Like many of you, I've spent time during past campaigns trying to get out the vote. But every morning after an election, I find myself asking: "Did it matter?"
For every would-be voter I have a good talk with, many more either hang up or hurry me off the line. The opposition knows that GOTV can be annoying, which is why they're using fake GOTV calls as dirty tricks in campaigns. I want to help elect progressives and don't want to do anything to hurt.
Here's the problem I see with traditional GOTV: I don't know these people. Think about the six steps of community organizing. With GOTV calls to prospective voters, we're skipping to step four - mobilize to action - without taking the time for steps one through three - listening, relationship building and developing an action plan. We've got to get to know the individuals we touch in GOTV before we ask them to cast their ballot.
Yeah, that takes time. Which is why GOTV for 2012 has to start TODAY.
Doing GOTV with your existing family and friends won't be enough. To win on all levels, progressive Democrats need to expand our circle of influence. As Jon Stewart suggested, that means we need to engage with people we disagree with.
Step one: We listen.
But to listen, you have to engage with people. It's time to start volunteering in more community groups, especially ones that will bring you in contact with people who aren't consistently voting our way. I'm not suggesting you start attending your local conservative evangelical mega-church. But why not volunteer in a local senior center? Or a public school? Yeah, you might have to do a load of paperwork. These institutions aren't used to outsiders wanting to help, and will be skeptical of you and your motives. But that's all the more reason to engage. Find a new place to engage with people you don't know and do it.
Step two: We build relationships.
Remember the "Three Cups of Tea" approach. You must have three substantive contacts with someone before you can ask them for something. So ask what your new friends need, on at least three different occasions. Then help them get it, at least three times. Maybe you're driving people to errands, helping build a community playground or reading to kids while a teacher grade papers. Whatever you can to build a relationship with more people you didn't know.
Step three: We build an action plan.
Only after your third contact with someone new can you ask them what they think. Even then, if you don't agree with what someone says, don't shut down the conversation with your Democratic talking points. Just keep asking questions. But steer the conversation with your questions. If someone says he doesn't like taxes, ask him about how to best pay for new roads, police and the military. Use reflective listening to empathize with their point of view, then to suggest a different way of looking at things, through your questions.
Remember, three cups of tea. You'll need three good conversations with someone before even thinking about moving to the next step.
Step four: GOTV
If after your thirds conversation after your third time helping someone, that person's come around to a progressive point of view, ask him or her to vote. Of course, not everyone you engage will get to this step. Some won't want to open up and talk about anything political. Some won't ever come around to considering a different point of view. That's fine. You'll at least shown to them that a progressive can be a helpful volunteer, and that not all progressives dismiss anyone who disagrees with them with an epithet, or even a boring talking point. Take those small steps forward.
But to contact, convert and motivate enough voters to make a difference, progressives need to start building personal relationships with a huge number of people. A few of us, taking this more personal approach, won't get it done. We need all progressives to commit to relationship building.
Political consultants won't ever suggest doing this. It takes too much time, too much effort and too much expense for any campaign manager who wants to keep his or her job. So they take the easy - and inefficient - route and buy another call list.
We can't keep doing things that way, and expect any different results. So long as Democrats don't change our approach to GOTV, we'll keep getting the same inconsistent mix of success and failure that we're getting now. Win in 2008. Lose in 2010.
Let's change the narrative, as the conservatives did in the late 1970s and 1980s. Let's forget about the cold calling and warm up our communities, instead. Let's engage our friends, then make new friends in our communities by sharing our time and our work. Let's build the relationships that we can call on when we need to get supporters to the polls.
Our deadline? Primary season 2012. This approach to GOTV doesn't call for a few hours in a phone bank every other fall. It's a lifestyle change that demands your commitment to coalition-building 365 days a year.
Are you ready to help make a difference? A real one? If so, GOTV for 2012 starts now. Today.
Let's get started.