| By JaredRaphael - Jul 1st, 2005 at 3:36 pm EDT |
| Also listed in: Campus Progress Summer Blogathon |
I noticed that both PFAW and MoveOn did something interesting with this campaign—they asked for my cell phone number so that they could text message me when the nominee is announced. Here's why:
Both sides have prepared hour-by-hour chronologies of Supreme Court fights, ranging from the 73 days from nomination to confirmation for Justice David H. Souter in 1990 to 137 days for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1993. In a calculation akin to the "golden hour," in which paramedics race to get a critically ill patient to a hospital, Senate strategists have concluded that the first four to six hours will determine which side is left on the defensive. These minutely detailed strategies are ready to be activated regardless of whom Bush nominates.
Personally, I'm pumped. After Social Security, Bolton, The Nuclear Option, Darfur, The Downing Street Memos, just to name a few recent campaigns, the first mega-battle of the age of internet mass-mobilization is upon us. And this time, if we are serious about winning, we have to act with all the lightning speed of the digital world.
This is terrifying and hopeful at the same time. At the very least, I am thankful that technology has made this sort of civic participation possible. I know that I will join the swarm. I will drop everything and call my senators and send my letters to the editor as soon as the message arrives on my phone. I will attend a rally. I will plan my own rally if necessary.
My fellow progressives, let's roll.
Action links in the extended.
(from DavidNYC at Kos):
Whatever happens with the Supreme Court nomination battle that is about to ensue, it's going to happen fast. Here are some things you can do right now:
If you have a cell phone, sign up for People at the American Way's Mass Immediate Response site. This way, you'll be able to receive text message action items instantly as events break. (If you signed up during the nuclear option fight, you'll need to re-sign up.)
Also sign up with the Save the Court, another PFAW website devoted specifically to this issue.
Recruit friends and family members to the cause.
Write to the President, telling him he should choose a consensus candidate to replace O'Connor.
Contact your Senators to tell them the same thing.
If you have any other action items, please post them in the comments below, with links.
Update [2005-7-1 11:33:32 by DavidNYC]: If you have a blog, please post these action items on your site. If you don't, e-mail them to your like-minded buddies and relatives.
Update [2005-7-1 14:57:41 by DavidNYC]: Some more stuff you can do:
Sign MoveOn's "Protect Our Rights" petition.
Contact members of the media and tell them you think Bush should nominate a consensus candidate. PLEASE be polite, be brief (200 words or less), and don't do copy-and-paste jobs - put things in your own words.
Stop by Hunter's thread and make suggestions for potential nominees.
!
Comments are closed for this post.
The right has always been so well organized to react QUICKLY even on issues that arise on message boards and chatroom discussions.
Every minute that an issue sits there on a message board unaddressed by progressives who recognize the problem but may not have expertise in that particualar area or topic, is another minute we are left behind the other side... Too often we are playing catch-up!
For a campaign, OR an issue as important as this SCOTUS spot, we cannot afford that one minute.
The progress report gives great answers to issues and provides in depth analysis of issues... But it takes time for them to develop these responses. Time we cannot afford! We need networks to get many posssible answers out faster on issues in a campaign.
Progress report is never a dollar short BUT it is often a day late with their answers for a real time campaign in the information age.
I was working with posting groups that were trying to develop our own internal mechanisms to address "quick responses" on issues... We had a lot of successes, BUT we did not have the resources needed to implement it across an entire internet campaign...
I would like to see this group work an an issue like this, that would make a HUGE impact on all campaigns in the future...
Stephen
Personally, I'm pumped. After Social Security, Bolton, The Nuclear Option, Darfur, The Downing Street Memos, just to name a few recent campaigns, the first mega-battle of the age of internet mass-mobilization is upon us. And this time, if we are serious about winning, we have to act with all the lightning speed of the digital world.