|
it was a training session for dem groups from all across Missouri. I'm not sure I learned any of the things they had hoped to teach me, but I actually did learn a lot of things. The dems who attended the meeting were begging for a message to deliver, but the instructors were focused on building the infrastructure from the bottom on up that would allow a path for messages to travel. A light went on and it occurred to me that while most of us are both liberals and democrats, our job as a liberal is different than our job as a democrat. Liberalism must analyze situations and circumstances and find solutions, while the duty of a democrat is to take those liberal insights and implement them into society.
The other revelation I had was about canvassing. Last year, like so many of you here, I spent hours and hours and hours on the phone classifying people as undecideds or democrats or repubs, and asking them to vote for John Kerry. I never thought it was a total waste of time because I do think it helped identify the voters and was helpful in building the voter database, but I never felt like I was actually persuading people to support the dem candidates. One part of the session was an activity where three of the instructors pretended to be a dem, an undecided, and a repub, and we took turns 'canvassing' and tried to convince them to vote for our candidate. As I watched, I could see how, even though we were all essentially delivering the same message, the way it was delivered made a world of difference. I like to think that my own inexperienced approach had a neutral effect, in that we may not have gained any votes but at least I didn't lose us any. I watched as one of my fellow dems used body language and voice inflections that had me absolutely cringing, but that person was followed up by two more county dems who I think probably could have convinced Barbra Bush to have voted Kerry. I can't really tell you what they did exactly, except that they sounded wise and warm, but not patronizing or insincere. I don't know how to learn to sound like they sounded, but I know I'm going to spend the next two years working on technique.
Roger Wilson was there, and I really liked him a lot. He gave a short speech during lunch, and he talked about how sometimes you have to shoot through your own hand in order to take out the other guy. He talked about framing, and how some issues have to be dealt with very carefully, and he spent a lot of time talking about the importance of the internet sites and how these sites will help us win elections in the future. Best of all, when he would talk about the Bush guys or the repub majority in Missouri, his face would turn red, and he would be pounding his fist, and at one point he said he couldn't talk about it anymore or his blood pressure would boil over. I truly believe he was sincere, and as outraged as the rest of us.
If you ever get a chance to go to one of the session things, I'd recommend it. It was fun, and informative, AND...you get free lunch!!
|
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
