senate – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Fair Fight

David Posnett — Sat, 05 Dec 2020 20:12:55 +0000

This is a report from a meeting of the Georgia leadership of “Fair Fight”, the political action PAC that Stacey Abrams set up “to advocate for free and fair elections ….and to ensure access to democracy for all.”

The meeting started with two reports, one on their activities in the field, the second on their sophisticated polling results, followed by a strong pitch and strategy briefing from Stacey Abrams. Abrams said we have to “use this moment to reach every voter in Georgia and get them to act because every voice counts and every vote matters…. We have to bring people together…”

These were very well organized, jam-packed, data driven reports with lots of graphics.

The First report, by Exec Director Lauren Groh-Wargo, summarized the current state of the two Senatorial races (both are in a “dead heat”) and what they are doing to mobilize the democratic vote – and combat voter suppression.

Their first effort is to get out the vote and encourage mail-in ballots. So far one million ballots have been requested, mostly by Democrats. (Polling shows that Republicans do not have confidence in voting my mail.)

As of today, more ballots have been requested then were requested 33 days before the general election in November.

To get out the vote they have completed 347,000 “field knocks” (knocking on doors to talk to people in “Covid-safe” canvassing) and are now ramping up these efforts after Thanksgiving. (They were featured in an article in Politico.)

They are also using radio ads to target Black, Hispanic, and rural voters as well as digital ads that target the youth vote.

They urged everyone on the call to “help win Georgia” by clicking on and “blasting out” this link: HELPWINGEORGIA.COM

The second report focused on their sophisticated polling, done between Nov.16 and Nov 22, by their polling director, Esosa Osa. She highlighted their efforts to understand general trends—but to also learn what issues were most important for 8 specific populations such as “the youth vote, swing voters, suburban women, African Americans, Asian-Americans, etc.”

In general they have found high voter enthusiasm. Voters know this is a really important election and have a clear set of issues they consider important. They have completed 65,000 in-person conversations in which 59% of the people have pledged to vote by mail.

Among the highlights of the report were

1. 93% of the white liberals plan to vote, as do 87% of the white conservatives (but 22% of the later do not believe their vote will count: they believe there is voter fraud)

2. One-third of the voters are worried about voter intimidation at the polling place

3. They presented some complex data on how different populations (e.g. white liberals vs. African Americans) have slightly different priorities with regard to the issues. BUT, they all want their candidate to

a. deal with racial inequality

b. manage the Covid pandemic

c. invest in health care – and the serious problem of the closing of many rural hospitals

d. invest in jobs and employment

e. and, for some, protect the environment

For example, 90% of white liberals support all of these issues but the youth vote supports them to a lesser degree.They are more future oriented. They ask what “CAN WE DO NOW?” about Covid, about protecting the environment, about climate change, etc.

In contrast, the issues that seem to be motivating white conservatives are

a. fear of AOC and Pelosi – 89%

b. voter fraud -84%

c. supporting Trump and his policies

d. fear that Democrat control of the Senate will lead to a radical agenda and Socialism

Abrams urged not wasting time answering Republicans, but to use this moment to put forth a positive agenda and positive images…

Most important right now is the Dec 7 DEADLINE for registering the 23,000 young people who have just become eligible to register to vote in the January election.

To support that effort, here are 3 options :

1. go to : HELPWINGEORGIA.COM

You will see direct links to Fair Fight (Stacey Abrams’s PAC) as well as direct links to the two Senate candidates.

2. Support Stacey Abrams’s The New Georgia Project (her 501 c3) which makes your contribution tax deductible. Go tohttps://newgeorgiaproject.org/donate/

3. respond to the email plea from Jon Ossoff for help with the voter registration drive – see NEXT PAGE – page 4– below this list

Finally, if you would like to be on the Georgia leadership call next Friday at 4pm, you can write to

“Dom Kelly” and ask him to put you on the list for the “Winning Georgia Weekly Leadership Council Call” on Friday at 4pm.

This is from Jon Ossoff re support for registering the 23,000 newly eligible voters:

The last day for Georgia residents to register to vote in the January runoff is THIS MONDAY, December 7!!

We are running a massive voter registration drive this weekend to try to register as many new voters as possible before Monday’s deadline, especially the 23,000 Georgians newly eligible to vote in the runoff.

I am launching a Runoff Voter Registration Fund with a goal of raising $500,000 in grassroots donations before Monday. Will you make a donation right now to fund our voter registration push for these final few days?

In the general election, I was honored to receive the most votes of any Georgia Democrat in state history.

But we are going to need to break that record again in this runoff in order to turn out every Georgia voter we can to win in January.

By hitting our Runoff Voter Registration Fund goal, we’ll have the resources to register even more voters for this runoff and expand the electorate to give us the best chance to win a majority in the U.S. Senate.
Will you be a founding donor of our Runoff Voter Registration Fund and help us hit our goal to turbocharge our outreach efforts this weekend?

Direct links to the two campaigns are here:

Contribute to the organization leading Georgia voter registration, New Georgia Project.

President Biden can’t be effective unless we do this NOW

David Posnett — Tue, 01 Dec 2020 15:49:33 +0000

Heidi Fiske <heidifiske@hfiske.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 1, 2020 at 7:07 AM
Subject: Heidi endgame alert #3: President Biden can’t be effective unless we do this NOW
To:

Dear savvy liberal,
You hoped your political work would be done November 3rd but
the most game-changing actions you take this election cycle may be what you do NOW.See how, where to help below.
If Biden is to be effective we need to control the Senate, and that won’t happen unless Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock win their runoff Senate races in Georgia January 5th. If they lose, Republicans control the Senate 52-48. If they win, it is 50-50 and VP Harris can break any tie.
Don’t send money to the campaigns now ...
One of the wisest political activists I know states: “My advice is to wait. There is so much money pouring into GA that it is almost impossible to know who can use the funds effectively.” And a few very large donations are expected within a week.
It may be a somewhat different story for groups seeking to register voters (ends December 7) and to get out the vote, especially in particular communities, — actions that both Republicans and Democrats agree are key to winning these races (as opposed to persuading people to change their vote). If you give to any such group, be sure it is one with an ongoing presence, so that if the money isn’t used in these races, it will work in 2021-22.
… but do volunteer. A few caveats
Georgians can be downright rude about out-of-staters “parachuting in, telling us what to do as if they know more than we do,” says SE Georgia organizer Amanda Hollowell. And their frankness is a good thing, because they’re telling you how to be effective. Here’s some of what they say:

while the election is of national importance to you, the issues that are going to get Georgians fired up and to the polls – especially in rural communities of color – are entirely local: notably health care access; COVID; environmental justice; criminal justice reform; and treatment of immigrants. “Take back the Senate” cuts no ice here. Says Black Voters Matter’s Wanda Moseley, “it’s not about what the nation needs. It’s about what black voters need. If it isn’t about that they won’t come out. Period.”
two important groups to get on board are Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI), who cast 91.3% more ballots in 2020 than 2016, and Hispanics: who cast 72.2% more. But each group is varied, and the differences are important, so let the locals teach you how to approach them.
Georgia has many ways to suppress the vote. You will need to understand them, because your major value may be helping people navigate the system.
Don’t come to work on the ground. First, there’s COVID. Second, plenty of people already do it. Finally, obvious out-of-staters trying to exert influence may raise hackles. One exception: poll watching if you are a lawyer
There are places where digital outreach does not work “because lack of broadband aligns exactly with Black and brown communities.”
However you are interacting with Georgians, take it slow and be a friend, not an official. “Georgia voters are tired, overwhelmed,” says Fair Fight’s Hillary Holley. “They want to hear from people they trust, so come at them with grace.”

Groups to work with
Well over 40 highly credible progressive organizations are fighting this fight in Georgia. The few listed below match one or all of the following criteria: They use out of state volunteers; were recommended by several reliable sources; and/or reach special cohorts. Shown in alphabetical order.
America Votes americavotes.orgAV assembles national and state-based coalitions to advance progressive policies and increase voter turnout for Democratic candidates. In Georgia it coordinates the activities of a dozen or more local and national groups so that all bases are covered and none are duplicated.volunteer page https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfKPID0RoAGR2KUsg1sWHioMFVKfk0lTSUzQ-xVWElv1pjOg/viewform?gxids=7757volunteer opportunities You can check off any of 13 organizations for which to volunteer (including several listed separately here), or choose among these activities: phone banking, texting, canvassing, writing postcards.
Asian American Advocacy Fund AAAF advocates for national, state and local policies that will improve the lives of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and all immigrant populations in Georgia. Though this cohort is small, in a race that may well be won at the margins these energized voters could play an important role. (As noted, they increased their votes more than 91% between 2016 and 2020.).volunteer pagehttps://www.asianamericanadvocacyfund.org/volunteervolunteer opportunities phone banking, text banking, postcards
Black Voters Matterhttps://blackvotersmatterfund.org/“At BVM, we … are NOT an electoral organization. We are, first and foremost, a power building organization.” BVM works year-round in many communities to make sure that the issues that matter to black communities have political heft.volunteer page https://survey123.arcgis.com/share/d448cd331da240798d118262a8b2f824volunteer opportunities texting, phone banking, postcard writing, social media campaigning, Fair Fight https://fairfight.com/Fair Fight is a national voting rights organization founded in Georgia by Stacey Abrams. It is the leading voting rights groups in Georgia. Count on them to know the landscape everywhere and to offer fine training.volunteer page https://fairfight.com/join-our-fight/volunteer opportunities poll worker, “line warming,” calling voters, texting voters. Can always use lawyers
Flip the West https://www.flipthewest.com/“Harnessing grassroots power to take back the Senate. Current target: Georgia.”volunteer pages (phone banking) https://www.mobilize.us/flipthewest/event/362350/(post card writing) https://www.mobilize.us/flipthewest/event/362341/volunteer opportunities phone banking and postcard writing
MomsRising https://www.momsrising.orgMillion-member organization targeting voting blocs that turned significantly more progressive between 2016 and 2020: suburban white mothers; unmarried white mothers; and low propensity voters of color. Helping to get out the vote in Georgia now.volunteer page:https://action.momsrising.org/survey/MRAdvocacy_2020/?source=actionvolunteer opportunities: call leaders, write postcards, text, share MomsRising social media with your networksPoder Latinx https://poderlatinx.org/“Votar es poder.” Presently seeking bilingual volunteers for Georgiavolunteer pagehttps://poderlatinx.org/contactvolunteer opportunities register voters and get out the vote
Postcards to Votershttps://postcardstovoters.org/This is the original postcard program, founded, in Georgia, by “TonytheDemocrat.”volunteer pagehttps://postcardstovoters.org/volunteer/
Voto Latino https://votolatino.org/national organization devoted to uniting and empowering the Latinx community. Now very active in Georgiavolunteer page https://votolatino.org/article/volunteer-with-voto-latino/volunteer opportunities text banking, trainings and webinars, general advocacy and call to action alerts
Volunteer with each campaignthe Ossoff campaign http://tinyurl.com/OssoffVolunteerthe Warnock campaign https://secure.warnockforgeorgia.com/page/s/website_vol
And
inspire everyone you know in Georgia …… to vote for these two candidates, and to get all their friends out to do so. Check your contact list for “GA” “Georgia” and zip codes beginning “300.” Revel in your old yearbooks as you look for forgotten classmates. After the wearying fights in 2020, it will be difficult to get people to the polls December 14 to January 5, so every vote will matter!
Talking points

Biden cannot be effective, hence this country cannot move forward, unless Democrats control the Senate. McConnell has proved this again and again since 2009.
Here we have two fine Democratic candidates vs. two appalling (and, in the case of Perdue, corrupt) Trumpers

Organizations that can train you to leverage your Georgia contacts:

Galvanize your Republican friends
Use the take-no-prisoners arguments and ads of the Lincoln Project, founded by Republican strategists determined to defeat Trump. One might have expected them to support a Republican-controlled Senate to offset a Democratic President. But to their great credit, they also are fighting as hard as we are to have a Democrat-controlled Senate, because they want to defeat Trumpism. https://lincolnproject.us/
Resource
Excellent, non-partisan guides to all the candidates’ positions. These are also available in Spanish from campuselect.org :

Thanks to …

Especially helpful in compiling this memo were the following, whose work you might value on a continuing basis. With their permission here are their contacts: Evan Kost, (AV coordinates GOTV groups nationwide and in select states) https://americavotes.org; Jane Whitney (wise readable commentary): www.conversationsonthegreen.com; Deepak Puri, founder of the DemLabs (free/affordable apps for political work): https://thedemlabs.org/

Thanks also to Richard O, Craig K, Ellen BN, Victor K, Trey B, Chris B, Daniel S, Sally M, Larry H, Paul LHeidiHeidi Fiskeheidifiske@hfiske.com