Democracy for America

If you missed last year's DFA Training Academy in Salt Lake City (or if you did attend but want a refresher), you can now view this training online. The videotape was made earlier this month in California, but it's the same course that was offered in Salt Lake City last year.

DFA also put its Night School courses online:

And the DNC has a video for its Neighborhood Leader program To sign up to be a Neighborhood Leader, contact caxford@utdemocrats.org.

Do you know someone who might benefit from these training videos? Please send 'em a link!

From diarist tea in the harbor at Daily Kos:

Governor Dean talked of a Great American Restoration. Maybe now we are going to finally get it, for the Obama-Edwards win is also, in every real way, Howard Dean's victory, for it is his vision of American democracy that has prevailed. The Governor realized the answer to our political dilemma was to change the dynamics of the "game" by getting discouraged voters who have dropped out to return to participating in the political process. This is the philosophical basic of the 50-State Program and the new precinct leader system, and the antithesis of the political culture of triangulation, which seeks to merely manipulate the cutting of a shrinking pie.

Dean saw we needed to turn citizens from passive spectators, for whom politics was something they received, back into participants and the joint masters of their own destiny. Bringing in tens of thousands of new people to the caucuses – over 100,000 – is precisely what Obama and Edwards did. From all the polling, there looks to be a record turnout in New Hampshire Tuesday as well. In this sense both Obama and Edwards are true successors to the Dean campaign.

If you missed DFA's most recent Night School sessions on precinct organizing (or want to share them with someone else), you can get the DVD for a $30 donation to Democracy for America. Other Night School DVDs — on fundraising, GOTV, media skills, and more — are available as well.

So the results of DFA's 2008 pulse poll are in, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich took first with 32% of the vote. The other top contenders were (write-in candidate) former VP Al Gore with 25%, former Sen. John Edwards with 16%, and Sen. Barack Obama with 14%. All other candidates (including Sen. Hillary Clinton) finished below 5%.

DFA set up the poll as an instant-runoff-style poll that allowed respondents to rank their top 3 candidates. If Gore is removed from the poll, Edwards gets the biggest boost and moves up to 23% of the vote, but he still trails Kucinich by 13 points.

The map at right shows the locations of everyone who's attending the DFA Training next weekend. We've got attendees from as far away as St. George, Cedar City, Whiterocks (near Vernal), and Howell (up by Idaho).

Plus, our RSVP count (currently at 73) has exceeded that of the New Hampshire, Nevada, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Indiana trainings. Everything is coming along nicely, and it looks like this event will be a big success!

We're at 61 RSVPs for the DFA Training Weekend on June 16-17. That beats both Indiana with 60 and Tennessee with 58! And we still have three weeks to go!

The training agenda for the DFA Training Weekend on June 16-17 is now available in PDF format (UT_Agenda_2007.pdf). Sunday's breakout sessions include Campaign Advertising, Working with News Outlets, Running a Canvass, Developing a Phone Program, Volunteer Management and Leadership Development, Precinct Organizing, and Working with a Voter File.

We've got some great trainers coming including Arshad Hasan, DFA's Training Coordinator, and Tom Hughes, DFA's Executive Director.

Tom Hughes

Executive Director, Democracy for America. Active in Democratic politics since 1988, Tom has worked on most divisions of a modern campaign, including management, field work, fundraising, communications, political outreach, scheduling, and advance. Executive director of the Vermont Democratic Party in 1998, Tom helped elect a state house and senate that went on to pass historic Civil Unions legislation. In 2003–2004, Tom directed the Dean for America field operation in New Hampshire. He has been with Democracy for America since April 2004.

There's still time to register for the training if you haven't already.

Democracy for America wants to know:

America will elect a new President in 2008. While the election is more than 20 months away, the race has already begun.

Individually, Democracy for America members will choose their favorite candidates. But collectively, DFA has an opportunity to influence the presidential primary process and the candidates' positions. Imagine a nominee who shares your values with the power of Democracy for America on his or her side.

But before we jump into the presidential primaries as an organization, it's up to DFA members to decide whether we should. You steer DFA. Will you help make this decision?