Barack Obama’s intriguing blend of electoral campaign savvy with a community organizing ethos is going to be on full display in Colorado.
Obama’s rock star acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention is going to be open to 70,000 people at Invesco Field, and the Denver Post tells us that many of those will be recruited from throughout the U.S., with a focus on neighboring battleground states Nevada and New Mexico.
This means a few more New Mexicans may be making the road trip to Denver, or to a hotel within driving distance.
But if you get a ticket, in pure organizing style you’ll be asked to do something.
In an interview with the Post, Obama’s deputy campaign manager, Steve Hildebrand, said the campaign will bring in supporters from all 50 states through the ticketing process in order to "energize" them to be activists for Obama back home.
Tickets have been given a new name: community credentials. Ticket holders will be given "very specific instructions and goals to register millions of new voters."
Hildebrand went on to describe the application process for tickets itself as a recruitment tool. In pure community organizer style, it’ll start with a conversation. But in this case, at local Democratic party offices.
"They fill out a form; there’s a conversation," Hildebrand to the Post. "We ask them and encourage them to register voters and to get out the vote and those activities that are important to us. It’s not a requirement, but it’s going to be an encouragement."
And, Hildebrand continued, the campaign is serious about community credentials, and wants to know if applicants are as well.
"Every single person is going to be a level of seriousness," Hildebrand said. "You know, ‘Tell us how you’re going to get there from Maine. Tell us how you’re going to get there from Florida. Give us a sense of whether or not you’re really serious about this. If you’re not, we’re going to provide someone else with this.’"



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