Obama's Secret Email Network Revealed

After years of secrecy, Barack Obama's aides are finally dishing on the most powerful asset in his campaign arsenal.

Obama's aides always refused to discuss the campaign's massive email network, which shattered fundraising records and recruited the largest fleet of volunteers in the history of American politics. In 2004, John Kerry's list hit three million, and some estimated Obama's list could top five million. That would make it double the size of the largest email lists in U.S. politics, including older web groups like MoveOn. It turns out those estimates weren't even close.

Obama's list now tops a whopping ten million people, according to today's Washington Post.

The article does not directly attribute that figure to anyone. The same paragraph cites "senior aides," however, to report that the list is so financially valuable that it was "briefly offered" as loan "collateral during a cash-flow crunch." A source in a position to know also told me that the email list has reached eleven million people.

So how did this information go from the Democratic Party's best kept secret to an announcement in The Washington Post?

Because now, Obama's team wants everyone to know. The massive list of energized activists is the biggest stick Obama will carry in Washington.

It enables direct communication at a remarkable scale. The next President can instantly address 16 percent of his national supporters, based on the popular vote. To put it another way, the list dwarfs the audience of all the nightly cable news shows combined.

So even after the gauzy honeymoon talk fades, when people start second-guessing how much "political capital" Obama really has, there will be this resilient network of people committed to enacting the Obama agenda. In a policy fight with Congress -- or a message battle with the press -- these are the people that will take action to get Obama's back. They will call their neighbors, or their members of Congress. They'll knock on doors, or storm local meetings. They'll write letters to the editor or, naturally, email and prod their networks. They can also hold Obama accountable, of course, by using the same networked technology to pressure the new administration. Peter Daou, a web strategist and former adviser to Hillary Clinton's campaign, raised that prospect in the article:

...Obama faced an intense backlash when he [changed his position on] the issue of immunity for telecommunications companies that took part in the warrantless wiretapping program. "People who have helped you reach this historic goal by self-organizing can also organize in opposition to your policies," [Daou] said.

Obama supporters converted his website into a protest hub against his FISA position last summer, a presidential campaign first that drew coverage from blogs, The Nation, and ultimately traditional media. They can swiftly organize again. I think it will be even easier now, because traditional journalists are ready to jump on these kind of stories, and media coverage is crucial to growing net movements. Activism focused on pushing Obama, however, is not likely to be an immediate priority. After all, supporters are energized by this victory, and there is a broad consensus on the short-term priorities of the economy and Iraq. (One current effort to rally online opposition to one of the more controversial names floated for Obama's cabinet, Larry Summers, has hardly gained any traction.) Far beyond base activists, the new administration also has an opportunity to tap technology for a more open, transparent and interactive government.

Obama's email network is especially intriguing for governance, however, because it has the potential of acting as both his most powerful grassroots tool and the most visible check on a President at the helm of one-party government.

Ari Melber writes for The Nation, where this first appeared.

Follow Ari Melber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AriMelber

Comments

[novowel4me]

The ability to go beyond congress directly to the voters is a very big stick. Consider that Reagan was touted as the "Great Communicator" for this capability and all he had was a press conference or speaking event to work with.

[JimboSlice]

Ummm they offered the list as loan collateral? How does that work ... kind of creepy, and not what I wanted my email address used for.

[Bootoomee]

I doubt yours is one of them.

[momof3inGA]

10-11 Million? WOW! I'm proud to be one of them! :o)

Washington -- Here we come....!

[4wehttam]

I'm proud to be one of them too!!

Change.gov everyone..­......let'­s make our voices heard!!!

[tjhannink]

I am on the Obama list and have added both senators and my representative to my address book as well. I encourage everyone to start a dialog with their Washington representatives.
Next stop, my state legislators and parish officials. Make yourself heard. Our voices as citizens are needed to drown out the influence of the lobbyists that have taken over policy direction in this country.
Citizens should be able to see what lobbyists are meeting with their representatives - ask your reps and hold them accountable.

[SeanGardner]

Hey Ari...

I was a volunteer web strategist for the Obama Campaign. I found a way to help Obama out by launching my own “50 State Strategy” - essentially a massive e-mail campaign, a serious web strategy, where I micro-targeted voters. I sent out over 50,000 e-mails on Obama's behalf over the past 9 months to people from the 50 states, Guam, DC, and Puerto Rico. I didn't e-mail them repeatedly because that would make me a bonafide spammer. So I only e-mailed them one time, and most of the 2,000 plus people who responded to me were positive.

It was a great deal of fun. I spent two hours mining the internet for e-mails specific to region, race, ethinicity, etc. And this worked beautifully. For example, when HUFFPOST Blogger Natasha Chen wrote this summer that a near million member Asian-American PAC endorsed Obama, I sent an e-mail out that same day to e-mails of over 500 members of Asian-American fraternity and sorority members. And when Obama had an surprisingly rocky start with a latina member of Congress in June, I went into overdrive, e-mailing latinos across the country for a whole week straight about Obama's commitment.

E-mail works. Enemies of Obama used it to spread liesa about him before he even announced his candidacy. So I figured I would at least use it to expand the public's knowledge of his inspiring life and great political achievements.

[LazarusLong]

Your well thought out efforts are part of the reason that Obama got elected.

Thank you.

[SeanGardner]

No problem, acually, HUFFPOST Blogger RJ Eskow was the reason I stepped up my e-mailing and became absolutely "possessed" as they say. Eskow wrote a great piece some months back. DOn't remember the titel, but he was saying that because many of us in the progressive community are going to do what we should do to get Obama elected, he had some suggestions that he offered. That was the context I got from his piece.

He never recommended e-mailing, but clearly that motivated me to step up my efforts even more during the general election.

This was clearly the most engaged I've ever been. And it was fun. For instance, when I e-malied states like MT, ND, WY, ID, WV, and NE, I played up Obama's appeal among white voters. WHen I e-mailed NM, CO, OR, CA, and FL (more cosmopolitan states) I simply showed how Obama's was winning and what his issues were.

I look forward to doing it again...four years from now when he runs for re-election.