community organizing and the GOP convention

[Discussion list for COMM-ORG]

[ed: Here are today's contributions.  Thanks to Gordon, Doug, David and 
Jacob/Sarah.]

From: "PICO National Network" <gwhitman at piconetwork.org>


Organizing. A gift that keeps on giving.

Americans have been organizing to build community and hold
government accountable since our nation was formed, but last
week there was more talk in the national media about modern
community organizing than at any time in recent history.

When speakers at the Republican National Convention repeatedly
mocked Senator Obama's work as a community organizer many of us
witnessed not just another political attack, but mean-spirited
disrespect for people who give of themselves to improve
communities and expand opportunities for families.

As Bishop Roy Dixon, former president of the PICO board of
directors, said, "As a life-long Republican, the comments I
heard last night about community organizing crossed the line. It
is one thing to question someone's experience, another to demean
the work of millions of hard working Americans who take time to
get involved in their communities. When people come together in
my church hall to improve our community, they're building the
Kingdom of God in San Diego. We see the fruits of community
organizing in safer streets, new parks, and new affordable
housing. It's the spirit of democracy for people to have a say
and we need more of it."

Fr. John Baumann, who founded PICO 35 years ago, said in an
Associated Press story that ran in papers across the country
that "If people in office were doing their jobs, perhaps we
wouldn't need community organizers."

Now, those of us who organize - both as volunteer leaders in our
communities and as professional organizers - have been handed a
gift - a unique opportunity to explain to a much broader
audience the value that community organizing plays for us in
making government work effectively and in building character and
leadership among ordinary people.

Across this country, families are grappling with tremendous
challenges - skyrocketing health care costs, rising cost of
living, stagnating wages, ballooning mortgage payments, failing
public schools, increasing violence in their neighborhoods, to
name just a few.

While these issues have a direct impact on millions of
Americans, you'd be hard pressed to find many ordinary people
who feel like they have the power to have a meaningful impact on
most of these issues. These problems feel overwhelming. Where do
you even start to get some leverage on them?

For PICO, community organizing begins with the belief that, when
people come together, get to know one another, share their
common concerns - and their common dreams - and then decide to
take action, something amazing happens. People discover that
they can solve community issues that once seemed overwhelming.
Organizing unlocks that inherent power of people to organize
themselves, identify widely shared needs and petition the
government.

PICO's community organizing is rooted in the Civil Rights
Movement, American democratic principles and the values of
family and faith. PICO National Network has grown to encompass
53 faith-based community organizations and more than 1,000
religious congregations working in 150 cities in towns in 17
states, and in Central America and Rwanda. In the process, PICO
affiliates and state networks have created innovative solutions
to some of the most challenging problems facing our nation. Some
recent examples:

*In Colorado this year, 55,000 uninsured low-income children now
have health insurance because PICO's Denver affiliate, Metro
Organizations for People's community organizing.
In Oakland, California, nearly 15,000 children now attend 48 new
small public schools that are out-performing traditional schools
serving similar students, due to a ten-year organizing campaign
by Oakland Community Organizations.

*In Camden, New Jersey children can now walk to school more
safely because of a long-term organizing campaign by Camden
Churches Organized for People which has eliminated abandoned
houses, brought $175 million in reinvestment into the city and
worked with the State to root out corruption in Camden City
Government.

No issue is too big or too small for community organizing. As
Bob Rastorfer, a long-time leader in Communities Creating
Opportunity in Kansas City, said in a YouTube video last week,
"community organizing has changed the size of the water lines
that go to our fire hydrants in Kansas City...it has changed the
fees and interest charged by pay day lenders statewide."

While people should decide for themselves which candidate would
make the best president, we disagree with the suggestion made by
Rudy Guliani and Governor Palin last week that being a community
organizer does not prepare someone to be an effective public
servant and leader.

For PICO, every aspect about the work of community organizing -
from taking the time to listen to people, to researching
solutions to problems, to bringing people together across race,
religion and party affiliation - is engineered to develop the
skills and leadership of ordinary people. PICO teaches that
devoting yourself to developing the leadership skills of others
is what a true leader does.

In PICO we don't ask whether someone is a Republican or
Democrat, but whether they are doing their job. We reject any
suggestion on the right or the left that community organizing
belongs to any one political party. All across the United States
both Republican and Democratic elected officials have worked
with PICO organizations and other organizing groups to reduce
crime through community policing, build public will for schools
reform, revitalize neighborhoods and create affordable housing.

There are always those in power who dismiss people who want to
get involved. That arrogance is folly. Those who understand the
history of the United States, those who hear the call to witness
God's love in the world, realize that mayors and governors and
presidents alone cannot solve the problems we face as a nation.
Only when people get involved, only when people have the power
to hold the powers that be accountable can we create a world
that respects each of us in God's image.

Join us as we work to transform the political culture of the
United States so that every person's voice can be heard and
government serves the needs of all families.

Organizing. Pass it on!

To learn more about PICO and the field of community organizing,
find out about organizing jobs in the PICO network, or make a
tax-deductible donation, visit www.piconetwork.org .
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*************************************

From: DougRHess at aol.com


My own thoughts:
 
1. People should take it personally. People seem to get more ticked off 
when they feel their identity is under attack then when they feel their 
wallet is under attack.
 
2. Although I can understand why some people want to expand the battle 
by expanding the definition of who is under attack to people that are 
not organizers (at least under a narrow definition that I support), I do 
feel compelled to continue to support the view that organizers are not 
activists, leaders, managers, volunteer coordinators, outreach 
coordinators, or charity drive campaigners, etc. Someday we'll have to 
come back to this, but if we want people to see organizing as a 
responsible, difficult, sometimes dangerous and very much a legitimate 
profession (and it's the profession part which is what Giuliani and 
Palin were attacking) then we need to keep this definition clear and not 
use "organizer" as a catch all for anybody involved in public life that 
is some how "community based" or loosely connected to public 
participation, even if very watered down.
 
3. If people aren't already involved, I'll point out that New Mexico, 
Colorado, Penn, Michigan, Iowa, Wisc, Minn, New Hampshire and Ohio are 
all swing states where you can organize people for whichever candidate 
you choose, or work on strictly non-partisan campaigns on voter 
registration, voter turnout or election day poll worker and election 
administration efforts.
 
-Doug



*******************************

 From: "David Croteau" <davidcroteau at gmail.com>


It's good that community organizers are responding but little of that 
will reach mainstream voters.  Obama has the national stage and has used 
"movement" rhetoric in his campaign.  But from what I've seen, Obama's 
response to the attack on community organizing has been abysmal.  For 
example, he was asked about this by George Stephanopoulos on his Sunday 
morning "Thus Week" program.  
(http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/09/obama-to-step-3.html or 
watch video there)  He laughed and gave a muddled, rambling response 
about how he was puzzled by the attack.  He kept it about himself 
instead of framing the attack as one on all community organizers.

 

This was a perfect opportunity for Obama to stake the moral high ground 
and say something to the effect that: "I'm used to cheap shots from the 
Republicans so it didn't bother me.  But I thought it was outrageous 
that Republican politicians were standing up there belittling the 
efforts of thousands of people across the country to help poor and 
working class people improve their lives.  Community organizing is 
service to country.  Community organizing is working for change.  
Community organizing involves the things that the McCain-Palin ticket 
say they support.  But when Gov. Palin and the Republicans mock 
community organizers, they show their true colors.  This 'change' stuff 
is just a slogan for them.  They spout it out of one side of their 
mouths while out of the other they ridicule people who really do work 
for change.  That's elitist, out of touch, and insulting to the millions 
of Americans who are struggling to survive the economic mess Republicans 
have made over the last eight years.  Community organizers deserve our 
respect, not Republican ridicule."

 

When is Obama going to stand up and fight back?  He can do it 
respectfully and calmly, but he needs to do it.  Half of the Palin 
appeal is that she comes across as feisty and a fighter.  Obama comes 
across as wanting to appoint a committee to examine available options 
for possible policy revisions.  No wonder he's not connecting better 
with ordinary voters.  What are his handlers thinking?


-- 
David Croteau

*********************************

From: Jacob and Sarah Lesniewski <jshm at uchicago.edu>


Friends:
I don't know if anyone has written this already, so if they
have, please forgive the repitition.  I think it's not
coincidental that Rudy Gulianni and Sarah Palin delivered
the verbal slap against community organizers.  Mr.
Gulianni's longstanding authoritarianism and distaste for
community organizing and development not controlled by city
hall.  Governor Palin's record seems to be similar in terms
of her approach to dissent, loyalty, and governance.
Community organizing is about opening democractic spaces and
stands in direct opposition, whether from the left or from
the right to the creeping authoritarianism represented most
obviously by Gulianni.