Obama Email Army
Issue 124 - January 21, 2009

The following email sent to Obama activists is fascinating.

They really don't want substantive feedback, of course.

This is a trial run to see how they can convert their campaign e-army into a lobbying force.

The idea is not to get policy-related ideas or information. It is, rather, to test-drive a grass-roots lobbying operation that is aimed at building up support for Obama's legislative and other initiatives and directing it at congressmen, the media, and others.

It looks participatory and feels consensual, but the hope is that it will be completely reactive and controllable. It is an experiment in using new technologies and tight organization to permit Obama to do what Reagan did by open radio and television broadcasts: Speak over the heads of Congress and the media directly to ordinary citizens.

The idea of holding myriad local meetings within a particular time frame (inspired by such forerunners as primary caucuses in Iowa and the MeetUp movement) with a reporting-back mechanism is to see whether or not they can actually get people to do things in a disciplined way, on time and focused as to topic.

The letter the Obama team sent to their activists follows. The video is also interesting.

Dear XXX,

Over the coming weeks, thousands of Americans will be leading Health Care Community Discussions -- small local gatherings in which Americans are sharing thoughts and ideas about reforming health care. President-elect Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Tom Daschle are counting on Americans from every walk of life to help identify what's broken and provide ideas for how to fix it.

You can help shape that reform by leading your own Health Care Community Discussion anytime between now and December 31st.

Secretary-designate Daschle recorded a short message about these important discussions. Watch the video and sign up today to lead a discussion in your community:

Secretary-designate Daschle is committed to reforming health care from the ground up, which is why he won't just be reading the results of these discussions -- he'll be attending a few himself.

When you sign up to lead a discussion, we'll provide everything you need to make your conversation as productive as possible, including a Moderator's Guide with helpful tips. All you have to do is reach out to friends, family, and members of your community and ask them to attend -- and, when it's over, tell us how it went. The Transition's Health Policy Team will gather the results of these discussions to guide its recommendations for the Obama-Biden administration.

No transition has tried something like this before, and your participation is essential to our success.

Thank you,

John

John D. Podesta
Co-Chair
The Obama-Biden Transition Project