The last time I hinted at this, (My Political Resume, Reshma 2010, And September 14) I was not in a position to take a job - I am now, (Employment Authorization Card: It's Here) and I am not a citizen and a voter, so I could not have volunteered on the petition drive of the past few weeks. And I have actively looked at a few tech sector options the past few weeks. (Not MeetUp, After Entry Level Jobs, An Internship, Entry Level Jobs, Job Search) But getting an email about the party Monday (Reshma 2010: New Office: Party: June 21 Monday) put Reshma 2010 front and center on my mindscreen all over again.
Reshma 2010 is too historic a campaign to miss out on. I think I want to do a three month stint - June 22 to September 22 - with this historic campaign before going to do another job. In New York the primary election is what matters. You win on September 14, Maloney then endorses you, and you go claim victory in November. But I would keep the option to add six weeks open. This district was Republican before Maloney took over 18 years ago. And someone from a Republican candidate's campaign has taken to leaving comments at most posts I put out about Reshma here at this blog. See you in November has been my refrain.
I am going to lay out my thoughts here, then I am going to shoot an email to Reshma and Kevin. (My Talk With Kevin Lawler Of Reshma 2010) I should not assume just because I want to go full time with the campaign, the campaign necessarily wants me full time. But if they do, working out a role would be part two, and that might be trickier. Kevin and I are going to sit down before the party Monday to hash things out.
These are some of my early thoughts.
My Political Resume, Reshma 2010, And September 14
A 14-7 Office For Reshma 2010
An Afternoon At The Reshma 2010 Headquarters
I would want an amorphous role. The title of Political Consultant might be a good one for me. That would keep me an outsider who is now an insider. I would like that.
The pay would be $1000 cash advance before I even begin. I would go right away to the Best Buy at Union Square and get me a laptop (Toshiba Satellite), a smartphone (Droid Incredible), and I would get me a monthly metro card. And there would be a $1000 a week payment for the 12 weeks, and a $2000 bonus to be part of the final paycheck conditional to a September 14 victory. And then I am out of here. I go back to being a Volunteer. Or I do six more weeks at $1000 a week, and a $1000 bonus conditional to a November victory. But we will cross that bridge when we get there.
If I were thinking of doing one year with the campaign, I might have thought, oh no, that is a lot of money, the campaign should instead put that into TV ads. But putting 15K into me to ensure a September 14 victory is a sound investment.
I am predicting victory. This is not a make feel good statement. This is not a boost team morale gesture. This is a prediction. My coming on board will make extra sure that that is what happens. (Jupiter And Obama)
And this is not going to be any ordinary victory. Reshma is going to hit the national headlines on September 15. And then she works to make sure the Democrats keep the House and the Senate. She helps the national effort.
As for my hours and role, I have had a few thoughts.
Wednesday and Friday, I take my two days off. I work 1 PM to 9 PM Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. On Thursdays and Saturdays I am at the Queens office, once that is up and running. And I put in 10 flex hours on top of this 40. I put in more as necessary during the final weeks leading to September 14.
I would want to blog daily for Reshma right here at this blog. Already a search on her name online brings this blog up on page two. I want to show up on page one. Closer to election day a lot of people will be googling her up. We want them to find some of my blog posts. That would be a lot of free advertising. And I have a feeling we will come across a lot of people who volunteered and voted for Obama in 2008. This blog's name should get them. I have 10 hours of video from that campaign, and hundreds of blog posts. That is a good foundation to have to place the Reshm name on.
One big reason I want to get the Droid Incredible is so as to be able to post photos, videos, tweets, updates, and blog posts in real time from wherever. I am going to lead a major social media effort inside the team. All staffers, interns and volunteers need to retweet every tweet sent out by @reshma2010. We all need to press the Like button on all Facebook updates by the campaign.
And in blogging daily I think I am going to end up talking much about the team as well. The core 30 people will get featured.
I go to some tech events in town, about one a week. I would want to keep doing that. And I want to step out to watch most of the key World Cup matches. I will make up for that time in additional morning hours.
Some of the things I would want to focus on right away.
- Debate preparation.
- Weekly mock debates, first attended by a few key staff, then by the entire staff. Maloney role play by various staffers, myself included. When it is my turn, one line I would like to use: "But, Reshma, I brought about equality for women, and put down the Second Avenue subway line. What have you done?"
- Sit down on all strategy sessions. First to absorb and listen, then to collect data on the progress of the campaign, and then to suggest moves.
- The war room concept. Let no attack go unanswered.
- Own the Obama platform. Work to create a 2016 platform.
- Get on the phone with voters one hour each day.
- Work a subway stop for two rush hours each week, then more often.
- Go attend every possible political event in the district. You meet political junkies who thrive on this stuff. If some of them come along as volunteers, you win big.
- Work on an exhaustive list of all community leaders, events and newspapers. Go out to those events. Visit the newspapers in their offices. Identify the key bloggers in the district. The goal is to get these bloggers and newspapers to do one piece each on Reshma.
Everyone you meet at a Subway stop can donate, or most people can. So don't worry too much about if someone is a primary voter or not. And, remember, Obama did not win Iowa by relying on a list of people who had a track record of having voted before. He won with new, first time voters. We have to get a healthy dose of new, first time voters to show up on September 14.
Some blog posts I might do down the line:
- Maloney Is Never Going to Run For President, Nor Schumer
- Maloney Wrote A Book Saying Her Best Is Not Good Enough
- Rangel Needs To Retire, Maloney Too
- Mike Arrington Is A Sexist Pig (this on my tech blog)
- Reshma 2016: The Biggest Rationale For Reshma 2010
The core team needs this victory. Some people get to go to DC with Reshma. Those who stay in the city become hot property, like happened to Obama people after 2008. All politicians wanted to hire them. We win on September 14 and that's two more months of paychecks for all staffers.
But even paid work for a political campaign falls in the public service domain. You would probably be making more money doing other things. You put in those extra hours, you run that extra mile, because all the good your candidate will do for the larger common good.
Calling voters for an hour each day should probably apply to everyone on the team. Maybe even the candidate should do an hour a week, but in her case she only calls voters who have been identified to be strong supporters.
"Hi. I am Reshma. I am running for Congress. My core team has identified you as a strong supporter. I was wondering if you will host a house party for us. If you can get 30 people to show up, I commit to being there for an hour. Can my Campaign Manager please get in touch with you about this? Thanks."
The campaign needs a few MetroPCS phones in the office, unlimited talk, text and web.
And I am serious about that lassi thing. ("Where Was This Google All This Time?")
