Obama Online -- What's the Future of Organizing for America (OFA)?

"Technology, like the grassroots focus, would be at the core of our campaign from the start..."
-- David Plouffe, "The Audacity to Win"

Is it time for Plouffe, the architect behind Obama's winning campaign, to take Organizing for America out of the Democratic National Committee?

Organizing for America, aka OFA, was once Obama for America, the most technology-savvy political operation in American history. It's home to by far the biggest e-mail list in Washington -- some 13 million e-mail addresses of supporters who not just financially supported Obama's candidacy but also collectively clocked hundreds of hours in volunteer time to help elect him president: knocking on doors, making phone calls, spreading the word around within their own online social networks. In other words, supporters didn't just give money. They gave money and worked for Obama for free.

Repeatedly and with growing emphasis throughout his 390-page book, Plouffe notes the critical role that tech-powered volunteers played during the nearly two-year campaign.

"Our secret weapon, day in and day out, was our army of volunteers, real people who brought Obama's message and ideals to their neighbords, co-workers and fellow citizens," he writes in the closing chapter of the book. Plouffe is a key advisor to the DNC and considered by staffers there as an "inspiration" and "godfather of OFA." "Part of the reason our campaign was so successful is that we were able to identify early that many of the people we wanted to reach were spending more of their time on the Internet."

This isn't just the function of technology, however. This is a testament to an emerging digital democracy in which technological tools have lowered the barrier for political participation and a decentralized structure of individuals -- of all backgrounds, from any party -- are like light bulbs waiting to be turned on.

But a year after this "army of volunteers" swept Obama to victory -- and nine months after Obama moved to the White House while his grassroots list was housed under the DNC -- there's been a steady, gnawing disconnect between the online masses who turned out to vote and the man they elected president. There are various reasons for this, according to interviews with several poltical observers and former campaign staffers. First, people have just tuned out. Elections are, at bottom, about winning. That's easy. Governing, on the other hand, is far more complicated; winning sometimes means compromising. Second, OFA is under-staffed and lacks resources, making it all the more difficult to keep engaging Obama's supporters beyond the regular e-mails that land in their inboxes. Chris Hughes, the Facebook co-founder who joined Obama's Internet campaign early in 2007, told me: "Compared to what they [OFA] have now to what we had during the campaign -- well, you can't compare it. It's night and day."

And third, and most important, OFA is under the auspices of the DNC, which reports to the White House. So what about the self-identified Independents and Republicans who were active members of OFA when it stood for Obama for America? Where do they fit at the DNC? Is the supposedly bottom-up nature of the Obama campaign basically taking top-down orders from the Obama White House?

"They were outsiders who made a conscious decision to play the inside game," Joe Trippi, who ran Howard Dean's Internet-fueled campaign, told me. "They decided that the best way to get things done is to get somebody who can run legislation through, who can tough-mouth and arm-twist anyone who gets out of line. That's why Rahm" -- Rahm Emanuel, the long-time Hill insider and former House member who's now Obama's chief of staff -- "is there. To arm twist people and Rahm is good at that."

Adds Micah Sifry, editor of TechPresident, which has closely tracked Obama's online presence since 2008 primaries: "For the most part, the people in the campaign who really got the meaning and substance of the grassroots movement are not in the White House. So you've got the old media guys and you've the old politics guys used to the old ways of doing things, and the result is that the alternative power structure that Obama needed to take over Hillary [Clinton] during the campaign has been de-emphasized -- well, until they really needed it on health care."

Two weeks ago, with urging from OFA, citizens advocating for Obama's health care reform made 300,000 calls in one day to their Congress members. A DNC spokesman said about 75,000 of the calls were generated through online social networks.

But, as Sifry points out, the grassroots activities being done on behalf of Obama aren't being adequately covered by the mainstream media that the Obama White House -- and particularly Emanuel -- is obsessed with. The day after Congress members were flooded with calls, for example, an 878-word story in the New York Times headlined "Obama Takes a Health Care Hiatus" did not mention the calls. "The old political media doesn't know what to do with this, they don't understand how to cover it, they have no benchmark for it," Sifry told me.

And it underlines the specific challenge facing the White House -- and, by extension, Plouffe, who orchestrated the campaign that landed Obama there. No sitting president has ever amassed a grassroots movement as formidable and diverse as Obama's. As Plouffe writes in his book, "The largest two categories of donors to our campaign were retirees and students. I doubt that has ever before been the case in American politics." What do you do with this movement? How do you keep the Obama coalition of young voters, minorities and first-time voters engaged? How do you govern with it? Already, some worry that not enough outreach is being done with young voters.

It may be time for Plouffe to take OFA out of the DNC because, after all, he was the one who placed it there. He's profited from it, no doubt. As the New Republic reported last week, Plouffe's firm collected $376,000 from the DNC this year. But the so-called "godfather of OFA" is the one who needs to help save it.

So, one year after the election, what do you think should happen to OFA? Tweet your response (our Twitter hashtag is #OneYearLater), or post it in the comments section.

 

Comments

[mamajama]

The future of OFA? Well, it's not an official OFA movement, but through the subgroup "Coloradans for Obama", some of us have initiated a "contributions strike".

The way it works: When you get any fundraising email from any Democratic candidate or PAC, you hit reply, and send: "No contributions from me until the health insurance bill , WITH a strong public option, is signed into law."

This is expanding now into replying to phone and paper funding solicitations, as well.

Now THAT's grass roots organizing.

[Tomlastliberalleft]

Will always wonder what could have been our political future had the energy and sense of purpose OFA was able to generate for the election had survived being transplanted into the DNC. Clearly, the old guard of the party only tolerated OFA as long as we were useful. One night in August on KO Larry O’Donnell spelled out in clear language the history of the party’s habit of using the liberals and progressives as an ATM only to ignore them afterwards.

The truth is the DNC does not want anything like the OFA to be successful in the future. Such an organization would be able to marshal all sorts of power in state and congressional elections to affect real change, that is, incumbents would be at risk if they failed to deliver on campaign promises. The party would then have to actually function and be accountable. Clearly the party leadership does not want that to happen.

Was proud to be part of OFA and was overjoyed at the outcome last year. I find myself bitterly disappointed that our efforts appear to have been in vain. Yes, Obama won the election, but the system remains unchanged, unresponsive and unlikely to do anything but take steps drive the netroots out of the party as fast as possible. Everything they have done all year is designed to re-establish the old guard that now rules and make sure OFA will suffocate in an atmosphere of betrayal and bitter resignation.

[LushLife72]

Amen to that.

[huff-fan]

I have nothing but positive things to say about the OFA. The paid staff are well organized, supportive, and enthusiastic. However,I find it to be very draining work. We have had to continually fight against myths and misinformation about health care reform created by the right and perpetuated by mainstream media. It is very disturbing to see fear and race baiting tactics of the tea partiers. The shameful targeting of seniors by the insurance industry. If only the media would do due diligence instead of repeating hearsay as facts. Often when I read the papers, I find misleading information. I had a reporter asked me if Congresswoman McCollum was talking out of both sides of her mouth when she said she supported the public option, but she would not support any bill that forces someone to take the public option. I had to explain the word OPTION to him.
A recent guest on this Week listed several key ideas in the current health care bill that were originally republican ideas, "the death panels" and insurance mandates for example. He added that the fact that Republicans now reject these ideas shows just how far right they have become. I would add obstructionist. According to the CBO, a strong public option would lower the cost of reform and would bring down insurance costs by providing competition. Most American who understand the concept of the public option support it.

[dezzertguy]

The camapign will have to re-engineer their control of the MSM. While the MSM is still supporting the president, too much information unflattering to the president is getting out. Also, more stelth on the laws being passed. As the WSJ noted, the Dems have passed some of their agenda buried in other bills. They were to fast and too open about healtchare takeover, cap and trade and card check. They will have to develop ways to pass these with public knowledge.

[billobasher]

And what was the turn out in Virginia this year comnpared to last?

[Matt Osborne - Huffpost Blogger]

I noticed an interesting pattern in September: every time another rumor about Rahm Emmanuel selling out reform hit the blogosphere, there was another batch of emails from grassroots groups -- OFA included -- asking me to call and/or email Congress. Within two or three days, the White House would issue a denial; by late October, there was a consensus for reform and the public option in Congress and in polling.

This might only have been coincidence if it hadn't kept happening just about every single week.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/matt-osborne/sun-tzu-and-the-art-of-11_b_306054.html

[Matrsnot]

Dim. VERY Dim.

[Prefers Coffee]

The DNC owns the volunteer lists, they always did. Pull OFA out and no more data. That's a problem especially when all you want to do is massage the lists for donations and cold call for support.

They were never and will never use OFA to support state-wide candidates, maybe not even national candidates. I don't totally disagree, that's what the DNC is for. We are in service to the agenda, airfare not included.

If they don't get a clue as to what the remaining faithful are all about, next year's anniversary will be a memorial for the late, not so great OFA.

[Michael Molenda]

I puzzled over the future of OFA myself after the election. I decided that OFA should be distinct from and broader than the DNC. In fact, I think it could be the basis of a new American political party.

The old Democratic-Republican lineup is obsolete, and a major realignment is long overdue. Such realignments have happened periodically throughout American history (remember when Abraham Lincoln switched from Whig to Republican?). It's time again.

The GOP is definitely being restructured into a far-right party, leaving a pool of center-rightists adrift. I predict the Democratic party will move toward the right to try to absorb them, forcing the center-left and left to look for a new home--of which the OFA could be the core.

OFA, please go independent!

[billobasher]

The problem in VA is that Deeds was a dud of a candidate. Obama still has a 52% approval rating in VA. Matk Warner remains one of the state's most popular pols ever. Deeds was not ready for prime time.

[gulfofmexico1]

I guess all of them were bad candidates. Next excuse please.....

[billobasher]

One of the things that has hurt Obama is that they have not kept his huge throng of younger voters, and minorities involved. Obama got 69 million votes in 2008. He drew crowd sizes that were unheard of. He should have kept these golks together. He has the numbers to totally drown out the tea baggers.

[gulfofmexico1]

Your funny! Rush Limbaugh drew more people to his bake sale.

[billobasher]

Rush Limbaugh drew 200,000 people to his "bake sale?" Did he draw 2 million like Obama did on his inagural? LOL

[billobasher]

Did Rush draw 2 million people to his "bake sale?" That is how many Obama drew tro his inagural. He also drew 250,000 in St. Louis. What did Rush draw to that high school stadium in Colorado? 30,000? Or Beck to the D.C. tea bagger march? 78,000?

[Mark Slater]

So when is the great Democratic freight train going to leave the station? A Super-majority doesn't come along all that often. When does he get to deliver on his promises? Entirely too much attention is paid to the crazy right-wing fringe people. The voters who elected him want him to jump now. Get going!

[lastep]

google The Obama Deception and Fall of the Republic

[brady61995]

or dont waste your time

[Altruth]

You mean the REPUBLICAN Deception and Fall of the Republic - that happened last year!

[lastep]

his broken promise of only taking public funds for his first run should have been a clue. Then right after he was in he broke another promise by selecting a lobbyist for his first key position. Watch the online doc called "the Obama Deception"

[Ergon]

I confess to being very excited when I saw all the crowds and the speeches were very well crafted. But in the end, I knew I'd be disappointed, and voted Nader. He did place 3rd, you know, and his integrity and fortitude is light years ahead.

[Brezzydee]

I think after all this talk it's going to be a new day and a new way. I am sure that David will pull OFA out of the DNC. he is going to have to start remarketing and use a different strategy as things change. He can tell them his vision, but he is going to have to be there to help carry it out. This really is a dream team, once healthcare is passed there will be more interaction. But the grassroots have to do their job to pressure congress and the senate. President Obama can put the objective forth, but the congress and senate need to carry it out. That is where we come in.