OFA sponsored a broadcast conference call to supporters of gun control today, and they focused on trying to rally the troops into not admitting defeat. Their strategy really is best summed up as a never-ending campaign for office instead of policy campaigns.
Whereas there was quite a bit of commentary yesterday about the tone of Obama’s speech perhaps being a bit too over-the-top emotionally, OFA was damn proud of the speech that they bragged was “anger and frustration” of a community organizer who will organize us all into doing what he wants. The message was very much framed as action is a personal challenge from Obama and that activists are doing this to serve Obama. It makes me wonder if that is partially in response to the negative feedback OFA initially got when they started using the campaign lists to push for policy & ask for constant donations.*
As for the actual action part, right now their focus is on thanking those who voted for Toomey-Manchin and to start chastising those who did not. They made absolutely no mention whatsoever about any of the other amendment votes, including those that Obama has repeatedly said were on his agenda (the gun ban & magazine ban). They suggested the supporters focus their praise & chastisement on Twitter (mentioned most often), via phone calls (second most frequently mentioned), and through Facebook messages (mentioned only a couple of times).
OFA also said that supporters in states with pro-gun senators “will be given tools” to help them fight for more gun control immediately, but no real mention was made about what those tools will look like. They also indicated that supporters in states where both senators voted for gun control will be asked to shift their focus to those other states. That may work in a campaign strategy when it’s about knocking on doors and making phone calls to show up on one key day, but every time I have contacted a lawmaker’s office, they have asked for at least my zip code before indicating they are remotely concerned about comments.
A key message of the call was to attack NRA for “outright lies” and the supposedly mistaken perception that the gun vote will hold lawmakers accountable while the anti-gun vote will have moved on to different issues. They swear it won’t be like that, and OFA is going to prove the NRA wrong. Well, just to be clear, I’m not getting emails from NRA trying to shift my focus onto immigration reform. I am from OFA. Just sayin’…
They are also promoting some kind of National Day(s) of Action on Friday and Saturday, but they gave no indication what those days of action will look like. There was mention of the importance of the “tone” of these events, but then they promptly followed that with an expectation that messages “scream” over the recent votes. OFA is seeking “swift” and “aggressive” action for the supposed round 2 of this fight. It’s rather funny since they are being warned by their own party not to do this right now.
*For those who complain about NRA requests for donations, you haven’t seen anything compared to OFA. Seriously, imagine if every single call to action to call your lawmakers had a call for money. Every. single. alert. Plus, the standard fundraising pitches that are stand-alone pitches. You think that Obama trying to shame the American people for not voting his way is annoying? Try reading his blatant attempts to shame those who don’t give his favorite policy group more money.
“Their strategy really is best summed up as a never-ending campaign for office instead of policy campaigns.”
Seems to me that’s what the RKBA Movement has been doing for about as long as I can remember.
Have we learned anything? Are we over it? Time alone will tell.
Candidates on the right have been so successful at using guns as a decoy issue they would never have to deliver on, we shouldn’t be surprised if the left wants to get in on the scam, coming from the other direction.
They deserve a vote. They got a vote. The answer was “no”. We deserve that answer to be respected.
Immigrants deserve a vote. Let’s move on…
They didn’t deserve it. But we’re the ones who are less extreme than the gun-banners, so we gave it to them. They still lost.
I know, I was just speaking with their narrative.
I’d like to think the NRA would have been as enthusiastic as OFA had they lost big, but OFA speaks of something different when it speaks with the bully pulpit of the presidency. This is a president that seems to be on a single minded mission to destroy gun owners right now. I’ve never seen anything like this. I would have been scared of any president setting his sights on any group like this one has, but this is fundamentally a personal mission of a man who seems to have no other issue to stand behind to rally the base.
So. Will the Democrats now turn against those Democratic Senators who voted no? Even if it costs the Democratic party majority control of the U.S. Senate?
I suspect the answer is YES!
And if MAIG and Bloomberg tries to destroy some of those pro-gun Democratic Senators up for reelection in 2014, will those Senators have the good sense to switch parties?
Maybe.
Let him waste his money on that instead of on us :)
http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/04/obama-alumni-turn-on-heitkamp-162182.html
And so it begins.
“For those who complain about NRA requests for donations, you haven’t seen anything compared to OFA. Seriously, imagine if every single call to action to call your lawmakers had a call for money. Every. single. alert.”
So they’re like NAGR then? *shakes head*
I don’t know about NAGR’s tactics. But OFA will ask you to “take action” and then, rather than giving appreciation for the action, they say that the next step is to give them money. Every single action page ultimately leads to the donation page.
“For those who complain about NRA requests for donations, you haven’t seen anything compared to OFA.”
Well, I never really had any issues with that since I followed their instructions to get on the “Do Not Promote” list. From their FAQ: “Simply email us at membership@nrahq.org or dial 800-NRA-3888 and request to be placed on the “Do Not Promote” list. This will significantly reduce the amount of mail you receive without affecting important mailings, magazine service, or your membership renewal.”
So far, they’ve honored the request I made several years ago and don’t sent me fundraising stuff.
Although I’m not on the “Do not promote” list, I get the feeling that I’m not being bombarded nearly as much as others. I still get the occasional solicitation to upgrade to Endowment Member, but that’s really about it. I did notice though when I moved from VA to PA and I went to change my address on their website, they now require you to enter a phone number. I get a lot more mailers (and phone calls) from SAF trying to get donations. I’m starting to screen Seattle-area numbers now.