Groundbreakers : How Obama's 2.2 Million Volunteers Transformed Campaigning in America

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

McKenna, Elizabeth.

Contributor:

Han, Hahrie.

Bird, Jeremy.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Obama, Barack.

Political campaigns--United States.

Political participation--United States.

Presidents--United States--Election--2008.

Presidents--United States--Election--2012.

United States--Politics and government.

Local Subjects:

Obama, Barack.

Political campaigns--United States.

Political participation--United States.

Presidents--United States--Election--2008.

Presidents--United States--Election--2012.

United States--Politics and government.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (269 p.)

Place of Publication:

Cary : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summary:

Much has been written about the historic nature of the Obama campaign. The multi-year, multi-billion dollar operation elected the nation's first black president, raised and spent more money than any other election effort in history, and built the most sophisticated voter targeting technology ever before used on a national campaign. What is missing from most accounts of the campaign is an understanding of how Obama for America recruited, motivated, developed, and managed its formidable army of 2.2 million volunteers. Unlike previous field campaigns that drew their power from staff, consultants, and paid canvassers, the Obama campaign's capacity came from unpaid local citizens who took responsibility for organizing their own neighborhoods months--and even years--in advance of election day. In so doing, Groundbreakers argues, the campaign engaged citizens in the work of practicing democracy. How did they organize so many volunteers to produce so much valuable work for the campaign? This book describes how. Elizabeth McKenna and Hahrie Han argue that the legacy of Obama for America extends beyond big data and micro-targeting; it also reinvigorated and expanded traditional models of field campaigning. Groundbreakers makes the case that the Obama campaign altered traditional ground games by adopting the principles and practices of community organizing. Drawing on in-depth interviews with OFA field staff and volunteers, this book also argues that a key achievement of the OFA's field organizing was its transformative effect on those who were a part of it. Obama the candidate might have inspired volunteers to join the campaign, but it was the fulfilling relationships that volunteers had with other people--and their deep belief that their work mattered for the work of democracy--that kept them active. Groundbreakers documents how the Obama campaign has inspired a new way of running field campaigns, with lessons for national and international political and civic movements.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""GROUNDBREAKERS: HOW OBAMA�S 2.2 MILLION VOLUNTEERS TRANSFORMED CAMPAIGNING IN AMERICA""; ""Copyright""; ""CONTENTS""; ""FOREWORD: An Organizer�s Perspective on This Book""; ""ACKNOWLEDGMENTS""; ""TABLES AND FIGURES""; ""GLOSSARY""; ""GROUNDBREAKERS""; ""1. OBAMA FOR AMERICA: Stronger People and Stronger Communities""; ""GROUNDBREAKERS""; ""WHY DO WE CARE?""; ""OBAMA FOR AMERICA: A CASE STUDY""; ""MAPPING THE BOOK""; ""PART ONE: THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF THE OBAMA FIELD OPERATION""; ""2. THE WAY THINGS WERE""; ""PUTTING THE GROUND GAME IN CONTEXT""

""A NEW ERA OF FIELD CAMPAIGNING: THE 2004 GROUND GAME""""LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR 2008""; ""3. DISCOVERY AND DIFFUSION""; ""LEARNING THROUGH THE 2008 PRIMARIES""; ""FURTHER LESSONS FROM 2008""; ""PART TWO: THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE OBAMA GROUND GAME""; ""4. BUILDING DEPTH BY INVESTING IN RELATIONSHIPS""; ""BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS TO DEVELOP LEADERS""; ""INVESTING IN STAFF""; ""OFA�S RELATIONAL STRATEGY FOR ORGANIZING VOLUNTEERS: AN OVERVIEW""; ""THE MECHANICS OF RELATIONAL ORGANIZING IN OFA""; ""“HE WAS REALLY DOING THIS FOR LOVE OF HIS COUNTRY�""

""5. CREATING A STRUCTURE TO SHARE RESPONSIBILITY: Neighborhood Teams""""MANAGING AND MOTIVATING VOLUNTEERS: THE NEIGHBORHOOD TEAM""; ""DISTRIBUTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUTCOMES""; ""MORE STAFF, LESS OWNERSHIP?""; ""THE TRIBULATIONS OF TURF SPLITTING""; ""THE NEIGHBORHOOD TEAM: A VEHICLE FOR COLLECTIVE ACTION""; ""6. USING METRICS TO GET TO SCALE""; ""THE TEMPORAL DIMENSION OF METRICS""; ""BALANCING NATIONAL PURPOSE WITH LOCAL ACTION""; ""HOLDING PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE""; ""PART THREE: OBAMA FOR AMERICA�S LEGACY""; ""7. REFLECTION""; ""LESSONS FOR PRACTITIONERS""; ""LESSONS FOR SCHOLARSHIP""

""LESSONS FOR DEMOCRACY""""OBAMA�S MULTIPLE LEGACIES""; ""NOTES""; ""CHAPTER 1""; ""CHAPTER 2""; ""CHAPTER 3""; ""CHAPTER 4""; ""CHAPTER 5""; ""CHAPTER 6""; ""CHAPTER 7""; ""WORKS CITED""; ""INDEX""

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

ISBN:

0-19-939462-8

0-19-939461-X

OCLC:

922973176