Let’s Get Involved, Elect More Inspiring Politicians, & Take Back State Legislatures

It’s easy to feel disenchanted with our political system. But millennials need to step into the void and fashion a viable future.

Michael Brodsky
Jul 24, 2017 · 9 min read

HERE ARE THREE CRUCIAL ISSUES

1. It’s difficult to get involved. Firstly, people want to make a difference but don’t know how to help. There’s no good way for them to make a difference. And that’s because — virtually across the board — the causes, candidates, and organizations we care about don’t have an easy way to plug in. They only offer one size fits all approaches to engagement, which makes poor use of people’s unique potential and disincentivizes them from deeper involvement.

2. We need more appealing candidates. Secondly, we need to help young, up-and-coming candidates. Candidates who can appeal to an increasingly millennial population, and inspire those disaffected to get out and vote. We need candidates who break the classic and formulaic “establishment” mold, and who inspire others to get involved. We need to help these candidates wherever they are, and lower barriers to their political success.

3. State politics need serious attention. And thirdly, we need to focus more on state government. That’s where the pipelines to national prominence are laid, where future leadership is nurtured / developed, and where constituencies are (all too often) gerrymandered into districts. It’s also where control of the federal government is lost or won. If democrats hope to win back the US House, Senate, and White House, we need to start at the statewide level.

BUT WHY DO THESE ISSUES MATTER?

1. Why does it matter that it’s difficult to get involved? Americans are increasingly millennial, and millennials are increasingly politically apathetic. Even when we vote, we’re less inclined to stay involved with government — or our civic responsibilities — on a regular basis. And without increased millennial engagement, the health of our democracy is going to deteriorate. While there are multiple reasons for millennial disaffection with government, one of them is this: millenials have grown up with drastically different experiences / opportunities than any previous generation, and there’s no good model (for political engagement) that meets their expectations.

Say that you’re an avid defender of a woman’s right to choose. How do you go about supporting this cause? Most people would suggest that you join an organization prioritizing that goal. But you’ll soon face a problem: there isn’t a whole lot that you can do to help. Organizations like Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and Emily’s List all have prescribed ways that average people can get involved. You can donate money, like their social posts, or call your legislators when they disseminate action alerts. But these opportunities are cut and dry, and don’t take into account the unique contributions that people are able to make.

Imagine that an organization has different supporters: a management consultant, digital marketer, full-stack developer, policy analyst, investigative journalist, and investment banker. As things presently stand, each of these people — irrespective of skill and know-how — are offered the exact same ways of getting involved: they can “come to this event,” “sign this petition,” or “donate ten dollars a month.” But these opportunities feel all too similar to the daily clutter of Facebook feeds. They’re impersonal and uninspiring — especially for millennials who are used to constant engagement and opportunity.

You and I are amongst the most civically engaged people out there. And if we feel dissatisfied with our ability to contribute, than everybody else does too. It’s time that we take matters into our our hands and begin creating a model for sustainable millennial engagement.

2. Why do we need to select more appealing candidates? Political parties hold less weight than at any point in recent history. While the Democratic Party — along with its massive voter lists and infrastructure — has traditionally propelled candidates to office, this is quickly becoming insufficient. In an age of twenty-four hour news coverage, and constant exposure to the press, it’s more important than ever to have a dynamic public persona. Personality, and not party alone, is increasingly likely to win elections. Especially at the national level.

We need leaders and candidates who can forge broad coalitions, and who can inspire voter turnout in an age of unprecedented mistrust and apathy. While the Democratic party helps elect candidates, it doesn’t do much to identify newcomers with considerable potential. And while a select few organizations are focused on electing new Democratic candidates (e.g. Emily’s List and Emerge America), they each have niche constituencies, focus on fundraising, don’t proactively conduct outreach, and seldom provide opportunities for mainstream Americans to get involved.

This is a void that desperately needs filling. We can’t rely on institutions alone to identify and propel candidates with the most potential — we have to begin finding and helping those candidates ourselves. We need to start by reaching out to promising young officeholders, encouraging them to run for higher office, and then helping lower their barriers to entry. We can provide them with self-confidence, and equip them with tools, that help lower barriers to their future political success.

3. Why do we need to begin focusing on state legislatures? American democracy is at a crossroads. With Democratic control of just 17 governorships and 5 state legislatures, the party’s influence is at a near-historic low. Not only does this roll back a whole slew of progress, but it will — if this reality continues into 2020 — have a dire impact on American democracy.

2020 is when our federal census mandates a new round of redistricting. And whichever party is in controls of state legislatures will have a free hand to configure districts however they please. While Democrats have advocated for impartial and nonpartisan redistricting commissions, the Republican party seems bent on furthering the gerrymandered districts that entrench their political influence — especially as demographic changes make their organic political ascendance increasingly less likely.

If conservative lawmakers maintain control over state governments, the practice of gerrymandering will take a turn for the worse. Republicans will consolidate more voter blocks into even more inorganic enclaves, limit the influence of racial / ethnic minorities, and damage beyond recognition the equality of every American’s voice. But even more fundamentally, it will erode the democratic foundations of government. Gerrymandered districts push candidates to their poles, and incentivize politicians to abandon a politically moderate center in favor of extremism. No democracy — ours included — can overcome such institutionalized marginalization and balkanization. For the country’s sake, something has to be done.

SUMMARY — WHAT ARE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES AGAIN?

1. How can we contribute what we’re best at to the causes and campaigns that we care most about?

2. How can we develop a sustainable model that helps engage disaffected / dissatisfied millennials?

3. How can we help up-and-coming young candidates with the potential to make a difference in federal politics?

4. How can we help elect more progressive lawmakers to statewide office before the upcoming 2020 elections?

WHAT ARE YOUR PROPOSED SOLUTIONS?

1. Create a group for meaningful engagement (starting with you and me). In order to overcome millennial apathy, we need to establish a group that creates — even for ourselves — an opportunity to meaningfully engage and contribute. We need to meet people wherever they are and give them a chance to contribute what they’re best at. What if one person could write a policy paper, proofread a speech, or host a fundraiser, while another could author an op-ed, make introductions to venture capitalists, or build an engineering tool that benefits the campaign?

By establishing a group in which we can come together and contribute whatever we actually know and care about, we might be able to create a dedicated cohort of politically engaged millennials. Each person would be autonomous and totally in control of who to help and how to contribute. They would decide what to do, when to do it, and how often they want to help. Whether they do anything or not is entirely up to them. So all the group lends is this:

  1. Impetus to get involved
  2. Exposure to other people who want to help
  3. An opportunity to contribute whatever it is you excel at
  4. Exposure to our collective body of political expertise and collateral
  5. Legitimacy in the eyes of onlookers and increased likelihood that we’ll be taken seriously

2. Identify promising candidates and help them run for higher office. We need to start by creating a list of promising young politicians. Next steps are to pro-actively reach out to promising young officeholders, encourage them to run for higher office, and help lower barriers to their political future (by offering advice and assistance). We can provide them with self-confidence to run for higher office, and equip them with tools that might otherwise be out of reach for young candidates.

Each person would start by contributing names to a shared list of promising young politicians. This will help us develop a repository that can be leveraged by every other person in the group. Each person would then reach out to their chosen candidate(s), and offer to help however they found most useful. The organizer might offer to develop the plans for their campaign strategy, while the digital strategist might offer a host of best practices (or volunteer to train their staff). Meanwhile, the software engineer might offer to build a new website, mobile app, or campaign tool, while the speechwriter might offer to help with public remarks / appearances. Each of these people has something unique and valuable to offer their prospective candidates.

Simultaneously, exposure to one another would help expand our our expertise, and develop a common “body knowledge” that could be leveraged in the future. What if we had an easily replicable campaign website for each prospective candidate to use? Or a handbook of digital best practices / grassroots organizing best practices? This might be tremendously valuable for prospective candidates, and help lower barriers to their electoral success.

Being part of this umbrella group, which would have a formal name, branding, and website, would go a long way toward furthering our goals. It would lend a cloak of legitimacy to our volunteering, save candidates precious time in vetting our backgrounds (to make sure that we’re worth their time), and help encourage already-busy lawmakers to take us seriously.

COOL, BUT WHAT CAN WE ACTUALLY DO TO HELP?*

  1. Grassroots Fundraising: We could help brainstorm, design, create, and execute grassroots fundraising campaigns. We would be responsible for determining and creating theme, messaging, collateral, email templates, and timelines. We could also help facilitate outreach.
  2. Grasstops Fundraising: We could help raise money from higher-profile, individual donors. We would be responsible for identifying potential supporters, developing relationships with them, showcasing the best of the candidate, and handing off qualified leads to the candidate’s office.
  3. Campaign Infrastructure: We could help develop the candidate’s campaign apparatus. We could build a plan to engage their district, and begin operationalizing it. This might include identifying and recruiting likely in-district supporters. We would be responsible for searching for potential community members, reaching out to them, setting up phone meetings, and evangelizing for the candidate.
  4. Public Image: We could help the candidate write public remarks, proofread his/her addresses, and offer coaching / debate preparation whenever relevant.
  5. Partnership Development: We could help build the candidate’s organizational relationships. We could identify potential partners (e.g. unions, nonprofits, companies), schedule meetings, build new bridges, and figure out interesting means of collaboration.
  6. Digital Strategy: We could help develop the candidate’s public image (or train her / his staffers). We would be responsible for creating a stronger social media presence, cultivating its reach, and developing PR initiatives (e.g. Op-eds, Medium pieces, etc.).
  7. Event Planning / Consulting: We could help brainstorm new and interesting gatherings, coordinate with the candidate’s office, and take turn these events into realities.
  8. Policy Development: We could help the candidate grapple with some of the most important political issues facing their district, host small discussion-based deep-dives into them, and write policy white papers for the candidate’s benefit.
  9. Engineering / Development: This is for anyone with technical experience — the engineers, product managers, and designers among us. We could brainstorm new tools that might be helpful, help them develop said products, or lend a hand with branding / design / collateral (for those proficient in Sketch / Photoshop).

*This list can and should grow with every person in the group. This is just my first attempt to outline some of the varied things that we have to contribute.

SWEET. SO WHAT ARE THE POTENTIAL UPSIDES?

  1. We can help aspiring young leaders win important elections
  2. We can help win back crucial state legislative and gubernatorial seats
  3. We can develop a pipeline of progressive talent all around the country
  4. We can develop a vibrant base of politically-engaged millennials
  5. We can improve political engagement & establish a replicable precedent

NICE. AND THE POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES?

We only risk lost time. But even if worse comes to worst and the idea falls flat, this will still have been a great opportunity to talk with potential candidates, think creatively, practice skills that we care about, and attempt to engineer solutions to some of the challenging problems facing our generation.

DOPE. WHAT ARE NEXT STEPS?

  1. Talk with an election lawmaker to ensure there aren’t any legal hurdles
  2. Talk with up-and-coming politicians to figure out what they’d find useful
  3. Decide on a name and build out a website
Michael Brodsky

Written by

Michigan born, San Francisco based. Head of Campaigns at Countable. Interested in civic tech, Israeli affairs, and lowering barriers to political entry.

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