| Last night there were a few themes that the Republicans hit Barack Obama on. The one that was insulting to Obama was targeting his past as a community organizer.
Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin said of her experience and Obama's, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a 'community organizer,' except that you have actual responsibilities." Rudy "A Noun, A Verb and 9/11" Giuliani said of Obama's experience the following:
"On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education," Giuliani said. "He worked as a community organizer. . . . What?"
A small-town mayor has responsibilities? Being a small-town mayor is a part-time job, especially when it's a town of 5,000 or 6,000 people. I would know. I'm from a town that is bigger than Wasilla, Alaska was when Palin was mayor. My mayor can work his full-time job for the Republican state senator. Being a small-town mayor isn't backbreaking work. Being a community organizer is.
I received an e-mail blast from Wellstone Action today. They have trained thousands of community organizers and have written a blog entry about a community organizer's responsibilities. It's hard work, long hours and little pay. Obviously something the Republicans would never be bothered with. But here's an excerpt from that blog post:
Now, let me be clear: my interest here is not to defend Barack Obama's experience, but the professional field to which Wellstone Action trains people to devote their lives.
So let me outline, for anyone who may be curious, the responsibilities of a community organizer:
8am -
Wake up, knowing that the day ahead of you will require you to work long hours, for little pay, less thanks, and zero credit.
Sit down at your desk, or pick up your cell phone, and figure out the people in the community you need to talk to to identify the challenges being faced. Set up meetings with leaders and regular people to get buy-in on the proposed solution.
12pm -
Make decisions about how best to proceed with your plan for change in your community. Figure out how you will influence powerful interests without any resources other than your own scrappy resourcefulness and the support of many individuals earned by painstakingly building relationships.
5pm -
Figure out who in your community wields power and influence, who doesn't, and why. Make hundreds of calls, knock on hundreds of doors, and listen to hundreds of stories in order to bring people together in common cause. Convince folks to set aside what makes them different and focus on their shared interest - it's the only way to build common ground and affect change.
8pm -
Learn from those around you and prepare for the next day. Write follow-up notes, make confirmation calls, and thank your volunteers. Remind yourself to be tenacious, because the process of change is long and can be slow in coming.
Being an organizer means putting the needs of the community above yourself and your ego. Your task is to influence the powerful with little more than the common will, and do so while developing the leadership of those around you. A good organizer is always working to put themselves out of a job, because many others should be prepared to step up and take their place. You listen and learn, coordinate and plan, arrive early and stay late, and do the real work that improves people's lives.
What Giuliani, Palin and other Republicans have said about community organizing is insulting. Community organizing is working with people within the community and working FOR the betterment of the community. Clearly this is something that goes far over the heads of all Republicans. |
