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June 11, 2004

ACT for Victory Blog

I'm going to be blogging a lot more about the labor-led Americans Coming Together (ACT) voter mobilization organization, but I found this piece on their blog very cool:

Earlier this week, ACT canvasser Peggy P. was out knocking on doors, reaching out to voters. She knocked on one door, and was talking to the resident about the issues at hand in the upcoming election. Peggy went through the script that she goes through with every voter, and then asked the woman, “What issues are important to you?”

The resident replied that her real biggest issue was her leaky roof.

Peggy thanked the resident – and when she got back to the office that night, she did some research on the internet. Peggy quickly found a source of city funding for modest home repair. She sent the woman the phone number and contact name of someone within the City of Phoenix who could help her fund the repair. She also sent along the name and number of the woman’s local councilman – in case she ran across any trouble.

“By allowing our canvassers to work as community organizers, listening to citizens about all of their concerns -- national and local -- we can bring people back into politics, one voter and one family at a time,” explained Arizona State Director Michael Frias.

This is how to rebuild progressive politics. Put people on the ground, talking to other folks one on one, and get them solving problems, both local and in the White House. That's movement building-- everything else in politics is just sound and fury.

BTW they are having a day of action across the country and you can type in your zip code and see if they have a voter turnout event near you.

Posted by Nathan at June 11, 2004 05:18 PM