Guest Post by Mara Zebest
They were hoping to organize for action.
But only 200 people showed up.
Organizing for Action (OFA) could be perceived as a post-election renaming of the pre-election campaign group Organizing for America. OFA has been accepting money from unions and the headquarters is in the NEA building which in itself is troubling. Apparently Obama’s popularity is taking a significant nose dive (maybe even among his OFA base).
The sudden awakening of ‘Low Information Voters’ could be attributable to several recent events; one such event would be the Rand Paul filibuster, combined with the over-the-board fear-mongering on the Sequester. Even the media ‘group think’ geniuses are faced with damage control and pushing an odd meme that Obama is on a ‘Charm Offensive.’ Is it just me, or are those two words contradictory?
A Rush Limbaugh caller on the March 13, 2013 show offers further insights into this trend.
A black Rush Limbaugh listener called in and admitted he converted to conservatism thanks to Barack Obama.
“There’s something sinister about Obama.”
The caller may be onto something. A recent article from the Washington Post reports the following on an OFA summit:
The founders of Organizing for Action, the nonprofit group formed from President Obama’s reelection campaign organization, kicked off a two-day summit Wednesday by saying they will work to pass the president’s policy agenda but not to elect political candidates.
OFA has come under criticism in recent weeks because it is being funded with unlimited donations from wealthy individuals and because the biggest donors will have access to the president.
But OFA’s leaders said the group should be celebrated because it aims to mobilize grass-roots supporters to fight the status quo in Washington and help pass Obama’s domestic agenda, including overhauls of the nation’s immigration and gun laws.
“President Obama was criticized for saying he can’t change Washington from the inside, but the truth is, he was right,” said Jim Messina, Obama’s 2012 campaign manager and an OFA founder. “If Americans don’t organize in support of the issues they believe in — and if we don’t help them do it — then lobbyists and special interests will drive Washington, just like they have for decades.”
Messina added, “At this crossroads for our economy, we can’t afford business as usual.”
Fewer than 100 people came to Wednesday’s opening session of the two-day summit at the St. Regis, an upscale hotel two blocks from the White House. Many of the Democratic Party’s biggest benefactors did not attend.
The participants included a few donors but were mostly volunteers and former White House and campaign staffers. They heard speeches by Messina and other founders, including longtime Obama adviser David Plouffe, then held private strategy sessions.
