Tom and Andy, make way for Bob and the Kennedys

I really like this idea:

Following a trend around the state, the Hillsborough County Democratic Party has dumped Jefferson/Jackson from the name of its annual fundraising dinner and replaced it with Kennedy/Graham. "I just don't think people relate to Jefferson/Jackson," said party chairman Pat Kemp. "And some people objected to the name because they were slave owners. It's a new generation."

The Graham is, of course, former Florida governor and U.S. Sen. Bob Graham. Kemp cited respect for Graham's independence and "the fact that he’s still a strong voice in Florida for Democratic ideals.” The Kennedy is all-inclusive, Kemp said. Supporters of the name-change talked a lot about Ted Kennedy and his leadership on health care reform, but in the end the name honors Ted, Bobby and John, she said.

Although my college career kind of compels me to hold Thomas Jefferson in high esteem, I think this is a great move. The Kennedys -- all three of them -- are paragons of the Democratic Party and, in fact, were far more progressive (for the most part) than Democratic leadership is today. And as for Bob Graham, well, longtime Blast Off! readers know how highly I think of him.

So, how about it, Florida Democratic Party? Isn't it time to consider making this change on a statewide level? I'd love to hear something about it this weekend ....

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 6

Sorry ... I was away for a moment, trying to figure out how I broke Twitter. Again, mea culpa. I'll try not to do it again.

Anyway, keynote speaker Tim Kaine, governor of Virginia and chairman of the Democratic National Committee is up ... and he was greeted by a brief but noisy protest: "Choice! Choice! Choice!" from one table, in response to his support of a Virginia law that restricts a woman's right to choose; he's also opposed to stem cell research. Yes, he's Catholic ...

*****

Well, I've managed to miss most of Gov. Kaine's speech because of technical difficulties. Not only did I break Twitter, I also briefly broke my own internets. So I'm playing catch-up a bit. Sorry about that. But as Gov. Kaine speaks, someone keeps shouting something periodically ... I can't hear it from here, though. Interesting.

You know ... I have to tell you, I'm pretty much switching off mentally right now. Sorry about that. I suck. (Oh, except Kaine just mentioned Michael Steele, which garnered a good laugh from the assembled Democrats here.)

Let's not kid ourselves, says Gov. Kaine, that this is going to be easy for Democrats. We're in a tough time economically, plus military conflicts and such ... our opponents know what they're against, but not what they're for. "They're the party of 'NO.' " But we're lucky, because we have a moment in our hands right now that generations of Americans haven't had. We'll be measured by what we do in this moment, whether we support the president's agenda or say "you folks in Washington figure that out." But there's no time to rest, no time to be complacent. I know this: you don't know how long a moment will last. Well, I can tell you this: we've created this moment. It's nearly unique in the history of this great nation. So we've got to do as much as we can for as many as we can for as long as we can. Are you ready for that sense of urgency?

*****

That's it from Miami Beach, folks. Thanks for reading along. And, again, sorry for breaking Twitter.

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 5

And now, says Bob Graham, "the next governor of Florida, Alex Sink." Standing ovation, many signs with the new Sink campaign logo. Following are quotes as nearly as I can transcribe them:

It's always good to be with my fellow Democrats, and to be joined here by my wonderful husband Bill [McBride, former gubernatorial candidate himself]. ...This is what it feels like when you begin to change things for the better. Florida was a big part of changing our state and our country in 2008. We fought smart, we fought hard, and we never gave up. 2008's MVPs are all of you who worked so hard ...

Thank you all for giving our state and our country the change that we need. ...As we're giving ourselves pats on the back tonight, let's not rest on our laurels tomorrow. Florida needs your talents and your commitment more than ever now. We face enormous challenges and enormous opportunity, too. In 2010, every statewide office will be open for the first time in 134 years. So, as Democrats, let's seize this historic opportunity!

I would be so honored to have you choose me as the Democratic Party nominee for governor.

This may come as a surprise -- this accent makes it hard to believe -- but I was raised on the family farm. Some of my earliest memories were of my dad getting up before daybreak every morning. We could hear our mother getting up to cook breakfast for our dad, and he then would go out and drive his tractor from sunup to sunset. Our mother taught my sister and me how to cook and sew. But mostly, I learned how to be self-reliant ... and I also learned a love of numbers; not everyone here might love numbers as much as I do, thanks to sitting with my father as he paid the monthly bills. As soon as I got old enough to write in cursive, he let me write the checks ... and I had to balance the checkbook. We had to learn to live within our means. We also rotated the crops and turned the soil.

But state government in Florida hasn't been much like our family farm in recent years. They haven't turned the soil with new leaders; they've only kept the same leaders and rotated the chairs. But our chance to give the state new leadership has finally come. With the challenges we face, the status quo has got to go. It's no longer okay to keep doing things the same old way. Now we need a new and different kind of leadership.

You know, the global financial crisis doesn't feel so global when it affects you at your dinner table. Floridians need a leader, and it's going to take a leader with nearly three decades of business experience to help our economy recover. Politicians talk about wasteful spending without cutting the waste right in front of them ... it's going to take a leader with a track record of holding Tallahassee's feet to the fire to make our government more accountable.

Too often, politicians talk about education without giving our schools what they need to succeed. Our children need better support and attention, and we need a leader who is a working mom to make Florida's schools and children a top priority! For the first time in 12 years, we can have a governor whose own children graduated from Florida's public schools! A PTA mom, a track mom, and a mom who started her children's Math Club at their schools.

What Florida needs even more, though, is the talents of people like you. A governor cannot do it alone. I cannot do it alone. No matter what part of Florida you are from, no matter what party you may be from, I need your help. Talk to your friends ... call your friends ... if you're on Facebook, friend your friends. Every single Floridian has a stake in Florida's future.

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 4

Next up are each of the U.S. Senate candidates. First is North Miami mayor Kevin Burns. "I have to deal with the issues that they deal with in Washington, but I have to deal with them every day." "I disagree with Gov. Charlie Crist that it's okay to have an oil rig three miles off the state of Florida. No offshore oil drilling in Florida!" Mayor Burns has an uphill climb, but he's making a decent showing for himself, I'll say that. "I support President Obama's position for an open and responsible dialogue for Cuba." Pretty decent applause for that. He's also advocating for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. And, as an openly gay man who with his partner has a 7-year-old daughter, he is tired of being "treated like a second-class citizen."

Now state Sen. Dan Gelber. He starts by saying, "I have an announcement." The crowd goes quiet for the first time as he draws out the suspense ... then says, "Will the owner of a silver car ..." Laughter. Next, he states that there is "one adult in the Florida Cabinet, and that's Alex Sink." Yes, he's accusing the Republicans on the Cabinet of being petulant children (I wish more Democrats would talk like that! -- ed.) Then he says he is "stepping back" from his Senate bid. That sounds a lot more like a withdrawal than it did in the Netroots meeting! (Rumor has it that he was "pressured" to withdraw. I can neither confirm nor deny ... but he reiterated that he wants to "explore his options" with regard to the state Cabinet. The intrigue is that he's kicking around the AG spot ... but so is state Sen. Dave Aronberg. Should be interesting ...

Finally, the favorite for the nomination, U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek, steps to the podium. A number of Meek signs pop up around the ballroom. I'm sure it's spontaneous ...

He's hitting all the hotspots ... employment, education, environment, and so on ... but he's talking like the nominee already, which is exactly the right thing to do politically at this point.

Next up, my political hero (well, one of two), former governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham. Graham starts by congratulating Dan Gelber for his "courageous" statement in putting aside his ambition for the good of the party. Now he's marveling that a small baby born into relatively modest circumstances was imbued with leadership characteristics that led to us knowing him today as the president of the United States. But at about the same time, there was a little girl baby "who had the potential for some unique characteristics. She ... grew up in America as it really is ... who married a wonderful man and has raised a beautiful family ... who has worked to serve the private sector and the public service. ... In the Bible, it says that if the people are without vision, they will perish. My friends, Florida has been without vision for the last ten years. What an opportunity we're going to have to support someone in whom we have complete confidence." He compares November 2010 to November 2008 and expresses how proud he is that he could endorse this woman ... and he introduces a short film to show us who Alex Sink is. Roll film ...

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 3

Rep. Corrine Brown is speaking now. I forgot that she always starts speaking by saying, "God is good," waiting for the response "All the time," then she says "All the time" and people respond "God is good." The response was, well, tepid.

Anyway, she's talking about education, focusing on how Florida ranks 50th in public high school graduation rates. She met with Gov. Crist and discovered he did not even apply for a funding waiver from the federal government that would have meant literally billions of dollars. She says she is determined to work on changing Florida's direction.

Rep. Allen Boyd speaking now: "the most important function of our federal government is to make our homeland secure. We have the strongest military in the world ..." I'm not surprised to hear Blue Dog Boyd speak on this topic ... then again, they may have saved it for him, since each member of Congress is speaking about a different topic. He recounts how he returned from Vietnam to "an ungrateful nation." Therefore, we must make sure that those returning from war now are taken care of ... "but unlike the other party, we realize that will take money."

All Dem members of the state House have taken the stage. Looks a little crowded up there -- there are over 40 of them. Of course, they still represent less than a third of the entire House because of the completely disproportionate GOP majority under which we suffer ...

UPDATE (6:50 pm 5/30/09): Florida's Democratic state senate delegation just appeared on stage, or (as Mario Piscatella said) at least those who are running for higher office. Sen. Nan Rich spoke on their behalf ... sorry, I drifted for a while, so I wasn't really listening. So sue me.

Now there's a lull with music (no, I'm not the DJ, although I would have done it if asked) as they prepare for, well, I've really no idea what exactly. I'm sure it's going to be Very Exciting, though. Stay tuned.

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 1

Interestingly, the pastor giving the invocation tonight said, "Only in America can the son of a black man and a white woman grow up to become president of America." Um, well, yeah, that's true.

"Isn't it nice we have a president that we can be proud of?" -- Sen. Nelson

Next, Sen. Nelson introduces the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Karen Thurman. She just recognized "the next government CFO Alex Sink." I don't think that's what she meant to say, though.

"Last year, we worked to unite our party and focus our efforts on electing Barack Obama. Look what we accomplished: we delivered Florida's 27 electoral votes to Obama/Biden, we defeated two incumbent GOP members of Congress, and now we're focusing on local elections."

We have our first mention of "George W. Bush." No booing. At least not audibly. Thurman goes on to say we are working to "drain the swamp of Republican corruption." I think she's lost her audience, though. The talking in the room is pretty distracting, actually.

(Incidentally, forget about pictures from this event. I'm situated just way too far back. Sorry.)

FDP Jefferson-Jackson 2009: pictures from Netroots Coalition meeting

State Sen. Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach) announces his intention to "step back" from his U.S. Senate campaign for the time being.

State Sen. Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) speaks to the group about his affinity for the netroots and his thoughts regarding running for state Attorney General.

North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns discusses his campaign for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate.

Zombie Kenny Quinnell needs BRAAAAAAAAAINS.

Netroots Coalition board member Susan Smith explains how valuable a Flip Video camera can be for bloggers.

Matt Stoller, co-founder of progressive blog Open Left and now chief policy adviser for Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), was a welcome guest at the meeting.

Matt Stoller shares his perspective on the art of blogging while Susan Smith looks on.

Do all Democrats talk with their hands, or is it just me (and the folks pictured)?

Annette Taddeo for Florida CFO

Liveblogging the Jefferson-Jackson Day event in Miami Beach ... the Netroots Coalition event continues, and speaking to us now is former congressional candidate Annette Taddeo. She hasn't yet decided whether or not to run for CFO, but she is aware of and grateful for the Draft Taddeo campaign. Essentially it boils down to what is best for her family, and her husband, she says, has veto power over the decision.

She noted, interestingly, that she spent "8 to 10 hours a day" on the phone raising money. That's amazing to me, yet "unfortunately" as she says necessary.

If you haven't signed the petition yet to encourage Taddeo to run, please do so. She's a fantastic candidate and would be a worthy successor to Alex Sink.

At Jefferson-Jackson in Miami Beach

I'm trying my best to liveblog and livetweet the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day festivities in Miami Beach. It's easier at the moment to livetweet, because I'm in a session right now for the Florida Netroots Coalition, on whose board I serve. However, I'll work on catching up to things ASAP.

News out of the Netroots session: State Sen. Dan Gelber (D-Miami Beach) is "stepping back" from the race for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, in which he faces U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and North Miami mayor Kevin Burns. This is not a withdrawal, but it's an opportunity to evaluate the situation, at least as far as I can tell from Gelber's remarks.

State Sen. Dave Aronberg (D-Greenacres) has been considering running for state Attorney General, but he has not made up his mind yet.

Longtime Open Left blogger Matt Stoller, now a staffer for U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), is here sitting next to me. His insights, obviously, are very helpful when it comes to a session on blogging.

More to come ...

UPDATE (11:02 am 5/30/09): State Rep. Luis Garcia (D-Miami Beach) said that I resemble disgraced former state House Speaker Ray Sansom (R-Destin). For obvious reasons, this does not necessarily please me. (I know he was teasing ...)

Jefferson-Jackson Day: keynote address by Gov. Ed Rendell

Bill Nelson introduces him as "Mr. Democrat." Blame Kenneth Quinnell for making me miss the first part of Rendell's speech while he railed on Tim Mahoney's I-like-Obama-but-I'm-still-not-endorsing-him remarks. Anyway ...

Rendell: Obama's campaign is the best-run I have seen in my 31 years in politics. They have people in every state who know the states and who can reach out and register new voters in a way that has never been done before. In the months running up to the Pa. primary, the Obama campaign was primarily responsible for signing up 310,000 new Democrats. Some were former Republicans, some were new voters. Obama probably was responsible for 210,000 of those ... and without them, Clinton would have won by 18 points in Pennsylvania. How would that have changed the tenor of the campaign? So if you're pessimistic about winning Florida, just wait till you see the Obama campaign here.

Now to the Clinton supporters. I worked hard to make Sen. Clinton the nominee, and I thought she was the best person to lead America for the next four years. [scattered applause] But we didn't win. The fact is, we lost. Not because of lack of effort, not because she wasn't a good candidate ... we lost not because of anything we did wrong, but because the Obama campaign did a slightly better job. Now, if you care about Hillary Clinton and what she said she'd change for America, if you want to see a different country than we've had for the last eight years, then you have absolutely no alternative but to support Barack Obama with all your heart and soul. Hillary herself told us that we can't waste any time on what's past ... if you want to honor Hillary Clinton, you will get out there and work for change. Ensure that senior citizens are protected. We weren't fighting for just a great woman, but for a set of ideals, and the only way to make those ideals the law of the land is to elect Barack Obama.

I don't want to hear any Clinton supporter say that McCain's not so bad -- that he's a "moderate Republican." McCain isn't a moderate anything. His Planned Parenthood/NARAL voting score is zero. He's NOT pro-choice, and he wants to appoint justices to the Supreme Court who will overturn Roe v. Wade.

Working class Floridians, look at McCain's plan. His plan gives 23% of the overall tax cuts to people making more than $2.8 million. Anyone here make more than $2.8 million? [I shouted, "You!" but not many heard me ... I'm in a snarky mood.] Barack Obama offers change ... for "Reagan Democrats," there is one choice: Barack Obama. For women, there is one choice: Barack Obama. John McCain thinks women should not get equal pay for doing the same work. John McCain thinks domestic violence victims do not deserve compensation and support. For seniors? John McCain is in favor of the Bush plan to privatize Social Security. Barack Obama is not -- he has the guts to say we must raise the age limit but also that wealthy Americans must pay more to Social Security. Obama has a plan to eliminate federal income tax for seniors who earn $15,000 a year.

Let me conclude by saying to you: the difference between our parties has always been clear. Everyone here probably became a Democrat because you believe the Democratic Party is the best vehicle to take care of working families, older Americans, people who need help. That's the space in this election. John McCain says let's give everyone a $5,000 tax credit. If you have a family of four, what does $400 a month buy you in terms of private insurance? Bupkis, that's what. Barack Obama has a plan to give every American health care.

More importantly, McCain believes in the status quo where insurance companies can deny coverage for pre-existing conditions. If you're a 27-year-old male, insurance companies fall all over themselves to insure you ... so we provide health insurance to the healthy but not the sick. People who get cancer in the U.S. are three times more likely to die if they don't have health insurance than if they do. "That's in the richest country in the world in the year 2008 ... it's a disgrace. We should be ashamed. And only one candidate will change that" -- Barack Obama.

The choice is easy. We have a great candidate. "He may not be as great as Hillary Clinton for you Clinton supporters, but he's a damn sight better than John McCain!" You Clinton supporters have to be the message-bearers. Tell people that "no one worked harder for Hillary Clinton than I did, but we must support Barack Obama if we want change in this country."

In 2004, I promised John Kerry that Pennsylvania would be the first battleground state to turn blue -- and it did. So I challenge you: make Florida beat Pennsylvania this year, and make Florida blue in 2008!

Sinfonian here: I'll post some pictures and stuff tomorrow, but for now, goodnight from Hollywood!

Jefferson-Jackson Day: members of Congress

First up, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.): I have the privilege of serving as co-chair for the Obama campaign in Florida. We are doing something extraordinary for our country; we are about to have a landslide victory for Democrats that starts right here in Florida. We need to bring our troops home from Iraq. But I want to talk to those of you who worked your hearts out to elect Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee.

In her speech last Saturday, she asked her passionate supporters to join her in supporting Barack Obama to bring universal health care ... the truth is that those of you who supported Sen. Clinton are in many ways the most important people in this room. We understand how emotional and passionate you are. So now is the time for us to join together as a family of Democrats to bring the type of change to Washington that is so desperately needed. And you supporters of Sen. Clinton will help us reach out to disaffected Republicans, to independents, and bring us victory in November!

Thurman: In 2006, all of us worked hard on the campaigns of the next two men, even when the odds were long ... we stood with them and now they stand with us. Klein and Mahoney have pursued progressive legislation ... and we can't afford a third Bush term with John McCain. We need a change. Ron Klein -- Politico's Freshman of the Year -- is up now.

Klein: you are the heart and soul of our party. You get up every day fighting for the values that make us Americans. I see here tonight many good friends who helped us defeat 26-year incumbent Clay Shaw. It didn't come easy, and with your effort, you helped Tim Mahoney and me join the Democratic majority in Congress.

We are working for renewable energy ... health care for returning veterans ... an update of the GI Bill. But there is so much more to do ... and with President Barack Obama, we can bring an end to the Bush era. We can begin a safe and responsible withdrawal from Iraq. We can make sure every American has affordable access to health care. And we can return America to its position as a leader in the world. This will take hard work, but we will fight back every step of the way and I know we can do it -- let's take our country back!

Tim Mahoney next: thanks to our great Democratic Party, we are poised to make history. I'm proud to be a Florida Democrat. Eight years ago we were prosperous, we eliminated a dictator without a single casualty, and you could buy a gallon of gas for $1.50. Today we have a ruined economy and an ongoing war in Iraq ... we need to restore our values, which our veterans fought and died for. I'm proud to be part of a party that fulfills our founders' promise that all men are created equal. I'm proud that our party has the courage to nominate a man who inspires our youth and expresses our courage. America needs Barack Obama not because he's a Democrat but because he's right on all the issues, and John McCain simply is not. Tonight I call on the DNC to heal the rifts and seat Florida's delegation with full rights.

Next up: Sen. Bill Nelson. [I just yelled "we need a primary challenger!" I got a few looks my way ... heh.] Nelson: what a great privilege it was for me to stand up and fight for Florida so that we would be seated at the Democratic National Convention ... and I suspect that Sen. Obama will make it a whole vote for our delegation by the time it's all said and done.

Now Sen. Nelson introduces the keynote speaker, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

Jefferson-Jackson Day: Dinnertime

Well, it's time to blog again. As usual, there are technical difficulties and it appears I'm the only blogger with Internet access. We tried to hook up a router through my laptop to use my aircard, but no go. Tech support here sucks. (just kidding, Curt!)

We opened with two videos: one from TheRealMcCain.com and one a musical rendition of Yes, We Can (featuring a bunch of celebrities, most of whom I'm too old to recognize -- heh). Now we have the invocation and the presentation of the colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. (See, Republicans -- you don't own patriotism, you assholes.) Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) just walked in right in front of me. I didn't confront him like I did last year, though ...

Mitch Caesar, Broward County Democratic chair, is speaking now. He just asked for a remembrance for Tim Russert. "This election will not be about Internet rumors ... this election will not even be about Joe Lieberman whispering in his candidate's ear what the real answer is ... we will no longer be a red state and be a blue state in 2008 -- now and forever!"

Caesar introduces "a person who's done a fabulous, tireless, and wonderful job ... our [Florida Democratic Party] chair Karen Thurman." Thurman: we have already begun canvassing, walking precincts ... this is only the beginning. Now is our time ... it wasn't always this tough. I was fortunate to be in Washington during the good years. (For some reason, a huge influx of people just came into the banquet hall, and there's a great amount of talking and milling around ... how weird.) It is time to elect a president who can look a struggling working family in the eye and say honestly, "I'm fighting for you." We need to elect a leader who can lead this country in a new direction -- we need to elect Barack Obama!

More Thurman: throughout this campaign, don't forget that we are all in this together. Brave Americans are fighting for us in distant lands every day. Regardless of how you feel about the war, the soldiers deserve our respect. This flag [Thurman shows a folded flag] flew over Camp Victory in Iraq two weeks ago, and she is giving it to state Senate candidate Fred Taylor, a veteran, on behalf of all veterans.

Next up is Florida's highest ranking Democrat, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. She said, "didn't we have a great woman candidate for president?" Scattered applause. She has been "glued to the TV" over the last couple of days watching the Russert coverage, and she remembers the white board he held in 2000 when he said the election comes down to three words: "Florida, Florida, Florida." Sink: "I need help in Tallahassee ...

Jefferson-Jackson Day, Session II: Integrating online activities with offline ones

The purpose of this panel is how to make online activities translate into "getting boots on the ground." Alison Morano of the Florida Progressive Coalition is moderating this session.

Joining Susan Smith and Josh Koster from the last panel are Brian Franklin of Impact Politics, who works with Robert Wexler and Chris Chiari as well as the Broward Democratic Party, and Alan Brock from Florida Young Democrats, who also is running for Wakulla County Commission.

l-r: Susan Smith, Josh Koster, Brian Franklin, Alan Brock, and moderator Alison Morano

Alison notes that online stuff didn't start with Obama. She has been in the Internet business since 1995, so this has been going on even before Howard Dean's involvement. We've been trying to get people online for a long time, and Alison started doing that through her business before she even used it for politics.

Brian draws an analogy with music. Things have changed with how music is made and distributed, but what hasn't changed is how people enjoy music. Same thing with the Internet: it's evolved over time but the key remains good communication. Internet campaigning is treated differently, but it shouldn't be, because it's just another method of communication. What matters when you look at the communication is whether you really are seeing the message the campaign is trying to deliver; technology is secondary to the message.

Susan reminds us that on Eschaton, she read that Atrios mocked Huggy Bear for his statement that he leaves the Internet to his wife; shouldn't the leader of the free world understand the most extensive communication tool of our time?

Alison: if you're using VoteBuilder, the MyCampaign piece is really awesome. Susan is just getting started with it, but others in the room have it. You can create volunteer profiles for people, set up events and establish a calendar, look for people to staff a phone bank, etc.

Florida Democratic Party chair Karen Thurman stopped by to greet the Netroots Coalition.

Brian says that you need to have the best writer writing your e-mails -- even if it's not the fundraiser. Josh says that communications directors don't necessarily know how to ask for money, so the fundraiser must be involved. Alan: look at your website on a PDA and see how it looks; Josh says it's not that hard to add a page that is designed for mobile applications (like http://m.dangelber.com).

Brian adds that you can't look at online marketing as its own entity, but it must be coordinated and integrated with your other marketing efforts. Alison says that her organization's budgets have shifted expenditures from direct mail and phone to Internet and have been far more effective than before.

Free tips from Josh: don't send e-mails before 10:00 am or after 2:00 pm. Monday through Thursday is better for fundraising than Friday. Direct mail -- instead of just "send me a check," candidates should include "send me information" and allow the respondents to say how often and what type of information they want to hear from you. Finally, "use really, really obnoxious subject lines" -- exaggerate the tone of the e-mail. Alan reminds us that "Obama resigns" was heavily read, when he withdrew from his church, and Susan says "Latest poll results" is a DFA specialty. Brian: if you don't have the technology to break down lists by category, then don't offer to limit messages as noted above. Josh: if you're going to ask for money or time, make sure to thank people afterwards, at least the people who gave.

Alan tells us about his campaign for Wakulla County Commission, and he uses Facebook as well as Wakulla.com. And you have to give very specific directions when you want a response, he says. Use e-mail a lot, but I'm not going to have 20,000 volunteers, says Alan. If I have 20-25 and I can get 5 more from e-mails, then great.

Brian: remember the generational issues, too. He says his dad might read his e-mail, but we'll have to communicate in some other way in order to really connect with him. A big problem is that we don't respect people's time. We need to pick a couple of themes for different audiences and hit those themes over and over and over again. It's a basic advertising principle: "people don't live in segments, they just live."

Susan: DFA attendance has fallen off, and that might be because people are working in other organizations. So that's a good way to develop off-line networks, by being involved in groups "the old-fashioned way." We also must remember the people who still don't use computers and don't use e-mails or the Internet. Groups really can't or shouldn't stop calling ... or they need to stress to people that they need to "get with technology" and help with training. Many people have computers at home but they just don't use them. [Sinfonian here: my mother is definitely one of those people.]

Josh: I'm trying to replicate an accidental happening -- an e-mail went out to campaign hosts that each one had to raise $500, and one host inadvertently "replied all" and said to another host, "You're gonna eat my dust." That made all the hosts competitive ... publicly post results and get the competition going!

Brian: you may want to purchase e-mail lists, say, if you have an existing regular address list and you want it matched to e-mails. But if you purchase an e-mail list outright, it's unlikely that the people will connect to you and you're really just spamming them.

Josh notes that online givers are great, but the technique isn't very effective for people who haven't given before. Use the old-fashioned campaign tactics for getting first donations and then you can convert them to regular online donors thereafter.

The session is over ... awards are up next and because I'm co-presenting the awards, I can't liveblog it. But I'll have coverage soon ...

UPDATE (3:03 pm 6/14/08): Alan Brock dropped by Blast Off!'s laptop to encourage you all to visit VoteForAlan.com. If you live in Wakulla County, you get bonus points.

Jefferson-Jackson Day: miscellaneous cool stuff

At the end of the last session, Lori Poole of Florida Young Democrats recommended a book for anyone who wants to get involved in organizing, called Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations, by Clay Shirky. So, check it out.

Also, I just met Mustang Bobby of Bark Bark Woof Woof, a fine political and cultural blog from America's Glans™. Good blog, good guy. I'm not surprised.

More shortly ...

Jefferson-Jackson Day, Session I: Using the Netroots effectively for network-building

Kenneth Quinnell is moderating this session. He's beginning by introducing the Florida Progressive Coalition blog and all of its accoutrements: links to Florida's progressive blogs, the wiki, links about races and candidates, and more.

(The room has filled up a bit -- I think we're up to around 35-40 folks.)

First panel is Susan Smith, Lori Poole, and Josh Koster.

Susan is from Hillsborough County and is active with the DEC there and for DFA Tampa Bay. She tries to use any resource available, including DFA Link. She's also the campaign precinct chair for Hillsborough County and was active in certifying a new club for northwest Hillsborough County. The key, she believes, is getting away from your computer and getting out to meet people.

Lori is the executive director for the Florida Young Democrats, where she's been for a month or so. Previously she was in PR for the Florida Justice Association. FYD is an interesting structure because they have tried to use networking sites like Facebook to capture more people. The local organizations -- chapters -- have been effective in peer-to-peer networking, too. Young people talking to young people directly has been great in increasing turnout.

Josh Koster, a media advisor for progressive concerns in D.C., works on helping down-ballot candidates utilize new media. Many techniques are available for these candidates.

A fourth panelist just arrived after being stuck in traffic: Wendy Sejour, president of DFA Miami-Dade.

l-r: Wendy Sejour, Josh Koster, Lori Poole, Susan Smith

First question: how do you find people? Susan says they're coming out of the woodwork -- phones are ringing and people are getting active. [Note: one woman just took a phone call in the middle of the meeting and is talking at a normal conversational volume. It'd be funny if it weren't so rude!] Josh: the important thing is to get all of your staffeers involved, get e-mail addresses, and engage people the old-fashioned way -- recruit volunteers, get them involved quickly, and then they'll be invested in the race.

Lori adds that they seek out people who are already involved. They send videos that can be played on iPods, establishing street teams, meeting people and engaging in natural conversations with people, and ultimately (they hope) getting them to sign a vote pledge. You have to remember that young people don't operate in the same way as older folks -- they ignore advertising and respond better to alternative methods of communcation. Even using Guitar Hero -- you can have a tournament but as part of it, you're introducing young people to involvement in Democratic politics!

Josh adds that you can target advertising on Facebook very effectively, and they're dirt cheap to boot. Half a million impressions may cost as little as $500. Use the advertising to tell kids that they can early-vote, draw them into a site to collect their e-mail addresses, and more.

Kenneth: I can't tell you how many times I've been to meetings where people say, "Why don't young people get it?" Once you approach things that way, you've lost them. You have to approach them by giving them respect and talk to them on their level -- don't insult them! Lori points out that youth vote in Florida in the primary tripled this year.

Question: how many e-mails is too many? For example, Jon Ausman sent me (the questioner) too many e-mails about the delegate issue! Susan says she only does one a week, just because she doesn't want anyone to ask to be removed from a list. Wendy agrees, and her organization does a weekly update on Sunday nights to prepare for the week. Josh adds that you should send e-mails only when it's important, and using the direct mail template (with a lot of action items and fluff) isn't good -- real people don't respond to that.

Question: how do we fight smears? Lori: best way is one-on-one, not so much by e-mail. One of the problems Democrats have message-wise is that we don't frame responses well -- we have to frame things appropriately: Instead of saying "Barack Obama isn't a Muslim," we should say "he is a man of faith who wants to work with people of faith and take on the social issues that faith embraces." Josh adds that if someone believes Obama is a Muslim, they're beyond help anyway -- write them off. Instead, make the opponents think the smears are a waste of time. If you see a smear ad, call them and say, "Thanks for running that ad -- I just gave your opponent $100." That will make them think. Kenneth: we just ignore right-wing blogs, rather than give them traffic. Josh: if all else fails, hit back twice as hard on something else. And use VoterVoter.com, which allows you to do very small, very focused media buys.

What about using Facebook? Josh says it's not all that great because people use it for parties and birthdays, not so much for political organization. Lori suggests using it for advertising, though (which Josh did say is helpful, earlier), as well as for reaching people who have their own social networks ... so if you want to have a successful Facebook site, you need to involve people who already have strong networks themselves, because you can reach friends of friends or maybe one degree farther. Josh adds: if you are doing Facebook, the person in charge of it must be in college or nearly so -- "must be from Facebook generation."

Kenneth suggests political social networking like that operated by Progress Florida or Democrats.com.

Comment from audience: remember that 40% of Facebook users now are over the age of 30. Also, it isn't your list -- so you need to get people to connect with you beyond just Facebook, or you'll lose them. Josh says: if you're going to connect with someone on Facebook and you're organizing, make sure you get to them by phone as quickly as possible -- keep in mind that Facebook should be only an introductory step. Lori: if you use an ad, maybe the point of your ad is "come to this event to do something fun," but once they arrive, capture their information to use later.

Josh advises everyone not to buy e-mail lists, ever. There are spam risks and other problems. So build your own list and do it the old-fashioned way -- collect addresses at events, then follow up quickly so they interact with someone soon. Maybe you get a donation, maybe you just get permission to keep them updated via e-mail. Kenneth adds: when you send that first e-mail, include something to which they have to respond, so that you know they've gotten the e-mail. Lori recommends linking up your website, even if it's not good, so that there's more ways to communicate. Josh: if you have a dynamic, exciting candidate, pay to get people to your site by using Google's AdWords.com ... you only pay for people who actually click on the ad.

Question: regarding ads, what's the average cost per hit? Josh: well, you will have to start by spending $5 a day and figure out what it's actually costing you. Lori: the way the ads work is that you buy words and they search, say, "Democrat Miami-Dade." If the words match, your ad might show up, and the more you spend, the higher your ad appears. Big search words like "mesothelioma" or "Barack Obama" are expensive, so maybe try using less expensive words. Rick Spisak adds that you can cap your spending for ads, plus you can limit the ads by location and so on ... Lori points out that when you cap your spending, essentially you're testing whether you're getting your money's worth. If you cap it at $100 and you decide it's not working well, then you're only out $100. Josh says there's a "halo effect," where even people who aren't clicking on your ad right away are seeing your ad, and they may come back to you later.

As a legal matter, says one audience member, you may have to provide a disclaimer under state law ... but if it's a non-candidate ad, says Lori, you're treated differently. Rick Spisak also recommends buying your competitor's name as a domain name or in ads or something ... it could work nicely.

Next panel will be on integrating online with off-line activities, and the Florida Netroots Awards will be announced at 2:30.

Netroots Coalition meets in Hollywood

We're getting underway here at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood. We've got representatives from all over Florida, including Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, Martin County, Miami-Dade, and of course Palm Beach County. Probably about 25 of us here right now.

Kenneth Quinnell, Coalition chair, is making introductory remarks. There's going to be a raffle of Crashing the Gate, the Kos et al. book ... I suppose I should have read it already. I suck. But Kenny just offered free drink tickets for the "J-J Soiree" over at the Crowne Plaza tonight ... maybe I won't suck so bad if I stick around for that. Although I can't stay long ...

According to Kenny: Florida has one of the nation's largest progressive blogospheres, with over 100 active progressive blogs. (Wow.) The trend is moving towards Googling elections, and so blogs will come up even more on those searches. The key things to increase the profile of blogs are frequent updates and cross-linking. (Incidentally, there basically is no Republican blogosphere in Florida.)

Other opportunities for communicating and connecting with each other include Facebook, which is a great means for organizing and linking with each other, as well as Internet radio, like the Florida Progressive Radio network. The blogs and Internet radio in some cases are doing better jobs of covering elections than are the mainstream media. And it's helped that things are becoming more user-friendly ... you don't have to be so technologically advanced anymore. Now the latest thing is Twitter, a type of "micro-blogging."

But the next critical thing to do is to diversify. Most bloggers are white males; most blog readers are white males. We have to invite people with other experiences and other viewpoints into the fold. We can have the "producers" take this step, but we need to build our audience with far more diversity. The representative from Miami for Obama has invited us to be involved ... they are a predominately African-American group. Both BarackObama.com and Democrats.com are far more diverse than the main Florida and national (non-candidate) blogs.

Of course, blogs are beginning to make more noise ... like when Florida lieutenant governor Jeff Kottkamp edited the Florida Progressive Coalition wiki entry about himself to delete unflattering information about him.

Next, Ray Seaman of Progress Florida is describing the genesis of Progress Florida and the evolution of the netroots to today's situation. Progress Florida is descended from some of the earliest netroots groups, beginning with the one in Colorado where it all started. Progress Florida is designed to be a clearinghouse for organizing, blogging, event planning, and more.

Ken finishes up by pointing out how critical the technology is to building relationships. Even if one can't travel extensively, the friendships and relationships are growing through the Internet.

Sessions will continue at noon local time ...

Jefferson-Jackson Day

I'm off to the Florida Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Day festivities in Hollywood. I'll be liveblogging as appropriate, especially during the Netroots activities, but because of personal obligations and the fact that I'm still recovering from a long week personally (and a long drive Thursday), I don't know whether I'll stick around for the keynote address at tonight's dinner by Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. I mean, it's not like the Speaker of the House is speaking or anything, right?

Seriously, we'll just have to see about tonight. But stay tuned for Blast Off!'s exclusive coverage from Hollywood ...