« Lamont's Participatory Democracy | Main | Why do they chase you, Wetback / If the Consul in the heavens has already granted you a visa? »
Live Blog
Hi gang! I'll be available for questions until about 9pm. I'd love to discuss how we can continue to grow the progressive community in 2006 and beyond. I'm also happy to discuss DFA-Link, DFA's endorsement process and any other issues of interest to your local groups.
Posted by ChrisWarshaw on March 20, 2006 at 08:21 PM | Permalink
Comments
Hi Chris. Could you please explain the new "Campaigns" section of DFA-Link?
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:24:40 PM
Hi Charlene,
We have over 700 local groups in all fifty states. You can see the current live stats on DFA-Link at www.dfalink.com.
We're adding about 30 new groups each month. There are currently groups in 337 Congressional Districts. We're hoping to get groups in over 400 Congressional Districts by November.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:25:33 PM
For those of you that are wondering where the rest of this conversation is, it's on the last thread.
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:27:42 PM
Jessica,
Great question! We're going to send an official announcement email about the Campaigns section to all 15,000 DFA-Link members soon.
Basically, the campaigns section allows you to see candidates that have applied for DFA's endorsement and recommend them for a national DFA endorsement. This should open up DFA's endorsement process and make it even more bottom-up. It will also enable you to nudge local candidates to submit an application if they haven't applied for an endorsement yet (whereas previously, it was very difficult for local DFA organizers to determine if a candidate had submitted an application to DFA).
In addition, campaigns can post announcements and events to their DFA-Link page.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:29:17 PM
Thanks Jessica....
Posted by: Bob | Mar 20, 2006 8:30:45 PM
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:29:17 PM
Cool. Is there a way for a group to "endorse" a candidate that's already been endorsed by DFA (Bernie)? Or are you still working on that and I just stumbled upon something that wasn't quite finished?
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:32:19 PM
Bob,
It will be a continuing task to get more people engaged in the political process. I don't have a simple solution. But I know that DFA's philosophy is that the best ideas always come from the bottom-up. That's we've tried to build new ways for people to organize locally in their communities through DFA-Link and other grassroots initiatives. We also work hard to gather and analyze feedback from DFA members. You can complete our current membership survey at www.democracyforamerica.com/survey.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:32:46 PM
Just found ya. Thanks for the location of the stats! Great news about the growth rate of the Meetups.
I'd love to hear how the DFA endorsements take place. MViMV endorsed Cegalis and received great support of that but also requests for endorsements of other worthy candidates.
Posted by: Charlene | Mar 20, 2006 8:32:48 PM
Re: Endorsing current DFA-List candidates.
We actually haven't built this functionality into the Campaigns section yet. But we'll add it sometime in the next week or so.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:33:51 PM
When will the new and improved BFA be ready?
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:34:05 PM
What is DFA's position on Impeachment?
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:35:22 PM
Candidates need to submit an application to be considered for endorsement (www.democracyforamerica.com/application).
After they submit an application, a team of staffers and volunteers in Burlington reviews the application and discusses with local DFA leaders. We also review the number of recommendations/endorsements from DFA members. The new campaign section of DFA-Link will make this whole process much more transparent by enabling DFA members to see candidates that have applied for endorsement and recommend them.
Over the course of 2006, I anticipate that we will endorse around 100 candidates and give away at least $500,000.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:37:16 PM
Not "give away" at least $500,000...*Invest* at least $500,000 in America's future ;-)
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:39:48 PM
Jessica,
At this point, we're monitoring the situation closely, but we don't yet have a position on impeachment.
Re: BFA: We're hoping to have the new blog software online within the next two months. It's going to incorporate most of the cool community driven features of Scoop blogs (ie, DailyKos and MyDD). It will include diaries, a rating system, and tight integration with DFA-Link and the main DFA website.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:40:11 PM
Re: Investing-- Good correction!
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:40:56 PM
Oh sure, I finally find everyone on the other thread and you all move over here... LOL!
Posted by: Liane | Mar 20, 2006 8:41:53 PM
Speaking of impeachment, what's the most effective way for the grassroots to impact DFA's position on an issue?
Is there some kind of critical mass needed?
Posted by: Liane | Mar 20, 2006 8:44:05 PM
At this point, we're monitoring the situation closely, but we don't yet have a position on impeachment.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:40:11 PM
How do DFA members encourage you to take a position?
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:44:29 PM
LOL Liane...Great minds ;-)
Posted by: Jessica | Mar 20, 2006 8:45:24 PM
"At this point, we're monitoring the situation closely, but we don't yet have a position on impeachment."
You must be joking.
Why the reluctance to hold Bush accountable for breaking the law and violating the Constitution, which he admitted not once but twice?
Posted by: Corinne | Mar 20, 2006 8:45:28 PM
You can send feedback and suggestions on Impeachment or other issues to [email protected]. We also read all the blog comments, as well as all the submissions to the "Contact Us" form on the DFA website.
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:46:52 PM
Good info, thanks!
Posted by: Liane | Mar 20, 2006 8:49:34 PM
Does DFA have a position on Feingold's censure motion?
Posted by: jc | Mar 20, 2006 8:50:16 PM
We do support Censure. We're currently assessing the best way to persuade more Senators to take our position. Let me know if you have any ideas!
Posted by: Chris Warshaw | Mar 20, 2006 8:52:54 PM
Ok, immediately after Chris leaves here, everybody to the DFA website Contact Us form. : )
Thanks for the tip, Chris. I was speaking to a friend today that hasn't been involved in politics since Dean's campaign; he was all about getting behind impeachment. It says a lot to me that someone that was motivated by Dean and then fell off needs impeachment in order to get involved again.
Posted by: Charlene | Mar 20, 2006 8:54:59 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
