Colorado state director for the Obama campaign, addressed the 80,000 person crowd — twice. He was promoting, naturally, a text message organizing program, which recruited 30,000 new numbers that night alone. There was a big map and everything. I followed up with Connery, but he was not impressed. He emailed from the Republican National Convention:

"I don’t count Ray Rivera’s time on the stage. He may be young, but his purpose on stage was not to represent youth at the convention, it was to list build for the campaign. He was not there as an advocate for young people on the many pressing issues we face, and even if he were, one slot in four nights would still be skimpy representation considering what young people have done for Democratic candidates since 2006."

So there. It doesn’t count and even if it did it’s not enough. But that vision is a bit too cramped.

It is good that Obama entrusted his operation in a key state like Colorado to a young operative; just as it was good for Obama to put so much faith in young web organizers who upended U.S. politics with their online strategy, social networking and web fund-raising. Joe Rospars, Sam Graham-Felsen and Chris Hughes, for example, are all 27 or younger.

In many ways, empowering young people without putting them in youth constituency silos is better than just checking the youth box with some official speaker. Rivera had a huge — probably nerve-racking — role on the Big Night to actually do something in his official role, albeit related to the youth vote, rather than just giving a quick talk about how Barack inspires students.

I actually agree with Ari that it is amazing - and more important in the long run - that young people like Rivera are given prominent campaign positions instead of "siloed" away in a constituency group. My fight wasn't with the Obama campaign, which is the example that a lot of us hold up to other campaigns in terms of breaking those silos down and including young people in a meaningful way.

My fight was with the DNC and the Convention Committee. The DNC is explicitly run as a constituency organization. You have multiple caucuses - AAPI, Black, Women, LGBT, Youth, etc. all fighting for attention - and resources - from the party. In fact, there are rules within the DNC Charter that require the DNC to provide certain levels of access (as delegates) to the convention to most of these groups. Those rules were very recently expanded to include LGBTQ, but young people were explicitly left out and the DNC opted instead to issue non-binding "recommendations" on youth participation.

YDA actually fought with the party over this in 2005/2006, and are planning on doing so again in the next few years. This is why young people were 16% of convention participants instead of the 19% that equals their share of the Democratic Electorate. It wasn't that there wasn't enough interest among young people to fill the delegate slots, it was that older party officials with more connections crowded them out.

Those affirmative action rules don't apply to speaking slots at the podium, and access to the podium is not an area in which young people can just "crash the gates." They need to be explicitly granted access. My point was that when given the option of featuring young speakers or not, of granting that level of access or not, the DNCC chose not to do so. It's not as if young people don't have important issues that are age specific that should be provided equal time at the convention. Seven speakers came out on Thursday evening to specifically address economic concerns and problems that they face:

American Voices Program

• Roy Gross – Michigan Teamster car transport driver affected by decline in car manufacturing
• Monica Early – New to campaigning, this Akron mother & grandmother is an Obama volunteer
• Janet Lynn Monacco – Struggling small business owner from
• Melbourne, FL with health issues
• Teresa Asenap – Albuquerque, New Mexico public school worker concerned about economy
• Pamela Cash-Roper – Unemployed nurse and lifelong Republican from North Carolina
• Barney Smith – Marion, Indiana plant worker - lost job of 30 yrs when plant moved to China

Is it really too much to ask that one of these speakers be a young person struggling with student debt or lack of health care? Or a non-college youth struggling to raise a family in the Bush economy?

Nevertheless, Ari is right that my critique is somewhat parochial when viewed in the context of how Obama is changing this dynamic. It is more important that young people are put in positions of power within campaigns and the Party structure without the need to section them off in a "youth silo." And I hold out hope that Obama, riding a wave of youth support, and a staff that does in fact have many young people in key positions, will make that a reality throughout all levels of the party.

But it's equally important to note that Obama is still the exception here, not the rule, and my purpose was to point to the tension that still exists within the party when it comes to giving young people a seat at the table. The convention speaking schedule was a visible symbol of that shortage of access young people still have within the party despite all of Obama's changes.

What's more fun than watching an inspirational speaker deliver soaring oratory as he historically accepts his party's nomination?

Doing so with drink in hand, of course.

So sip if he says "hope" -- really when he says it -- and enjoy the other rules below to share a celebratory toast as you drink liberally tonight.

Take a Sip when
He Says:
- hope
- change
- community organizer
- Bush
- Hillary Clinton
or when:
- he says how much he loves America
- he tells a joke that actually makes you laugh
- he implicitly/explicitly compares himself to MLK
- compliments Michelle for being accomplished

Bumped. -Craig

I've been in Denver at the College Democrats of America convention for the last two days. I will comment on state of CDA in a future post, but first I'd like to share what was my highlight of the convention so far.

During the four hours of the "Be Kick Ass! '08: Training" sessions today, I attend a presentation given by Parag Mehta, the DNC's Director of Training. I was fortunate enough to have caught a training that Parag led at Netroots Nation a few weeks ago, but this was even more engaging and informative. The presentation was geared for College Dems, but many of the tips are applicable to student organizations in general. Here are some things Parag suggested to help campus leaders as they head back to school this fall:

How do you get off to a good start with your group's first two meetings?

First meeting: This is when you should greet new and continuing members and motivate them to get involved. Welcome members, introduce the organization and its goals, have a good time, and get students pumped up for the coming semester.

Second meeting: This meeting should be a work meeting. Show new students that your organization actually cares about doing things. Ideas include leading a phone banking training, voter registration training, or community service project.

Where should you hold your meetings?

There are many lot of options: student unions, student lounges, etc. Don't use a lecture hall or classroom. Students are in classrooms all day and lecture halls don't work as well for a collaborative meeting where everyone feels like they are a part of the organization.

How do you get food for your meetings?

We all know that college students gravitate towards free food, but how do you get food if your organization has little to no spare money? Try going to businesses that you know tend to lean Democratic (Costco, Whole Foods, etc) and ask them if they would be willing to donate some food for your first meeting. You'll be surprised by what they're willing to give friendly student groups.

What do you do about people who don't show up?

When you have your first meeting or event you'll get people who RVSP on Facebook or MyBO say that they'll attend, but then never show up. Instead of simply shrugging it off and letting these people go, keep a list of everyone who RSVPed for your meeting/event. Then after your meeting/event, pull a few students aside who enjoyed it and ask them call through everyone on the RSVP list who didn't show up. A simple message like "hey, I went to this event and had a great time, here's what we did, and I hope you can come next time" can be very effective at pulling these people back in.

Also, make sure to send a follow up message to everyone who showed up to the meeting. Remember to thank them, ask them to bring their friends next time, and let them know what's next for the organization.

There will be 631 youth delegates from all 50 states (and several territories) at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, or 14.9% of the 4,234 total delegates. Adding in pages and alternates, young people make up 16% of the total official DNC convention participants.

I just received word that there will be - um - slightly less youth representation at the Republican National Convention. The RNC will feature 42 youth delegates, or 1.76% of the total 2,380 delegates. These delegates come from only 24 states.

14.9% vs. 1.76% of the total delegates. 631 delegates vs. 42 delegates.

That's a 15 - 1 ratio. And it's not just grassroots "celebrity support." These are activists and future players within the party. If that doesn't tell you something about the directions in which these parties are heading, nothing will.

The DNC Youth Council has put together a guide to all the youth-focused events (and more) in Denver. I've attached it as a file, or you can download it directly here (pdf).

Lots of good stuff here. Spread widely to folks who will be in Denver. Hope to see you there.

The Nebraska Democratic Party held their convention this weekend to select individuals for the Democratic National Convention in Denver. There was of course official business such as selecting language for the platform of issues the Nebraska Democrats stand for as well as electing officers for the next two years on the convention agenda.

But the real reason the turnout was at a record high of 800 attendees at the state convention was because this was the moment where Nebraska Democrats were electing the individuals to represent our state in Denver.

For many it was a disappointing weekend in the sense that over 800 individuals were in attendance, over 400 wanted to go to Denver, but there were only 25 spots available (plus 4 alternate spots). This is of course, in addition to the now infamous 6 Superdelegates that were already assigned to party officers and leaders.

In total, Nebraska is sending 31 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver with 4 alternates (these are the people clearly hoping someone can’t make the trip to Denver so they can fill their shoes on the floor of the convention hall).

The question many young people had at the state convention was just how many young people under the age of 35 will actually get to go to Denver?

Find out the answer at: think.mtv.com/janeflemingkleeb

Still no word on data from CIRCLE . . . sorry. Waiting on them for my post-election recap.

• Rolling Stone skewers the Senate in The Senate Caves.
• Peter Levine - Director of CIRCLE - splashes some cold water on the idea that party identification forms early and hardens for life. Yikes, let's hope not.
• In the past I've had real disagreements with Courtney Martin's reading of today's youth activism, but she does us all proud in this op-ed for the Women's Media Center.
• The RNC tried to pull ahead of the DNC in the race for Facebook friends. It backfired hilariously. Full story at Tech President.
• Campaigns and Elections has released a list of Rising Stars Under 35. A few are familiar. Most are not. What do you think of the list?
• Apparently, in his quest to craft a "better" GI Bill than the one offered (and recently passed) by Jim Webb, John McCain didn't actually consult many veterans. You stay classy, McCain.

One of the great side-effects of high youth turnout this year is a comparable increase in youth participation within the state parties. Here's two such stories.

First in Hawaii:

The infusion of new blood and energy is a blessing for many party activists eager for a "second wave" of new Democrats to keep the party in the majority in Hawai'i. With the state party's leadership in generational transition, the timing of the Obama surge is fortunate. The blend of new faces with party regulars enthusiastic about grassroots activism gives the convention a richness and vibrancy that has often been missing in recent years.
...
The number of party members under 35, according to the Young Democrats of Hawai'i, has jumped from under 1,000 to about 5,100 during the membership drive that surrounded the caucuses.

And in Wyoming:

Wyoming Democrats say the selection of two 18-year-olds as delegates to the party's national convention this summer is representative of an upswing in youth interest in politics -- a trend both Democrats and Republicans hope will translate into votes.
...
Mike Bell, chairman of the Laramie County Democrats, said this year's state Democratic convention was unique because of the competition for delegate positions and the number of young people involved. The young participants were well organized, he said.

"In years past, they've had to scramble to get people to go to the convention," Bell said. "There hasn't been this kind of excitement in a while."

You also probably remember that there were literally hundreds of young voters interested in delegate positions in California earlier this year.

These are all good signs, but we shouldn't pat ourselves on the back just yet. This is all anecdotal data from just a few states at the moment. Here are my top questions about youth participation within the state and national party structures:

• How many young people were successfully elected as pledged delegates at the state conventions this year? Are those numbers reflective of the youth share of the electorate in those states? If not (probably not), how can we use that to leverage the state parties and DNC into implementing the the mandatory youth affirmative action goals in the DNC charter?
• What resources will states put forth in organizing young voters this cycle? Which states will hire staff and actually have those staff work on youth identification and GOTV?
• How many young people are DNC committee members? Is that representative of young people's share of the Democratic electorate? If not, (probably not), how can we get more young people elected to the DNC?

I know that the DNC Youth Council is collecting data on the first issue. Many states have not yet selected their delegates and others are having problems collecting reliable data on delegates who qualify as "youth" (under 35). Hopefully we'll have a clearer picture of that soon. As for the other two questions - so far I don't know if anyone is working on that. The matter of how states dole out organizing resources is a tough one that will require a lot of local youth advocates making the case within their state party. The third issue seems to be a matter of data collection and self-organizing: find out how the election process works in each state and then help potential candidates navigate the system.

I'm flying down to Nashville this afternoon for the YDA Convention. I'll be asking around about these things.