1) @4st8 is always right about everything & especially this, and 2) I've been meaning to create a thread of examples of What Investing in Grounded Political Infrastructure Looks Like, & this is the shove I needed. Here goes! 1/~17,000
https://twitter.com/4st8/status/1340324792252174338
What do I mean by "grounded political infrastructure"? Infrastructure designed to be fueled by, make use of, & contribute to existng networks of connection. Because all organizing is reorganizing. & disconnected/dropped-in infrastructure won't be sustained scholars.org/contribution/l…
I worked on 👇 w/@daschloz @CarolineTervo @JakeMGrumbach @awh @adamsethlevine Tabatha Abu El-Haj & Joseph Anthony: if that doesn't persuade you to buy a copy [jk: it's free!] what will? Lots of suggestions will be relevant to orgs that aren't parties, too scholars.org/contribution/l…
Next up: I loved, loved this description from @EmmettSoldati (running for NH Dem party chair) of why handing out invitation to a local holiday party matters—even (especially?) in a year when the party can't be held in person unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds…
👇@EmmettSoldati making the case that allowing cost-of-vote calculations to dictate voter outreach (or lack thereof) has been deadly for long-term party building in NH. THIS IS MY SONG LOUDER PLEASE unionleader.com/opinion/op-eds… 
When is the right time to start grounded, relational party-building? Literally now, whenever now is. In Orange County it started a decade ago: & so was better positioned to maximize the impact of new volunteers & energy when 2017 hit. Must-read account👇 washingtonmonthly.com/2020/12/07/ora…
In some places the county Dem party structure is either amenable or de facto abandoned: & in many such places post-2016 grassroots activists have stepped in & are turning it into a hub for relational organizing (hey we wrote a whole chapter about this!) global.oup.com/academic/produ…
But in some places, building within the party is not going to offer the right starting point. EVERYONE should read this account of the vision & strategy @WVCantWait has embraced in West Virginia forgeorganizing.org/article/radica…
"WVCantWait recruited 397 Neighborhood Captains over about a month’s time; each took responsibility for corresponding with an assigned batch of one hundred voters in their county, a combination of Democrats and Independents, high & low frequency voters"🔥 forgeorganizing.org/article/radica…
👇rang so real for me bc some of my favorite people work in constituent services for eg @SenWilliamsPA & I know how crucial this issue has been, esp from the start of the pandemic onward. Navigating government is HARD. Helping people do it is ethical & right: & good politics too
Among the many things I loved about this @fdwilkinson
piece on AOC and constituent services... bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
piece on AOC and constituent services... bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…
... was it revealed that AOC & @eitanhersh 🤯embrace the identical Hand-Out-Some-Turkeys&Be-Useful theory of political change. BTW if by weird chance anyone reading this doesn't already own a dogeared post-it flagged copy of Eitan's book FIX THAT RIGHT NOW simonandschuster.com/books/Politics…
I wrote this recently about relationships as superpowers, suggestng grassroots groups maximize their impact by leveraging & growing their networks of connection, strategizing w/attention to electoral targets their "high impact universe" of voters can swing forgeorganizing.org/article/postca…
Here's yet another experienced political builder coming up with a strikingly similar diagnosis: & laying out a thoughtful, concrete process for moving state & county party organizations forward. Must-read from @LeftWordsOrg leftwords.org/2020/11/17/blu…
Adding this here: @rkuttnerwrites has done a *huge* public service by providing a one-stop roadmap to the sprawling Dem/Left national funding structure, detailing the (many) crucial longterm shortfalls— & missed opportunities for change. Essential reading prospect.org/politics/the-m…
Gonna pick this thread back up to add👇: Super useful account of the organizing structure implemented by West Virginia Can't Wait. Meshes concrete & meaningful short-term goals with long-term connection- & capacity-building. +: Making "leaderful" choices👏 medium.com/rural-organizi…
And, complementing it, this👇: infrastructure-building in a very different place, one where Democrats have the demographic winds at their back, & building engagement in order to be able to support party-building locally & outward makes perfect sense forgeorganizing.org/article/gettin…
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