The Dean campaign and grassroots organizing

[colist at comm-org.utoledo.edu]

[ed:  this is an interesting example of the power of combining Internet 
organizing and face to face organizing.]

From:           	"Peter Dreier" <dreier at oxy.edu>

Friends and Colleagues:

The article below from today's Washington Post reveals how the
Howard Dean campaign is using a lot of community organizing
techniques to build its grassroots support. Regardless of your
stance toward Dean's candidacy, the article underscores the
important connection between community and political (electoral)
organizing and the effectiveness of person-to-person
mobilization. The article (also available on the Post's website:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47440-2003Dec8.htm
l)  details how the Dean campaign has organized 1100 house
meetings in New Hampshire since the summer as a key part of
moving his lead there from 10 points up to 30 points.  (In other
words, it isn't simply the internet that accounts for Dean's
success) The house meeting strategy was taught to the campaign by
long time organizer Marshall Ganz,  who now teaches at the
Kennedy School at Harvard.  (Here's Ganz's website, which
includes his Organizing syllabus:
http://ksgnotes1.harvard.edu/degreeprog/courses.nsf/wzByDirectory
Name/MarshallGanz). Ganz worked as an organizer (and as
organizing director) for the United Farmworkers union for many
years in the l960's to early l980's. (The late Fred Ross -- the
fabled organizer who was a contemporary of Saul Alinsky, and who
recruited Cesar Chavez into organizing work -- brought the house
meeting strategy to the farmworkers organization in the l960's as
an organizing tool).  Ganz has trained 45 organizers in the Dean
campaign in New Hampshire on how to organize and run house
meetings. One of these organizers runs each house meeting. A
volunteer invites/organizes their relationships to come to the
meeting. The campaign may extend this organizing approach to
other states soon. 

[ed:  the Post article is restricted from redistribution. Please use the link 
above to access it.]