Dems keep grass-roots movement alive
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. -- Veronica Cook describes her first venture into politics, registering voters and going door-to-door for Barack Obama's presidential campaign last summer, as a "life-changing experience" that erased her long-held cynicism about the political process.
Once Obama was elected, "I didn't want it to stop," says Cook, 51, of St. Louis. "I wanted to keep working."
The Democratic Party wants her to keep working, too — and it is giving her the chance as part of a new effort to harness and strengthen the grass-roots enthusiasm and financial support that won the party the White House in November.
The effort is called Organizing for America, and a big focus so far is here in Missouri, the only battleground state Obama lost. (Republican John McCain won, 50%-49%.) Obama visits Arnold, Mo., south of St. Louis, today for a town-hall-style meeting to mark his first 100 days in office. He'll also hold a White House news conference tonight.
Organizing for America, which is run by the Democratic National Committee, has held 11 community meetings across the state in the past two weeks.
"I have not seen something of this magnitude," says Patricia Justice, 60, a Ph.D. student from St. Louis. Active in grass-roots politics all her life, Justice attended one of the group's meetings here Monday.
Group leaders, who use the campaign's contact list of 13 million donors to corral supporters and raise money, say their goal is to support Obama's agenda and expand the grass-roots movement that elected him by launching community service projects on issues from energy to education.
The first-of-its-kind effort began in February with supporters calling to thank members of Congress who voted for the economic stimulus package. In March and April, organizers collected 600,000 signatures supporting Obama's budget proposal and sent them to Capitol Hill.
Now, they are hosting community meetings nationwide and soliciting ideas. Meetings have been held in 16 states. The largest gathering so far was in Missouri, where more than 200 people attended a Kansas City meeting.
On Monday night, about 100 people such as Cook braved the rain to meet in this St. Louis suburb.
Organizers are encouraged. Months after the election, "You'd expect there to be some fatigue among supporters," says Natalie Wyeth, an organization spokeswoman. "It's been entirely the opposite."
Justice credits the way the Obama organization uses e-mail lists, social networking sites such as Facebook, video and more to bring people together.
"They have opened up a whole new world," she says.
Republican pollster Frank Luntz agrees. "This is life in the 21st century," he says. "Either you organize and connect with people or you fail."
Lloyd Smith, director of the Missouri Republican Party, says the GOP is building its own outreach list. "It's always good to keep your grass roots involved," he says.
It's too early to tell whether the Obama organization will win new supporters in a conservative state that saw 20,000 "tea party" protesters turn out on tax day this month carrying anti-Obama signs that read "Can we CHANGE back?" and "Sharpen Your Pitchforks."
Wayne Fields, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis, says it may be difficult for Democrats to gain traction in Missouri. He says it's easier to motivate people to support a charismatic candidate when there is an upcoming election. "Now, you're trying to build (support) around issues," he says.
Cook says that works for her.
A former Republican, Cook says she wants to work on health care and environmental issues. She admits that she doesn't know how to go about it and says she's counting on the new group to guide her. "When people get together on something, that's how you make it happen," she says.
Margaret Hasse, 83, of Webster Groves, who also attended Monday's session, says it feels good to have a political group asking for input after the election. "To know that our issues are still important is overwhelming," Hasse says. "I am so grateful."