NH Roots Tweet Stream

by: Mike Hoefer

Sat Nov 13, 2010 at 11:49:19 AM EST

This should auto update whenever tweets with #nhroots hash tag.

The Failure of Social Movement Politics

by: Tim Ashwell

Wed Nov 10, 2010 at 16:02:58 PM EST

The key quote:

The social movement politics that some of his most fervent followers ascribed to him-the idea of electing a "post-partisan" president as the leader not of a nation or even of a political party but of a personalized social movement-has failed.

Wilentz's article is important. I suspect his argument will be something of a Rorschach test for Democrats. What are we to make of this analysis?

The Obama campaign presented itself as a social movement that was more sentimental than political, pushing gauzy "values," like "hope" and "change," while leaving policy concerns to the wonks. Yet the successful movements of the past had more than values; they had specific goals...The point of the Obama campaign-as-movement was conceived differently: exciting people with the thrill of empowerment, and collective self-empowerment, by electing to the White House a community organizer who believed in "hope" and "change." Why electing Obama was imperative required no explanation among the faithful; it was enough to get the spirit, share the spirit, and revel in the candidate's essence, which, by definition, no other candidate possessed. The leader was the program.

Wilentz writes that Marshall Ganz, the veteran labor organizer and architect of the Camp Obamas of the last campaign, said in the wake of last week's elections that

the president had lost his organizer's fire and neglected to deliver the wonderful speeches that would frame the political discourse for the movement. Instead, Obama lamely sought reform, in Ganz's words, "inside a system structured to resist change," ignoring and even scorning liberal and leftist advocacy groups...He became "transactional" instead of "transformational."

Did we go too far or not far enough? It's an important question as we regroup for 2012 and beyond.

Would You Like Coffee or Tea With That Sidearm?

by: judy stadtman

Wed Apr 14, 2010 at 09:34:43 AM EDT

Steve Bourne, an organizer of the "Coffee Party" meeting, said the one of about 30 people who gathered to discuss alternative political action arrived bearing a sign and calling Coffee Party members communists. Bourne said those in attendance immediately noticed the sign, but did not see the gun until some time later.

I attended the Saturday morning meeting, and can confirm that the sign was hard to miss ("COFFEE: Communists Organizing For Free Everything Everywhere," hand-lettered on neon pink poster board). And while the gun-toter in question was not aggressively outspoken - indeed, he contributed little to the lively group discussion - his presence at the meeting was obviously calculated to offend and disrupt, and his reaction to several requests to stow away the objectionable sign (which he kept repositioning for maximum visibility) resulted in a minor hands-on scuffle with a couple of participants who attempted to confiscate it.

That's when people noticed the gun. The police were called, and the caller was informed that as long as the sidearm wasn't concealed, the quiet young man with the handgun was in full compliance with the law.

It must be said that the way the Coffee Party is rolling out invites this sort of provocation. Created as a megaphone for the moderate, modulated voices its founders perceive as absent from the national debate, the grassroots arm of the budding Coffee Party movement is meant to function as a factory for DIY deliberative democracy, with the goal of mobilizing the centrist majority to promote "positive solutions" for "the common good." First impressions suggest that many of the people who attended the Portsmouth meeting feel disenfranchised and/or betrayed by ugliness and/or futility of mainstream party politics, and are searching for a more congenial home for their own political voice. If disaffected independents and Ron Paul supporters are the prime examples of the "big tent" political base the Coffee Party hopes to activate, it looks like things are off to an excellent start in the Seacoast region.  

Organizing for America Launches "Health Care Reform" Week of Action in New Hampshire

by: VABBY

Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 18:00:23 PM EDT

New Hampshire's Organizing for America (OFA), a grassroots project of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) dedicated to supporting the President's agenda for change, will be hosting events throughout New Hampshire as part of OFA's 'Health Care Reform' week of action. Details about the events can be found below.

Organizing for America, aka Obama 2.0

by: KrisSchultz

Fri Jan 23, 2009 at 14:43:03 PM EST

Plouffe explains that while this group isn't working to win an election, it can push forward our shared agendas on energy, the economy and health care.  This movement will

...connect Americans to the debate here in Washington.  And I think that is not only good for our Democracy and our country, but will also help President Obama succeed in bringing about the change that we all fought for in the campaign.

This sort of post-election organizing effort from a sitting President is revolutionary, but not unexpected from our first ever Community-Organizer-in-Chief.  While Franklin Roosevelt reassured a nation through his Fireside Chats, Barack Obama brings us together to act for change.

We need to keep Barack Obama's movement going right here in New Hampshire, and we have great grounding already. I've been a part of the post-election Barack Obama group out of Concord, and we are working with groups in Manchester and Portsmouth.  We'll be hosting another meeting in Concord in February, and I'll post details here on BH once the details have been set.

CSP - in touch with NH priorities

by: susanthe

Thu Sep 11, 2008 at 16:10:29 PM EDT

The Bradley camp has said many times that Bradley lost because of the strong anti-war sentiment/anti-Bush sentiment that saw many Republicans lose seats all over the country. It's a neat little justification, and one that avoids having to face the truth.

In 2006 Jeb Bradley was out of touch with the priorities of NH voters. Bradley was the only member of the entire New England Congressional delegation who voted in favor of amending the US Constitution to forbid same gender marriage.  Bradley consistently fought against increasing the minimum wage. He voted for the REAL ID Act. Since Bradley was fired, NH has passed a Civil Unions bill, increased the minimum wage, and voted against taking part in REAL ID.

Most egregious of all was Bradley's stance on Social Security. He campaigned in 2002 saying that he was against privatizing Social Security. By 2005, he'd begun saying that we "needed to explore all the options." It's certainly a coincidence that he changed his tune after President Bush visited NH.  NH residents were strongly against destroying  (privatizing) Social Security, yet Bradley refused to show leadership and take a stand right up to the bitter end. On election day in 2006, he was on The Exchange refusing to take a stand.

Jeb's been out of work for a couple of years now. There's no sign that he's learned from his mistakes, no sign that he's any more in touch with NH priorities than he was in 2006.
Carol Shea-Porter knows the priorities of NH voters. She's working to ensure that we don't freeze to death in our homes this winter. She knows that we need to protect and preserve Social Security. Jeb's always done his best to represent the top 1%.  Carol has made good on her promise to represent the bottom 99% of us.  We must ensure that Jeb stays unemployed. He can afford it. We can't afford him.

cross posted at kos

The Education of Shea-Porter

by: susanthe

Sun Aug 24, 2008 at 10:24:42 AM EDT

I've talked to a lot of candidates and politicians in my life (this being NH and all) but most of the time there's a gulf between us. They're nice, they're enthusiastic - but they don't know what people's lives are really like. Carol does. There is no gulf. She really is representing the bottom 99% of us - she is one of us.
(Don't forget that pretty yellow button on the left side of the page.)

Carol Shea-Porter at First Annual Stratham-Exeter Democartic Picnic

by: babsamatic

Tue Jun 24, 2008 at 10:37:32 AM EDT

Gonna buy 5 copies for my mother!

by: Jack Mitchell

Thu Mar 06, 2008 at 11:25:29 AM EST

-snip
We have a deeply divided nation, driven apart by economic policies that have deliberately created the largest income disparities in our history, with stunning tax breaks for the wealthiest and subsidies for giant industries. The income of the average citizen is stagnant, and his quality of life continues to slowly erode from inflation.
We are embittered and hobbled by the unnecessary and failed war in Iraq. We have been worn down by long years of fear- and hate-filled political strategies, assaults on constitutional freedoms, and levels of greed and cynicism, that - once seen for what they are - no people of moral values or ethics can tolerate.
A new president must heal these divides, must at long last face the hypocrisy and inequity of unprecedented government handouts to oil giants, hedge-fund barons, agriculture combines and drug companies. At the same time, the new president must transform our lethal energy economy - replacing oil and coal and the ethanol fraud with green alternatives and strict rain-forest preservation and tough international standards - before the planet becomes inhospitable for most human life. Although Obama has been slow to address global warming, I feel confident that his intelligence and morality will lead him clearly on this issue.
We need to recover the spiritual and moral direction that should describe our country and ourselves. We see this in Obama, and we see the promise he represents to bring factions together, to achieve again the unity that drives great change and faces difficult, and inconvenient, truths and peril.
We need to send a message to ourselves and to the world that we truly do stand for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And in electing an African-American, we also profoundly renounce an ugliness and violence in our national character that have been further stoked by our president in these last eight years.
Like Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama challenges America to rise up, to do what so many of us long to do: to summon "the better angels of our nature."

Obama: 2 Days, 2 TV Ads

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 12:42:09 PM EDT

Sixty-second ad highlights Obama's choice to work for real change as a community organizer

MANCHESTER, NH-Senator Barack Obama's New Hampshire campaign will begin airing its fourth television ad today.  The sixty-second ad, entitled "Choices," discusses Obama's choice to pass up a lucrative career on Wall Street to affect real change as a community organizer in Chicago. That willingness to take on tough challenges, and the ability to bring people together for change, will characterize an Obama presidency.

Flatlander FLASH: Obama Boston Rally Today

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 10:00:35 AM EDT

When: Tuesday, October 23, 2007 -- Gates Open at 5:30PM

Where: Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common
Corner of Tremont St. and Boylston St

How: The event is free and open to the public. Tickets are not required, but an RSVP is strongly encouraged. For security reasons, do not bring bags. No signs or banners allowed. Please RSVP using the form below to receive your rapid-entry pass.

Weather update: The Weather Channel reports 30% of showers. I'm going for sure!

Gov.Deval Patrick stands with Obama

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Wed Oct 17, 2007 at 18:27:30 PM EDT

Deval Patrick's message of activisim and citizen involvement, along with a bipartisan philosophy of inclusion, solidified his victory against Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey, a Republican, Christy Mihos, running as an Independent, and Grace Ross, of the Green-Rainbow Party.

Deval knows how to win a tough race without the conventional politician's tactic of "divide and conquer". Deval knows how to win with "UNITY" as a banner and he knows who from the current line up of Democratic hopefuls will approach the 2008 Presidential General Election in this way.

Deval had my vote then, as Barack Obama has my vote now. Welcome aboard Deval.

I am completely STOKED by this endorsement!

Patrick will endorse Obama, officials say

By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Governor Deval Patrick is throwing his support to Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, an endorsement that will give the Illinois senator a much needed boost in New Hampshire and help blunt Hillary Clinton's courting of African-American leaders.
  (snip)
The Patrick political organization today sent out e-mails to its list of 40,000 workers and supporters, telling them of his decision to back Obama.
  (snip)
Patrick chose Obama because he believes the country is hungry for his new style of leadership that cuts across both racial and party lines and stirs up strong voter enthusiasm, according to the senior administration officials. The governor is expected to argue that Obama can lead what he terms a ''generational call'' -- a rally to rebuild the country and restore its standing around the world.
Tufts University political science professor Jeffrey Berry said Patrick's endorsement will be most significant because it will reinforce Obama's most potent skills as a candidate, his broad based appeal to voters. ''For Obama, a Patrick endorsement is another sign there is a new young generation of dynamic black leaders who can appeal across racial and partisan lines,'' Berry said.
(snip)

93K New Donors

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Mon Oct 01, 2007 at 14:51:42 PM EDT

CHICAGO, IL-- Obama for America today announced another quarter of record-breaking grassroots support. In the third quarter, more than 93,000 new donors gave the campaign at least $19 million in primary dollars alone, for a total of at least $20 million including general election funds.

"With over 350,000 donors and more than a half a million donations, Americans hungry for change know that Barack Obama is the candidate with the right experience to make that change happen," said Penny Pritzker, Obama for America National Finance Chair. "Thanks to this unprecedented grassroots support, the Obama campaign will have the resources we need to win the nomination and the White House."

"Many in Washington have spent the last weeks declaring the outcome of this race to be pre-ordained, and the primary process a mere formality," said Obama for America Campaign Manager David Plouffe. "Yet, in this quarter alone, 93,000 more Americans joined our campaign, because they desire real change and believe Barack Obama is the one candidate who can deliver it. This grassroots movement for change will not be deterred by Washington conventional wisdom because in many ways it is built to challenge it."

Third quarter totals:
? Primary dollars raised: at least $19 million
? Overall dollars raised (with general election): at least $20 million
? Number of new donors: over 93,000

Total 2007
? Primary dollars raised: at least $74.9 million
? Total number of donors: 352,000

The American People are the Solution

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Tue Sep 04, 2007 at 08:57:58 AM EDT

I feel this candidate and the movement in my bones. The vast majority of what I see, hear and my intuitive senses capture; resonates deeply within my social/community "soul".

I know that his words are not politically guaged rhetoric. I know because it jives with the culmination of my political perspective that has developed over the last 30 years.

Please give what I have provided below, a fair consideration. If you open your heart and commit your energy to lean into rebuilding our nation and its standing as the leader of the free world, I think you will see a movement that is within our reach and that our possibilities are endless.

Thank you - SGS
--------------------------------------------
The American People are the Solution(MyBO Blog - NH specific)

Remarks of Senator Barack Obama at Labor Day Rally

..So let's be clear - there are a lot of people who have been in Washington longer than me; who have better connections and go to the right dinner parties and know how to talk the Washington talk. Well I might not have the experience Washington likes, but I believe I have the experience America needs right now. Hope and change are not just the rhetoric of a campaign for me. Hope and change have been the causes of my life. Hope and change are the story of our country. And we're here today to continue that story.

We're here to infuse the old Washington politics with a new sense of mission - to unite people around a common purpose. To rally Americans around a common destiny. We aren't just here to win an election. We are here to transform a nation....

..I want to go before the United Nations as President and say, "America's back." It's time for America to lead again. It's time to fight on the right battlefield in rooting out al Qaeda. It's time to lead by building schools in the Middle East that teach math and science instead of hatred. It's time for us to close Guantanamo and restore the right of habeas corpus. It's time to show the world that we are not a country that ships prisoners in the dead of night to be tortured in far off countries. That we are not a country that looks away while innocents are slaughtered in Darfur. That we are not a country that runs prisons which lock people away without ever telling them why they are there or what they are charged with.

That is not who we are.

We are the last, best hope of Earth. We are the nation that liberated a continent from a madman, that lifted ourselves from the depths of Depression, that won Civil Rights, and Women's Rights, and Voting Rights for all our people. We are the beacon that has led generations of weary travelers to find opportunity, and liberty, and hope on our doorstep. That's who we are. And that's who we can be again.

I am reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect President. But I can promise you this - I will always tell you what I think and where I stand. I will be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And most importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved in your own democracy again.

I know what I'm asking is hard. I know that politics and politicians have disappointed you so many times before, to the point where sometimes it seems easier to just tune out and walk away. But what you have to remember is that when you walk away, the same old politics wins every time. That's what all the people who benefit from politics as a game are counting on....

Serious Organizing

by: Sleeping Giant Stirs

Mon Aug 13, 2007 at 16:51:28 PM EDT

Scott Helman posts Obama enthusiasts go to camp on The Boston Globe's: Political Intelligence.

Indeed, a lot is expected from these groups of volunteers, who are being carefully groomed around the country by Obama's campaign. The strength of Obama's grass-roots network has mostly been measured by his many campaign contributors -- nearly 260,000 people through June. But Camp Obama shows that his base of volunteers is big and growing, a force that his campaign hopes will make the difference by the time the primaries begin next year.

9: The Countdown Begins!

by: ztobi

Fri Jul 27, 2007 at 12:08:08 PM EDT

http://www.climatesu...

Draft Gore NH Takes Off

by: Andy Edwards

Fri Jun 08, 2007 at 16:15:57 PM EDT

The newly formed Draft Gore NH campaign made a splash at the NH Democratic Party Convention last weekend (see below the fold).  Well they're doing it again this weekend at DemocracyFest.  The group will have a table at the event, bringing in volunteers to circulate the draft petition and sell the wildly popular "Uncle Sam" posters and Draft Gore bumper stickers.

For all who are interested, come to Draft Gore NH's first Organizational Meeting on Thursday, June 14th at 7 pm, in White River Junction at the Hotel Coolidge.

Contact if you'd like to attend.

Hillary's new NH webpage and first statewide Day of Action

by: NHforHillary

Thu May 03, 2007 at 10:49:35 AM EDT

Check it out, and sign up for the first statewide Day of Action on Saturday, May 12 here:

http://www.hillarycl...