<< Front page News April 23, 2004

Students get tough at Camp Wellstone

First-year Charlie Sohne and the author attended Camp Wellstone, a progressive politics skills training program in Pittsburgh, April 16-18.

Camp Wellstone is sponsored by Wellstone Action!, a Political Action Committee founded in memory of Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife Sheila Wellstone, both of whom died, along with their daughter Marcia and several of Wellstone’s staff members, in a plane crash in 2002. This session was cosponsored by America Coming Together, another PAC committed to defeating Republicans in the 2004 elections.

The three-day workshop allowed participants to choose one of three tracks: citizen activism, being a progressive candidate or working on a progressive campaign. Although the tracks had some differences, each consisted of lectures, including one by a Pennsylvania state senator, explaining aspects of political action.

The most emphatic point made by most lecturers was to have a comprehensive plan from the beginning of any campaign, be it for a candidate, an issue or a get-out-the-vote drive. It must cover finances, organizational structure, interaction with the voter and field organization.

With a plan in place, organizers can deal with the three most important aspects of a campaign: content, relationship and exchange. Content is based on information taken from formal or informal polling, as well as the candidate or group’s own values systems. A relationship with voters based on partnership, inclusion and respect that lasts beyond Election Day is an important political tool. This kind of partnership with communities can allow the community to become part of the voter mobilization process and free up campaign resources.

Exchange is the process of using voter feedback to frame an issue in a way that appeals to the public. This allows a campaign to express its side as well as rebuttal against whatever message the opposition produces.

One of the most effective ways of communicating a campaign’s messages is through “free” media such as news coverage and paid advertising. Mark Schrieber, a lecturer who spent the first years of his career in radio, suggested that progressives use a tool long thought to be the conservatives’ forte: talk radio.

The audience for talk radio is mainly older people, who are statistically more likely to vote than other demographic groups. In addition, Schreiber pointed out that, in the media, “perception is reality.” If the only callers people hear on talk radio are in one political camp, people are going to believe that they are in the majority. By calling local talk shows to voice their opinions en masse, the opposition can counter such a seeming opinion bloc.


 
 
   

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