Micah Sifry wrote a follow-up to his post on the withering of Obama Organizing for America, and it’s just as interesting as the first one was. More practically useful, in its way: anybody involved with building/maintaining a local Tea Party group, or other local conservative/libertarian/Republican grassroots organization should read it. But – again – there’s one particular passage that I want to address:
…[A]nd heck, doesn’t the Democratic party want more local chapters[?]…
Not in the sense that Micah means, no. They want their current local chapters filled with people who show up, swell the ranks, pay their dues, and perform whatever tasks the local chapter leadership expects of them. Which, for most local chapters, involves maintaining the status quo. Actually letting those wild-eyed activists do anything would give said local chapter leadership the galloping staggers.
Anyway, read the whole thing, particularly if you’re a Right-grassroots organizer. But if you’re a progressive: read this, and tell yourself that nothing’s wrong, really.
Moe Lane
PS: What? No, the GOP has a different problem in that regard, which I have no intention at all of discussing in even a semi-public forum.
Crossposted to RedState.
Moe–Neither party establishment wants new blood to get involved at the local level; by definition that is destabilizing. Go read Walter Karp’s great book Indispensable Enemies and you’ll see what I mean.
Micah