Lone Star Democracy Builders Association

Smack me with a stick. In an e-mail from David Holmes today, he mentioned that the updated TX Democratic Party website had a link to the Dem Grassroots Manual. Lo and behold, it's there!

Kudos to all the folks that put this together. While it may be old-news to die-hard politicos, it sure would have helped me get my feet on the ground when I was starting out as a volunteer a couple of years ago. The glossary by itself is priceless. For new folks winding up at jargon-packed events, it'll be a big help. For mid-timers, I finally learned the difference between Blue Dog Democrats and Yellow Dog Democrats. It also lists the structure of the party, how to get involved, simple things you can do as a grassroots activist, shows sample phone scripts, gives checklists for events, etc. Awesome!

Suggestions for improvement: update the "What has the Democratic Party done for you lately?" section to list successes from recent TX democrats (state and local). And do a jargon-scrub -- things like the "Davis Bacon Act" aren't exactly household terms.

Enough with the whining. I'm very happy the materials are finally online.

Posted by GlennM at 5:31 PM in Our Infrastructure & Texas Organizations | Permalink

I couldn't help myself. After getting another request for cash from the TX Democrats, I had to make some demands. What good are folks on the ground for precinct organizing if the party doesn't give voters a reason to pay attention to it? I'm sick and tired of being in the party "that isn't those bumblers." I want to be in a party that's doing things for people and is engaging people in government instead of scaring them away (note engaging them in government, not politics). My response to their fundraising is below.

Continue reading "Prodding the Democrats" »

Posted by GlennM at 10:35 PM in How To Communicate & Texas Organizations & Venting | Permalink

Check out the No Nonsense in November website. Forms are available for volunteers, donations, pledges to vote against the amendment, and e-mail alerts. Each page seems to have a button for e-mailing it to a friend. There's also downloadable materials for doing grassroots outreach.

Posted by Skye at 8:39 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink

From a comment over at Burnt Orange Report, I found the website for Step Up Texas, a new group focused on recruiting and running Democratic candidates in every race on the ballot in 2006. They've got a nice web-based system that lists all of the state-wide races, with a framework in place for listing all of the county races. It provides a mechanism for activists to endorse existing candidates and for them to nominate new people, especially for races where no Democrat is listed yet. Each candidate has a discussion attached to their entry.

I think they can improve some things, but I like where they're heading. In the state house and senate races, showing the current incumbent for a district would be a useful; I can remember that I'm represented by Mark Strama much easier than remembering that I'm in State House District 50. Some maps would also be useful, helping to visualize our convoluted districts.

As we learned at DemFest, too many Republicans get reelected without significant opposition. I think this effort is really important, both to force the 'R's to actually fight for their seats and as a way of rebuilding the Texas Democratic Party.

Posted by Ben at 10:04 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink

As a former volunteer coordinator, I'm pretty picky about the volunteer opportunities I'm willing to engage in. I'd like my effort to mean something, to make something, or to change something. As a stakeholder in this country, I have pretty high standards for the groups that are working to fix the mess we're in - if they don't do a good job, they're betraying the folks who are giving them time and money, as well as the "cause."

Volunteer-run organizations, or even organizations with small staffs, are often overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do. But volunteers are one of the most valuable resources for helping them manage that work.

What have we found so far in our attempts to volunteer for local political organizations?

Continue reading "Volunteering...maybe" »

Posted by Skye at 2:40 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink | Comments (1)

Now for some county websites, looking at the same factors as in Part I.

The Travis County Party website has current info on the front page, a very prominent link to the mailing list signup, and a link for registering to vote in the left nav. They also have a good calendar of events. The "Get Involved" page at least has some language that sounds welcoming - though they talk about becoming a precinct chair without any explanation of what that is.

Then it gets dicey.

Continue reading "Democratic Party Websites: Part II" »

Posted by Skye at 7:16 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink

I took a tour through several Democratic Party websites lately, looking specifically for information about precinct organizing. Along the way, I checked on a few other things that I thought would be crucial on a Party website:

• regular updates
• easy mailing list signup
• local information
• voting information
• list of other sites to visit (to help visitors bond more with the party)
• inspiration for getting involved

Here are my impressions of the State Party site. I'll put the county parties in a separate post.

Continue reading "Democratic Party Websites: Part I" »

Posted by Skye at 6:37 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink

... is having their dues and nominating meeting this Friday (1/7/05).

Below is their contact info and their constitution (long)

Continue reading "Capital City Young Democrats" »

Posted by GlennM at 9:41 AM in Texas Organizations | Permalink

Below are my notes on the January 05 Democracy For Texas Meetup. The bulk is from a DNC representative, with a little bit about who was there and what else is happening around Austin. The second-half of the meeting was viewing a Lakoff DVD followed by a group exercise. I'll posted that part under "How to Communicate".

Continue reading "DFT Meetup 1/5/05 Notes" »

Posted by GlennM at 10:23 PM in Texas Organizations | Permalink | Comments (1)