- Organizing for America
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Organizing for America (OFA) Founded 2009 Members 13 million email addresses from Obama campaign, unknown membership Country United States Affiliation Democratic Party Key people Mitch Stewart, director Office location Washington, D.C. Website Official Website Organizing for America is a community organizing project of the Democratic National Committee.[1][2][3] Founded after the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama, the group seeks to mobilize supporters in favor of Obama's legislative priorities.
Contents
History
The formation of Organizing for America was announced by then-President-Elect Obama on January 17, 2009.[4]
The group officially began operations on the third day of the Obama administration, January 23, 2009. On the same day, it was announced that Mitch Stewart would serve as the first Director. Jeremy Bird, a former Obama for America field operative, was named Deputy Director.[5]
Mission
To date, the organization's activities have centered around political activism in favor of Obama's early legislative goals including the 2009 stimulus package and Democratic Party plans to reform the healthcare system. Another stated goal of OFA is alleviating perceived political apathy and increasing support for the Democratic Party.
Organization
Organizing for America is composed of 50 different state organizations, united by a single national umbrella. The states have a high level of autonomy when it comes to deciding how to execute tasks given by national, but most major programs are ultimately delegated by the National directors.
Political activism
Organizing for America has provided logistical support to local community groups, including holding conference calls with volunteers, sponsoring events and house parties, using social networking and New Media, and providing talking points.
Major campaigns
Health care reform
On October 20, 2009, OFA hosted a national phone bank event intended to encourage elected federal officials to support Obama's healthcare proposals. A stated goal of achieving 100,000 phone calls was exceeded, with 300,000 calls ultimately made. The event was considered highly successful.[6]
On February 11, 2010, OFA launched a national campaign called "You Fight, We Fight".[7] This program enabled people to pledge a number of hours in support of healthcare reform and President Barack Obama's domestic goals. Nevertheless, OFA members were never called upon to do volunteer work in support of including a public option in the bill, despite Obama's stated preference for such a provision.[8]
After the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which completed one piece of Obama's domestic agenda, Organizing For America enabled Americans to "co-sign with the president,"[9] creating a permanent record of the bills supporters. Those who co-signed could opt to have a certificate noting their participation sent to them for free. Over one million signatures of health care bill supporters were delivered to the president in April 2010.[10]
Other issues
Except for some work on health care reform, the Obama administration has not made extensive use of OFA. This choice has been criticized by some veterans of the 2008 campaign, who believe that Obama has erred by being too ready to compromise with conservatives instead of mobilizing the OFA volunteer base.[8][11]
References
- ^ "A project of the Democratic National Committee" http://www.barackobama.com/index.php
- ^ "DNC Announces Key Staff for Organizing for America" January 23, 2009 DNC press release http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/dnc-announces-key-staff-organizing/story.aspx?guid={7E3D7A29-68BB-4D48-ACC5-CAFA4F6CD84C}
- ^ Sourcewatch.com http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Organizing_for_America
- ^ Cillizza, Christopher (January 17, 2009). "Obama Announces "Organizing for America"". The Washington Post.
- ^ Finney, Karen (January 23, 2009). "DNC Announces Key Staff for Organizing for America". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 29, 2009. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.reuters.com%2Farticle%2FpressRelease%2FidUS11722%2B24-Jan-2009%2BPRN20090124&date=2009-10-29. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
- ^ Teo, Dawn (October 20, 2009). "Congress "Getting Completely Crushed" With Over 100,000 Calls For Obama's Healthcare Reform". The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-teo/ofa-healthcare-phonebank_b_327418.html. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
- ^ Christopher Hass (February 2, 2010). "You Fight We Fight". Organizing For America. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGGxz7. Retrieved March 25, 2010.
- ^ a b Graham-Felsen, Sam (December 17, 2010), "Why is Obama leaving the grass roots on the sidelines?", The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/16/AR2010121606083.html, retrieved 2010-12-22
- ^ Boris Korby (March 23, 2010). "Want to cosign the president's health care bill? Yes you can - sort of.". ABC News. http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/03/want-to-cosign-the-presidents-health-care-bill-yes-you-can-sort-of.html. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
- ^ http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/deliverypledge?source=feature
- ^ Ganz, Marshall (November 3, 2010), "How Obama lost his voice, and how he can get it back", Los Angeles Times, http://articles.latimes.com/print/2010/nov/03/opinion/la-oe-1103-ganz-obama-20101103, retrieved 2010-12-22
External links
Categories:- Democratic Party (United States) organizations
- Barack Obama
- Organizations established in 2009
- 2009 establishments in the United States
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