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INVITE: 12/18 Progressive Holiday Party with PCDC & N4P! 12/13-14 NOI's RootsCamp Un-Conference with N4P Discount!

12/18/2014

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REGISTRATION PAGE IS SOLDOUT BUT U CAN RSVP ON FACEBOOK:

RSVP & SHARE ON FACEBOOK!

*** Progressive Holiday Party ***

benefiting

hosted by

Progressive Communicators of DC
http://www.pcdcnetwork.org

&

Network For Progress
http://networkforprogress.weebly.com/follow-us.html

sponsored by

Vanguard Communications
http://www.vancomm.com

6pm-9pm
Thursday, December 18, 2014

Dirty Martini
(upstairs bar)
1223 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20036
@ Dupont Circle

Join Network For Progress, a social and media-savvy community for connecting professional and grassroots Progressives, Democrats, Hope Mongers and Change Makers with political and civic participation, as we team up with Progressive Communicators of DC for their annual holiday party at Dirty Martini! Appetizers will be provided.

Questions? Contact Jim @ network4progress@gmail.com

Interested in giving?
As party organizers, Vanguard Communications is coordinating a Toddlers and Teens toy drive at the holiday party. This toy drive will coincide with the holiday giving activity that is also taking place at Vanguard's office. New, unwrapped toys or cash gifts can be collected at the party and will be donated to Toys for Tots DC, located in Anacostia. Not sure what to give? Consult the Amazon Wish List for a list of toys that the Marines say families need most.

About PCDC:
Founded in 2006, Progressive Communicators of Washington, D.C. (PCDC) is an informal network of 1,200+ members working in communications who are committed to progressive causes. PCDC sponsors trainings and speakers; shares tips, strategies and best practices; and provides forums for progressive communicators to share information, including a Yahoo Group email list. To join PCDC, please send an email to pcdc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

About DC Network For Progress:
Launched by alumni of OFA’s Generation Obama-Washington, DC chapter, Network For Progress is a social and media-savvy community for connecting professional and grassroots Progressives, Democrats, Hope Mongers and Change Makers with political and civic participation.

Follow N4P and its sub-communities like
DC Career Progress and DC Comm Tech For Progress:
http://networkforprogress.weebly.com/follow-us.html

REGISTRATION PAGE IS SOLDOUT BUT U CAN RSVP ON FACEBOOK:

RSVP & SHARE ON FACEBOOK!

12/13-14: New Organizing Institute’s RootsCamp un-conference & Job Fair!
(featuring Senators Kristin Gillibrand & Chris Murphy)

Volunteers attend free if you sign up by ASAP: http://act.neworganizing.com/survey/RC_2014_Volunteer

OR 10% off by using N4P's promo code "NFP10RC14" here:
http://roots14.eventbrite.com

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Are you "Ready For Unity?" Join our "Grassroots" Democratic Autopsy & "50-State 2.0" Movement-building Campaign! #readyforunity #mydemautopsy #50state20

12/11/2014

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JOIN THE 12/13 EVENT & "READY FOR UNITY" TEAM HERE!

Share on FACEBOOK!

Before you decide WHICH presidential campaign you are “Ready” for you should join the fight to ensure HOW your candidate and their fellow Democrats can better be prepared to win in 2016!

You’re invited to join Network For Progress for a “Ready for UNITY” Democratic Movement-building Task Force!

Starting with a forum at New Organizing Institute’s RootsCamp (Room TBA) on December 13th, Network For Progress will facilitate a "Grassroots" Democratic Autopsy long-term crowd-sourced Unite 4 Progress "50-State Strategy 2.0" campaign to transparently have grassroots voices heard on the direction of the Democratic Party and work together for future electoral success and not just submit ideas to the experts in Washington that they will be too overwhelmed to handle.

Our deadline for a preliminary report will be the Tuesday BEFORE the State of the Union Address (most likely January 20th).

The goal of this work is to broaden the conversation about what works and what doesn’t so we can ALL learn from previous experiences. In general, the Democratic Party is comprised of people working hard and doing many good things BUT we need to embrace and reinvigorate more strategies that can foster 21st Century-style cultural and systemic innovation for public engagement to create a thriving American Majority-inspired DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENT for 2016 and beyond.

Why is this so important? When we talk about democratic “movements” these days we may think of the Arab Spring or Burma, or we might think of Progressives or Occupy Wall Street, but the Democratic Party would benefit from leveraging its brand name and start to identify AND conduct itself more clearly as the Party of Democratic principles of inclusiveness, equality, fairness and opportunity that 90% of Americans think are the cornerstone of our founding.

Framing your argument in terms of values has been a popular theme from George Lakoff, author of “Don’t Think of an Elephant,” and Leadership Expert Simon Sinek offers a good glimpse into its importance for “brands” ranging from MLK to Apple with his TED Talk: “Start With Why.”

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden also once discussed at a TED Talk how there is a difference between winning and succeeding. We know that Democrats can “win” a bunch of elections in 2016 but we also need to recognize that a broader movement-building strategy can position candidates to better SUCCEED for the long-term.

Read N4P's Jim McBride "Forward Progressive" Blog for more:
"Why It's Time For A National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy!"

Please join us and we will begin to share online, video, event and petition platforms to connect and spread your feedback to friends and influencers!

JOIN THE 12/13 EVENT & "READY FOR UNITY" TEAM HERE!

Share on FACEBOOK!

About Network For Progress:
Launched by alumni of OFA’s Generation Obama-Washington, DC chapter, Network For Progress is a social and media-savvy community for connecting professional and grassroots Progressives, Democrats, Hope Mongers and Change Makers with political and civic participation.

Follow #N4P networks via EMAIL, FACEBOOK & TWITTER!

(includes Career Progress, Comm Tech 4 Progress, Campaign 4 Progress, Advocate 4 Progress, Serve 4 Progress, Policy Progress, Grassroots Progress, Progress Office and Jim’s Forward Progressive blog)

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FWD BLOG: Why it's time for a National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy for Democrats to succeed in 2016 and beyond!

12/11/2014

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JOIN THE 12/13 ROOTSCAMP EVENT & "READY FOR UNITY" TEAM!

There is no way to sugar coat it: Politics is a cyclical game BUT the Democratic performance in the 2014 elections was an unmitigated disaster.

There is ample evidence that 2010 was not just a fluke caused by voters angry about the slow return of jobs after the TARP, the Recovery Act and Wall Street Reform during the Great Recession OR the myths of the Obamacare fight. Even though the positive results of these and related policies are now clear and primed for Democrats basking in their glow, 2014 led to the worst turnout since World War II (when people were kind of busy with other maters) and the most Republican House seats since just before the Great Depression (when the bottom fell out).

Unfortunately, that means Democrats will have to wait until after 2020’s redistricting year (the last election before the next census) to have a chance to fix much of the damage done in the last four years.

The fact is, the Democrats can’t put Barack Obama on the ballot for any more elections and not every race is held in a hotly-contested Purple State during a presidential year so the Democrats need to start looking at how they can better connect with voters.

The good news about hitting rock bottom is that this time people are seriously discussing where “Yes We Can” went. The Democratic National Committee is sharing a survey of supporters right now and has created a Democratic Victory Task Force that will develop a preliminary “autopsy” report for their February Meeting followed by a final analysis in the summer. The team looks promising as it includes some familiar faces like Donna Brazile, Maria Cardona and tech-savvy Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt but time will tell whether they can absorb the cultural and systemic issues that led to this moment.

Yet “Victory” is not a big enough goal for this committee. In the end, winning elections is just a by-product of achieving public support for your cause FIRST that can come from a National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy that seeks to win the hearts and minds of the American people.

There will be plenty of PIECEMEAL PROPOSALS matched with HUGE EXCUSES but we need to focus on the basics.

For example, due to online fundraising and the over-rated power of money to easily brainwash voters and win elections the post-“Citizens United” campaign finance environment didn’t hurt Democrats too much in 2012 as high-priced tools like TV advertising have reached a saturation point in a dying market.

Re-Districting is a legitimate problem often mentioned as Democrats should hold maybe 15 more seats in the House of Representatives if you compare their 2014 national vote total to their elected Members of Congress but we need to remember that losing elections is how we got in this situation in the first place...and that even if this were corrected the GOP would still have a commanding majority.

Hence, my simplest 2014 analysis is that sadly Barack Obama couldn’t figure out how to bring the Movement for “Hope” and “Change” to the Washington political establishment BUT the Washington political establishment definitely brought a movement of “cynicsm” and “status quo” politics to Barack Obama.

The President’s shine was destined to be tarnished by the ugly realities of governing and his time was now focused on more pressing matters, but he might regret how “Yes We Can!” became transformed into “Yes I Can!” where If you just give $5 the experts they can go off and win the election for you...don’t worry about the details or anything!

Well, it’s TIME to worry about the details that were left behind like the Howard Dean-led DNC’s “50-State” Strategy that supported party growth across the entire nation and helped create huge wins in the 2006 mid-terms before people knew who Barack Obama was.

The examples are endless, but here is one from the air war and one from the ground game that illustrate the rudimentary issues that I thought had become Outreach 101.

In 2014, after watching Bill Clinton be heralded as the “Explainer-in-Chief” and the success of My.BarackObama.com, am I seeing key Congressional and Senate races omit what should be politically-popular news about their governing agenda and record of achievements from their messaging AND even information on how to get involved like their campaign office and event information from their web sites and social media platforms....the internet wasn't created for only sharing cool things AFTER they happen!

In 2014, despite widespread use in party circles, why aren’t campaign organizers treated as capable of 21st Century communication with supporters (especially young people) on a regular basis via meetups, email, text and social media? Maybe because they’re perceived as low-skilled labor that doesn’t warrant a living wage or interns who don’t earn any wage at all?

The fact is, we have some numbers on our side but you don’t get credit for having a fundraising advantage or a great Get-Out-The-Vote program on Election Day. You lost the ENTIRE election….there’s no prize for your ad spending or door knocking results in October. Granted, there are external factors and demographic realities that affect candidates, but there needs to be a National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy to shape the political climate 24/7/365 and more than ever it deserves to be scrutinized.

As Obama has said about Washington’s obstacles to policy solutions, the question is not whether there are enough “ideas” to help Democrats win elections - the U.S. electorate is demographically MORE LIBERAL today than it was in 2006 & 2008 - but whether there are enough PEOPLE that are willing and able to implement them.

And it starts with leadership! All it takes is one person at the top who has a vision and everyone else will become both “willing” and “able” to implement a plan in a hurry. So, with that in mind, we need to go beyond just dropping our comments in the Suggestion Box but really need to open up the dialogue beyond that.

And the fact is, the Democratic Party can never be as flexible and experimental as an individual activist, so even though some of the information gathered might not work for party organizations this kind of dialogue will offer us the opportunity to learn lessons that might be unique to our own issues and interests.

That’s why we need to focus on more than presidential primary candidates but a “Grassroots” Democratic Autopsy and long-term “Unite 4 Progress” campaign to help all smart candidates to WIN anyplace and anywhere!

A crowd-sourced forum will allow people to not be limited to emailing someone their feedback BUT to Share, Collaborate and Advocate for them, so best practices of all kinds can become more broadly championed and more easily percolate to the top of organizations instead of just getting read once and archived forever.

In particular, there is so much frustration among Obama supporters right now that this concept can be a great vehicle for channeling their energies by offering plenty of opportunities to promote legacy-building that will increase the President’s poll numbers and make him more of an asset to candidates for the next election.

Now, please join us in our quest for a growing a true Democratic Movement and let’s bring PROGRESS back in America!

JOIN THE 12/13 ROOTSCAMP EVENT & "READY FOR UNITY" TEAM

About “Forward Progressive” Blog:
Grassroots Social & Media Strategist Jim McBride writes about "post-partisan" forward-minded solutions to policy and campaign issues that prioritize strategies that appeal to broad coalitions of voters and supporters to ensure movement success.

He was the Founder of Generation Webb and Generation Obama-Washington, DC chapter as well as one of the lead organizers of Virginia For Obama’s grassroots-led primary campaign. He is currently the President of the grassroots community Network For Progress and has over 20 years in communications and political work.

Follow on FACEBOOK!

Follow on TWITTER!

Follow #N4P networks via EMAIL, FACEBOOK & TWITTER!

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FWDBLOG: Where the "Occupy" Road goes wrong (when activism becomes anarchy)

12/9/2014

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With the series of controversial court decisions and new incidents of cases of police killing unarmed black men, and even a child, in recent weeks there is a building movement to end these tragedies once and for all. And once again within the outrage has blossomed the age-old controversy about tactics to bring about change as factions splinter their strategies.

My background is mostly focused on campaigns and party-building, not direct action, but as a communications professional and grassroots activist for over a decade I see clear problems with the direction of Ferguson-inspired activists.

Yet there’s a reason why that might make me even more qualified to offer my analysis as my work has been directly responsible for change in our society from supporting leadership that has rescued the country from a Great Recession to providing universal health care protections and more affordable care for millions of people across America.

That’s because my energy has been channeled toward solutions not just protest. I went to an anti-war rally during the Bush years but I spent MOST of my time trying to remove him and his supporters from office with candidates who opposed or wanted to dismantle his foreign policy blunders. And I tried to reach as many people as possible so our side had the votes to make it happen.

But what I’m seeing from the protests right now disturbs me. Following the total catastrophe of the riots over Michael Brown there has also been a focus on shutting down highways or trains as well as boycotting Black Friday and white-owned businesses.

First off, rioting IS still violence. Even if you don’t hurt a person, you’re destroying a community when you ransack a store and are ruining the livelihoods of a business owner, their employees AND their customers….of all races.

I am a firm believer that my Rights end where yours begin. This is where liberals win the argument against Second Amendment extremism and numerous social injustices.

By creating a traffic jam with no explanation to the people dozens of cars deep who are trying to get to work or to their families makes no sense to me. This just doubles down on "occupation" techniques but is much more of a disruption than the minor convenience of a march or crowd in a park.

And of course, there is no better way to create unity than to call for people to halt their Thanksgiving weekend holiday shopping with family OR make race-based purchasing decisions!

This is a waste of everyone’s time and is NOT activism….just an excuse for useless anger often powered by fringe anarchists.

Instigating confrontation and creating division won’t help your cause. All you need to do is recall Occupy just three years ago as it was co-opted. In DC, protesters got bored of the peaceful-ness when dealing with DC cops and decided to “occupy” a downtown abandoned-building to demand it be used for the homeless (there was a meeting to discuss the issue but apparently they couldn’t wait?) and dis-obeyed reasonable park regulations with the help of some unsavory infiltrators.

The angry protests are getting headlines right now but are not spreading a message or gathering support….they will alienate the public.

Remember what Chris Rock said recently about racial progress meaning white people are “less crazy” and give them one less reason to feel victimized….you’re going to need to win over ALL hearts and minds to truly be successful.

And it’s time for Peaceful protests not just “non-violent” ones….the messaging expert George Lakoff would probably argue that you shouldn’t reinforce a negative by using the term “violent” anywhere near your action. A truly peaceful March or Vigil can create positive media attention if the message is about Hope not Hate.

There are several other ways to channel your protest energy in a democracy that elected an African-American President:

VOTE.
VOLUNTEER TO GET OTHERS TO VOTE.
CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WITH SPECIFIC POLICY PROPOSALS.
GET OTHERS TO CONTACT ELECTED OFFICIALS VIA PETITIONS & OTHER ADVOCACY TOOLS.
CONTACT THE MEDIA.
RECRUIT OTHERS TO HELP YOU REACH THE MEDIA.
ATTEND A RALLY FOR A SOLUTION.
RECRUIT OTHERS TO ATTEND RALLIES.

Now, of course, sometimes all of this might not work BUT it definitely won’t work if you don’t try….and I just recently read about the lowest voter turnout since WWII so I know someone you know isn’t trying.

Meanwhile, there is no reason to go “nuclear” by trying to shut down society, remember that you’re not Mandela….you have a President and a large swath of a nation on your side.

Seize on the opportunities posed by the more well-documented cases like Eric Garner or Tamir Rice that even white Americans and conservatives have been alarmed about.

Remember that when you’re winning the race you can afford to turn on the Cruise Control and let the car drive for awhile….and avoid the risks of a reckless crash. George H.W. Bush didn't do a touchdown dance on the Berlin Wall for a reason.

Use a “big picture” approach with messages like #blacklivesmatter or solutions for “community policing” that President Obama is working on and don’t get bogged down in discussing one case or a random assortment of complaints.

It’s time to lay the groundwork for a movement NOT a tinder box.

About “Forward Progressive” Blog:
Grassroots Social & Media Strategist Jim McBride writes about "post-partisan" forward-minded solutions to policy and campaign issues that prioritize strategies that appeal to broad coalitions of voters and supporters to ensure movement success.

He was the Founder of Generation Webb and Generation Obama-Washington, DC chapter as well as one of the lead organizers of Virginia For Obama’s grassroots-led primary campaign. He is currently the President of the grassroots community Network For Progress and has over 20 years in communications and political work.

Follow on FACEBOOK!

Follow on TWITTER!

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INVITE: 12/18 Progressive Holiday Party with PCDC & N4P! 12/13-14 NOI's RootsCamp Un-Conference with N4P Discount!

Are you "Ready For Unity?" Join our "Grassroots" Democratic Autopsy & "50-State 2.0" Movement-building Campaign! #readyforunity #mydemautopsy #50state20

FWD BLOG: Why it's time for a National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy for Democrats to succeed in 2016 and beyond!

FWDBLOG: Where the "Occupy" Road goes wrong (when activism becomes anarchy)

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Archives

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INVITE: 12/18 Progressive Holiday Party with PCDC & N4P! 12/13-14 NOI's RootsCamp Un-Conference with N4P Discount!

Are you "Ready For Unity?" Join our "Grassroots" Democratic Autopsy & "50-State 2.0" Movement-building Campaign! #readyforunity #mydemautopsy #50state20

FWD BLOG: Why it's time for a National MOVEMENT-BUILDING Strategy for Democrats to succeed in 2016 and beyond!

FWDBLOG: Where the "Occupy" Road goes wrong﻿ (when activism becomes anarchy)

Author

Archives

Categories

FWDBLOG: Where the "Occupy" Road goes wrong (when activism becomes anarchy)