Diatribune

This has been a difficult past week for me as my department at work got cut and I am now sadly unemployed. So – before I start my blog I want to give a huge shout out to the folks who have really stepped up to help me find work in the political youth outreach world. It’s true that you never really know who your peeps are until you need them and the people that have offered their contacts or passed around my resume have been overwhelmingly thoughtful for which I am exponentially grateful.

So, let me kick off my first day of unemployment by addressing an important and too often ignored political topic: Volunteers.

In both the democratic and republican parties today you see a split between old school traditional establishment party members and new school members that tend to be the activist-y folks who get the work done. In our movement you know these folks as the big check writers vs. the grass/netroots people. On the other side it’s the Evangelicals vs. the Goldwater Geezers.

In the past it’s been the check writers who have run both of our parties. Sure we’ve had spurts of activism here and rallies there and shaking hands, parades, kissing babies… etc. But, for the most part money went toward thousands of points in national media and direct mail all over the place. Media reigned supreme as the ONLY way to get a message out, move votes, and win elections.

That all changed in 2002. When Republican operatives saw the tiny chin-hairs they didn’t win won the 2000 election by and the sheer number of unregistered or nonparticipating people who should have been the GW base they started mobilizing and fast. So, 2002 became the dry run at the larger 2004 project to get 10 million evangelicals to the polls on Election Day.

And they did it. Not through commercials, not through direct mail but all through outreach and enlistment, word of mouth, and people powered politics.

We saw huge successes in 2006 for our party. In part these came on the backs of broken policy promises, a disastrous war, and an all-hands-on-deck draft of progressive voters and volunteers. Comparably, if you look at the top-line democratic races that received oodles of money did more commercials than Chevy, and mailed a book’s worth of flashy glossy cards you see – most of those folks – didn’t win. They had everything going for them. They had the money, they had the great bio, they had the perfect support nationally, but they just couldn’t make it happen.

On the flip you see people like my Congresswoman Nancy Boyda (KS-02), all of New Hampshire, all of Vermont, the NC-11, and places we never knew we could be competitive like TX-23 and FL-16. Those campaigns had something else going for them. They didn’t have every resources handed to them a year in advance. They had to go outside the box for new ideas and utilize every possible tool to reach people.

Posse Powered Politics is the key to progress, dude.

Depending on which estimations you read from various different places in fact… from all over… the price you list as a volunteer hour can be as low as $10 an hour to an average estimation of $17.55. In the 6 months leading up to an election with a volunteer base clocking 50-60,000 hours calculates just over a million dollars of value. Price of something like that is right around $150,000 in a high-end budge equating a 634% return on investment.

Still think volunteers don’t mean anything? Aside from spitting numbers at you I’m sure you’ve noticed that many campaigns that are the dark horses have an army of people behind them. And that is because face-to-face contact is the #1 way to influence someone. Whether you’re asking them to vote or trying to get them to vote for someone – connecting with people on a more human level is far more effective and garners actual results.

The serious decline in engagement, whether civic or political, demonstrates the need for more people-based community centric connections. In this day in age of isolationist technology sometimes you just want to reach out and touch someone. And you can do it while in a fun environment that is also giving back. (What better way to impress dates???)

So why do the 202ers refuse that these are meaningful ways to win elections or make a difference?

Well, there are a few reasons.

1. You could say they are protecting their own economic interests.

If you make bank off of a solid media buy then biting the hand that feeds you or advocating for a campaign style that decreases your take-home is going to hurt little Jr.’s chances at Princeton.

2. Sheer snobbery.

The same elitism that writes the checks the fuels the commercials is the same elitism that downplays the importance of the volunteer touts the “bitches ain’t shit” attitude. Why? Because it’s tough to realize that all your money and power isn’t half as valuable as one redneck door-knocker who just turned 18 and shows up every weekend. Makes the Princeton degree seem kinda over-priced and the dude look like a douche.

So in talking about this to my politico buds and acknowledging this amazing world of great volunteers that don’t get the street cred or the accolades for moving numbers - we decided we needed a really compelling reframing of what volunteers are and how to communicate their usefulness in a campaign or organization.

I advocated for changing the word volunteer to pimp and talking about Posse Powered Politics – but was quickly shouted down by smarter people than me…. Damnit!!

So here are some new rules for orgs and camps on yo volunteers:

1. Volunteers are priceless. (I stole this line from Jefferson Smith btw) What is priceless? Invaluable – can’t be bought. Treat them like they are valuable and operate with the priceless model and you’ll be surprised.
2. V’s are donors. It might not be the bling that gets you commercials but they donate their talent and their time reducing your costs which equals money – LOTS of money.
3. Volunteers are sexy. Sure its number 3 on the definitions but sexy is “excitingly appealing” or “glamorous.” This is the throwback to the Wifie-poos of the 50’s who were in social magazines for their work with the poor or organizing a clothing drive… Continuing this status elevation can bring Sexy Back in the volunteer world. When you’re sexy you multiply. Who doesn’t want to be around someone who is sexy and valuable??
4. Know your V’s. If you have someone like me volunteering for something – how valuable is it to have me stuffing envelopes? I’m someone who could organize and manage a donor phone bank operation. Knowing your V’s can help you understand who can do larger and tougher tasks. Nothing is more insulting than giving the same task to a brilliant genus as you would a tin-foil hat wearing friend.
5. Build a bigger and better V. If they aren’t a super V it doesn’t mean that they can’t become a super V. We can make them stronger – we have the technology.

So there you go, Voila! My verbose wisdom of the day. Vicariously vested in the vivified volunteer and vanquishing the vile vices of the 202ers.

Long Live the V’s.

cross posted to Future Majority
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