Community organizers across America, taken aback by a series of attacks from Republican leaders at the GOP convention in St. Paul, came together today to defend their work organizing Americans who have been left behind by unemployment, lack of health insurance and the national housing crisis. The organizers demanded an apology from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin for her statement that community organizers have no “actual responsibilities” and launched a web site, https://organizersfightback.wordpress.com, to defend themselves against Republican attacks.
“Community organizers work in neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by the failing economy,” said John Raskin, founder of Community Organizers of America and a community organizer on the West Side of Manhattan. “The last thing we need is for Republican officials to mock us on television when we’re trying to rebuild the neighborhoods they have destroyed. Maybe if everyone had more houses than they can count, we wouldn’t need community organizers. But I work with people who are getting evicted from their only home. If John McCain and the Republicans understood that, maybe they wouldn’t be so quick to make fun of community organizers like me.”
Though many people are unfamiliar with community organizing, the job is both straightforward and vital: community organizers work with families who are struggling–because of low wages, poor health coverage, unaffordable housing, and other community problems–so that collectively, they can fix those problems and make government respond to their day-to-day concerns. Organizers knock on doors, attend community meetings, visit churches and synagogues and mosques, and work with unions and civic groups and block associations to help ordinary people build power and counter the influence of self-interested insiders and highly paid lobbyists at all levels of government.
Scorn for community organizers has been a prominent feature of this week’s Republican convention. On Wednesday, three Republican leaders mocked community organizers:
-Former Governor George Pataki said: “[Barack Obama] was a community organizer. What in God’s name is a community organizer? I don’t even know if that’s a job.”
-Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani said: “On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? [Laughter]…I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the resume.”
-Governor Sarah Palin said: “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.”
Community organizers were quick to fire back.
“I have ‘actual responsibilities,’” said Jacqueline del Valle, a community organizer in the Bronx. “If Mayor Giuliani and President Bush cared more about working people instead of just people who can hire high-powered lobbyists, maybe I wouldn’t have so much responsibility. Maybe working people would have an easier time in America today. But that’s not our reality, and they don’t have to mock us while we’re trying to clean up their mess.”
The community organizers launched a new web site, https://organizersfightback.wordpress.com, to defend themselves against Republican attacks. They emphasize that their work will be necessary as long as lobbyists have undue influence over American government and the economy continues to fail people who work hard and still struggle to provide for themselves and their families.
Community Organizers Fight Back 
I think it’s a little… gasp… ELITIST to attack community organizers.
You guys have to get on every cable talk show that you can. NOW!
You need a commercial. This point needs to be made— and made loudly—- and made loudly IMMEDIATELY.
Because Sarah Palin’s vitriolic mock-speech, like whenever Republicans go this divisive route, resounds with the worst part of America. It resounds, and echoes, and stays in voters’ memories.
And come voting day, all they remember is, “That other guy is worthy of mockery.”
Get the video out there in support of community organizers.
Republicans are desperate, and are throwing a cloak of confident diffident fury over the fact that they are quaking in their boots.
I am a talented video editor should you have needs, but the most important thing is to have a direct and immediate strong response.
Gov. Palin may look down her nose at community organizers, or maybe she genuinely doesn’t understand what they do. Maybe if more politicians had worked as community organizers they would understand the needs and lives of working people. The Rebpulicans seem to find the democratic process, at work in community organization laughable.
Thanks for doing this! Keep up the good work. Community organizers are the ones that clean up after the messes from Washington – they help people get jobs, put food on the table, and save houses. They work hard and often with little credit, but rarely with the derision that was on display last night – the Republicans should be ashamed of themselves. Just one more instance of Dems fighting for the little guy and Republicans stepping on the little guy….
Palin was disgusting. She is so snotty she had no idea about ‘community organizing’ because she has no idea about anything but her white bread world. What is next Ms Palin and Mr. Guliani? Let them eat cake?
Good for you for putting this site up.
Governor Pailin should be ashamed of herself for that spectacle of a speech she gave last night. It was politics in its lowest form.
This is great! Strength in numbers! Show your support on Facebook too: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=37503697696
As a former community organizer, I organized against mayors and local politicians exactly like Palin; unresponsive, out of touch and unconcerned with the real problems that their own constiuents face. If Palin is anything like those mayors (which she seems to be) then all organizers are going to have to work extra hard to hold her, and the officials like her, accountable.
As someone else said on another blog…
Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Pontius Pilate was a governor.
Perhaps “good Christian” Sarah Palin should consider that.
Yeah, it would be good to see a video get put up pretty soon. Something tells me it’s going to have footage from New Orleans in 2005 in it.
I never thought it’d be politically viable, much less laudable to mock or demean grassroots-level activism fighting for things as fundamental as jobs or homes. I thought that this free-of-government, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps model is what the republicans stood for. Especially budget-slashing types like Sarah Palin.
I was a bit surprised to hear the attack on community organizers simply because I am really impressed by Mr. Obama’s work history. This is a man who inspires me to serve my community and help others. It is strange to see this background twisted as anything other than admirable.
They have just placed the first foot of many
in they’re mouths.
Let’s make sure and remind Mrs. Palin about the power of community organizers in November.
I forgot about one thing.
There was a great documentary done about community organizers in New York called “The Democratic Process.” Information on the film can be found here:
http://www.itvs.org/democraticpromise/story.html
In the documentary, there is a story about a community organization fighting in New York City for better housing. Specifically, they are fighting Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Although he was mocking community organizers last night, he realized their power in the video and gave them EVERYTHING that they wanted.
I think that Rudy’s part of the documentary should be broadcast with the clips of him mocking organizers.
What strikes me as a particularly tawdry and two-faced about these comments is that when I was engaged in community organizing, it was during two years of nati0nal service with the AmeriCorps National Service Program — an entity that McCain used to praise back when he was still a “maverick.”
Today, “national service” means the military, evidently. Assisting Americans at home is to be mocked.
Bravo for this and keep fighting! I was stunned (but not shocked) to hear the repugnican agenda so blatantly laid out last night. Fear Smear Fear Smear.
Fight the good fight!
Thank you for doing this, I was disgusted by the attacks on community organizers last night. When there are soup kitchens that feed more people then the town she was mayor of, show some respect.
The next thing you know they will be attacking social workers. What a vile thing to say about people who are trying to help.
Thanks for fighting back, and for making a difference. I have faith America will not buy in to slandering people who are trying to help for political purposes.
Community Organizers are people who fight crime, clean up neighborhoods, repair homes for the elderly, engage in job training, build parks for children, and encourage citizens to get involved in their communities.
Why do these Republicans hate folks who help improve cities and neighborhoods? Why does Sarah Palin feel the need to make fun of people who work hard to improve our neighborhoods? She, Guliani (who relied on the work of community organizers in NYC), Pataki, and the rest of them owe an apology to the community organizers including average citizens who work to organize and improve their communities every day.
Congratulations for fighting back!
Community organizing is a vital and thankless job that holds neighborhoods together in tough times. It costs virtually nothing to the public, means everything to those it helps, and entails tremendous time and dedication for little or no pay.
Mockery is always small-minded, but I can’t believe that anyone would inflict it on people who clean up parks and get together in church basements to fight for street safety, rent reform and financial counseling.
digg it up and spread the word!
http://digg.com/politics/Community_Organizers_Demand_Apology_from_Palin_Republicans
Community Organisers helped me get a good job and steered my friends away from a life of drugs and crime
I was shocked to hear that comment, and not once from Rudy, but again and again. We shall make it all loud and clear that we the people who are actually doing their jobs will not be mocked.
Shawn
I agree. While it is fine to argue about policy differences her derision of community organizers was insulting. This has the making of a good rebuttal ad. Her mocking language against the back drop of people who have been in the weeds and help people directly is a great visual.
see if the Obama campaign can get a commercial or advertisement for this immediately!!
God Bless You!!! It is those who work in our communities that keep America going! From after school programs to resources for the drug addicted and mental health population. What Palin does not get is that many COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS work for free. Its a passion for them.
What a disgusting display of petty, vindictive, partisan BS last night by Govenor Palin and ex mayor Rudy. To mock people who are actually trying to better their neighborhood, town and community is not only wrong on so many levels but it really shows a an ignorance that is scary. Lets turn this into a positive and show the Republicans that they have messed with the wrong people this time.
This country is all about grassroots organizations that rise up and get things done. Without these people we would all be screwed.
Thank you all for your hard work and for being what America is really about.
I couldnt live without my desk organizer . It has helped me so much .
Please keep up the great work for this country. While our brave soldiers fight over seas, you fight for a better America here in the US.
Thanks, God Bless, and McCain lost a vote last night.
I used to work as a community organizer and job developer in Louisiana and Florida. I am so filled with contempt for the GOP and their ignorance of basic facts. They are so busy talking out of both sides of their mouths that they are losing track of who is saying what. On the one hand, they are quick to commend communities for taking care of themselves and speak of how well different faith based groups are doing. Then they turn around and spew out the venom that we saw last night. Well, they have this one former organizer fired up and ready to go to make certain that we have someone in the White House whp understands the plights and issues of the common man and not one who minimizes the very people who are helping them.
Strike back NOW!
I loved Pataki’s comment. The minimum wage was raised in New York over his veto largely through the work and pressure of the Working Families Party, which, wait for it… was founded by community organizers and uses organizing principles to generate grassroots reform.
I watched the Palin speech last night – and to my knowledge – Obama himself hasn’t publicly reacted yet. I’m really looking for that. He could go ahead and quickly end some of this silliness. Looking at her official and unofficial “record” prior to now might have rendered her difficult to judge… I don’t think so personally… but waiting for her to speak first was probably the mature decision. But now she has spoken. Although she said nothing about what she would actually do in the role of vice president, she did make several of her positions overwhelmingly clear.
First, she does not believe in community organizing. Community organizing is the way in which PEOPLE stand up for themselves, and their community, and participate in the political process. To not believe in community organizing is to not believe in bottom-up governance or personal responsibility. I am insulted that she doesn’t believe in the capacity of people. We already know what happens when a candidate claims “reform” and identifies as a “Washington outsider” but fundamentally holds beliefs that allow government to get too top heavy – we’ve seen the outcome of that for the past 8 years. Bush was a popular governor – popular when he was introduced to the people – and popular in his first moments of governance. Let’s make a less short-sighted decision this time!
Next, she showed a clear dismissal of human rights / civil liberties and global warming. To mock these things is gross… to ignore them in governance would be “more of the same.” I can’t remember if it was her or Guiliani that make a joke out of the rights of POWs – and a crowd of POWs clapped? I was so sad. Why do these folks declare that the only American form of service is military service? As a community organizer, Obama did have responsibilites – to people rather than special interests! I want so much more from my leaders than the GOP can offer.
It was a divisive speech. And for somebody who stands to benefit by holding some things “off-limits”… how dare she MOCK the symbolic columns from Obama’s speech that were clearly intended to commemorate the accomplishments of MLK on its anniversary. Is nothing sacred?
If she succeeds in dismissing, dividing, and mocking her way to the white house, then I no longer believe in the capacity of community organizing either.
What Sarah Palin doesn’t understand is that the PTA is a lot like community organizing, only it’s for the entire community and not just for the school. For anyone who’s ever advocated for a cause, helped those in need, or worked to mobilize community support, Palin’s attitude is horrible. It’s not about responsibility – it’s about control. The community organizers are the real public SERVANTS. Palin and her kind are just power-grabbers.
Palin’s attack yesterday were deplorable and out of touch.
That said, I’m sure some people would love to hear what Sen. Obama did when he was a community organizer.
He’s said that he helped people who lost their jobs when the steel mills closed.
Concrete examples of what he did would play well.
For a political party that says its all about local groups, not ‘big government’, I was stunned at the gall and cynicism behind that mockery last night.
I see a short, quick video, with community organizers in their native environments, surrounded by what they care about, each stating “I am a community organizer and I…..helped renovate these abandoned buildings, 5 families moved into their own house as a result….got this day care/job/senior center in our neighborhood…helped get translators at our local hospital…..” You get the point. Short, sweet, and viral.
Republican hate when the downtrodden try to fix the GOP mistakes. It really does take community organizers and volunteers to start repairing the harm done by unfair political practices and policies that are skewed to only help the elite.
MLK was an organizer – McCain votes against his holiday multiple times
Women’s suffrage fighter were organizers – McCain doesn’t believe in equal pay.
Hurricane Katrina – The government failed the whole Gulf Coast. Community organizers and volunteers are working on rebuilding destroyed areas.
We are all owed an apology.
I have my house because of community organizers. This website is a fabulous idea, but you need to get the message out visually. You need a commercial. I’d work with either the Obama campaign directly, Moveon.org, or even a bipartisan group.
Despite the despicable mockery from the GOP head honchos last night, there are republican community organizers. I can only hope they were as disgusted as the rest of the country was last night to see their hard work and efforts belittled before millions of people on national tv.
She’s right. You guys are just rabble rousers who accomplish nothing, and have no real responsibilities.
See this is what happens when you pick someone who sniffs moose mess and just does’nt get it. If it wasn’t for community organizers and people who actully care this country would be messed up than it already is. Keep fighting and get a commercial ASAP.
We all know McCain is the same as Bush. And from what I’ve been reading about Palin, she is Dick Cheney in a dress…power abuser, wasteful spender, opportunist and bully. We don’t need anymore of that kind of mess representing the US.
I’m glad you guys are doing this. I taught for 5 years in inner city Brooklyn, and knew many people who worked very hard under really difficult circumstances because they love Americans as well as America. I then went to business school and now work for a huge corporation, which I am sure is more acceptable to Governor Palin and the Republican party, and because of that I feel a bit, well, ashamed.
These are great ideas and the Democrats’ candidate could benefit no doubt from more grassroots organizers!!! Call the Chicago office 1 866-675-2008 or contact (http://www.barackobama.com. These efforts will REALLY highlight the OMAMA economic message!!!
Thank you so much for all the work you do. This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, it’s a community issue – a country issue. We need to work together to help those up, that need it – or sacrifice the future in the process. I don’t understand why some people don’t get that.
I applaud you for launching this website to inform both the public and the Republican party about exactly what it is that community organizers do. Perhaps Ms. Palin should educate herself and realize that she wouldn’t even have the right to vote right now if it hadn’t been for community organizers.
Keep up the good work and keep cleaning up the utter mess the Republicans have made of this country!
There is also a facebook group you can all join.
Pingback: It Begins… War For Communities « In One Ear… Out the Other
She didn’t attack community organizers; she pointed out that the jobs are different. There’s no executive responsibility as an organizer or, if there is, nowhere near as much as being a mayor or other executive.
Remember… community organizers generally are trying to get people in authority to do something. They are trying to influence elected leaders.
Palin’s comments were a direct response to the Democrat’s belittling of her experience as mayor. So, apparently many of you feel that this kind of belittling is okay, as long as your guy is doing it.
How many of you have lived in Chicago? I have. I’ve seen these “community organizers” at work. They do anything BUT work for the people. They work to line the pockets of their buddies.
Have any of you taken a look at the projects Obama did when he was a “community organizer?” They’re in shambles. The buildings that were built are uninhabitable, but his friends made a nice pile of money.
This kind of “experience” of Obama’s deserves to be mocked. Those of us that have seen first hand what these charlatans do in Chicago know better…
I will graduate with my Social Work degree next may, to help people in need. It was very offensive when Ponchus Palin mocked community organizers. People in American better wake up to this dangerous woman. She cares about her agenda and nobody else.
The more I have learned about Community Organizers, the more in awe I stand. So many of us are happy to do works of charity, but real success comes from changing systems. The grinding work of knocking on doors, listening to people, discovering the gifts of ordinary folks and encouraging them to become leaders and agents of change is the stuff of community organizing. A leader (President) who has this understanding and this experience would be a revolutionionary thing for our country. Shame on those who mock this most basic element of grass roots work. Our country was founded on these principles and methods. To all who do this work: Thank you; you are the real hero/heroines. I wish I had your guts and fortitude.
THANK YOU! I was very offended by the remarks. I thought: does she know what a community organizer does??
I think their remarks show just how out of touch they all are. Anyone who bashes non-profit work has NO business being in our government!
And community organizers will now help more people register and find the polls! That’s motivation.
I have been working for 3 years in New Orleans on Hurricane Katrina recovery, and THE most important contributors have been the community organizers–ministers, neighborhood leaders, community organizing groups like ACORN and PICO and Jeremiah and ACT–they have rebuilt over 5000 homes, channeled tens of thousands of volunteers from around the world, and raised resources where the Bush Administration utterly failed to help vulnerable residents. Shame on you Sarah Palin, for disrespecting our spiritual and community leaders. You owe us all an apology!
Not everyone has access to the internet, but many do have TV. we need to get the message out that the speech was ugly, negative, and reeked of the wealthy who are NOT their brother’s keepers.
Palin’s speech was disgusting. Those who laughed and mocked community organizers obviously do not know or care about the great work that is done daily by community organizers. These are people who work for the people not for the money and need to be treated with the highest level of respect. Is this the type of leader we want in office? I do not think so. Thanks to all community organizers.
Palin certainly offended me with her comments and undermined the works of community organizers like Eleanor Roosevelt and Dr. King.
You folks are amazing for everything you do.
I’ll do my part and spread this around, and hopefully some media exposure will come of this effort!
Maybe someone should tell Sarah Palin that without community organizers like Susan B. Anthony, she wouldn’t be a governor, much less have the right to vote for one.
Why don’t we “mocked community organizers” organize a movement of signatures to forward on to John McCain and the Republican Party. They don’t truly “get it.” I’, betting we could gather thousands of signatures.
Community organizers providedf invaluable assistance to Americans following Hurrican Katrina, and for these years after Katrina: when the Republican “brand” did little and ate cake.
Following 9/11 Community Organizers also contributed to providing services, support, and much needed assistance. Community Organizers work across nearly every social need including disaster relief, all forms of care, and help in the event of emergencies.
Community Organizers worked to insure that mentally retarded and Down Syndrom Children and their families have services and programs to accommodate the special needs of these citizens and their families.
Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin can score whatever cheap political shots they like: when there is suffering it is the community organizers, not Republican administrations who have responded with brotherhood and compassion.
That these two individuals would go after the unsung heroes of Katrina, 9/11, and countless other efforts in the history of this nation that have alleviated human suffering is obscene.
Not only does this reek of Karl Rove and the divisive, destructive, and abusive politics of the Bush Administration; it is unholy and shames our nation.
Comm. “Organizers” work to help find people jobs?
Um… How about CREATING jobs?!?!
That is, work to bring businesses into your area — it is BUSINESS and Governors like Palin that do everything they can to CREATE jobs… not find them.
I bet you want to tax the evil big businesses, no? What happens when you do that? They MOVE and take those jobs somewhere else.
If you worked WITH business instead of against them, perhaps you would not need to find jobs for people. (Can’t they find them themselves?)
At some point or another pretty much everyone has been a community organizer.
I have served on several boards locally. That makes me a community organizer. Sarah Palin qualified as a community organizer when she was a team mom and a PTA leader.
The difference is that she pointed out her time on the PTA as a reference on how far she had come not as a major part of her resume’.
And if I were ever running for President of the United States you wouldn’t see me pointing to my time with the local non-profits (and I will match that time hour for hour with Mr. Obama any day of the week) as any sort of experience for the job.
The main argument against Obama and his “Community Organizer” job is that he’s NEVER said what he ever did.
He was working with ACRN – the ‘group’ caught forging voter registrations and nabbed for voter fraud. THAT’S why he never mentions it.
If Obama came out and explained what he did (he won’t), it would stop all this. The problem is, he doesn’t want people to know.
Obama was not one of the people out there looking to help people find jobs, he was just there to enlarge voter rolls with a group convicted of voter fraud. Period.
While I am generally supportive of McCain/Palin, I did find the “community organizer” comment in poor taste. It attacked a much bigger target than should have been intended (Obama). My brother-in-law is a community organizer and I’m sure he is as spun up about this as you are.
HOWEVER, you must be careful to not promote a knee-jerk partisan attack, like much of the above. Blaming Republicans for community organizers having jobs to do is blatant partisanship. Doing so won’t gain any sympathy from the many conservatives and Republicans who believe in personal charity and offering helping hands. Looking like just another wing of the Democrat party will make your jobs harder, not easier. A much better approach would be to instruct the populace, including Palin, on what community organizers really do. There is some of that in the blog post above, but it is bracketed and infused with partisan attacks.
Be bigger than this.
GET THE MSM’S ATTENTION – NOW! I agree whole-heartedly that community outreach organizations are where we take care of those forgotten by those too busy having lobby firms fight for funds for bridges and sewer systems so that other local communities can divert their funds to more PROFITABLE means to take care of their own…you know, with hockey arenas. When the big goverment is broken and spending billions a month in illegitamate wars, we have to fall upon the gracious mercy of those in our community. I resent the hell out of the RNC’s statements. A LOT of families with special needs children have no other help from BUT those in community outreach programs. That shows you how out of touch she is and it further imphasizes how out of touch the RNC has always been. PLEASE GET SOME AIR TIME!
McCain/Palin now I know that you really don’t understand or care. your true colores have come through. John if you can get out of one of your 7 homes maybe you can come to my neighborhood and see what am losing and Mrs Palin are you trully ready? because not only is your son deploying but so are other sons are to and you really scare me with that pitbull lip stick on, you lack of experiance also how many times did you say economy,working class, foreclosure and G.W.O.T
I think you should organize your communities to vote against McCain Palin, is what I think. Tell them to stop buying that the McCain commitment to big business, big oil, and big Christianity is ever going to help them. And as for this lying comment troll over my head, well, can’t help that, I guess.
Aren’t PTA moms community organizers, too?
Obama has written extensively about his work in his two books. That he wrote while authoring many, many bills, including 890 in just his first two years in the US Senate.
I was very angry about Palin’s insults to you guys and I’m glad to see you working hard.
Which one of you is going to step up in 2012 to run for the Democratic Presidential Nomination?
I am disgusted by reading the comments on here bashing Community Organizers, or at least trying to justify what Palin had said. The fact of the matter is, Community Organizers have done a lot throughout this Country’s history and will continue to do so into the future.
This strategy of hers is simply to villify Barack Obama and create a division based on aggression and fear. Common strategies that seem to be finding their way into McCain’s ‘change’ platform.
Absolutely disgusting.
Why would you be surprised at this type of comment from Gov. Palin? Mr. McCain thinks you must have at least five million before you are rich, they know nothing about the people you help,nor do they care, THAT is the problem!
Palin is appalling! How can someone be VP, who’s supposed to represent ALL be so offensive and condemning. How dare someone like her put down another profession which is actually more meaningfully than what she has done! I’m a community organiser for 10 years and proud of my accomplishments! People like I have made drastic changes in communities all across this nation! How dare she try to belittle this profession! And she’s calling Obama an elitist??? How dare her!!
Thank you guys for all that you do. Please keep speaking out. The majority of the American people are behind you. The Republican speeches were way out of line. Please write the news outlets and let them know that you exist.
I can just imagine the cringing Repub. community organizers who had to sit thru this rant about what they value so much!
I just want to take a moment out of my day, where I will go to my job, take care of my kids, buy groceries, pay my rent, all the while that we’re barely breaking even, to say thank you.
Thank you to all the people out there who have the time and desire to help others. Thank you to the community organizers who have made this a better world, improved someone’s existence or created an opportunity for someone in need.
While my family and I don’t have a lot, we have enough. We never go hungry, we have our home. We are so fortunate.
Obama ’08
Palin’s arrogant, smug, self-satisfied speech last night was the impetus that led me to call the Obama campaign office this morning to volunteer. Let’s organize more community organizers.
Keep up the good work.
Whiners!
Chronic whiners. 🙂
See ya’s in Nov.
I cannot believe these two faced people. Its because of bush’s 8 years that community organizers are needed more than ever. Wasn’t Mccain the one pandering for people to help in the hurricane? Hypocrit. I have always voted repub, but from day one I have been for Obama and I will do everything I can to help him.
The first happy news today! Thanks for getting this going. I have been stuck in anger stage all day, but this is so amazing.
Here here! “Mrs. Palin needs to be reminded that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a governor.”
Obama gave up a high-paying job to go work for poor people in the south side of Chicago.
What have Palin or McCain ever done in their lifetimes for the poor? Examples please?
I guess since I worked as a Community oriented Police officer, the Republicans don’t like Community Oriented Policing.
Right on!!
I have been so burned at those comments! I am so proud of my two kids who have worked for grassroots organizations, charities, Americorps, and international relief organizations, sometimes for low pay and sometimes for no pay — even working long hours at retail or food service jobs just to earn the money to fund their own internships or volunteer opportunities.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
Great idea Mary, but who are we going to get to do it?!?!?
Thanks for everything you do. Glad you brought this to light, because when she said it in her speech I was flabbergasted.
It’s a shame that Sarah Palin and John McSame are so out of touch with the American people that they do not know the wonderful work done by community organizers. Weren’t they the ones accusing Obama of being elitist? Pot, meet kettle!
Don’t let this go. Get your message out there, please!
How dare they laugh at the people who VOTE! Listen Republican snobs, go educate your self before you put down over 80 percent of the country that you claim you love. We count too and I am sad that this type of ignorance still exist
Make a loud statement with your VOTE
Obama
Keep updating this site and let us know how we can help.
Hey, whatever happened to George Bush’s “A Thousand Points of Light”? You know, get out there, volunteer, make a difference…I guess Palin thinks he’s a closet socialist (sigh).
Ster From the Dallas News…..
Why do Republicans mock “community organizer” role?
9:04 AM Thu, Sep 04, 2008
Michael Landauer
I really don’t understand the mocking of Obama for being a community organizer as a young man.
Giuliani last night: “On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer. What? He worked — I said — I said, OK, OK, maybe this is the first problem on the resume.”
Palin last night: I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a “community organizer,” except that you have actual responsibilities.
Now, the truth is that, starting at age 23, Obama ran a faith-based charity called the Developing Communities Project.
It was made up of eight Catholic parishes when he got there and had one staff member. He was its director, meaning he was in charge. He made decisions about it, including staffing, budgets, etc. And when he left in 1988 to go to law school, he had grown its budget from $70,000 to $400,000, its staff from 1 to 13 people. More important, he created a job training program for this community and a college prep tutoring program.
As mayor, she built a hockey rink/rec center using eminent domain (because apparently there just isn’t enough land in Alaska).
And keep in mind the timeline here: Obama did this as a young man BEFORE going to law school, becoming a successful lawyer and a law professor.
I don’t think it’s right to attack someone for working in a faith-based charity out of college. I think we all have some embarrassing first-jobs in our past. I would not make fun of Palin for being a beauty queen and sports reporter out of college during these same years. Although, I do think Obama’s experience shaped his political future a bit better …
For three years Barack Obama was the director of Developing Communities Project, an institutionally based community organization on Chicago’s far south side. He has also been a consultant and instructor for the Gamaliel Foundation, an organizing institute working throughout the Midwest. Currently he is studying law at Harvard University. “Why Organize? Problems and Promise in the Inner City” was first published in the August/ September 1988 Illinois Issues [published by then-Sangamon State University, which is now the University of Illinois at Springfield].
By Barack Obama
(c) 1990 Illinois Issues, Springfield, Illinois
you can read the chapter here:
http://www.edwoj.com/Alinsky/AlinskyObamaChapter1990.htm
If Governor Palin’s experience extended to communities that needed help instead of sending out $1200 checks to residents, perhaps she’d understand the importance of community organizers.
Another sign that the Republicans are so out of touch with the common people, that they have proposed not a single policy to address the concerns of the very people that community organizers work with.
Community organizers find and provide shelter for the homeless. They train and help people to find jobs (just google Focus Hope, Detroit for one example). They run after school latch key programs and more. They take care of the “least of these.” You know…the ones that the Republicans forgot and continue to forget.
Beautiful collection of images here Dkos: Community Organizers
She proved that this party as usually is only interested in the issues that concern some Americans. After 8 years I want a President who cares about ALL Americans. Community Organizers America needs you and loves you. Keep up the good no Great work!
Gosh I hope you community “organizers” don’t threaten to hold countless meetings were nothing gets done.
Amen! This site can be a powerful force and has the potential to unleash an alliance of community organizations, including faith based ones, against the republican holier- than -thou moxie with malice machine. Please do! Imagine the force of a thousands of forces for good!
Community organizers *are* the adhocracy at the local level, and our society would be up a creek without them. And that’s no kind of partisan ideology, just well-documented fact.
here is a great response to the slurs against community organisers last night. i hope everyone will take a moment to read it:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/4/105623/5197/586/586233
Way To Go!!! I think you need to take this all the way to the top and let these jerks know who they are dealing with. The very one’s that they count on to put them in there nose snobbing positions. KUDOS Double time for you!!!!
I’m am so glad you have started this site. I was really taken aback by the hatred lashed out at Community Organizers last night and said as much on CNN.com/live today. Get the word out. You are a large and varied group and people should know the hard work you do.
The republicans are offering CHANGE and what are we seeing and hearing is the same old hate, from the same old republicans, with the addition of a new face.
I am now out of the undecided colum. I thought, I would sit back and see what the republicans had to offer Americans. I have seen and heard enough.
I am pleased to see this website. It is a clear sign, that Americans are NOT going to tolerate these sort of attacks launched by republicans.
I thank you all for the wonderful and very neccessary work you all do!
Power to the people!
It’s a sign of desperation on the part of Republicans that they’ve set their sights on community organizers.
Excuse me STER, Obama EXPOSED
the voter registration fraud! If you
think he didn’t do anything as a
community organizer, you need to
talk with the families of some of the
people who were helped by his work.
Then, as now he is a leader who can
motivate people to come out of the
darkness and work together to make
good things happen.
Community organizing is a great part
of the history of our nation, from the
men who took up arms to fight the
Revolution, to women’s right to vote,
civil rights, and most of the succesful
grassroots social service preograms.
America has been strangled long enough
by the Republicans’ “trickle down”
theory! Remember how that’s supposed
to work? Be good to big business and
they provide jobs for middle class
America? Except the big businesses
starting sending those jobs overseas.
Just read the labels. That’s where our
jobs are.
Can someone please get a petition going through the Obama campaign and get our 2 million “community organizers” to sign it?
I have no tech skills but we need to raise this to the attention of the MSM.
Palin and McCain obviously are so out of touch with what an organizer actually does! If we could get two million signatures and mock them for mocking the American people who work hard.
What was I thinking…spending the last 3 years back in school working on my BSW/Social Work for a job that isn’t really a job. I want a full refund from the Republican party for the loans and grants that have covered my education. Funny, for a job that doesn’t REALLY exist there sure seem to be a lot of text books printed on the subject. Wait, MAYBE, just maybe the Republican party is trying to let us know that they have done such a GREAT job the past 8 years there is NO longer a need for this GROWING profession? Community organization should be a mandatory criteria for ANY politician running in every state for every office for a minimum of 4 years HANDS on. MAYBE both sides would have a REAL understanding of the situation thousands upon thousands of unfortunate individuals face daily by no faults of their own. Silly ME…what am I thinking!
At least the community organizers have something to do now.
“Atlas Shrugged” will tell you all you need to know about the mentality behind community organizers. The most beneficial organizing principals in society are the rule of law, a free market, and private (and anonymous) charity.
I don’t see how Palin’s speech is offensive to “community organizers”. She clearly went after Obama’s nasty attack on her experience as a mayor of small town, that he made just a couple of days after DNC glorified him being a “community organizer” and making it a kind of centerpiece of his carrer. She rediculed Obama’s usual overblown sense of self-importance (that comes out particularily strong each time he makes unscripted remarks) not the community organizers as such.
I would expect the mayors to feel offended. Community organizers that feel offended by Palin’s attack on Obama’s idiotic statement are either people that just like playing victims, or plain partisans acting according to a script from party commissars (who pays for this site, I wonder).
This goes to show that both Sara Palin and John McCain “DON’T GET IT”. Community organizers should be angry that these so-called politicians have no respect for the very people that help America every day in so many ways!
Communities organize and get more results than any politician has ever provided for them. Keep up the good work. It’s important what you do. If they want to mock people who make it their live’s work to make their neighborhoods, schools, and families better—-that’s fine. It just shows how out of touch McCain and Palin are with normal Americans.
Thank you for putting up this site so quickly! I agree with the first few posts that I read – make a commercial that communicates how completely disrespectful and out of touch the Republican speakers have been in recent days. Make it fast, and put it out immediately while simultaneously getting on ALL of the talk shows, expressing concern over the lack of respect for Americans working for to take care of their communities and the obvious disconnect between the current Republican candidates for the Presidency, and the hardest working citizens in this country.
Community organizing is organizing from the bottom up, not dictating from the top down as Mrs Palin and Mr John McCain and their ilk are advocating.
I am inspired to get involved now, being a foreigner here I can’t vote, but I damn well can get organizing
Re: norik
Community organizers HELP victims. I thought you might need some insight..and some spelling lessons.
If you look back, long before America became what it is now…
Before there was a President…
Our founding fathers were community organizers by definition.
Community organizers create popular movements by building a large base of concerned folks, mobilizing these community members to act, and developing leadership from and relationships among the people involved.”
So that’s why I am livid.
Keep up the good work.
I think small town mayors need an apology from Obama.
So it’s okay to mock mayors and governors but not point out that the difference between mayors and “organizers”? Then you get the foreigner interferring? Yeah, you people make a great contribution.
How dare these morons question the work of a cummunity organizor? I guess they don’t think it pays as much as a lobbyist.
The Republicans really hold so much disdain for anyone not cut from their own mold, don’t they? They’re even willing (and especially Palin it seems, with such sarcastic eagerness) to throw ANYONE under the bus, even those doing selfless good work, to further their claims to power.
I used to be an organizer. And the thing about organizing in a community is that you are working with people, regardless of their politics or beliefs to help them work with their neighbors to improve their lives collectively. this isn’t a left-right thing. it’s simply what it is: bringing people together and helping them realize their goals – whatever those are. the right has community organizers too. usually these are religious folks with a social conservative mission. i am a democrat myself, but there should be people in the GOP are upset about Palin’s comments too.
Additionally, the ‘community organizer’ work Obama did was ON BEHALF of a group of CATHOLIC CHURCHES helping STEELWORKERS who had been LAID OFF. ****These**** are the people Palin and the GOP despise in their hearts.
Community organizers helped save my family’s life once. To listen to Palin and Giuliani ridicule those who work for their community instead than their own riches, and to hear that RNC crowd boo everytime the words community organizer were mentioned, was one of the most despicable things I’ve ever seen. The people at that Republican convention are so out of touch with what the real America is, it is frightening. The whole scene just creeped me out.
What about community organizers who work with Down Syndrome children? Where are they at?
Good for you! I was stunned when I read her speech, and saw that line.
I will spread the word about your site!
All you hippies have grown up to think your social disgraces have amounted to something worthwhile like “Community Organizer.” Surprise! By comparison, like Ms. Palin said very eloquently, you never made an executive decision. Get a real job. How many people say they want to grow up to be a “community organizer.” My point exactly!
Palin’s speech was right outof Rove’s playbook.
Disgusting.
You go Community Organizors!
Truth hurts doesn’t it, Moonbats?
You’re not “community organizers”, you’re self-agrandizing, extremist lunatics who work for free on behalf of the Democrats. Your job is to sign up new voters, i.e. people too moronic to figure out how to do it themselves.
I was a community organizer in Prince Georges County, Maryland from 1978-1981. We taught everyday people how to gain power through numbers. It was probably the hardest job I ever had. Long, long hours with very low pay but every victory made it worth it. Obama has used the principles of organizing very effectively in his campaign and would do so as President. Let’s turn this back on the republicans…YES WE CAN!
So, what’s the difference between the comments here about Republicans and what Palin said last night, other than the size of the audience listening?
To Norik: It’s obvious that you are the one with the talking points. Instead of trying to justify the Republican’s attack on working people (the people they claim to want to “work for”) I think your time would be better spent taking spelling lessons.
To the community organizers: Thank you for your work. Why don’t you go to this website and start a petition online? It’s free and I’m sure word can be spread quickly. http://www.ipetitions.com/
New facebook group, with a similar agenda.
ok.. seriously you guys?
who’d have thunk that “community organizers” were such a thin skinned group of crybabies.
seriously, grow a pair ladies.
there’s always nonsense and rhetoric being tossed around during political rallying, and I’m fairly certain an argument can be made that a state governor does indeed have greater responsibility than a community organizer, simply based on size of constituency (community vs. state.. you do the math), but far more importantly.. WHO THE F**K CARES!?
if you were truly dedicated to the work of community organization, you would be out there helping you communities instead of sobbing into your cosmos at this spectacular pity party.
seriously girls. man up!
my god!
Community Activist = Rabble-rousing malcontent who need to take baths, get haircuts, and look for a real job.
syn: Communist bum
God bless this group. What the Republican leaders said last night was absolutely vile and disgusting.
New Facebook group with a similar agenda of defending community organizers. Join it!
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=26427743423
seems its fine for republicans to knock Jr Senators also! will they apologize to them as well!
Grow up people. She was referring to one man.
Aren’t churches usually also Community Organizers? Any word from them?
The Republican Party and Sarah Palin just insulted millions of hard working men and women who volunteer their time to help those in need. Anyone who ever worked with the Red Cross, a soup kitchen, a food pantry, helped with a literacy program, helped with a neighborhood watch program and thousands of other faith or community based organizations whose goal is to help without the thought of any payment is part of community organizing. This was low even for the Republicans and their attack machine. They went too far. I guess it really is true that they “just don’t get it” and can’t empathize with the average American! But what do they know? I guess they think if a person isn’t getting paid, their efforts are worthless. Republicans, get a clue!
noji you mean like the thin skinned crybaby Palin who whined about the media?
‘Organizers’ – Grow up, get jobs and stop crying.
This has got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Don’t take yourselves too seriously or anything.
I worked with Catholic Charities as a “community organizer” to arrange services for the elderly and disabled in my community. You know, partisan, lefty-liberal stuff like getting them rides to the doctor’s office and making sure their heating wasn’t turned off.
Here’s a PR that was sent to Joe Klein of TIME today:
“Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech tonight mocked her opponent’s work in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. She belittled Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer in Catholic parishes on the South Side of Chicago, work he undertook instead of pursuing a lucrative career on Wall Street. In her acceptance speech, Ms. Palin said, “I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except that you have actual responsibilities.” Community organizing is at the heart of Catholic Social Teaching to end poverty and promote social justice.”
We must all make noise. The Republican party has been so quick to claim Jesus for themselves while sneering at things he would actually have done.
Make videos now about what community organizers are doing, people. Go to YouTube and post them. Try to get them from every part of the country.
One blog won’t do it; you need a scattering of information to show how self-harming the Republican approach is to our country.
I stand with you guys! Our communities would be worthless without folks like you. Sometimes I wish I could leave my desk job to help people in my community. One day… Until then, keep up the great work!
Here is video someone made in response to sarah palin
“Community Organization” meaning: Free Cigarettes for your vote for Obama
From the Dallas Morning News-
“Now, the truth is that, starting at age 23, Obama ran a faith-based charity called the Developing Communities Project.
It was made up of eight Catholic parishes when he got there and had one staff member. He was its director, meaning he was in charge. He made decisions about it, including staffing, budgets, etc. And when he left in 1988 to go to law school, he had grown its budget from $70,000 to $400,000, its staff from 1 to 13 people. More important, he created a job training program for this community and a college prep tutoring program.
As mayor, she built a hockey rink/rec center using eminent domain (because apparently there just isn’t enough land in Alaska).
And keep in mind the timeline here: Obama did this as a young man BEFORE going to law school, becoming a successful lawyer and a law professor. “
The saddest thing being demonstrated here is, the republicans dont even realize even folks registered in their party are community organizers.
you can see the same old republicans tossing out the same old name calling and hate baiting.
every single one of us needs flood phones and emils of the media.
Would William Ayers be considered a Community Organization Superstar??
@Holly
You miss the point. or maybe you WANT to miss the point?
Palin was referring to Obama as a community organizer and his comment about “small town mayors”.
In Geek Land de call this the omega factor – it went right over and around your head.
They all had a big belly laugh last night, don’t worry, Obama will get the last laugh in November.
Organizers of this site: Go. Fight. Win!
Community organizers like Obama understand the power of community, of neighbors, of getting people involved other than millionaire CEOs and televangelists. Your service to this country in this community is every bit as honorable as that of the sons of Palin and Biden going off to Iraq. To denigrate your service is to denigrate real Americans. Time to show the GOP what real community organizing can do. Register those voters, get ’em to the polls, and knock the GOP on its can!
Isn’t community what makes a country great? Are not these the things that bring people to America? Hmmmmm
ALL MEDIA CONTACT NUMBERS, AND EMAILS
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=111
I just sent emails to CNN and ABC. Please do the same. Someone MUST have connections to a television station. If not, call and email. I know I will.
Right on! I’ve never felt personally attacked by a political candidate before… I am so happy that I stumbled upon this today. Love the quote, John!
I bet Barack Obama’s brother George could use a good local community organizer right now.
I appreciate you guys for putting this up. There is nothing wrong with serving one’s community. Last night mocking of it was unfortunate.
I love you guys and I support you 100% in your fight.
Mari, English is not my first language and even not the second, I’m also disgraphic. However, I know enough about community “organizing” to know what community workers do. Helping victims is only a very small part of community work. Community workers and community volunteers especially come from all parties, religions and backgrounds, and very few of them work for political capital. To politicize the issue is as anfair to community workers as it is unfair to the subjects of their work. And I see this site as trying to do exactly this – to use a work of many good selfish people for political gain. Read the comments and tell me it’s not so.
What can we do to help? Besides sending this URL to everyone? Please, someone, put this site to work!
You’re right Holly about the republicans. Stupid is as stupid does…but we keep going to help them too.
“Holly // September 4, 2008 at 8:20 pm
The saddest thing being demonstrated here is, the republicans dont even realize even folks registered in their party are community organizers.”
Sorry Holly, but Republicans have REAL jobs with REAL responsibilities.
For the rest of you poverty pimping marxists…..Grow thicker skin
Mayor is a sort of community organizer WITH actual responsibilities SO is any community organizer. The only difference is mayor is paid and puppet of political establishment and have real aspirations of becoming future president or senator or congressmen.
This fight is not against GOP or for Obama. This fight is for community organizers. This is fight is to make sure politicians not undermine the role of organizers.
Without community organizers WORLD would be even more poorer and out of sorts.
McCain cancels event with Habitat for Humanity today. The reason from his campaign, “It has something to do with houses”. Talk about out of touch!
So glad to find this today!!
I was sickened by the disrespect shown last night on national TV by the Republican party.
I can only hope and pray that most of middle America was similarly appalled.
Get over it! The comments were in reference to Obama’s work as a community organizer not everyone as a whole.
CNN speaking about it now
go Donna!
LOL! This is too funny!
She did such a lousy job as mayor, the city had to hire a manager for day to day operations.
I have never been a community organizer, but I worked many years in public health, delivering care to the folks community organizers referred to us, and these craven bastards have cut funding for us, too, so we can’t reach everyone in need.
Good on ya – now set up a PayPal account and get a donation button on this site so we can make a commercial and get the word out to the masses!
Are the vaunted community organizers (politburo chiefs) saying that they are not paid?
Christine // September 4, 2008 at 8:38 pm
You’re right Holly about the republicans. Stupid is as stupid does…but we keep going to help them too.
The best way to help us stupid Republicans is to get a real job and then put your money where your mouth is. If you want to help the poor with your money, as the stupid Republicans do and much higher rate than the Elitist left…great. If not…stop stealing my hard earned coin.
Jon McL: Keep your money and get back to work and stop wasting your boss’ time. Stupid is as stupid does…
Christine
I am the boss…stupid
As a Republican, I’d like to try to offer some insight as to how I, and possibly a lot of other Republicans, see this issue.
First, some context: Palin (and Giuliani) DID make critical, and sometimes derisive, comments about ‘community organizers.’
But most of these were offered in the *context* of, and rebuttal to, several days’ worth of unrelenting ridicule of Governor Palin’s experience as a small-town mayor. You know what I’m talking about: “She was the mayor of a town of 9,000 people, for God’s sake: what did she do, organize the town bake-sale?!”
This wasn’t just by the press: Obama and Biden both brought this up, and Palin was often referred to as ‘ex-Mayor’ rather than as ‘Governor’.
Since so much of the discourse regarding Palin took the low road by ridiculing her past experience (let’s not even talk about the ugly rumors regarding her fitness as mother, her children, etc……) I don’t find it especially surprising that Palin and the Republicans fired off a few catty digs at Obama’s past experience: one aspect of which was his work as a community organizer. What’s fair for the gander is fair for the goose, as it were.
Now, regarding ‘community organizing’ in particular: I realize that many of you reading this are, or have been involved in, community organizing.
I think one of the problems for many conservative Americans is that ‘community organizing’ is such a nebulous phrase, and is seen as part of a wasteful (by-and-large) government group of programs.
Look, I know community organizing comes in a lot of flavors: government-funded, non-profits, charitable, whatever.
But a LOT of the antipathy to the concept of community organizing (by conservatives) is because of its reliance on government funding, and frankly, its ties to pain-in-the-ass, washed-up ‘activist’ ideology like that of Saul Alinsky. That kind of stuff is seen as EXPLICITLY hostile to the Right, so the antipathy is not hard to understand!
Nor does it help seeing snappy little statements like this one in the manifesto above: ““The last thing we need is for Republican officials to mock us on television when we’re trying to rebuild the neighborhoods they have destroyed” – – um, note to the marketing department at ComOrg Central: when we Republicans are accused year-after-year of willfully and maliciously destroying neighborhoods, we find it extremely hard not to think that you’ve lost your minds: do you really think approximately half of America gets its rocks off over the misery of others?
Now, a lot of you reading this are out there working hard and fighting the good fight. Some of you are volunteers, some are getting gov’t money, and some of you are getting your paychecks via contributions from individuals or grants from evil corporations.
But let’s get real: Gov. Palin went through just about the ugliest 4 days of media scrutiny I’ve seen in my life, and the Republicans fired back using some of the same tactics.
I hate dirty campaigning, and Palin used several digs that I thought were over-the-top, but I hope you understand that the Democrats’ indirect disrespecting of small-town interests (via the ‘small-town-mayor’ attacks) are just as offensive as the ‘community-organizer’ put-downs.
You should hire a website manager, this one just reeks of ‘community organizer’ quality.
Are you guys going to start some kind of a paypal account? I would gladly support financially.
This is really uncalled for. This UNITED states of America not DIVIDED states of America. Her speech is too divisive.
How can Sarah Palin put down a person’s previous occupation when she doesn’t know what it entails. Could it be because she has never had to use a Community Organizer to help put food on her table or to help keep the lights on, or get a ride to the Doctor’s office. Be careful of the feet you step on going up because they may be connected to the ass you have to kiss on your way down!
It seems Barry got his tail handed to him last night. By a woman, no less. I have never seen so much whining as have on this ridiculous blog. Your man is not qualified. He was exposed last night. The community organizer reference is more than appropriate. It highlights the spectacularly thin resume of B Hussein Obama. No apologies necessary.
I am part of a community organization that attempts to have normal every day people fight back against crime. I am in no way offended by Governor Palin’s comments, in fact I was encouraged by the last night.
Well said Jon L. Well said indeed
I firmly believe that community organizers do some good. How much good depends on the individual, and that can vary.
However, I believe businesspeople do more good. They drive this economy, provide the wealth to fund the government, provide for our national defense and, yes, health care, for people to own, well, anything including the computer you’re reading this on, to have jobs, drink Starbucks, Budweiser, or Chai, and make people’s lives safer, more luxurious, and longer.
Michelle Obama mocks successful businesspeople for some reason and encourages people to ‘serve’ their community instead.
Uh huh.
Barrack Obama has never made that same odious mistake to my knowledge. He likes businesspeople, particularly those like Tony Rezko who can help him and his wife inhabit a home they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford at the time.
Tony Rezko though is not my kind of businessman. He’s a crook, not a decent capitalist, and he’s now a convicted felon awaiting sentencing.
As an aside, I believe many lawyers are honest decent people.
But why does the Democratic Party have to rely so heavily on “nothing but” for their Presidential candidates?
Obama and Biden are both trained lawyers. So were the last seven Democratic Presidential nominees except for Al Gore, and he dropped out of law school to seek office.
In their laughing at community organizers they laugh and mock
all those that have come before
see
Educating the GOP: A Photo History of Community Organizers
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/4/105623/5197/586/586233
For those of you crying hypocrisy, the criticism of Sarah Palin was that her experience of being the mayor of a small town does not qualify her to be President. A similar argument can be made that the experience of being a community organizer doesn’t qualify one to be President. That’s would be a fair argument to make. However the Republicans didn’t make that argument. Instead they chose to mock, belittle and demean all community organizers with their vitriolic comments.
It’d be one thing to say, “While we respect the work Obama has done for the community as an organizer, it’s a far cry from making presidential decisions.” Instead the republicans basically said “hurrr community organizer! what’s that?! lol!!!”
Check out the article “Death to the Community Organizers” on the Huffington Post critizing Palin’s speech.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/shorter-rnc-day-three-dea_n_123798.html
I already a name for your organized group if you need it: CO-OP Community Organizers Oppose Palin.
Indeed, Jon L., you captured the moment. I’m not sure who on here is listening, however.
defendcomunityorganizers —
I couldn’t help but be struck by the blindness of your comment “The only difference is mayor is paid and puppet of political establishment and have real aspirations of becoming future president or senator or congressmen.” Don’t you realize that Senator Obama, who, it appears, has the aspiration to become President, was a PAID community organizer working under the direction and control of the Chicago Democratic establishment?
Faith-based organizers are responding as well. http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2008/09/post_38.html
Hey, I gotta follow-up even though my last post ran to “War and Peace” length — sorry.
I’m seeing (and hearing on TV) a bunch of VOLUNTEERS saying, “Hey, I’M part of community organizing and I can’t believe Palin’s dissing us!”
No, NO, NO!! Palin (and Giuliani) brought this up *specifically* as a dig against Obama’s past experience, in *direct rebuttal* to Democrat attacks on Palin’s past experience (as a small-town mayor.)
This should in NO WAY be seen as an attack on volunteerism, or private charity-based community-help efforts.
Again, the problem for Republicans, generally, is:
1) “Community Organizing” is seen, rightly or wrongly, as a series of wasteful, feel-good government-funded programs, and
2) There is a certain subset of ‘community organizing’ which has direct ties to the stinking corpse of far-Left old-school radicalism.
I found Gov Palin’s dissmal of community organizers offensive, as well as her whole speech. She does need to apologize and recognize the great work that is done. Good luck.
I support community organizers!
hey comment police:
why did you deny my comment a while ago? I was polite and on point. Was it because I questioned why Michelle Obama would say her job in a helping profession is more important than mine in more traditional profit sector? I hope it was just a goof (and assume it was). Please restore if possible.
The Republicans continue to show their lack of concern for those working class people they are trying to win over.
Community organizers are to be applauded! Why in the world would the Republicans, especially Palin, be against church community organizers or people helping other people in other ways like soup kitchens?
It’s unreal.
Jon McL…
I have been involved in fundraising for roughly 20 years. The millions I’ve helped to raise came from all sectors of the communty, in fact most often the largest donors in proportion to their income are those nearest to poverty. We often fail to admit, without there first being a need there is nothing to give to. A republican, democrat, independent, or libertatian did not decide to just give their money away…there had to be a need first.
If you have ever given your “coin” to a nonprofit orgnization that provides direct human services, then you had better thank a community organizer. Many of the most highly thought of nonprofits in this country (Salvation Army, Methodist and Catholic charitable organizations, etc.) started because an individual or group of individuals came together to address a need through organizing the assets and human resources of a community to make life better for those stuggling.
On a more personal note…my father gave his life in Vietnam in 1968 so that all AMERCIANS could shoot-off their mouths as you have, not just the wealthy. My brother-in-law served in the Gulf War and my nephew has served three tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, again, so that all AMERICANS remain free to shoot their mouths off. To have the opportunity to give their “coin” to someone less forutnate.
With all do respect…
Palin cut both funding to food banks and to agencies supporting helping pregnant teens. With this stand on community organizers, and McCain’s cancellation of an appearance at Habitat for Humanity, I think they’ve made their position clear. And in light of the millions of people who organized to send money and goods after 9/11 and Katrina, not to mention those of us who were literally on the front lines helping during one or more of these events, Guiliani should be ashamed of himself for supporting this insanity. If you don’t want to vote Obama, don’t. But don’t take the rest of us down as some silly representation of your political position. Volunteers do what they do because they feel the need to do it, not because it wins them any brownie points with local leaders. Most of them don’t even know our names.
Scott
Thanks for not bragging about your philanthropic tendencies. Jackass.
Doris in Florida,
Republicans are *not* against church-based charity-work, or soup kitchens.
What I, as a Republican, am against, is the vast ‘community-organizing’ *machine* which knows how to write grant-proposals to get government money for (too often) nebulous programs of questionable utility.
Charity is nice. Soup kitchens are nice. Helping the poor and down-trodden is nice. I give to charity, volunteer, and pay taxes, so I know a little bit about helping others.
I do have a problem, however, with the very sophisticated *industry* that lives off government grants and sucks up a fair amount of government monies (or private/corporate donations) before it even gets to the recipients.
Here’s one for the Evangelicals:
“Jesus was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a Governor.”
Also Obama worked fresh out of college oin 1983 as an comm organizer on the SS Chicagohe;ping people rebuild their lives. It is patently false to for Palin and others to mislead people into thinking that he went from working s a community Organizer to running for President, For Obama working as a community organizing was where he found his calling for public service. He also worked for project vote in 1992 registering new voters. In 1984 Palin was running for Miss Wasllia and then onto sportcasting, which is why she can read a telepromptor and smile and act sweet even though she is just a bully who intimidates her own consitutents. She is like the local corrunpt pols who we all have to clean up after.
Touchy, touchy, touchy!
Jon L…
The feds/state financially support “community organizers”…I highly doubt it!
I think Palin was wrong for saying that about Community Organizers! I have been an organizer for different sports organizations that my children belong too… it’s a lot of work! And, someone has to do it!
Here’s a lovely response to the snide comments by both Gov. Palin and Guiliani about community organizers.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/john-mccain-cancels-habit_n_123947.html
That was a pretty small minded comment from Gov. Palin. Maybe she should visit cities with a population of more than 10,000 people and she would completely understand the vital role of community organizers. Typical GOP stuff, throw mud and mock those who don’t hold their views instead of addressing the issues that middle class families are facing.
I have a hot flash for all you who think business and community organization are different things. Most of the businessmen here belong to one or more of the following community organizations: Lions, Eagles, Rotary, Kiwanis, and many others. Their community service and volunteer work is as important to them as running their businesses. Many have said that businesses, especially service businesses, are suffering due to the failed Bush economic policies here at home. They can’t do their jobs by helping people when people are losing their homes, can’t buy food to feed their families, and can’t save a dime because they are being squeezed within an inch of their mortal lives. So, before you speak for all businessmen, why don’t you talk to a few of them? I did, and I not surprised that they too felt Palin and the GOP were way out of line with their stance on community organizers. Many organizations, esp. Kiwanis, Rotary, Big Brother Big Sister, depend not only on businessmen in community but also on volunteers. We work in concert, because there have been no social policies in the last 8 years to help. It’s called adhocracy, and it’s pretty much what keeps small and midsize towns above water. So get a grip. This isn’t about party lines, its about surviving in a wasteland.
Scott,
Your fund-raising work is to be commended; nobody has a problem with that!
Why are so many people here willfully confusing CHARITY with COMMUNITY ORGANIZING??
Scott, the organizations you mention are by-and-large mainstream organizations whose work is fairly transparent and has a long track-record. I have no problem with these sorts of organizations.
I think what Giuliani and Palin (and myself, and I think most Republicans) object to are government-grant-seeking entities which are more nebulous and have rather ‘fuzzy’ aims.
Not to mention those ‘community organizing’ organizations which are more concerned with political ends than charitable ones…. i.e. those
based around the ideas of com-org pioneer Saul Alinsky, who was more about ‘agitation’ than ‘organization.’
Glenn,
Certainly not bragging, but putting my comments in a context that is factual and not more unfounded accusations of those who disagree with my position or yours.
What I give and whom I give to is none of your damn business, but to humor you…
I am a life member of a militay organization that paid for my college education, an organization that is also remembered in my estate. This same organization was there for my family in 1968 when my mother was left to raise eight children alone…not the Republicans, not the Democrats, and certainly not the Federal goverment.
I guess if you can’t debate an issue intelligently, then it’s just easier to call names…
All do respect…
Bravo!! to fighting back against the elitist republicans and to all your hard work in your daily clean-up efforts in every community across the USA. Bravo!! Bravo!! Bravo!!
I pray for the efforts to keep this energy alive with a coming together to create the commercials and videos to have your voices heard….you shall not be mocked and lie down!!!!
I think you guys are missing the real reason for this type of attack on Community Organizing.
It’s not about Barack Obama.
It is to diminish the importance and or impact that they can and do have on the establishment.
By rediculing or belittling that importance it minimizes others interest in participating.
Also to make communities feel and think they can not make a difference.
They don’t want you to make a difference. They don’t want you to organize. They don’t want you to have a voice or for it to be heard. Becuause if by some miracle you are succesfull then they no longer controll the outcome of your lifes.
So people get mad, be outraged, do something because I gaurentee that the term COMMUNITY ORGANIZER will no longer go un-noticed.
I actually am glad they spewed this nonsense.
Obama stresses his community organizing experience and it goes in one ear and out the other of most americans. A lot of people never participated in such events and have no idea of its importance in empowering the little guy.
Now they will know and the more they understand the meaning the more the will realize how WRONG McCAIN, PALIN and The REPUBLICANS are for this country at this time.
I would love to hear as much outcry about billions of U.S. taxpayers money sitting in surplus in Iraq’s treasury as I do about money going to help needy U.S. citizens in umderprivileged communities. Rock on community organizers!!!!
Scott
First of all, only one “n” in my name. Also, it’s “due”, not “do”. Next time you encounter a fellow “Community Organizer”, ask him if you can borrow his/her dictionary. I could care less who you give to. I was mocking you.
Belinda. Nice try. Of course it’s about Obama. He’s not qualified. And they hammered it home. Truth hurts.
I guess this is the fresh start the republicans are promising.
a fresh start to the tactics of smear and hate and insults directed toward ever day hard working folks.
It is a breathe of fresh air to see Americans finally pushing back and demading respect from OUR government employees!
The “community organizer” profession has me really interested as a career path. But I have been looking for a college or university that offers a degree in this subject. Any suggestions? What is the curriculum? Is the math requirement strict? I struggled through, but passed calculus. Physics was hard too, but got a B!
Holly
You mean every day hard working “Community Organizers” like Al Sharpton, and Jesse Jackson?
Jon L…
I agree; however, the “government-grant-seeking entities which are more nebulous and have rather ‘fuzzy’ aims” exist on both sides.
The real issue as I see it is we have politicized what it means to do good by our fellow man/woman. Many organization we may consider mainstream today, were not considered mainstream when they began.
ORGANIZING A COMMUNITY IS HARD WORK.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS HAVE HELP PUT FOOD ON MY TABLE AND DIAPERS ON MY BABY!
HOW DARE YOU SARAH…..
Sharpton and Jackson are not organizers they are activists.
Of course they’ll mock community organizing because it’s very threatening to them to have people taking their own initiative! If they hate you, you KNOW you’re on the right track! (to paraphrase Palin’s comments about Harry Reid)
This amateur Palin has had her 45 minutes of scripted fame, and it’s going to be tough slogging for her from here on out.
This should be on every news report!!! She showed just how mean and cutting the republican party can be. If you aren’t like her you are wrong. More power to community organizers. Maybe they need to remember what Margret Meed said (and not just a few individuals with boat loads of money)
Glen,
The correct phrase is “couldn’t care less,” not “could care less,” which means that you do care, which is clearly not what you meant. Not that I care.
So, when you’re not responding to someone’s substantive argument but attacking their typo’s, you might want to check the proper use of your phraseology (boy I hope I spelled that right – too busy to spellcheck it). Otherwise, you just look silly.
I was shocked to hear that those OUT OF TOUCH republicans think organizers are NOTHING to the society. Go hell with them. I have dedicated my whole life giving my time for the community I live in. Don’t tell me my precious time that I dedicated to my community means NOTHING.
Glen,
You have proven my point! If you can’t debate intelligently, then I guess it is easier to mock and call names. Or at least serve as the blog’s spell checker.
All due respect…something you obviously do not undertand.
John McCain Cancels Habitat For Humanity Event
“art of the reason McCain canceled the outing is because last night, his campaign went out of its way to slag community organizers, defaming them for not having any “actual responsibilities.” Habitat For Humanity, as it happens, is one of the biggest brand names in community organizing — they maintain a massive network of individual donors, are capable of mobilizing an equally impressive volunteer base to contribute labor to the cause, and have a global reach. It’s not a bad idea at all to associate one’s own brand with Habitat’s. But after last night, I have to imagine that McCain would have found it difficult to face the community organizers of Habitat For Humanity.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04/john-mccain-cancels-habit_n_123947.html
I’m a republican. I work, I pay taxes, I vote.
I’m also a “community organizer.” I help in my church, I work with Boy Scouts (boy don’t you left-wingers hate THEM for raising strong, moral young men rather than criminal hooligans), and I’m on the local PTA.
I have no problem with Palin’s comments. Obama’s got a history of rabble-rousing and exploiting people rather than helping them when he was a so-called “community organizer”, and no, he didn’t get any experience worth mentioning from it.
And if you can’t see the difference between being a “community organizer” and actually being accountable to the voters for the way their money is spent… you need to grow up.
Scott
Sorry I hurt your feelings. Now I know how Obama must feel, after the rhetorical bitchslapping that Sarah gave him. It looks like you could both deal with a dose of self-esteem. Maybe there is a group of “Community Organizers” that can help with that.
Publius
The Oxford Dictionary recognizes “could care less” as an American Colloquialism, meaning that it is perfectly acceptable as a form of informal/conversational language. Much like the language that would be used on, oh I don’t know, a Blog! Hilarious.
Glen why are you here?
Why don’t you go to McCains site and rally your base?
Are you here just to pick a fight with the people truley concerned with the events that are taking place?
People who are offended that there hard work aften unpaid is being rediculed?
Please go. We don’t need you here, and don’t want you here. You have nothing constructive to add.
Glen,
You actually went and looked it up??? LMAO!!!!! How old are you 12?
GLEN,
if your dear Palin is so great then go to her site and praise her.
If you are so convident in your party’s ability to win thsi election then I don’t think you would be here trolling about trying to patronize people.
and yeah yeah yeah I know I know it’s confidence
LOL Belinda.
Keep up the good work – – the good, noble, hard, often overlooked work that community organizers do!
It’s ridiculous that so many people here are just as insulting to all Republicans as a handful of Republicans were to them. If “fighting back” invloves volleys of insults, then nobody is going to win.
I was involved in some types of community organizing. By my limited experience (but more than Palin!), I found that one of the most strident defenders of community intransigence were none other than MAYORS! Give ’em an inch and they think they’re rulers!
Belinda,
I live in a little place I like to call America. I’ll feel free to visit any blog I choose. Also, you may be confused as to who B. Hussein Obama is actually running against. It’s Mccain, not Palin. Though it is true, Barry is far less qualified than either Mccain or Palin. That’s why the the increasingly hilarious attacks on Barry’s resume were such a hit. He does not have one. I have no feel for how the election will go. But your candidate is not coming out of this unscathed. As it should be.
Uh oh, now the racism raises its ugly head…
There is NO way you can say that the comments last night did not DIRECTLY refer to the job of community organizing–of helping get communities back on their feet with the help of churches, government officials, schools, unions, etc.
When Palin said “I suppose it was like being a community organizer…except with actual responsibilities,” she directly said “being a community organizer has no actual responsibilities.” That sentence, on a basic grammatical level, is NOT about Obama, that’s about dismissing the value of the work done by community organizers.
The record is there, and you can’t spin your way out of it. If she (and Rudy) both somehow mis-spoke, then fine, they need to come out and apologize. Until then, a rational person has no choice but to believe the official position of the Republican Party is that community organizing is work without value, without “actual responsibilities” and without “problems”.
To all the conservatives here who keep insulting community organizers: Thanks! You keep making the point. We see you don’t value the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity. We now know your party laughs behind it’s hand at people who work hard for change in their towns and neighborhoods. Thank you again for admitting how little you value that kind of work. Instead of attacking Barack Obama about his views and positions or even his political experience, several prominent Republicans belittled community organizing as a whole to try to attack him even the the vast majority of Americans believe in this kind of service. Beautiful move. Keep doing it! I love hearing from outraged conservative friends about how the Republican Party doesn’t value what they do. Please! Let’s hear some more! I love forwarding your comments!
Christine,
Actually, I already knew that. I can’t believe you didn’t. It must be that Public School education rearing it’s ugly head.
Christine,
Yeah, it’s got to be racism. it can’t possibly be that your party has nominated the most unqualified man they could find. Keeping drinking the Kool-Aid.
Glenda: Then you know he was suggesting that you were using that phrase in the wrong context, not the fact that it was an incorrect phrase. Oh why bother talking to you…when there are so many grownups here to talk to.
As a social worker in Alaska, I am appalled at Palin’s comments and her lack of understanding about how community organizers contribute to society by assisting those with no voice to find their voices and their power to bring about change. Community organizing is central to social work practice and one way that social workers affect systemic change. If Palin is a champion for “the people,” there is no way she would be so dismissive. One of the reasons I support Obama is because of his community organizing background and his understanding of grassroots organizing. I may be from Alaska but there is no way I will support the McCain/Palin agenda which only hurts the people I work with. I am visiting in Juneau right now and I noticed that most of the houses around the Gov’s mansion are sporting Obama signs in their yards. 🙂
For those of you making excuses for the condescending performance last night at the RNC, there is none. If you would like to frame it as an attack on Senator Obama and not on the larger community then fine; but the fact remains that she used his community organizing experience to belittle him as if it was as important as being Mayor/Governor, when in fact it is equally (if not more) important. Regardless, the fact remains that people are offended, including myself. Perception is reality.
No one is arguing that business aren’t doing their part; they are one small piece of a puzzle that includes the grassroots, businesses, charities, and government. Without one of these components, all will fail. And please do not mistake throwing (much needed) money at a situation with community organizing. Money can’t navigate a teen through the college access process or tell a teen that they have HIV (two things I have personally done).
Community organizers of all political affiliations should be offended (as an Independent, I certainly am). Without community organizers, none of the mentioned politicians would be in office right now. Our founding fathers (the original community organizers of this country) would be rolling in their graves.
Thank goodness we are fighting back! Yay for community organizers. I’ve been in community service/social service/organizing most of my life. I could not believe what I was hearing from that convention.
I posted this elsewhere, but here are some of the qualities needed for community organizing:
Leadership. Empathy. The ability to listen. To negotiate, even compromise. To understand different points of view. To keep focused on a goal. Flexability. Good judgement in people, timing, decision making… Caring. I could go on but you get the idea.
Everybody needs to go to Utube or facebook or even send in your video clips to CNN – stating that Community Organizers are ready to lead the nation and I am voting for Barack Obama – we could make it go viral.
Christine,
“Glenda” That’s clever.
You’re even dumber that the typical left-winger. The context and forum in which I used the phrase was correct. That’s what makes it a “colloquialism”. I can’t stop laughing at you. I’m leaving now. You people are boring me to tears. I have your team’s next ad title. The “Community Organizer and the Plagiarist. Change you can believe in.” Good luck winning with that ticket.
I am the director of a homeless shelter and an advocate for people in poverty in my city and I am appalled that the GOP would criticize those of us who work to fight the social ills and injustice that some of our neighbors must endure. Doesn’t the GOP rail against “big government?” Don’t they constantly spout that social service should be the responsibility of the private sector? Okay, we’re doing it, so now what the hell do they want?
This, to me, is more evidence that Republican Christians think that the text in red is meant to be ignored because it’s Communist.
While Palin was working with the PTA to promote creationism and abstinence-only education Obama was trying to get the government to remove asbestos from public housing developments.
It’s a slap in the face to any Christian that takes their faith even a little bit seriously.
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Thank you so much for creating this site. Last nights speeches were deplorable and quite offensive. We need to honor those who work in communities and work for PEOPLE.
The official Community Organizer Motto:
“Oh boo-hoo!”
I like Charles’ comment over at LGF:
“Heh. Good luck with that.”
Hey community organizers! Don’t get your undies in a bunch! You are not running for president, nor do most of you have the desire for the job. Only the “One” community organizer, the big “O”, is Palin’s target, and rightly so as he has very little executive experience.
At least you guys get stuff done. You don’t just vote “present” when you need to make a decision like Big “O” does!
Who cares what asshole Republicans have to say?
Unless…. is this an organizing tool?
On behalf of myself and all the organizers I work with every day: thank you for this site!
There are good, hard-working Americans out there every day working in their communities to change things for the better. To ridicule those folks for political gain is about as low as it gets.
To Sarah Palin: perhaps you should try getting out, knocking on doors, and really talking to people. You might see a different side of community organizing…like the people you claim to want to represent.
“Organizing” is anathema to the Republican/ Conservative mindset.
Nearly everyone has benefited in positive ways in one way or the other thanks to the work of organizers somewhere, especially the workforce.
Even Republicans who belittle “organizing” benefit from the good that it brings.
The workers in the wool mills that once existed in a town a short distance from where I live organized at the turn of the century and fought to have the belts that ran the machines covered to protect the women and girls (as young as thirteen and possibly younger) from having their hair and dresses caught between the pulleys and belts, injuring, maiming and sometimes killing them.
No need to go into detail, but the women finally succeeded and their work environment became safer for them and those that followed.
It is incidents like this that happened all across the country, some bigger that made the history books, and many smaller that never did.
But they affected us all.
What is one of the bothersome things about Palin and the Republicans belittling organizers at their convention is that because of those organizers they and their families benefit from the good that their hard work has accomplished, but they don’t care.
Palin should think about that the next time she buckles her seat belt.
I’m spreading the link to this site to everyone I know.
Wow, this website is such a great hit back at the reTHUGlicans! With such great insights as:
“Organizers knock on doors, attend community meetings, visit churches and synagogues and mosques, and work with unions and civic groups and block associations to help ordinary people build power and counter the influence of self-interested insiders and highly paid lobbyists at all levels of government.”
Which PROVES that they actually DO have responsibilities, unlike what Gov. Palin said. Knocking on doors is SERIOUS BUSINESS!
I’m sorry, am I being too SARCASTIC for you?
A commercial that depicts hard working community organizers that are contrasted by the remarks from both speakers and the laughter from the GOP audience would be very dramatic. Please consider this…I’m sure enough people would contribute to get this commercial created.
Here’s ACORN’s statement on this little controversy.
http://www.acorn.org/index.php?id=12439&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=22314&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=12387&cHash=2adbf6d900
ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) President Maude Hurd issued the following statement after presumptive Republican V.P nominee Sara Palin and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani made disparaging remarks about community organizing at the Republican National Convention Wednesday night.
“ACORN members, leaders and staff are extremely disappointed that Republican leaders would make such condescending remarks on the great work community organizers accomplish in cities throughout this country.
The fact that they marginalize our success in empowering low- and moderate-income people to improve their communities further illustrates their lack of touch with ordinary people. Through community organizing, people are empowered to take action to solve their own problems, develop leadership skills and make decisions that improve their lives and their communities.”
ACORN has been building organizations and developing leadership among low- and moderate- income residents in neighborhoods throughout the United States for 38 years. During that time, ACORN chapters have worked individually and collectively to organize innovative grassroots campaigns on a number of critical issues. As the nation’s largest grassroots community organization with more than 400,000 member families, ACORN employs 400 organizers that carry a huge responsibility of helping disenfranchised people in their communities.
In the past 10 years, ACORN has helped more than 30 million American families through our various organizing campaigns: better schools, financial justice, living wages, community improvement, immigration, healthcare, predatory lending, voter engagement and utilities.
The total monetary value of recent victorious ACORN campaigns was quantified in a 2006 report entitled, “ACORN Wins”. Over the last decade, ACORN’s victories amount to $15 billion, an average of $1.5 billion per year going directly into low- and moderate-income communities to help strengthen working families. (For a copy go to http://www.acorn.org/fileadmin/Reports/ACORN_Wins_Report.pdf)
I’m a white Republican female who is a community organizer. You blew it Palin. I’m not only going to vote for Obama, I’m going to organize for him.
How dare you minimize the work I’m doing with the hungry in Appalachia. I’m so offended I don’t know what to say! How about this…get out the vote for Obama? You insulted the wrong kind of people…we are not afraid to roll up our sleeves and work hard for a cause we believe in.
Thanks to your insensitive remark I have a new cause.
I was deeply offended by the mocking words used by several speakers at the Republican convention.
I work for a non-profit, which works to help people get jobs. It has been a difficult year for professionals in this line of work. Unemployment is rising, at the same time that revenue is decreasing. We are serving more people with less resources. We have been forced to make cut backs in staff.
The staff that remains faces increased work loads, decreasing benefits, and an $800/yr increase in health insurance costs.
Despite these challenges, our organization will help over 10,000 people find jobs this year. Helping these individuals become more self sufficient, and reduce their dependency on the entitlement programs that Republicans have traditionally fought against.
I expected better form a convention that began with the theme of “service.”
It is extremely disheartening that this party has offered very little to address issues such as the economy and health care, while belittling americans who choose to serve their communities and country to solve these problems.
It’s time to put together a video and put it up on YouTube pronto! One of the commentors stated that he is a video editor, take advantage of his offer. YouTube is not as popular as it is for nothing. The media is BOUND to get wind of it and talk about it on air. Barack has inspired the nation to get their act together and to get involved. Barack is not ‘supposed to be here’ ANYTHING is possible. It takes a village!
this is so great! you all said what I felt when she dissed us all! Please send this to cnn,fox,msm and all your local viewers till it gets heard all accross america. God bless all of you for doing the work he intended us all to do, Love an Help thy nieghbors!
I am shocked and awed that Gov.Palin would make such disgusting remarks about the very people that seek to uplift and pull together communities from coast to coast. It is shameful and I cant see why anyone would support her candidacy. It shows tht she doesnt respect those who do the work out of the spotlight. Some of our greatest leaders had their start as community organizers. One would think that you would understand that. You call Barack Obama, the product of a single parent, welfare mom….an elitist? No. It is you that is elitist. Shame on you. I would say that you are better than that, but I still dont know who the hell you are. You spent too much time on your standup comedy routine last night.
Guy, for real, go to CNN, MSNBC and request an interview to express on National TV this outrageous attack on all the people that work hard to help others. The media will be glad to hear you, especially since the media was also attacked and dissed as unimportant. Do it! It took me a lot of digging to find this site, the country needs to hear you and we need to avoid the catastrophe of 4 more years of bully politics and incompetence.
Whether you are for McCain or Obama isn’t even the point. The point is it’s completely insulting and ridiculous to openly mock the wonderful people who give their time to actually try to help people who need it. And since our economy is in the tank, community organizers are even more important. Why is it that the republican faithful think it’s so funny to act like a high school bully? I think it’s time to grow up a bit and focus on how to fix our communities that are in need instead of laughing at them…they call the Democrats “elitist”, but I think it’s undeniably clear that they have that completely backwards.
You guys know the truth, the Republirats will try to spin the truth, but it will not work this time. I am a proud community organizer.
I am glad to see people speaking.
After listening to that speech, I was so angry and ready to fight, literally. However, I have grown above that, long ago.
I cannot imagine what America will look like with a McCain/Palin Administration.
She claims to be a reformer, she claims to be for the people of America, when it is those very people that she mocked last night, the ones she claims to want to help. What a bunch of garbage!
We can talk on this blog day in and day out, we can make suggestions, day in and day out, but until we make it known to the world via the media, we have done nothing.
Let’s organize right here and right now. We need a TV ad immediately! My idea is a very large group of organizers and the people with whom they have helped, holding signs of course.
The narrator will say, “she says she is running to help Americans have a better life.” Then her speech except about the organizers is played, then back to a couple of people that have been helped, tell a short story of how they were helped. Narrator, “Sarah Palin and the Republican party is not what Americans needs, they think we are below them”
Well, I am not a commercial writer but, I think something along these lines will do it. We need this ASAP!
Does any one have connections? Can you get the Organizers together? I am willing to donate, I don’t have much at all but a million of us giving at least $1.00 or more will get this ad done and on TV and the internet in lighting fast time, if we can get the team together.
I am ready to fight, in a different way, right now.
Thank you to all the community orginizers, social workers, teachers, churches, etc….
I am a woman….and I am discusted with Palin’s comments and have no respect for her or her family. Sarcastic, rude, stuck-up!
Obama was right… They just don’t get it….We are over this type of politics…
The organizers of this site and those deriding Palin’s comments are trying to make a mountain out of, well, nothing. You read so much into a comment and then manufacturer her “real” motives behind it that you are soon cacooned inside some alternate reality. But it gives you a purpose. Gives you a justification for hating her. But at least it puts you intouch with your real selves.
How can we the everyday people help the Community Organizers get out the word and force Gov. Palin to apology to so many good-hearted people helping other people who have no means? I guess its “politics’ as usual with Gov. Polin and the republicians, nothing will change.
Thank you for starting this. I was disgusted by the comments made by Palin, et. al. Community organizing is one of the most responsible things an person to help those who have been left behind by over 30 years of Republican misrule.
As a 57 year old social worker, mom, and former community activist in a city with a population greater than the state of Alaska, I am furious at the vitriolic nonsense regarding community organizers coming out of the RNC. Remember, Sarah Palin, you would have never been able to vote, let alone run for office, if it wasn’t for community organizers. I am shocked and nauseated by the depths to which these people will go to insult hardworking Americans. Shame on them.
Don’t let this comment of hers be forgotten. She has no idea obviously what community organizers do. She dares mock “real” patriots of this nation, people are show unity and pride in their nation? She should be ashamed of herself.
I have only participated in limited community service, but value greatly those that do participate. I was shocked and outraged to hear Palin’s remarks. The work you all do is extremely selfless and greatly needed and admired. Your voices deserve to be heard across the country before the country votes.
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I can’t believe Gov. Palin would say such a thing! I along with a group of dynamic and hard working individuals, organized a huge healthfair where we offered free health screenings of all types and provided information and resources on affordable clinics they can go to.
I cannot begin to tell you the scores of people who thanked us with tears in their eyes because they have not seen a doctor in YEARS because they don’t have any health insurance!
How could Sarah Palin insult us like this!!
It’s a sad day for America when the very people at the heart of our democracy are cast aside by a major political party. If this is what it has come to — criticizing community organizers — than we stand as divided and polarized a nation as we have ever been. Even more of a reason why we so desperately need more community organizers.
What Governor Palin said regarding community organizers was inexcusable.
Thank you Sarah Palin. Your snarky, snide, dismissive, condescending remarks simply energize us “regular folks” to organize in our communities and work our tails off to send your hockey mom a** back on that Bridge to Nowhere.
WE aren’t community organizers by profession, there are many noble people who do that for a living and for paltry pay. WE are citizens who heeded the challenge by Barack Obama to become engaged in our neighborhoods, to donate $25 whenever we could, to become caucus precinct captains when we’ve never participated in them before.
By virtue of attacking Barack Obama for his organizing, Sarah, you are also attacking me as an engaged citizen in my community. Just for that I’ll be making extra phone calls, knock on more doors, and begin collecting as many early voting ballots on Barack’s behalf starting on September 25th. I’m guessing there are “just a few” people like me who feel the same way so thanks again for re-energizing us.
Hehehehe.
Shouting in the dark at nothing, people.
Real “community organizers” are republicans.
We work. We have day jobs. Or we raise our kids, and that IS our day job.
We make new jobs in the community. We help people find jobs – a hand UP, not a HANDOUT – in the community.
We volunteer. We’re on the PTA, we’re volunteers for civic associations, local crime watch, boy scouts/girl scouts, and anything else we need to do.
What we are NOT is leeches like Barack Hussein Obama, who scammed his wealth out of others while claiming to “organize” them.
What we are NOT is stuck-up, elitist crap who thinks that “community organizer” is a resume point instead of SOMETHING WE DO OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF OUR HEARTS.
I’m glad Palin said what she said. It takes NOTHING away from real community organizers. It puts the nonrecord of Barack Obama in its place.
But of course, this “blog” isn’t authored by real “community organizers” – it’s just a fraud front by the DailyKos crowd trying to make a story out of a nonstory.
I wanted everyone here to know what community organizers have done for me and my family. I wrote about it today at dailykos. Community organizers changed my life and I owe all my success to them. Check it out http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/4/171259/7429/977/586843
and thank you all for the work you have been doing!
This website was put up overnight by John Raskin. If you are out there…add a paypal button, hire a production company, and get a commercial on pronto.
You are community organizers for God’s sake; it shouldn’t be that hard to raise the dough. (In my own case I’m married to one very mad one!)
I’ll pledge the first $100 for a commercial or some sort of media campaign to respond to these attacks by Palin and Giuliani.
Who else is on board?
Keep checking back for a paypal button.
I work in affordable housing and deal constantly with comunity organizers. In many cases they are the last resort for the victims of our society’s failings.
When I saw a group of supposed national leaders laughing wholeheartedly last night at the concept of someone volunteering their lives for the good of others, I was sickened.
I think you need to use your organizational skill to get a countermessage out to as many media outlets as you can. I’m sure if you set up a fund and accept donations to help get the word out people would give. I know I would.
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I find it ironic and hypocritical that John McCain’s speech this evening emphasized a life of service, and the need to “get involved.” I guess Palin and McCain don’t realize that community organizing is “getting involved” and is a life of service.
“Community organizers” are nothing more than leeches. They shake down businesses (you know, organizations that produce things that people want and employ people) so that the “community organizers” can enrich themselves without actually working. “Community organizers” are mafioso.
Some people with community organizer training that people may have heard of:
Rosa Parks, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr.
Oh wait, McCain voted against MLK Day didn’t he?
I spent eight years organizing a community and it meant coming home from work, eating crackers and cheese for supper and dashing off to meet with neighbors or police or walk on patrols. It was unpaid and tiring and we did it because we were fighting to save our neighborhood. This was during the Reagan years, the beginning of the transfer of money to the already wealthy.
Who cares what community “organizers” think. They’re entirely in the tank for Obama anyway, no matter what Palin said or didn’t say. Now they’re acting as if Palin’s comments pushed them “off the fence” toward Obama. LOL. Ridiculous. You hate Republicans, always have, always will.
To be fair, organizing things in your community provides no experience. Being governor of a big state gives you experience. Like George W. Bush, he was governor of a big state so he was therefore very qualified to be president of a big country. That worked out great and we have his experience to thank for it.
Your stupidity is your punishment.
Community organizing is tedious work that requires great stamina and innovation. The same cannot be said of trying to balance a budget with a multi-billion dollar surplus. Another thing that community organizers have to deal with is the lack of pay or low pay. It is a true testament to the devotion a community organizer who has to be motivated to show up and work day in and day out, sometimes 7 days a week, without being motivated by the promise of a great salary. Wait, wasn’t Christ a community organizer?
We are with you! My blog is small but if we start raising awareness to this one we can get the message out. We cannot allow Republicans to demonize community organizing.
For me Guilani’s words struck me more then Palin. I don’t think they realizethat they just offended and potentially lost millions of voters/ organizers past and present of: AmeriCorps/Vista/City Year/Peace Corps/PBS/Religious Groups and the millions of other non-profits in this world.
Good on you, community organizers!
You are much appreciated, believe me, but not by the republicans, obviously.
Both sides of the movement – left and right – have their organizers. The Christian coalition and the Republican Revolution would never have been possible without community organizers. Palin’s messing her own nest by attacking all community organizers.
Thanks for putting this blog up. See – this is why you don’t mess with organizers!! We don’t just belong to rapid response networks – we run the doggone networks!! We don’t just get mad – we write responses right away, and then recruit twenty other people to respond, too! Never pick a fight with people who fight for a living.
Sarah Palin should be ashamed of herself for telling American organizers that they do not have a real job. We are the ones that feed the homeless in soup kitchens around this country, we are the ones that clean up your neighborhoods, raise money for your schools and community centers. We are your churches, your PTA moms, your unions, WE FOUGHT FOR YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE AND STAND UP ON THAT STAGE, so how could she dare turn her nose up to American’s who break their back for thier communities and this country. She is a disgrace!!!
Actually, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had a real job as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and as head of the Souther Christian Leadership Conference.
You guys are all whining because you know how truthful the Republicans comments are – the responsibilities of an elected mayor are actual responsibilities.
Has any community organizer ever been fired?
I nominate this blog for Fastest-Growing Anti-Republican Echo Chamber. There’s a lot of long-suppressed rage bouncing around in here.
While Sarah Palin is an untruthful person who has no record, vague accomplishments, a lack of understanding of the Constitution of the United States and nothing of value to say, she did something very good – putting the work of “community organizers” out in a national spotlight.
All Americans know the hard and beautiful work that happens in our neighborhoods and our communities. We all know the role community organizers have played in history. And we all thank you!
Bozer: Tell the Community Organizers who cleaned up after the government when the levees failed in New Orleans that their jobs don’t have responsibilities.
Please DO NOT stop this……Gov. Sarah Palin doesn’t know what the Vice President of the United States does so CLEARLY she would be lost with understanding what committed Community Organizers! It’s nice to blog all day but we MUST do something…..NOW!!!
How about the fact that Obama pulled in $10 million to McCain’s $1 million after Palin’s speech last night? Is that more people whining about Republican “truths” with their wallets?
Thanks so much for this blog! Sarah Palin has revealed herself to be a disgrace not only to her party, but to all of America. John McCain has shown himself a fool for not vetting her. It could be said that our founding fathers were community organizers by banding together to CREATE a new vision and a better place to live in America while defending themselves against the current overwhelming government of the British loyalists. Maybe that didn’t mean much to Guiliani and Palin either…
“because of low wages, poor health coverage, unaffordable housing, and other community problem”
Those are all problems created and made worse by “Progressives” and their policies. You people deserve to be mocked.
How sickening to hear Sen. McCain in his speech tonight saying people should get involved in working t improve America -“feed a child” etc. Thats exactly the ethos of community organizers. Did he HEAR what his VP said the night before? PLEASE people do what I am doing and write to your local newspaper expressing disgust at these awful people and their attacks on our communities . Make sure all voters know what they said!
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A friend has a post up about how ticked he was after the speech. He’s an organizer as well. Check it.
I do not have a right to vote in your upcoming elections but as a community organiser in Australia i found her comments demeaning.
The world is following with interest this US election because the future of the world rests on your votes.
Along with 90% of my friends we hope Obama does get into office and global polls already indicate that Obama has the world vote by a convincing majority.
I dont think people around the world would like to see an older version of Bush in the White House continuing his policies that is affecting people all around the world.
Yes, God Bless America.
Boston Globe [owned by the NY Times]
“Grim Proving Ground For Obama’s Housing Plan”
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/06/27/grim_proving_ground_for_obamas_housing_policy/
It’s a rather fact filled piece that you folks might want to look into before you simply hone in on their political attacks on Obama and the media.
As well, considering Palin has a record of reducing property taxes and giving money back to the people to decide how best to spend their money, you should take a little deeper look at the issues…and the actions they have been busy taking. Perhaps you should send them a dictionary definition of ‘Community Orginizer’ with a long list of ‘responsibilities’. Perfectly fair.
If it hasn’t been posted yet,
Great video.
Those of you/us that have actually organized anything, know the work involved.
Bookwork, legwork, bookkeeping, and that’s just before you start any work at all.
I have no vote or respect for McCain/Palin now. Obama/Biden all the way.
Oh, and if it weren’t for someone organizing her husbands job would not be a union job. Ever think of that miss no lipstick pit bull?
We should re-play that for all the volunteers the GOP is going to ask for help with Republican GOTV.
Wonder how many votes they’ll get by belittling the people who help get voters to the polls.
What I notice, Sethery, is they allowed your comment to be posted; they didn’t censor you.
As a GOP supporter (see my above comments), I respect that.
Here’s an article from a popular conservative blog about this issue that’s worth reading.
Community organizers are the backbone volunteers in America. How dare Palin demean them for political purposes. What does she know about all the great work these people do anyway?
We NEED Obama/Biden 08 Community Service (or Community Organizer) t-shirt and sweat shirt NOW!!!!!!!!
Keep talking and send this to every newspaper you can think of. Their speeches were a terrible insult to all the people in our country who do for others. They come across as the party that only cares about making more money for the rich. All about greed. I think this could really turn a lot of people off. Talk about elitist! They have the gall to call Barack Obama elitist or uppity? It is sick and they need to be confronted on it in a HUGE WAY.
Great work on getting this website started up. I’m currently with the Democratic National Committee in Washington, but in 2007, I worked to expand healthcare access in California and was incredibly offended at the constant attacks by the GOP on community organizers.
Please note that the Obama campaign sent this e-mail out to their list after Palin’s attack on community organizers. (Rest assured that these insidious attacks on the laudable work done by community organizers will not go unanswered.)
Best,
Matt Ortega
Democratic National Committee
I *heart* community organizers. Some of my best friends are community organizers.
Hey Palin… A community organizer, well I guess that’s sort of like a Governer…except community organizers actually care about the people they serve.!!!
Get on TV and defend community organizers around this great country of ours and don’t let the Neo-Cons fool people into thinking that being a community organizer is not a real job.
Jeez wsan’t the Obamessiah a “community organizer”?.
Are there any Republican community organizers?
good luck
Community Organizers are the people who were left behind to mobilize the cleanup from Katrina and Rita because the Republican lead Congress and White House was too busy eating cake.
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You have community organizers in Wasilla village cleaning up the mess Palin left behind: the Meth capital of Alaska, 20 million dollar budget deficit when she left office up fro the $0 when she came into office. The social services in Wasilla reports 40% of their monthly investigations are related the children using or living in Meth addicted homes. When the Govt neglects, its community organizers that are there to mobilize, empower people to solve problems.
No Carol, It’s not let them eat cake, but “let them eat Moose!”
Odd how there wasn’t a blog established for “smalltownmayorsfightback” after a week of mocking from the Obama campaign.
It’s no joke growing up without a community organizer. I know the harsh of having to depend only on a family, with only a school and church to provide relief from the constant intrusive help of relatives. It takes a village, and it takes a village organizer to support human life.
Truly disgusting, but wouldn’t expect anything different. GOP, the party of ignore, deny and hate. Interestng, McCain’s acceptance speech was focus on unity —- what hypocrisy.
Hey, you know who else was a community organizer?
Don Corleone.
http://jimtreacher.com/archives/001534.html
I love Jim Treacher.
I think you have to be a special kind of stupid to fail to realise who she was actually mocking.
And unfortunately, it looks like Ive found out where all those special stupid people hang out.
Yes-thank you for standing up to Sarah Palin’s sarcastic and elitest comment. As a social worker, I was deeply offended by her blatant disregard for the high calling of providing a voice for the voiceless-often left that way because of the GOP’s disadvantageous fiscal policies.
I’m sorry, this is not a partisan issue.
Why are people saying “get a real job” when hundreds of thousands of people who do community organizing–on PTA boards, in Churches, with their Neighborhood Watch, or volunteering with the Red Cross or Habitat for Humanity–do so *in addition to* their day jobs?
This isn’t about political parties–it’s about a complete disrespect for people doing honest work to help others. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians and Independents do work in their community, and we should encourage them to do that, not laugh derisively, and say that their work is worthless.
By whom are community organizers paid?
Hi
I’m a community organizer working to reduce teenage alcohol use in my county. I think we need to go to every Palin public appearance and ask her what role community organizers play in reducing the very high rate of fetal alcohol syndrome, (one of the nation’s highest) in her state. Living in Nebraska, one of the reddest red states in the nation, I doubt that I’ll get that opportunity, but I’m certain that someone else will.
Here’s an article from today’s NY sun about real community organizers reactions: Community Organizers Appalled By Their Portrayal
Thank you so much for all that you are doing. I really appreciate the work that you have done in our communities and across the nation. I don’t know why some felt the need to dismiss your work as nothing, but I recognize you as amazing patriots. I hope you have the opportunity to get some air time and are given a formal apology by those that disrespected you.
Right on!!!!
You do see the problem right? Organizing could lead to people working together for the common good. People without lobbyists, organizing for change. Naah, we wouldn’t want any of that. I agree get on the talk shows, get on you tube and let the rest of us work to get the message out. Also, Michael Moore is on Larry King tonight and he would certainly champion the message if brought up by a caller.
Pleas link to this site and vote for it on Digg.com. If a blog can make Sara Palin VP. The same format can expose her for what she is…an arrogant, mean spirited person.
Well since the murder rate in chicago is double that of Iraq maybe Obama needs to apologize for all that organizing he did. What was he doing? Organizing them in to gangs. It’s over people. If you accept it now it wont hurt as much in November.
Community organizers are a joke overnight because Sarah Palin said so. It shows what sheep Republicans always have been. Heaven forbid Ms. Palin or one of the right wing blow holes make fun of Obama for brushing his teeth three time a day. Dental hygiene will take a nose drive among Republicans.
Ideas and Revolution – If you’re not outraged you’re not reading this blog
Keep up the good work all of you! I know that you are hard workers doing honorable work with little to no recognition. Thank you for your efforts. I too, feel that the RNC was very dismissive of the thankless work that you do and I was disgusted. How can you say that you are for America when you demean the best of us? The ones who go out into the real America and fix the messes that you make in your “dreamland”. Thank you community organizers – the real America loves you!
I think that most people don’t know what a Community Organizer is. I know what a Union Organizer is and what an Events Organizer is. It sounds to me that a Community Organizer could be thought of as a secular missionary.
Christoph,
My first comment was awaiting moderation for about an hour yesterday, probably over a lunch break. My subsequent comments haven’t indicated that they are awaiting moderation. I suspect that either moderation has been turned off, or approvals are semi-permanent on a name-basis. Either way, we on the right have had a lot more freedom to express our take on this issue than many other sites provide. I agree with you 100% that this is quite respectable.
My first post was a genuine plea to not make this a partisan issue; to instead express offense at the comments and educated the populace about community organizing. If the field of community organizing comes out as blatent partisan Democrat supporters as, say, many labor unions, they will lose a great deal of support from the right. The lack of knowledge of what community organizers really do, even to myself who has a couple in the family, adds to the suspicion. You can see that suspicion at LGF, where I found out about this site.
That is an excellent post you linked to. And a lot of the comments beneath it demonstrate that same suspicion. Rather than come out raging, like they are here, community organizers would be better served with a campaign of informing the public what, specifically, they do. If they instead put up a PayPal link to raise money to basically support Democrats, they had better read all the IRS/FEC regs about that sort of thing.
COOL !!!
http://www.tretando.com
Fascist Watch List t-shirts, merchandise link at my blog, time to fight back against people who feel community organizers can be called out and put on terror watch lists while these elitists can wire tap our phones and let us eat cake.
http://www.cafepress.com/unrealish
There is only 6-10 weeks left until the Nov. election, a short time to get the msg out of the needed and great job Community Organizers do. CO’s are in touch with people of our land and know the direction this country needs. You must market yourselves to every talk show on the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX. Especially FOX. Websites are limited to only those who spent time “surfing”, and time is very very short, before Palin/Mc will be in the whitehouse.
Gov. Palin herself was a community organizer.
Her jab wasn’t at us, it was at Obama.
This is politics guys……Obama himself has taken jabs at his opponents as well.
This is just going to make Obama look like a whiner and putting this group together.
” particleboy // September 5, 2008 at 4:46 am
Bozer: Tell the Community Organizers who cleaned up after the government when the levees failed in New Orleans that their jobs don’t have responsibilities.”
Quick, somebody please remind me which political party had been in charge of New Orleans politics for over 60 years? And Which political party has been in charge of Louisiana for more than 2 decades? Who left town without making any attempt to help his constituents? Oh, yeah, it was the Democratic party, wasn’t it?
Please, at least try to make arguments with merit, rather than all this tired old claptrap.
How in the world can a party that claims public service as a central value (even though that was fishy from the start if you ask me) belittle and dismiss the cornerstone of public service. I really hope this gains traction in the public discourse.
If it’s any consolation, the mean-spirited and unfair remarks at the GOP convention have convinced this previously undecided voter to back the Democratic ticket — with a new enthusiasm. Your website (as well as your community work, of course) is a valuable public service.
I was a community organizer for the developmentally disabled in Pa during the 1970’s. Through those efforts people were given the right to be educated in public schools, live in the community and engage in the same life that everyone else did. This so called mother of a developmentally disabled child supported like most Republicans the cutting of funds to programs and education for the DD population.
The media first responded to Obama’s experience as a community organizer before Gov. Palin. He missed an opportunity to educate the rest of us by responding and educating us on just what community organizers do – and what the difference is between community organizers, community activists, and plain old folks who volunteer (and organize, I guess) with churches, schools, sports, Rotary Clubs, Lions, Masonic, etc. He could expand on just what he did that during that time, highlighting specific situations he addressed. He could share some examples of how he , as a community organizer, was able to make a difference, where churches, and other organizations and volunteers were not able. How that experience helped form his desire for political office.
Does anyone here have some insight?
They are counting on us blowing off steam on sites like these and feeling better.
Send money to Obama and tell them you are a community organizer or support the important work of community organizers .
Sethery is right in that this cannont become a partisan issues, but we don’t have time for an educational campaign.
Screw the IRS/FEC regs….as a community organizer/sympathizer you can donate money just like the lipsticked hockey moms (her words)Palin is so proud of. The more of us who say we support community organizers the better, as Obama’s media people will get the “message” and can take it from there.
Check out what seasoned community organizer Angela Glover Blackwell has to say about the recent slams:
http://www.equityblog.org/2008/09/04/what-is-a-community-organizer/
It is funny that all these people who come on this site and tell all you good people to “just get over it” are all sad. Because the minute they need help they will be crying to a community organizer.
Also, the minute one of these politicians insults something they are passionate about they will be “whining” so to speak, about it. The point is that you can’t just insult a group of people and think that they will support you.
I am sorry community organizers ARE the people who have the guts to help those that these stupid politicians ignore. If not for the community organizers a lot of us wouldn’t even have rights in this country. Yet we should get over it.
And to NOJI, she was comparing a mayor to a community organizer. NOT a governor. Not to mention she didn’t even run that big ole metropolis that was Wasilla, an administrator did that. So why don’t you read some facts and then get over yourself and that insulting idiot named Palin.
Thanks.
Public Service
“Nothing in life is more liberating than to fight for a cause larger than yourself, something that encompasses you, but is not defined by your existence alone…My one job and my one accomplishment will be to inspire Americans to serve a cause greater than their self-interest. I will tell Americans of the beauty and the nobility of serving a cause greater than their self-interest.”
Those were the words of Senator John McCain in an interview on NPR’s All Things Considered, July 2nd, 2008. John McCain is right, there is no better thing than putting your self interests aside and serving a cause greater than oneself. Public service is rewarding and has taken on many faces in my short years on this earth – from walking in the halls of congress, working to help better the lives of North Dakotans, assisting everyday extraordinary families with their needs, to walking the halls of the state legislature, putting aside partisan politics and reaching across the isle to help a local family gain support and awareness for their child’s devastating disease. A higher calling is working each day for thousands of farmers across the state, notifying them of the latest news in the agricultural industry, keeping them informed so that they can make the right decisions for their families. Community action is giving up a Saturday morning to mow and clean the yard of a woman with terminal cancer – too sick and frail to manage the yard she promised to take care of in exchange for a roof over her head. Volunteering is taking up whatever time you have, working at the local shelters, raising support and food for the community’s hungry and spending the afternoon taking senior portraits for the city’s homeless high school seniors so that they too can feel some normalcy in their lives.
Public service, community action, volunteering, whatever title or label you want to put on it – there is no greater call. And yet, Governor Sarah Palin and former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani stood on stage, and before thousands of Americans, joined together and openly mocked and ridiculed the very call to service their presidential nominee has challenged the country to do. Their actions were nothing short of appalling; undermining the thousands of volunteer hours everyday men, women and children unselfishly give.
As a young man, as a public servant, a Christian, a son, a brother and a friend, I serve because I owe it to everyone who has reached out and given me a chance. I give because if it were not for my family, my friends, my country and my God, I would not be who I am. I have served and will continue to serve my community and I’m proud of it.
If the recent conduct of the Republican Party in anyway is to be weighed against the service of everyday community organizers, then call me a community organizer any day. Shame on you Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani. America deserves better.
WOW, right now on CNN she is AGAIN bashing community organizers. She is doing a terrible job as well. I guess when she is not as prepared, she is not so good…….. WOW. Why are they still bashing community organizers. What is wrong with them. Your group needs to really be more firm about this. Another point-McCain looks VERY uncomfortable to me……..
Creation Myth
by John B. Judis
The New Republic
What Barack Obama won’t tell you about his community organizing past.
Post Date Wednesday, September 10, 2008
In late October 1987, Barack Obama and Jerry Kellman took a weekend off from their jobs as community organizers in Chicago and traveled to a conference on social justice and the black church at Harvard. During an evening break in the schedule, they strolled around campus in their shirtsleeves, enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Two-and-a-half years earlier, Kellman had hired Obama to organize residents of Chicago’s South Side. Now, Obama had something to tell his friend and mentor.
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It had to do, in part, with his father. At the time, Obama had just learned from his African half-sister what had happened to Barack Obama Sr., who abandoned him when he was two years old. After receiving his master’s degree in economics from Harvard, the elder Obama had returned to Kenya, where he became a high-ranking government official. But, when he criticized Kenya’s increasingly corrupt and authoritarian government, he lost his job and had to live from hand to mouth, depending on the goodwill of relatives while drinking heavily. Obama told Kellman that he feared ending up destitute and unhappy like his dad. “He wanted to marry and have children, and to have a stable income,” Kellman recalls.
But Obama was also worried about something else. He told Kellman that he feared community organizing would never allow him “to make major changes in poverty or discrimination.” To do that, he said, “you either had to be an elected official or be influential with elected officials.” In other words, Obama believed that his chosen profession was getting him nowhere, or at least not far enough. Personally, he might end up like his father; politically, he would fail to improve the lot of those he was trying to help.
And so, Obama told Kellman, he had decided to leave community organizing and go to law school. Kellman, who was already thinking of leaving organizing himself, found no reason to argue with him. “Organizing,” Kellman tells me, as we sit in a Chicago restaurant down the street from the Catholic church where he now works as a lay minister, “is always a lost cause.” Obama, circa late 1987, might or might not have put it quite that strongly. But he had clearly developed serious doubts about the career he was pursuing.
Yet, two decades later, to hear Obama the presidential candidate tell it, those years in Chicago as a community organizer shaped the person–and the politician–he has become. Campaigning in Iowa last year, he declared that community organizing was “the best education I ever had, better than anything I got at Harvard Law School.” In a video this spring, Obama stated that community organizing is “something I carry with me when I think about politics today–obviously at a different level and in a different place, but the same principles still apply.” “Barack is not a politician first and foremost,” Michelle Obama has said. “He’s a community activist exploring the viability of politics to make change.”
Certainly, Obama has good reason to tout his community organizing experience. After graduating from an Ivy League college, Obama passed up more lucrative jobs to devote three years to organizing low-income African Americans in Chicago. That choice tells us something about his values, and his pride in it is understandable.
I know some people who are devout Christians and support GOP positions on many social issues who also do wonderful community work sponsored by their churches. And I wonder if they hear how they too are being mocked by one who is supposedly one of their own
What could be more un-Christian than ridiculing community organizers? Despicable.
Palin just said it again, today Friday September 5th, the exact same speech…”being a small town major is so of like being a community organizer, except you have real responsibility”
She in Wisconsin with Mccain rigt behind er smiling, crowd cheering.
They just don’t get it!
Maybe if he was a beauty queen, Obama would have more experience than serving the needy
I love you guys. I’ve been a volunteer and my mom was a social worker. Everyone knows how hard you work and how hard it is to explain it because you wear so many hats!
And for everyone who is blaming Obama for saying small town mayors don’t have experience, it was actually Karl Rove who started this. Rove was on Face the Nation Aug. 11 talking about potential running mates for Obama when Gov. Tim Kaine’s name came up and Rove said “Kaine was not qualified as VP because he was “only” Gov for 3 years, and before that mayor of the 105th largest city in the country. Then claims Kaine would be a “political” pick ignoring whether he was qualified to lead the country.” “Rove even dragged Richmond into his sights. “[Kaine] was mayor of the 105th largest city in America,” Rove said. “And again, with all due respect to Richmond, Virginia, it’s smaller than Chula Vista, California; Aurora, Colorado; Mesa, or Gilbert, Arizona; North Las Vegas, or Henderson, Nevada. It’s not a big town.”
Soooo…. Kaine isn’t qualified because he was mayor of a small town and a new gov… interesting.
Here’s one source: http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/state_regional/article/karl_rove_takes_shots_at_kaine_richmond/15500/
but you can Google it as well or go to YouTube and watch the actual interview. You have to love Grand Old Hypocrisy.
Political Organizers are good but just don’t compare to a mayor or governor with regards to choices that affect peoples lives or can make the most changes. My biggest problem with Obama’s organizing is it was all based on Alyinzks socialist methods. Agree or disagree as you like but its documented.
hey –
MAYBE if your community was educated and employed, it wouldn’t need organized.
just a thought.
Rudi G knows full well what a community organizer is – he probably dealt with dozens of whiney ass CO’s as Mayor – Al Sharpton comes to mind.
If Mr. Obama had named Mrs. Palin as his running mate, the Republicans would have ripped both of them to shreds by now. And John McCain would have led the charge.
I’ve been involved with organizing and organizers for more than 25 years.
This not only tells what Republicans think of folks who help low-inocme people, it tells what they think of low-income people,too. I agree with many of the comments. There mut be a big, hard-hitting response IMMEDIATELY.
Wow, unbelievable. She can’t even come up with new material.
What we have is a branding problem. We should call ourselves Social Entrepreneurs, perhaps Republicans would respond more favorably. But then we would still not be making ourselves worth millions so maybe that still would not garner any respect.
Ever wondered how Sarah can be so mean spirited and have an 80% popularity rating? Maybe because she is able to give $1200 a year from Alaska’s Permanent Fund (Oil Revenue) or because she continues to game the system like the Alaskan politicians before her. See they don’t need a sales tax or income tax because they get 40% of their capital improvements budget ($800 million in 09) from the Federal Government or as they like to say, “The dopes in the lower 48”. And even though she inherited a $5B general fund surplus her line item veto makes it possible to nix millions in help to those who need it.
If Mr. Obama had hired Mrs. Palin as his running mate, the Republicans would have ripped both of them to shreds by now. And John McCain would have led the charge.
I have been involved with community organizing for more than 25 years, and I am very proud of my work.
So let’s show them what community organizers can do.
We must hit back.
We have to hit them big.
Hit them hard
Hit them now.
We should just take it that McCain/Palin don’t believe that helping the actual COMMUNITY is a worthy past time.
Maybe we should all just go and bilk the communities of a bunch of money. Then they would have more respect. Since that seems to be what they like.
MAybe he needs to go back to organizing.
http://cbs2chicago.com/local/chicago.summer.shootings.2.810166.html
123 shooting deaths in Chicago, nearly twice the number of soldiers killed in Iraq over the same period of time.
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Community organizers are the very network in our communities that are the ‘first responders’ for those in need. Those who volunteer or spearhead non-profit efforts to assist those most needy are grassroots heroes. But, please, do not compare yourselves, hardworking, smart, qualified people with the comments emanating from the RNC. Community activism is a wonderful thing, and in addition to the experience that an elected office provides, the qualifications that attend running a multi-national corporation or successful entrepreneurial venture, managing people, money and projects add up, over time, to perhaps being a qualified candidate for President. Community activism is a natural outgrowth of the desire to be a public servant, but in and of itself does not stand as enough experience to run a country. Jimmy Carter is a great man with high principals. He had even more experience than Barack Obama, and yet his indecisiveness and lack of experience in working with the federal government, led to an abysmal presidency. America needs community activists – smart, funny, loving, dedicated people who are tireless in their effort to improve the world. We need this, because, government – unless we adhere to communism – is meant to protect and provide opportunities and to not duplicate the efforts of that should be taken care of locally, by good neighbors.
maybe we should email a link to this site (and quote some it) to people.
especially people we know in church. Since churches do a lot of community organizing.
Isn’t Barack Obama’s one year as PRESIDENT of the Harvard Law Review more “executive experience” than John McCain’s 0 years of anything? As long as we’re counting ridiculous and pointless executive positions.
Jesus Christ was a comunity organizer.
Pontius Pilate was a governor.
Jesus was a community organizer, Pilate was Governor.
How do we support you guys?
You need all the media you can get!
hey sentinel:
check this out!
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFDD1E3EF933A05750C0A966958260
probably the most (in)famous community organizer in the United States…
As a community organizer from 1980-1981, and a former VISTA Volunteer in Milwaukee working to assit elderly and handicapped residents in holding onto their apartments in the face of condominium conversion, I am horrified by the way these Rebublican speakers have denigrated my public service. The calling that we have responded to – to assist the powerless by teaching skills to access resources, build belief in themselves and their cause, and in some cases pass legislation to protect them from the exploiters, deserves to be lauded – not to be make fun of. I am in favor of demonstrations at Palin’s speaking engagements across the country, so she can be identified for who she appears to be — a privileged white female who has disdain for those disenfranchised people who need our help. Once again, a Republican candidate who is disconnected with the suffering in this country. Susan
you guys have pretty thin skin, don’t you?
the GOP wasn’t ATTACKING you and your profession – they were mocking Obama’s ‘qualifications’ to be President – when Community Organizer (in a community with 123 shooting deaths over the summer) is at or near the top of your list for why you should be president, well – maybe you shouldn’t be running for the office.
and frankly, if Obama wins – we won’t need community organizers because the whole nation will be unemployed and screwed on health care, we will need national organizers.
Poor community organizers! The world has found out about their sham jobs, which consist mainly of bilking taxpayers for grant money. Palin rocked your world, now get off the public tit and find a productive job losers.
Livin in Cin, gimme a damn break. We’re not stupid. Barack Obama has served as a lawyer, instructor, and senator for 11 years. So, why the concentration on his three years as a community organizer? Answer that question!! What are they trying to say? You have no answer whatsoever. Face it, the term “Community Organizer” is seen as something to mock. So guess what, community organizers are asking WHY? DUH.
And Sara Palin repeated this line of attack TODAY!!! So give me a damn break.
I love Ed Kulzer’s comment:
“Because Sarah Palin’s vitriolic mock-speech, like whenever Republicans go this divisive route, resounds with the worst part of America. It resounds, and echoes, and stays in voters’ memories.”
Nothing like identifying voters as the worst part of America, Ed. You’re my hero.
Now you have something new to add to the working description of unenlightened, unsophisticated fleabags like me: Not only do we cling to our guns and religion, but we foolishly think there’s some kind of fundamental difference between the responsibilities of civic office, and the roles of community organizers.
I almost cried listening to speaker after speaker tear down the importance of the work that community organizers do in our communities and neighborhoods. But after further introspection, I agree with Sarah Palin. Community organizers don’t have ‘actual responsibilities.’ Afterall, they don’t hire lobbysts, secure millions of dollars in earmarks, seek to build bridges to nowhere and then claim they opposed them, fire employees that cross their families, create budget deficits, oppose the right of women to have choice over abortion, or reject sex education while advocating for abstinence while their daughters are getting knocked up…! Who in the world would think that fighting for people who have lost jobs, who are losing the only home they have, people with no access to health care or a quality education, counts as actual responsibility? Come on now guys.
That was kind of stupid of the Palin. Who is better positioned to deliver a crushing defeat to them in November than community organizers. They have the organizational and motivational skills to mobilize their communities.
Why didn’t she just call all voters stupid while she was at it. Does she want to loose.
The challenge has been made.
There are a multitude of ways the GOP could have phrased it so that they were only mocking Obama. Their continued approach shows very little class, and comes off as elitist and trite. Furthermore, this was Obama’s experience out of college 20 years ago. What did Palin do after college? Beauty queen and sportscaster? When she was mayor and governor, he was a state an US senator. Lets compare apples to apples here.
Someone said “This point needs to be made— and made loudly—- and made loudly IMMEDIATELY.”
And I couldn’t agree more.
This is important. This needs to be spread. Please pass this information on to everyone you know.
This is precisely what this election is about – Democrats and Obama wanting to push our country in a better direction, to help people help themselves. And the Republicans and McCain, trying to make a mockery of the entire situation as if this is some kind of game.
The curtain has been lifted…let’s make this evident to every undecided voter out there.
NOW!
Good luck to you organizers and we are all behind your efforts 110%. You do more for our communities than you’ll ever know.
No apologies necessary from McCain and Palin. They took the experience hammer and whacked Obama senseless with it. Even Obama admits that his time as a paid “Community Organizer” was not very productive. And the American people would tend to disagree with your assertion that Palin and Rudy were wrong. McCain’s speech drew more viewers than Obama’s. The polls have McCain surging. Where’s the outrage?
Rudy; George and Sarah’s comments are horrible insults on all (including religious organizations) who at the grassroot level has been laboring to help out the real needy ones. A clear indication that they are completely out of touch with majority Americans. We need to educate ’em on what real reaching out to the needy is all about and how much responsibily is actually involved. I was atually not too sure on how to vote before, but now I know better, thanks to RUGESA. Where do we send some money to speak out loud and clear?
Don’t know if this has been posted here yet, but I read a great comment yesterday – don’t know who wrote it – but went something like this.
Somebody needs to tell Sarah that Jesus Christ was a community organizer and Pontius Pilate was a Governor.
Okay, I’m quickly losing sympathy for you guys. Read my prior posts, I really did have some originally. I cringed the moment she said that line, because I knew it was insulting to a lot of people, but come on!
I’m an engineer and if some politician insulted my field I would wonder, “what do they know of what I do?” I wouldn’t be crying or fuming or stewing for days about it. I wouldn’t seek out some form of Internet retribution. It’s as if Palin’s line actually struck a raw nerve among community organizers. If lashing out is your best response, I am beginning to wonder what you do day-to-day when faced with real challenges.
You doth protest too much, methinks.
Please sign our petition demanding that McCain and Palin apologize for their insults.
http://www.iamacommunityorganizer.org
As soon as Rudy said that my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe he said that. Then the audience laughed. I was appaled. Then Palin said it too. It really showed the true colors of the people in that crowd. I was embarassed for them.
Palin lost my vote for Mc Cain as a registered republican I was disgusted by her comments and am now voting for Obama. My wife by the way is a HOCKEY MOM for OBAMA!
I agree with Sethery. good call.
God bless, John Raskin, for your fine work.
Such vile remarks from a vile VP candidate.
Barack Obama on the futility of community organizing:
But Obama was also worried about something else. He told Kellman that he feared community organizing would never allow him “to make major changes in poverty or discrimination.” To do that, he said, “you either had to be an elected official or be influential with elected officials.” In other words, Obama believed that his chosen profession was getting him nowhere, or at least not far enough. Personally, he might end up like his father; politically, he would fail to improve the lot of those he was trying to help.
And so, Obama told Kellman, he had decided to leave community organizing and go to law school. Kellman, who was already thinking of leaving organizing himself, found no reason to argue with him. “Organizing,” Kellman tells me, as we sit in a Chicago restaurant down the street from the Catholic church where he now works as a lay minister, “is always a lost cause.”
http://tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=2e0a7836-b897-4155-864c-25e791ff0f50
Mrs. Palin and John McBush, you’re Fired, as of November 4th 2008. I was a community organizer and it is wonderful to help others who are left behind by the rich and those like Palin.
I have to laugh at the right-wing hacks who come here now and attempt to justify the tacky remarks made by the 2nd runner up to Miss Alaska.
While Obama was using his Harvard law degree to serve people who’d lost their jobs, and needed health care for their families, this Palin woman was somewhere trying on swimsuits to compete in a pageant that she obviously was not good enough to win.
I took offense to the fact that before last Thursday, McCain didn’t know this woman’s phone number, yet when she makes her big debut, she comes out taking tacky digs at Obama. And to think that these right wing hacks actually have found someone to be proud to represent them in the WH. The rest of the world would laugh at us if we allow that happen.
I just wanted to let you know how angered I am about the Republican Convention, and especially Rudy Guliani’s remarks about Sen. Obama. Mr. Guliani literally made fun of Barack, attacked his character, his moral values, and criticized his work as a community organizer. I’m very appalled at the fact that Mr. Guliani, and other republicans belittle community development, and the projects of finding people steady employment. That is why this country has plunged downward at this time, because the republicans just don’t see the importance of American lives.
As a women, I was really insulted by Sarah Palins speech at the convention. Not one time did she tell the Americans how she was going to help bring change to Washington. All she did was attack, and insult Community Organizations by stating that she actually had responsibilities. Community Organizations are responsible for HIV Aids clinics, the education of our youth, employment, and on the job training opportunities…..etc.
My associates and I are really hoping that some way Community Leaders can come together, and push back on the McCain campaign on their insulting remarks of Community Organizations. As Democrats, we cannot allow for our communities to be under attack like this by Republicans that want another 4 years in Washington. I know you are busy, but if you can, please respond to this memo. On the behalf of community organizations, I denounce those insulting remarks that belittled Community Organizers. Strictly because Community Organizations are the grassroots of our community, to insure quality services to middle class Americans, and to thrust positive assistance in all areas of need. Please send this to anyone that can get results. Many of us are outraged by the Republican disrespectful insults to middler class Americans.
Thank God you community organizers do the work that the Republican establishment has left behind. I guess they just don’t want to get their hands dirty. Let’s show these miserable excuses for human beings the way to the door. Thanks for all you do. You don’t have to join the military to be a patriot.
Funny that the Pugs focus on Obama’s activism and not his years in the Illinois congress, and his senatorial experience, or the fact that he has a law degree… What does McCain have besides the Senate and POW?
Anyway, wasn’t Obama’s community organizing a “faith-based initiative”?
Something tell’s me the tax-sucking demographic that “community organizers” represent weren’t intending to vote for McCain/Palin anyway, so who cares if they’re mad. They may have to get a real job when McCain comes riding in…
The best way to fight back against the elitest republican pigs is VOTE DEMOCRAT, regardlass of who you voted for in the primary.
I saw this list of famous community organizers, in the article that led me here. There is one important person left off this list, Barrack Obama, was doing just that on Chicago’s Southside. Community outreach and organization. I assure you no Republican does this, (except 4 a photo-op.) Juan McShame has been doing his best to destroy Arizona for years, I don’t see him doing any better as President. Life long union hater, Arizona is militantly anti-union. I think that speaks against any help for the community, or its people.
A few community organizers you may have heard of:
Jesus Christ
Susan B. Anthony
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Thomas Paine
Nelson Mandela
Gandhi
Pat Robertson
César Chávez
DON”T FORGRT, BARRACK OBAMA!
democrats to restore true democracy.
(An anti- union senator from AZ can never be for America or its people)
Note to ha,ha, I hope you are the next one to lose your job. Which is happening to many Americans during the republican reign. It sure as heck was not happenimng during Clintons leadership.
HEY! I’m a community organizer! These elitist Republicans can just suck my big toe. 😛
As a former member of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, I am 100% behind you guys. Palin’s remark was incredibly insulting. However, it is even more insulting that she has yet to explain the remark and apologize for it. I was an undecided voter until I heard that speech. I don’t know if I’m going to vote for Obama, but I will say that Sarah Palin and John McCain just lost my vote. Good luck to you, and thank you for all your hard work.
Keep up the good work!
http://www.redriverpak.wordpress.com
Pingback: I was a Community Organizer « The Church of Jesus Christ
i see the save our homes signs, you need to ask aren’t our homes part of the country that needs saving.
SAVE OUR HOMES, SAVE OUR COUNTRY,
SAVE THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY.
They are carring around these country first signs trying to imply, that any Democrat is anti American.
What is a “real job”, by the way? I want someone to literally define a “real job” to me right now.
PLEASE get a commercial. The work of community organizers is vital!
The Republicans should be ashamed of themselves over those comments.
Community organizers, I am one of you! But I did not feel that John McCain or Sarah Palin or Rudy Guiliani were talking to me — or YOU! They are talking about Obama’s abysmal record of actual experience. He’s a good, decent man and in 19 months of professional campaigning and being fawned over by Oprah, he is now etched in your minds as some political Ghandi. He’s not. Would you hire someone to be the CEO of your company if the only real experience they had was organizing a local food drive or Girl Scout cookie initiative? Well, best of luck if you do. That’s the point they were making. And the Obama camp is making fun of Sarah Palin’s experience and it’s beyond me that they can’t step back and see how much more of it she has. It’s, very simply, an unrealistic view of the world. Once again, some of us hold down jobs and volunteer, while some have the luxury of doing only one of those things. Seems a bit slanted. They were NOT insulting you!
Ha Ha,
The only thing that will happen if McCain “comes riding in” is that there will be an even bigger need for community organizers. As he will bring in more jacked up policies that protect his version of the middle class. You know those making 5 million like he said.
So, hopefully you are one of “those” McCain middle class and won’t need the help of a community organizer. But if you aren’t and you are one who loses your job, home and health care due to his elitist out of touch policies, we won’t have to hear your pleading for help.
Those who laugh at people who help, should pray that they never need help themselves. But more than likely even the community organizer in your area would help you anyway. Also, you would be surprised at the demographics that vote for either party.
Since money talks in national elections can this be turned into a fund-raising theme for the Obama/Biden ticket?
Wickipedia: “Community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest and compel others to join them. While organizing describes any activity involving people interacting with one another in a formal manner, much community organizing is in the pursuit of a common agenda.”
That covers a lot of territory-from political activism to homeless shelters, neighborhood watches to food pantries. I was the (unpaid) coordinator of a food pantry. And I had real responsibilities. So did the volunteers who served with me to ensure families had enough food; to close the gap for the working poor. I know we made a difference. I am truly appalled at Palin and McCain. They didn’t just denigrate community organizers, but they also sent a message to struggling Americans that they don’t understand their plight and they really don’t care.
WOW.
I Have been a Republican all my life and a small Business owner. I work with troubled youth in southern Florida neighborhoods. I have seen first hand how important community organizing is.
My heart sank when I heard this from Palin, because to me the only way we can have less government is if the people get involved in the community. With all the issues Palin could have talked about she decided to attack ME!!
I promise you I will commit the next two months working to make sure Obama gets the votes from my area.
To all of you numbnuts who think that anytime someone falls on hard times they need a complete stranger to swoop in – you ARE what is wrong with the country, regardless of what your FEELINGS say about what you’re doing. Stephani if I lost my job I’d get another one, because I’m not a loser who awaits handouts from self-serving “organizers” who proclaim their own righteousness while lambasting the real engine of progress in this country – successful business and yes *gasp* rich people who start them and invest in them. My advice to you is to step off of your high-horse – the day that I or people like me come asking for your assistance will be the end of this country. WE made this country, and do it every day by showing up, not by ostracizing success and “organizing” jealous mobs.
Oh – and for the schmuck that asked what a “real job” was. Not sure of the exact definition but a good yardstick might be that when you say what you do 99% of people say “WTF?”. That’s a good start for a definition.
HaHa
Stop Bashing on Community Organizers, There are alot of “rich” people including Business owners who are Community Organizers. Just because were “Rich” doesn’t mean were self loathing scum. So Piss off
Lisa S. – while I understand the point you are trying to make, it is specious in this particular case. I live in the Chicagoland area. I know the South Side of Chicago. You may want to look up some stats before likening it to selling Girl Scout cookies. As for a realistic view of the world, I think perception has distorted yours. Please gets some real facts before embarrassing yourself more.
Ha Ha
Excellent post. I find it hilarious that these “community organizers” claim to be the backbone of this country. As if the republic would cease to exist without them. Self absorption is a funny thing to witness.
Wasn’t Jesus a community orginizer? Boy these Republicans are such hippocrats!
Really, what do you do? Someone who is a community organizer run through their day for me please.
Trey
Re: Ha Ha
Contrary to what you believe, you didn’t “make” anything. The slaves that carried our agricultural industry on their backs for years, the entrepreneurs who helped spark the industrial revolution, the soldiers who fought for this country’s freedom, the civil rights activists that worked to secure the rights and liberties of the oppressed; these are the folks who “made” this country. You, sir, cannot claim to fall into the same category. In fact, there are very few people in this nation (if there are any at all) that can make that claim.
And don’t forget that if it wasn’t for those “jealous mobs,” you wouldn’t even be a success, nor would any other businessman or entrepreneur out there. Those “jealous mobs” represent the American consumer. Without those consumers, no business in this country could ever hope to be successful. They are also some of the same folks that clean your office, pick up the trash from your house, and serve you food at the local diner. I wouldn’t be so quick to belittle those “jealous mobs.” You need them as much as they need you.
Will someone explain to all those out there complainging about Obama’s “present” vote and how that is the way the IL legisltature works. All it does is hold off on voting. Maybe someone wants to really research facts before just impulsively voting. “present” vote means more deliberation. On another matter. I think with The Palin territory being the meth capital of AK, maybe she needs some community organizers
It seems to me that if republicans can go on and on about remarks referring to small towners bitterly clinging to religion, they shouldn’t be so outraged about some hard working people defending their public service.
Grow up, grow some balls, thicker skin maybe, it all sounds fine! You first, my friends. We have worked ourselves into quite the frenzy contest it seems. I would abstain if so much wasn’t at stake, for example, healthcare, women’s rights, education, the economy, international relations…
Obama will be president because he has been lifted up by communities that are tired of not having voices. In that way, being a community organizer gives him more qualifications, because he, not Palin, knows what needs to be done through his work with communities.
If this election is really going to be framed as ‘community vs. town,’ I think we all need to step back and see what a moronic contest that is. Or is it really an election of ‘towns that don’t need organizers vs. communities desperately in need of assistance?’
By the way, what exactly is a ‘real job?’ I keep hearing about community organizers not having real jobs. Jon L., I understand where you are coming from. I think it has something to do with not seeing the same value in community organizing since it relies on a different business models.
But there are many ‘real jobs’ out there, and some people, believe it or not, see more value in helping a community than they see in making money. One of those people is Obama, and a few more you can find in these comments.
oh, why’d my comment get deleted? i just don’t understand the concept of people telling other people what a “real job” is. there is no such thing as a “real job”. a job someone has that they happen to love (no matter the pay) is considered a real job. therefore,
Oh – and for the schmuck that asked what a “real job” was. Not sure of the exact definition but a good yardstick might be that when you say what you do 99% of people say “WTF?”. That’s a good start for a definition.
that means nothing.
Hi, this is for the Community Organizers here:
What, specifically, are you involved in doing? Who pays you? Who do you report to? What are some significant accomplishments you’ve made in the field of community organizing?
I heard her repeat her comment today in Wisconsin about being mayor “is sort of like being a community organizer only with actual responsibilities” and I was shocked. Don’t the campaign people read and hear how offended people are by that statement?
I sent another donation to Obama!
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more. You are a leader” – John Quincy Adams
I echo Mason (comment #3) – you community organizers need to get on the news/talk shows and not let this issue rest until all American voters have heard about it!
And in response to that other comment about Jesus – Jesus wasn’t quite a community organizer. Definitely there are parallels, but His main goal wasn’t to better the socio-economic living conditions of people in His community. He did feed crowds and tell people to pay their taxes, though. And then He was executed (I’m leaving a lot of stuff out).
Thanks for this post. I was a community organizer for three years and I would put my experience up to hers any day…
Mrs. Palin does not even know what the Vice President job entails! No surprise she has such poor knowledge of community organizers. Yes, any Christian can tell you, Jesus Christ was a community organizer!
I was appalled to hear those insulting comments, and was wondering if anyone would speak out against them, so I’m really glad to see this site and that people are taking action! I’m only shocked that there hasn’t been a huge, more public (on the news) outcry already! Thank you for doing this!
You had better do some homework.
You know, vetting.
Are your community organizers involved in voter fraud? You know, Acorn style.
Don’t forget the Obama, Acorn, Annenberg connection. Be careful whose star you hitch to.
thank you for starting this site. how can we get you on the media circuit?
You guys have my respect. That part of her speach probably angered me the most. She, basically, said community organizers aren’t worth anything. I really hope the media picks up on this.
Funny how she thought you guys wouldn’t, um, Organize.
Sorry if someone else already made the joke, 437 comments after all…
Good work. The RNC was a pageant of shame.
Thank God for community organizers! You make our world a better place. Palin needs to be held accountable by the people for her unnecessary/dishonest words. She is the wrong woman with the wrong message.
Oh, I should have mentioned, I guess you all believe only the voiceless should have voices…I mean, after you have spent so much time organizing them, they’ll make sure you reap the benefits. It’s almost working for Obama..he did a little of this and that that amounted to nothing, and it got him in the Senate and the Liberal Presidential nod.
Get a job and inspire others to get a job, you leaches.
It does seem somewhat hypocritical that many conservatives, who stress the importance of community and neighbor helping neighbor instead of the government doing so, would so strongly belittle community organization. I believe their reason for doing so is that community organization is usually a vessel for spreading liberalism. Community organization is somewhat the more secular, liberal equivalent to what faith-based organizations, groups, and churches do. While I, like the vast majority of Americans, believe and recognize that no one contributes more to charitable aid and endeavors to help the needy than faith-based institutions, any charity, regardless of where it comes from, is valuable and should be honored.
I do think that the Republicans have been ridiculously and unjustifiably critical of community organization. However, I also partially agree with them in questioning it as a valid source of political experience necessary for the presidential office. Community organization is, at least conceptually, a noble cause and it certainly involves some degree of leadership, but it is not the kind of experience that really prepares someone for a big political position. Running government is completely different than trying to run a community. Furthermore, Obama basically failed as a community organizer and he didn’t end up getting most of the things he and those that he worked with wanted.
I couldn’t help but be amused by some of the comments above which said “Jesus was a community organizer.” Um, no. Yes, Jesus reached out to the poor, the sick, and the downtrodden, but he was not out to change the politics of the community, he was not out trying to organize people to stand up against the unfairness of the Roman Empire and demand more rights, and he was not out to make sure everyone was provided with livable wages, health care, and affordable housing. Jesus was primarily concerned about the spiritual salvation of humanity and every thing he did revolved around that purpose.
” Trey // September 5, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Really, what do you do? Someone who is a community organizer run through their day for me please.”
Never seen a community organizer in my life, but let me guess. Let’s say you’ve lost your house, then you here someone knocks on your door. This is your community organizer. She/he invites you to move in with her and stay at her place till she saves enough money to buy you a new house meantime providing all your needs. No?
This is where things go wrong in political “debate”.
Palin gets announced, and immediately the left pounds on her ferociously for having a history as a small-town mayor. People who still don’t realize that Alaska is not a tiny place in a box off the coast of California suddenly become experts in everything that is wrong with the place and the people. The flood of insults came pouring out, and none of it was pretty.
Obama talks a lot about being a community organizer, but he says little about what that entailed (unless you go digging, that is; but most people don’t). The same term can be used to describe people who do a lot of work promoting the social good, or it can be used to describe people who don’t do much at all but want to make themselves sound important.
Community organizers, as described here, are people that Republicans happen to be quite fond of. There are a lot of Republican community organizers, but they don’t necessarily call themselves by that term. And free-market Republicans have long argued that a lot of functions currently performed by governments ought to be handled by private entities – something that would necessitate community organizers.
In response to the outpouring of cold-blooded insults about Palin (the Obama campaign’s Florida spokesman insinuated that she was a Nazi sympathizer, for goodness sake!), the Republicans fired back. After the left dredged up the worst stereotypes they conjure to paint a negative picture of a small-town mayor, the right responded with negative stereotypes making ill light of community organizers.
Insults beget insults, but people seem to only see or hear the insults made against _them_. Case in point, this site says it was created because “Scorn for community organizers has been a prominent feature of this week’s Republican convention. On Wednesday, three Republican leaders mocked community organizers …”
Hours and hours of speeches produce three comments. That’s _prominent_? Not by any definition I’ve heard.
Yet here this site is and it comes chock-full of Republicans-are-evil sentiment — both from the authors and the readers. Since nobody here seems to remember the attacks made against Palin, everybody feels justified in acting as if her remarks came out of nowhere. And it seems that a lot of people here feel the attacks she made were against them personally.
It’s all rather sad.
there was no condemnation of community organizers – i’m sure sarah palin knew many. but i’ll tell you one thing, though – with good republican values, we wouldn’t need “community organizers” anymore, because we can help the democrat’s main constituents rise up from their lowly positions and get to work and succeed in life – then the lefty dummies will have no one to victimize anymore – no “downtrodden” = no need for democrats – problem solved…
word up! i love this! i have been a community organizer off and on and along with union organizing it’s one of THE hardest but most fulfilling jobs out there! bump the GOP!!!!!!
Hey Bruce, what do you have against the Minute Men in the Revolutionary War? They might have been our first Community Organizers. They were rabble rousers. Think for two seconds before you write.
How can they bash community organizers when the US is like one big community organizer in Iraq? We spend billions of dollars everyday rebuilding their schools, bridges, neighborhoods etc. while our country falls apart and our kids go to run-down schools. Community organizers are the fabric of our society! Without them, many people would be on their own. We can’t count on our government!
I considered myself to be one of the undecided/neutral voters as well and because of that remark I will now certainly be voting for Obama.
If the speech writers were meaning it to be a comparison of their different experience levels they should’ve worded that sentence differently; so that it was more directed towards the individual and not the group.
Stay safe Florida during the tropical storms and who knows how many more hurricanes to expect this year. I guess all the community organizers who provide food, clothing and other goods should just sit back and let FEMA do all the work.
1) to the person who talked about “creating jobs” rather than “finding jobs”: our brownfields campaign actually created jobs for people, didn’t just find them.
2) our organizations partners with government officials, school officials, and businesses in order to empower people to make change in their lives.
3) as an pastor-organizer, I think the article by John Judis is not as insidious as he would like it to appear. Indeed, a good politician is also an organizer (Paul Wellstone understood the power of grassroots organizing). I believe that Obama did gain useful skills in organizing (understanding the nature of power, how to organize people, understanding people’s self-interest, doing a power analysis, figuring out what it will take to “win” an issue), but realize that organizing works on a small scale (as does the work of a small-town mayor, for crying out loud), and he wanted to work for change on a larger scale. Organizers are by their very nature local. I think Obama realized that doing this local, very specific work, he couldn’t make the large-scale change he wanted.
by the way, there are other things you can criticize Obama on: one being that he has NOT gone against his party leadership, like McCain has. However, LATELY, McCain has caved on some of the things I always admired him for.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With all due respect, can any one of you honestly say that your work, important and valid as it is, has given you the experience and qualification to be President of the United States?
I would encourage everyone here to look at the statements of these individuals in context and consider the intent of their message. There was no insult levied at your profession. It was directed at the fact that most people would agree that this is not experience that is adequate for the highest position in the land.
Further, it was in response to an affront made by the Obama campaign, who described a Governor as “the mayor of a small town”.
You are all welcome to your opinions on this matter by I urge you not to be used as pawn by EITHER campaign. The Obama campaign has directly made a concerted effort to enrage Community Organizers by using out of context statements in an effort to sway your opinion for their candidates political gain.
Please correct me if I am mistaken, but isn’t this precisely the sort of political and government maneuvering that your occupation is tasked to fight against?
To all of you working to better your communities…THANK YOU!
I tuned into the republican convention to help me decide how I was going this election. Their disgusting insults at community organizations sealed the deal, I will not now or ever vote republican again. They have the nerve to look down their noses but they couldn’t do half of what you do! They are driven by greed, power and arrogance…you are driven by helping your fellow man!
Wow! We elect people who are interested in SERVING others. If we don’t want to server than get out of the way for Obama and Joe!
Fired Up and Ready to GO!
Sarah Palin can go to hell after those comments, which should be considered as political suicide.
To the person way up in the thread who asked if anyone wants to be a community organizer when they grow up: actually, yeah, I would LOVE to be a community organizer when I grow up. I can’t think of anything more worthwhile.
To those who claim that community organizers do nothing or say that they need to explain what they do: perhaps you need to step outside your little world and go find out for yourself.
To all of the community organizers here, of every political stripe: thank you so much for all of the work you do. It is vital to this country and it is not easy work. I have seen community organizers in action and continue to be in awe of them. For right now, I can only dream of helping my fellow Americans the way all of you do. My short time as a volunteer and board member for a local homeless organization and watching the director of the organization do everything she could to help those kids while also HELPING THEM HELP THEMSELVES (which makes me believe that the naysayers have never done any kind of selfless community service or they would know that that is just as important) has continued to mean so much to me. Thank you, and I hope you know that there are many of us who appreciate you!
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Awesome… great post. You have my full support!
I am not surprised by Palin’s comments. She has a 5 billion dollar surplus in our state and yet we do not have enough workers to help children who are abused. She does not care for anyone but herself and she and her partner must be defeated. I was ill watching her speech, it was that wrong.
Here is a petition if anyone is interested:
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/community_organizers/?r=1426&id=807-871180-stov9Xx
C’mon…This website is satire, right? You take this “Community Organizer” thang this seriously?? OMG.
McCain/Palin in 2008.
Palin in 2012.
Palin in 2016.
MUST watch this video honoring community organizers:
ttp://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/9/5/8576/14837/164/587664
In belittling community organizing work, the Republicans made the case for what they really stand for. Just to review the record, community organizers work in houses of worship, neighborhood centers, union halls and schools. They have taken the lead in fighting for living wage laws in cities across this country, defended tenants against illegal evictions and foreclosures, led the rebuilding of Los Angeles in the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict and the rebuilding of New Orleans following Katrina. They have registered millions of young people, African Americans, Latinos and senior citizens to vote for the first time. It is they, not people like Rudy and Sarah, who respond when factories are shutdown and families find they have nowhere else to turn. Community organizers were the first people in this country to stand up against the war in Iraq. Their organizations are also the first to provide basic services such as health care and education in the wake of a generation of mean-spirited and hateful conservative policies. Community organizations, and their talented organizers, arethe social safety net for many in this country.
If America had any doubt that the McCain/Palin/Rove playbook is down to one option — divide this country by class and race — all that is put to rest now. How dare they look down their noses at Senator Obama and thousands of other great Americans who put community, and yes, country first by trying to make life a little bit better for other people. The community organizers that I know could have made their way in the fields of finance, medicine or, yes, politics. All of these choices would have been more lucrative and easier for many of them. Apparently, it’s not enough that they work under incredibly difficult circumstances for little pay and no recognition. Now the party of Bush and Cheney wants to belittle their contributions to American families. We cannot, and will not, let this attack go unchallenged.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-kurashige/dont-dis-community-organi_b_124069.html
http://search.huffingtonpost.com/search/?sp_a=sp100395aa&sp_k=&sp_p=all&sp_f=ISO-8859-1&sp_q=community+organizer
http://blog.faithinpubliclife.org/2008/09/post_38.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-04-community_N.htm
http://forums.therandirhodesshow.com/lofiversion/index.php/t8103.html
http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=770404
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/09/04/organizers-respond-palin/
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2231653698&topic=51116
http://www.creators.com/opinion/roland-martin.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/Defending_community_organizing.html
http://www.indypendent.org/2008/09/04/rnc-community-organizers-fight-back/
I have 2 comments. The more important one is this:
My story of appreciation for community organizers is for the leaders of a software development conference, put on by 2 people. They bring together thousands of software developers to exchange ideas about new technologies — and in the process, they are building software for a charity food bank to find hot meals for underprivileged families. This is the kind of leadership, experience, and kind-heartedness that fits in with every sector, industry, and position in this country.
Also, I didn’t have time to read all the other 466 posts, so I apologize if this has already been suggested before, but: What if we could make this blog post the most commented-on blog ever for a blog’s first 7 days!
And I’m not just talking about meaningless comments like the one I’m writing, but like thousands of real people with actual passionate things to say, and then MSNBC could do a story on it and report on the things that we are saying in support of this message.
By the way, I’m totally going to sign that petition mentioned in comment #465 above this one.
This is a great website. I’d love to see community organizers unite against Palin. We cannot let the McCain/Palin ticket win. Since, half the country is blindly in love with her I think more must be done to educate folks who believe her lies.
Here is another ad / video someone put on YouTube:
It’s very sad that several GOP leaders decided that it would be fun to insult Obama, and his work as a community organizer. It’s shameful and distasteful! It’s an elitist attitude that shows them how out of touch they are with the rest of America.
Many Republicans, including those continuing with their insults on this site, are ridiculously out of touch with mainstream society. They are so blinded by their party affiliation that they are not stopping to think of the great importance of the very people they are belittleing.
I’m glad this website has been created, and have given a voice to those being stepped on by the elitist attitudes of these so-called “leaders”.
It also confuses me that Obama’s work as a Community Organizer, as great as it is, is the only experience of his that keeps getting compared to Palin’s overall work experiences. Obama served his community after graduating from Columbia University, and did it until he went back to school for his Masters at Harvard Law School. He also taught Constitutional Law at The Univ of Chicago Law School, worked as a Civil Rights Attorney, a State Senator, and now, a US Senator.
In comparison, Palin went to 5 different schools before finally receiving her BA in Comm-Journalism at Univ of Idaho. While Obama was doing his work with the community, she was parading around in beauty pagents, playing basketball, and later became a sportscaster (Yup, sure sounds a lot better than helping people in need!). I’m sure her “Hockey Mom” experience really helped with the sportscasting though. She also worked in commercial fishing, then started her political career as a City Council Member in Wasilla. After 4 years, she was voted as Mayor of Wasilla. Her next gig was as Chairwoman of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, then as Governor of Alaska.
So I’m not sure why her full work experience is being compared to the work Obama did in the beginning of his career, or why she feels she has any right to look down at Obama’s credentials. But regardless, why should his start as a Community Organizer be mocked. It’s an honorable job that helps people, plus many other US Presidents also have community service work as part of their resumes.
Her and McCain are just completely out of touch with the American society’s reality. What will be her suggestion for struggling Americans … “Let them eat cake!”?
Go organizers! Your work is truly important in our communities.
There is no doubt that the statements were about at ALL community organizers, even if that wasn;t the intent.
To Glen, while you have a right to say what you think I ask you to please leave. You may not respect community organizers or public education, (though as a teacher I take issue with your characterization of public education), but you do not have to continue to harass, (and yes harass is the appropriate word as people have asked you to stop and you continue anyway), the people on this site.
I don’t know what a community organizer is either,
since I live in a neighborhood where we get off our lasy butts and go to work so we can pay our bills and live within our means. Do you liberals know how hard it is to pay for 4 house’s and put gas in 2 suv’s and 4 car’s. At this rate it will take a couple more years before I can afford that plane. I have to go now one of my tenents didn’t pay thier rent this month so I have to start eviction on the bum.
I’ve heard people call up talk radio shows claiming to be “community organizers” but it is revealed after questioning they are volunteers who work without pay to benefit the community. Do not confuse the two! Obama was a PAID community organizer. Who paid his salary and what was their agenda? Those are the questions the media needs to ask. They also need to look at the results of his work and see if they were lasting.
If after working as a community organizer I became a member of the state congress and then was elected to the US Senate, I think I might run for the presidency if I thought I could organize the country to help themselves. Recall that Gandhi was a community organizer. I guess community organizer is not what you should do after college; sportscaster is much more important job.
I am delighted to learn from this site that I am not alone in being outraged by the callous remarks about our profesion made at the Republican convention. I got my start as a VISTA volunteer in the late 70s and have devoted most of my career to community facilitation in rural communities for health/ health care access improvement. Between the lines in Palin’s remarks is a McCain campaign tactic to reframe community organizing as some leftist, urban (and flaky!) endeavor, overlooking the fact that community organizing has been integral to highly valued community development in the rural demographic they so long to win over. In my rural mountain community, I facilitated many efforts that engaged all sectors of the community including bringing together volunteer firefighters, churches, citizens, health and human service agencies and local goverment in a successful effort to get funding and volunteer involvement in implementation of our county’s first 911 system, a lifesaving service that to date had been difficult for our county government to afford. That was one of many successes that the same collaborative group, which I helped to found, has brought about for our community. Also, the McCain campaign was apparently ignoring history in scripting the remarks for their “historic” nominee since without community organizing, women would not have the right to vote. They will not have this woman’s. Thank you for galvanizing us to fight back at this sinister, politically motivated ploy to denigrate a profession proudly held by so many hardworking and patriotic Americans who have the pleasure every day of seeing democracy in action at the grassroots level.
“I think with The Palin territory being the meth capital of AK, maybe she needs some community organizers”
Why? The buyers go straight up to the igloo there. They don’t require community organizer middlemen.
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What we need to do is show these naysayers the power of Community Organizing and organize them back into the holes they crawled out of. Community Organizers must UNITE!!!! A national collective Community with one purpose in mind: Obama-Biden to the White House.
With all these community organizers in a tizzy, I’m worried about our communities falling into a state of disorganization.
I’m still wondering what responsibilities “Community Oranizers” have.
None was presented in the original post, nor has any commenter described what specifically his/her responsibilties are/were.
A specific responsibilty might be “bring jobs to the community”. The accomplishment of the “Organizer” can then be measured objectively visa-vis this responsibility. Based on this example, what responsibilties did Mr. Obama have in his role, and were they met?
Fear not, Paul. For when America’s communities need organizing, community organizers will be there-COUNT ON IT!
The preceding has been brought to you by the Onion, America’s Finest News Source.
In other news, Michael Phelps winked mischeviously after setting off a metal detector at the airport the other day.
There is nothing disgraceful about being a mayor of a small town – and it’s a fact that Ms. Palin ws the mayor of a small town. It’s also true she is the Governor of a large state with a small (~650,000 population – less than Sen. Obama’s senatorial district in IL). There is nothing disgraceful about being a community organizer, a State Senator or a US Senator. What is disgraceful is the sneering mockery in the presentations at the Republican Convention, in true Rovian reprehensible style [that’s what is belittleing of the the community organizer profession and the umbrage taken, in my view, is warranted and appropriate]. N.B. particularly Giuliani’s remarks dripping with snide, snearing sarcasm. And George Pataki – another New Yorker : “[Barack Obama] was a community organizer. What in God’s name is a community organizer? I don’t even know if that’s a job.” George, like many Republicans, is clearly out of touch, in my view. Mocking, derisive speeches that fire up a single-minded Convention crowd but belittle the many thousands who help provide help – from political clout to those who otherwise don’t have the resources to attain it to recipients of meals-on-wheels is reprehensible and no way to ‘win friends and influence people (a/k/a voters). It seems to me the issues confronting a mayor of a small town are likely less diverse than the issues facing a mayor of a big town (say, Chicago) or the issues, which expand to include foreign relations, facing the POTUS. In order to deal with these issues, it takes organizing abilities (there are many other abilities needed but those are not at issue in this discusson group) gained from dealing with and adddressing myriad issues face-to-face with the powers that be. While Ms. Palin may have executive experience, it would seem to be in a relatively narrowly cloistered environment with likely a like-minded constituency. I, for one, would rather have a POTUS with organizational skills, Legislative background on both the state and federal levels, and a world view than one who has a few years of limited executive responsibilities in Alaska at the municipal and state level. If no one sees the difference, seems to me we’re doomed.
I realize that only someone who has never been a community organizer would not realize how hurtful that line of attack is. She’s not just attacking Obama, she’s mocking anyone who has worked on behalf of a community.
and to the commenter wondering “Who paid his salary and what was their agenda? ”
From USAToday:
Obama moved to Chicago after college and did church-based organizing to help people who lost their jobs when steel mills closed.
… Jerry Kellman is the man who hired Obama as an organizer for the Developing Communities Project in 1985 at a salary of $10,000 a year. Obama’s job: find out what people needed, be it job training programs, asbestos removal or potholes filled, and help them work together to get action from their elected officials.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-09-04-community_N.htm
let’s see…personnel management, needs assessment using qualitative and quantitative methods, evaluation research, strategic planning, budgeting & general fiscal management, public speaking, program design and implemenation, group facilitation, mass communications, consensus building with all sectors of a community (regardless of party affiliations within those sectors), advocacy at local/state/federal level, facilitating citizen participation, accountability to the community for producing outcomes …..just a few of my “actual responsibilities” as a community organizer over the past 30 years. And by the way Obama has explained multiple times his role and duties in the CO job he had as a young man. But I have to ask McCain-Palin to explain (if their ticket is supposed to be strong on domestic policy) why they don’t know anything about a very time-honored and widely held profession, so basic to the civic process in our nation.
I’m not in the US, but I had experience as a community organiser and it’s one of the best experiences in my life.
What will happen to those “community organisers” in the Republican Party whose task is to mobilise voters to vote for their candidates who are just hypocrites?
With these bible-toting, anti-poort, self-righteous Republicans who claim they’re doing God’s will, they should always remember this:
Jesus was a community organiser. Pontius Pilate was a governor.
Enuf said.
“mccain-palin doesn’t get it ”
Well, you’ve listed your version of “responsibilities”. Quite a list, but none of these is more than a tool one uses to attain the end goals of defined responsibilities. What were the specific responsibilities Mr. Obama had? Find jobs for displaced workers? How many displaced workers found jobs? Improve living conditions? How many people’s living conditions were improved? Permit people to attain indepence from the Daley machine’s lagesse? What was the net reduction in welfare participation? Increase the educational accomplishments of inner-city children? How many more finished high school able to read a simple paragraph? Reduce the numbers of gang participants. Was there any reduction?
See? Responsibilities are defined by their goals.
Just stating that an “Organizer” uaed and was successful in”mass communications, consensus building, or facilitating citizen participation” doesn’t say what was accomplished, only that one has used normal management tools.
Bravo for standing up against the vicious attacks on community organizers, who are putting their “country first” probably more than most of the mean-spirited delegates at the Republican National Convention. Just goes to show what uninformed hypocrites they are.
Only mayors know what’s goin’ on yo.
http://faqnews.wordpress.com/2008/09/06/republicans-hold-anti-chocolate-rally-in-the-midwest/
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E61,
Same can be asked of McCain. How many people has he gotten right down on the street/community level and helped? Well since he finds community organizing and helping such a funny unbelievable topic. I would bet NONE.
He has been in the Senate for about 26 years. What has he really done while he was there? How many lives has he REALLY made better? He constantly claims that he goes against the grain when he voted WITH BUSH 90% OF THE TIME.
That sounds like he was going with the flow to me. How about you?
Thanks
Fellow Organizers, It’s time to take this fight to the streets and make some noise. Please, organizers of this site, contact CNN, MSNBC, NPR and yes FauxNews. Where can I send a donation to get this done? Organize, organize, organize.
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Lots of mocking of community organizers right here among the community organizers! Good strategy? This might be the election that brought together people (dare I say, “organized”?) of all parties and beliefs through their common determination to not be mocked by selfish bullies. Let’s show them how we work!
E61 -The long list of management tools used in my CO experience was my response to Sarah Palin’s depiction of community organizing as a seemingly taskless job void of responsibility. You are right, most of the tools that I listed are used in service to goal attainment — goals that communities set for themselves and then collaborate to attain with the CO facilitating the process. Another post comments on Obama’s work in Chicago and in my experience, the goals varied with each project but most pertained to improved health status (eg. reduced dental caries rates in the county’s school children, reduction in the diabetes mortality rate).. too many attained goals over the years to list all, so to sum up, i said “accountability to the community for producing outcomes”… Attainment of outputs/outcomes/goals is also important to various funders , mostly private vs public, but it is primarily the community being served to whom the community organizer is most accountable (and in my experience, when community collaboration is grant-funded, the funders insist on proof of community participation and decision-making in attaining the goals). My point being …there is a great deal of accountability in community organizing work whether paid or unpaid (I’ve done both), and the boss is the community.
We are (although the republicans would ridicule this) a nation of community organizers. When you volunteer to lead the retreat for your church group you are a community organizer. When you put together a committee to fight the shutting down of a school, you are a community organizer. When you talk with your neighbors about bringing more business prospects to your town, you are a community organizer.
Community organizing is the very life and blood of this nation because the very founding of our country was simply a large-scale effort at community organizing.
So what are McCain and Palin up to with their jabs at the very heart of American democracy?
Fight for what’s right for our country…. McCain said on the night he accepted his nomination….
Fight for the ideals and character of a free people… he added before he listed a number of other liberties….
But unfortunately McCain’s litany of freedoms did not include one that I hold dear to my heart…
The freedom of the American people to fully vet the candidates who are running for their highest office.
Why did McCain cancel his appearance on The Larry King Show?
Why has Palin not appeared before the press to answer questions about her policies and ideas?
We don’t want canned speeches and prepared statements….
We want to know what the candidates really think and we want to judge for ourselves…..
JESUS WAS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER
PONTIUS PILATE WAS A GOVERNOR!
I think it’s fabulous you guys have started this. I cannot believe that the GOP had the audacity to make their arrogant statements; they have shown to be completely out of touch they are.
Best of luck!
Angel
http://www.whypalin.com
I want that bumper sticker Janice…someone said something about getting them printed!
If I may ask a question:
Were these politicians belittling the idea of a community organizer, or belittling the idea that a community organizer has enough experience to become a good President of the United States?
The nuance could be a little hard to catch, but it means a lot.
(Of course, in the sound-byte world, the thoughtful among us are left without the important details…so perhaps we could blame the multi-million-dollar business known as network news for keeping these details from the public eye.)
Perhaps if the work of a community organizer is so important, then the politician claiming it as experience could attempt to tell the nation what he did as a community organizer, and how he changed people’s lives for the better in his work as a community organizer.
But I don’t recall any of that kind of detail being mentioned.
So if the guy can’t think far enough ahead to do that in a political contest, I don’t know if he has the foresight necessary to do a good job as President.
Sarah Palin is a political prostitute who stood on the corners of Wasilla waiting for the next John! He finally came around and she sold the remnants of her soul to him, even at the expense of her children.
Just wait and see. The other Johns are going to come out of the closet – one by one.
I want to thank all of you for the work and sacrifice you do for the community everyday. That is what someone who really loves their country do. I am very shocked that the Republicans can preach patriotism and mock community service at the same time. I find it very odd that they McCain can still talk about service and love of country when he picks someone he didn’t even know to be his back up for President of the US.
Time to organize some communities to vote Obama in November!
Fight On!
Goodfor you…Community organizers unite…get some media attention. ASAP! Intelligent people understand.
A prerequisite for any elected official running for public office should be a mandatory 2-years of service as a community organizer to keep them in touch – no exceptions. I’m sure the RNC has done their homework and know such remarks have little or no effect with their constituency of voters. It’s another one of their spoken “codes” against minorities and their communities.
It occurs to me that when Ms. Palin decides to thumb her nose at this noble profession, she also chooses to to thumb her nose at such notable community organizers as Martin Luther King Jr., Caesar Chavez, Nelson Mandela, and Susan G. Komen.
Please make sure that Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow at MSNBC are aware of this website. Perhaps they will give you some much needed kudos.
Has anyone noticed how the Republicans rely on community orgnizers themselves?
Check out McCain’s website.
He’s always asking for “grassroots” help. What’s that if not “community organizing”?
My lord. How people over react. A community organizer is not some kind of definitive job. It’s a description of work, at best. Since Mr. Obama has given so little information about exactly WHAT he was doing, we have to guess. Perhaps he was registering people to vote? Who was paying him? And how much? Was it the U. S. Government? lHe might just as well said that he was very busy being a NICE GUY.
After all the outrage, disgust, and insult Sarah Palin caused by belittling the role of community activism , she went out on the stump @ a rally with McCain and repeated these same offensive words she said in her speech @ the RNC. How elitist and nonchalant, they don’t care if community organizers were offended because they’re not expecting to get the votes from you or the people you represent.
Pass it on!!
“Day of Blogging for Community Organizing Justice: “I Am a Community Organizer”” September 8th
Details at http://francislholland.blogspot.com/2008/09/day-of-blogging-for-community.html
I have seen the community’s that Mr. Obama claims to have worked….If he wants to put them up as his “good work” I think he needs to go back and see what has become of his “organizing skills” becouse those area’s in Chi town need major help …..maybe a bulldozer is the only thing that will work there
Why has every media outlet and reporter missed the meaning about Obama’s Community Organizing?
The point the Republicans are trying to make about Obama’s experience as an organizer is not that it was foolish or left wing, but that it in no way is the experience necessary for the job of President of the United States.
McCain at the convention said to serve you communities and your country.
This is just the Obama campaigns spin on this which the media has run with.
And by doing so has stopped considering what executive experience he really has.
Think about it.
Like many of you, I also am a community organizer. I too was quite upset over the comments at the GOP convention regarding community organizing. It was especially frustrating to hear the snide and disparaging remarks as McCain’s tries to rebrand himself as the “real” reformer. What hypocrisy – do they not understand that the major reforms that have occurred in this country – women’s rights, civil rights, gay rights – have been informed, shaped and assisted by impacted communities, including organizers.
As a community, we must get this message out. I’ve contacted my colleagues who work with the Obama campaign. As a duty to the American people, they must put out ads highlighting this hypocrisy. Hopefully as a collective we will be able to also get voice to this Republican farce.
Good for you for starting this website!
How insulting and elitist of Palin and her GOP cronies to make these disparaging comments! Community organizing is a tradition in this country that dates back to Samuel and John Adams.
These “folks” disgust me.
I totally agree with this website. We need to organize our communities and get the word out that Sarah Palin hates communities that are organized. Check out Obamaisawesome.wordpress.com ! Obama ’08!
You Community Organizers need to find a way to run a commercial so that more people know about your work!
Renowned Community Organizers:
Eddie Perez is mayor of Connecticut’s capital city. The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Ph.D., Boston University was an American Nobel Laureate, Baptist minister, and African American civil rights activist. Marie Kirkley-Bey, Ken Green and Art Feltman are Hartford state representatives. The late Paul Wellstone of Minnesota was a senator. Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa.
What is community organizing?
Community organizing is a long-term approach where the people affected by an issue are supported in identifying problems and taking action to achieve solutions. The organizer challenges those he or she works with to change the way things are—it is a means of achieving social change through collective action by changing the balance of power. The tactics and strategies employed by the organizer are similar to the processes of leadership including timing the issue, deliberate planning, getting the attention of the populace, framing the issue in terms of the desired solution, and shaping the terms of the decision-making process.
Community organizing looks at collective solutions — large numbers of people who engage in solutions that impact even more people. These people usually live in the same neighborhood, town or block.
Here are some examples from history:
• Civil rights: The boycotts of businesses and buses in the South brought about desegregation and the Voting Rights Act.
• Labor unions: Strikes against conditions in factories throughout the early part of this century led to the 40-hour work week and better working conditions for all workers.
• The anti-war movement: Protests against the war pressured the government to end U.S. involvement in Viet Nam .
Two points:
1) the Republicans limited Obama’s prior experience soley to his community organizing;
2) they dared not mention how he used his community organizing skills to launch the most successful Presidential Campaign in American History.
But what should we expect from a political party that reduced and then eliminated funding for Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA) the domestic arm of the Peace Corps?
As a former Peace Corps Director in Liberia, West Africa I celebrate each Community Organizer who works to make a positive difference in the lives of ordinary citizens across the country.
In an Obama Presidency your work will continue but with greater support and appreciation. Continue the good fight. We need your commitment, idealism, and perserverence for a cause that is greater than any of us.
Giving back to the community is a nobel profession. This guy could have made $$ with a Harvard degree in his back pocket. If nothing else, you got to respect helping people less fortunate than you. Qualifications aside, this was a dumb thing for the Republicans to sneer at. I guess they forgot that Community Organizers also get out the vote.
I’ve forwarded the article on Community Organizers to my e-mail list and requested they do the same. I understand the anger at the Repubs but let’s not be too angry. Let us be smart. Forward the article to as many of your contacts as possible, then forward a copy to all of the major television networks including the “sly FOX”.
Repubs love to pick on those they see as weak and defenseless. We need to show them that there are a lot of us out here who are willing to stand up and fight for those who unable or incapable of standing up and fighting for themselves.
“Why has every media outlet and reporter missed the meaning about Obama’s Community Organizing?
The point the Republicans are trying to make about Obama’s experience as an organizer is not that it was foolish or left wing, but that it in no way is the experience necessary for the job of President of the United States.
McCain at the convention said to serve you communities and your country.
This is just the Obama campaigns spin on this which the media has run with.
And by doing so has stopped considering what executive experience he really has.
Think about it.” Ray, I’m a working soccer mom of three in a rural community and so I tuned into Palin’s speech with great interest, expecting a fresh perspective and some new ideas from someone whose life experience might be similar to mine, only to find the same old Cheney-like sneering tone, this time aimed at my profession (trial lawyers used to be the whipping boy). And you know, I was perfectly capable of thinking through this, analyzing its offensive impact on my own well before Obama’s campaign responded. I totally get that Palin’s sneering remarks were designed to diminish Obama’s extensive leadership experience down to one post-college job and to imply that that job involved zero responsibility. And yeah, implicit in her tone, a hint that this is leftist stuff. But what is so disappointing is that in conveying such derision of Obama’s role, McC-P and Mayor G are willing to discredit by association the profession as a whole and the millions that share it. There are plenty of other ways to make a point about Obama’s work experience. What’s even more alarming is the McCain campaign’s lack of control of their message — all about service the night before and then mocking the way most communities engage people in service the next night; all about reducing government and then trashing the CO approach which builds community capacity and reduces community dependance on government. The rash comments about commuinity organizing raises all sorts of competence questions re: this ticket. They can’t manage message, they don’t know their audience (since they apparently never anticipated the huge backlash that their comments about CO would have). Learning that it was necessary to insert phonetic spelling of words in Palin’s speech on her teleprompter caused me more shudders today. I see far more mastery of message, knowledge of the issues and respect for communities of all kinds in the Obama Biden ticket.
Be proud of what you all are doing. We are all proud of you.
-Matt
Republicans on this site get a grip. You want someone with experience? Well how about we take a beauty queen from Alaska who racked up a $19 million dollar deficit in her term and also took over $20,000 in earmarks. So you want to elect someone who spends money like water (GWB clone) Do your research, McCain’s acceptance speech is the same as Bush’s 2000 speech. Please don’t elect another George Bush
Truth hurts don’t it? “Community organizers” are just leeches skimming off of the top.
It’s a made up job for people with made-up credentials and useless degreeswith theses like, “Basketweaving from a critical Marxist-Feminist perspective. “
I listened to Palin spout at the mouth during her speech. She belongs on Comedy Central. I thought the speech was distasteful, unprofessional, immature, and she reminded me of a high school snob. I thought she would try to give a motivational speech, but instead she degraded all people as far as I’m concerned. And Giuliani did a great job of putting people down who care also. I am a Social Work student learning about Community Organization as we speak. It’s an amazing job. I agree, please get the word out, we must help Obama win this race!!! My family will even send money to help your cause. We just need to know where to send it and fast.
Someone please tell me if Jimmy Carter’s work to promote Habitat for Humanity isn’t community organizing. I’m sure he was thoroughly offended, and is all the other community organizers who founded and and continue to work hard for this cause.
Habitat for Humanity:
A nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing organization building simple, decent, affordable housing in partnership with people in need. Active in the U.S. and over sixty other nations.
Listening to Palin’s speech gave me cold shivers, with her attack mentality. (Pit bull mentality?) My thought was how dare she, a secretly selected VP nominee , step in the political ring after only 4 – 5 days and criticize the work of Obama. You criticize Obama, you ciriticize all his supporters who have worked hard to help him get to this point. How dare she criticize Obama, the presidential nominee, who has campaigned for over 19 months and has been subjected to every scrutiny imaginable. Many Americans are insulted and outraged, and rightfully so. We should all demand an apology from this snarky, condescending, unimformed, McShame self-proclaimed soul mate.
Please pass the barf bag. I’m getingt sick to my stomach.
I think Sarah Palin’s belittling of an important job as community organizing, shows how much hypocrisy is involved in her aspect of being a christian. What did she do before she became a mayor of a town of 5500, which had employed a city administrator, who actually did the day to day work? What actually were her responsibilities as mayor?
I agree with pumped4Obama- DEMAND AN APOLOGY.
Obviously the press are owned by big business who want to keep the rich rich and the GOP in power.
It’s time Obama supporters to make a stink, just like the right would be doing if the situation were reversed. I am sick of this attitude that the left are always supposed take the punch and the right keeps giving them out. Well, how much does one have to get beat up before you stand up for yourself and beat the h**l out of the other guy (gal)? I say ENOUGH.
cynicism and mockery. disempowerment and willful ignorance. Mayor and Governor republican Palin and Senator Keating 5, anti-worker, anti-Martin Luther King Day republican McCain simply wear the style and values of their party openly. And we can’t believe what we see. But it’s real. And every organizer knows how to deal with that reality!
Blog about community organizers on Monday, September 8th! I am!
I was extremely angry at the remarks, especially Palian’s. For 25 years I have worked as a community organizer in many ways, including in the environment.
The comments were thoughtless and hurtfull and I will never forget them.
If we volunteers took 24 off, the nation would almost grind to a halt in many respects. Of course, we can never do that for we are far more committed than they understand.
They have a lot to learn about organizers. Let’s make sure that they understand it in November.
I just organized a group of Sacramento families who attended the Equal Voice for America’s Families Convention in Los Angeles on Saturday. Simultaneous events were held in Birmingham and Chicago–totaling 15,000 working families in attendance.
You can’t tell me that mobilizing these families right before an election isn’t anything but a threat to the conservatives who want to keep low income families invisible.
I can tell you that the 15,000 people who attended the Conventions rely on community organizers to support them as they make the changes they need to make their lives better.
They don’t think we are a joke. My job isn’t a joke. I am proud that I care about people other than myself. I can honestly say that I believe in my community and am down for the cause.
I don’t care what conservatives have to say. I won’t stop fighting and I won’t shut up.
The machinations of politics to render effective service to communities in need as anything less than effective “grass roots” mobilization without bureaucratic injunction will dull as other “juicier” pieces of campaign rhetoric whet the Republican appetite.
Nonetheless, I take this opportunity as a rallying cry to seize the spotlight; thus to advocate for continued, beneficial Community Organization throughout the U.S.A.!!!
You have our support! Their comments were unfair and show not only an ignorance of the work, but also show disrespect toward those at the lower end of the economic spectrum. Please keep doing what you’re doing, because God knows they will keep doing what they are doing and we need you.
Jerame Clough
-Next Gen Politics
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Thank you, community organizers, for putting your country and your fellow citizens first. You are an inspiration to us all. You are true patriots. Keep up the great work.
I’m beginning to think you must be connected with CNN because you cherry-pick the most biased comments that support your side. The fact is she said she was “like” a community organizer except she had “actual responsibilities”. Obama said that being a mayor doesn’t give her any experience while claiming that his community service gives him experience. The difference is that we have a record of everything that Palin did as mayor and no idea of what Obama has done. All this site has shown me is that the liberals have destroyed the meaning of the word “community organizer”. After reading the comments here I would be ashamed to call myself one. I guess we’ll need to come up with a new term for people who “actually help” the community. Unlike the self-righteous blow hards on this website.
Minneapolis, Minn. – Sept 4, 2008 – Catholic Democrats is expressing surprise and shock that Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s acceptance speech tonight mocked work that her opponent had done in the 1980s for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development.
Referring to Palin’s speech, the statement said: “Her divisive rhetoric, repeatedly pitting small towns against urban communities, demonstrates not only a lack of charity toward the needs of some of the least among us but a fundamental disrespect for those who dedicate their lives to overcoming poverty across our country.”
http://www.catholicdemocrats.org/news/2008/09/palin_attacks_catholic_communi.php
Gov. Sarah Palin wasn’t attacking ALL COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS….she was referring to Sen. Barack Obama’s, and other Democrats’ attacks on her nomination for Vice President, by comparing her accomplishments to Obama’s.
I suppose then the Democrats minimized her experience as “a former Mayor”, that means all Mayors do “nothing”?
or when they criticize the fact she’s only been Governor a year and a half, any Governor in office for only a year and half have done “nothing”?
She wasn’t making fun of all community organizers. She was fighting back against Obama and his ilk’s remarks.
Community organizers ARE the real mavericks.
I guess being a governor is a little like being a community organizer, except you live in a mansion, hang out with elites and get paid a whole hell of a lot more.
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Nice try Ohio guy. She (actually Karl Rove and her speechwriter) was indeed attacking all community organizers. If not, why the orchestrated and equally snide remarks of Giuliani about community organizers. As far as her mayoral “experience” goes — the town had to hire a manager to take over after she became mayor because she immediately started targeting people she perceived as being against her and was in danger of being recalled. Real gifted leader there — pretty much in what has become the Republican tradition.
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It’s hard out here for a community organizer.
This message needs to get out, via cable news, adverts, whatever it takes. This tone that the Republicans massaged throughout the convention speeches must be addressed. Community organizers have given communities life…something that Republican politicians and lobbyists want to deny them.
What Palin and the Republicans have lost sight of was that Jesus Christ was an community organizer in working with the poor and the disenfranchized and that present day organizers are doing Christ’s work! Most evangelicans like Palin are more concerned with their personal salvation rather than doing Christ’s work. Shame on them!
Why haven’t community organizers come out publicly on the news about what happened and why are there no ads about this? Hello?
WHEN I SAW THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION AND THE PEOPLE THERE LAUGH AT THE COMMENT” HE WAS A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER” AND THE CAMERAS ZOOMED IN ON THIER ARROGANT, POMPUS, FACES LAUGHING AT ORDINARY PEOPLE- I WAS THROUGHLY DISGUSTED.
THEN I THOUGHT OF AN AWESOME IDEA- IF THE OBAMA CAMPAIGN COULD GATHER THE THAT FOOTAGE OF ALL THOSE PEOPLE LAUGHING AND THEN PUT IN A CLIP OF A HOUSE BEING FORECLOSED, THEN SHOW THEM LAUGHING AGAIN AND SHOW A CLIP OF A YOUNG URBAN KID IN THE PROJECTS NEAR GANG SIGNS AND BLIGHT, AND THEN SHOW THEM LAUGHING AGAIN AND SHOW A CLIP OF STEELWORKERS LOOSING THIER JOB- IF THEY MADE A COMMERCIAL OUT OF IT- IT WOULD BE AN AWESOME WAY TO FIGHT BACK FROM THE JOKE OF BEING A ” COMMUNITY ORGANIZER” BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT BEING A COMMUNITY ORGANIZER IS ALL ABOUT HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN DSTRESS AND OFFEREING THEM SOLUTIONS AND HOPE TO LIVE AND GO ON DESPITE HARDSHIPS. AND TP ME THAT IS WHAT BARACK OBAMA IS ALL ABOUT. IT SADDENS ME TO REALIZE THAT THAT CONVENTION AND THE PEOPLE IN IT WHO PROFESS TO BE CHRISTIANS WOULD EVEN GO THERE! IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE CHARACTER OF THE PARTY.
BECAUSE WHEN THEY LAUGHED AT COMMUNITY ORGANIZING THEY LAUGHED AND BELITTLED THE WORK OF THE PEOPLE WHO REACH OUT TO ORDINARY PEOPLE. THEY LAUGHED AT ORDINARY AMERICANS.
Apparently being PTA president when Sarah Palin first born was in school wasn’t a community organizer.Republicans are out of touch with America.We have to really work hard to keep them out of the WHITE HOUSE.
I was disgusted with the way Palin and Giuliani mocked community organizers. And any comments about “if I lost my job, I’d just get another one” are not only hard-hearted but naive. My father has a bachelor’s and an MBA from Harvard, but after losing his job during the ’80s, it took him so long to find another job we had to go on food stamps. Thank God for those food stamps and unemployment checks, or we literally would not have had enough to eat. I can’t even imagine how hard it would be for someone who has less than a college education to find a job when the economy goes south. So yay for community organizers, who help people all over the country that those in power too often forget!
Community orgainizers are the back bone of this country. We need commericals and videos on every news network so no one forgets how the Republicans see this country. There was nothing funny at all about what was said.
How do we fight back against Republican elitism. Can we make a commercial with various community organizers who are to making a difference in poor communities?
How ignorant! How elitist! How preposterous!
Prior to the Revolutionary War, there were was a group of “community orgainzers” who changed the face of history. Their names were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and even George Washington. Their roles as “community organizers” changed the world then and continues to do so today. Those “community organizers” developed the novel concept of “DEMOCRACY” , a concept that we forcefully impose on countries, their cultures and people whether they want it or not.
The truth is that these poeple are using “community orgnaizer” and lack of experience as code for purely racist purposes! It’s a clear indictment on their suitabily to lead.
Obama’s experience:
-3 years as a community organizer growing the organization from a staff of 1 to 13; growing the budget from $70,000 to $400,000. Working on getting folks employed, after school programs for kids, asbestos removal from buildings…training/empowering local community leaders
– becoming the first black President of the Harvard Law Review
-creating a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new African Amerian voters
-12 years as a Constitutional Law professor
-about 8 more years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people
-becoming chairman of the state Senate’s Health and Human Services committee
-early 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of nearly 13 million people, sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran’s Affairs committees
I’ve collected a bunch of great video responses to the attack as well as my favorite community efforts on youtube.
Click through to my blog to see in a post called Jesus = Community Organizer, GOP hit the Wall.
I would love to link to more videos of this nature so if you have one featuring good work let me know!
It was appalling and we should not stand for it one minute.
I’ve been reading these comments for a few days, so I might as well weigh in.
First of all, it is not “attacking” Sarah Palin to say that her experience is limited. It is limited. She’s a newcomer, without an advanced degree of any kind, or a degree in any form of political, social, or legal field. She was the mayor of the 47th most populated state for only two years, and served as a small-town mayor for six years before that, during which time the day-to-day management of the town was done by an administrator. As far as I can tell, stating factual information does not constitute an attack.
Second, Sarah Palin and Rudy Giuliani did not say “Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer does not provide sufficient experience to be president.” If they had, we wouldn’t be fighting. I wouldn’t even say they’re wrong. The part they seem to be leaving out is that this is not the sum total of Obama’s experience, as Palin’s governorship and mayorship are of hers. Obama’s community organizer experience is one part of his resume, and it’s a laudable part–it speaks to his commitment to working people in need. The fact remains that he also has a degree from Harvard Law, where he was President of the Harvard Law Review, he worked as a civil rights attorney, taught Constitutional law, and served in both the Illinois and US Senates. In the face of all this, Palin’s resume looks a little thinner.
Third, here’s what community organizers might do (the responsibilities tend to vary): They might be in charge of a homeless shelter, which means that they have to secure funding, provide community outreach, and operate the daily business of the shelter including staffing, payroll, and budgets. They might provide after school programs to underprivileged children, which means they need to find, rent, and supply a space in which to offer their services, hire and pay staff, and run their center by federal accreditation guidelines. Actually, I was an after school caregiver for several organizations, in Americorps and after. I worked for the Salvation Army, and two different YMCAs in poor urban areas. There are a lot of ways to be a community organizer, and all of them involve helping people to get back on their feet, help themselves, become productive members of society, the things the detractors on here keep saying that people need to do without giving any insight as to HOW they’re expected to do it. It’s a lot easier to sneer at someone and tell them to get a job than it is to provide job skills training, transportation, and appropriate interview clothing, all of which community organizers do.
To belittle the occupation of community organizers is outrageous. More than that, it flies in the face of what conservatives have historically preached (I’ll skip the arguments on whether they practice). How, in a theory of small government that relies on communities to help one another, can you deride those who organize the communities to do just that:
“I have spoken of a thousand points of light, of all the community organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good. We will work hand in hand, encouraging, sometimes leading, sometimes being led, rewarding. We will work on this in the White House, in the Cabinet agencies. I will go to the people and the programs that are the brighter points of light, and I will ask every member of my government to become involved. The old ideas are new again because they are not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in.” -George HW Bush
It’s time to show the power and influence of community organizers and what they do. Unite and rally community support for Barack Obama. Get folks registered to vote and make sure they vote.
I think the Republican comments, especially by Giuliani and Palin, were despicable. Giuliana show know firsthand about the power of community organizing because it shone brightly in New York after 9-11. First responder workers and people across this country volunteered their time to help NY and our country survive 9-11. This was the power of community organizing at its finest and shining-est! I applaud Sen. Obama for his work as a community organizer. I would think more than anything it puts him more in touch with the average everyday Americans, like me and millions upon millions of others, who do love our country and are willing to work in the community to make it better. The GOP must be defeated for sneering and mocking Americans in this derisive manner.
When I joined the Navy I felt I left my people behind, I left my roots, my culture, my hood, the struggle, I’m doing something for me and I felt GUILTY that I hadn’t messed up enough to get a criminal record and have the opportunity to better myself. I left Spanish Harlem truly confused and doubting my loyalty to friends, family and community. I left my job as a ”Child Counselor” for New York City Parks and recreations, helping the children of the neighborhood in the south Bronx just to look out for me. BUT while in the Navy they had programs, they were always looking for volunteers for the neighborhoods we were stationed in, the local churches or schools where ever I was stationed always wanted the sailors to join their congregation their community. I found myself always in charge of the other minorities on the ship because I was one and a leader of them. I took that attitude to the streets where I was now stationed to the local churches or schools for after school programs, to the local hoods to offer free vaccinations because even the Navy understood to place people like me, Puerto Rican from NYC who could relate to this environment easily and with out any intimidation. I don’t think that qualifies me as a community organizer because I did it part time having other duties but it felt great on board to receive those awards or letters of gratitude from the community and the Navy. I think of the people I met, the friends I made, the food drives, the clothes drives, the only person who could speak Spanish to this neighbor hood of people…the only one with the guts to give a head nod and say “wassup” to a group of young most likely up to no good youth on the corner in a foreign neighborhood, to let them know there is help here if needed… All I’m saying is for anyone, left, right, poor or wealthy to mock any type of service to others is like spit in the face.
You guys have really organized the hell out of this! I’ve seen nothing but articles ridiculing this “effort.” Warned ya.
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I am so disgusted by Palin and McSame mocking community activism.
My neighbors and I organized to stop Cemex Cement from polluting our neighborhoods. They are a Multi-Billion Dollar, Multi-National Corporation and our effects have resulted in over a million dollars of fines against Cemex, and action from the Federal EPA.
Our local and state governments were basically ignoring the situation, so NOTHING WOULD HAVE CHANGED UNLESS WE ORGANIZED!
By the way, Cemex donated over $100,000 to the Bush campaign for president.
By their comments, Republican yahoos like Palin and Giuliani just show that they are ignorant elitists –spiritual spawn of Marie Antoinette and her “let them eat cake” mentality. Not only is community organizing a job–it’s a field of study in social work graduate programs (MSW and DSW) around the country. I was a “community organizing” major, otherwise known as “CO”. Graduates go on to work in venues from poor neighborhoods to the United Way.
Thank God for all of you community organizers!! Made me totally ILL to hear the
republican propaganda.
Go Community Organizers!! Obama ’08
How about issuing a public challenge to some elected officials to shadow you for a day? Maybe Sarah Palin could learn a thing or two. And, of course, invite the press.
See I’m a political organizer and that’s how we think! Rock on!
Communist Organizers – get a job.
Heck, the fact that Sen. Barack Obama was an organizer was a big factor in my examining his stands on the issues.
Some people use change to promote their careers some people make fun of the people who make change to promote their careers.
Thank you. I have been doing our work for 14 years. I was raised in a single-parent home; my mother battled cancer with no health care. Like many, we were homeless after Reagan’s recession. Where was Sarah Palin? What was she doing for our hardest hit communities? Where was she after Katrina? I was partly livid at these balkingly ignorant remarks, and partly hurt by the nationally televised attempt to undermine the last thread that holds this society together. Leave it to all the other threads to make me feel not so alone after that. Thanks for responding to it and makign the difference. “Those who say it can’t be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.” –Chinese Proverb
Without community organizers, who would
care for the elderly
teach our children
protect the environment
feed the hungry
heal the sick
and all the other things that Republicans refuse to do
The Obama campaign needs to force the McCain campaign to waist precious time and money in distancing themselves from Giuliani’s sickening mockery shown in his snyde laughter. These speeches were reviewed before being presented, therefore Giuliani’s comments should be equated directly to McCain.
As for Palin, her hypocracy is of the most dangerous kind. Make no mistake about it, she believes in her heart that she is on a mission from God. To equate her view of this mission in any way with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ is repulsive.
Community organizing is a process that is essential in a democracy. Those who ridicule it undermine our nation and its citizens.
I think the best way to get the word out about what community organizers do and the shoe string budgets they have to make do with while performing their duties, could very effectively be made into a video and submitted to all cable access stations across the country.
Here in MN, the Republicans have utilized local cable access to “inform” viewers how our state and local government works… all with that characteristic GOP spin of course.
Anyway, I’m glad for this web site. Hope to see an opportunity for myself and others to purchase a tape/dvd on community organizers to be able to show on my local cable access channel!
The best way to send the message to the GOP that the public derision of hard working, well intentioned citizens is unacceptable is to rally our communities to register and vote for Obama. Show them how much community organizers can and do matter by making a difference in this election.
The derogatory comments about community organizers is just one of many examples of how out of touch the Republican party is with the average american citizen. They accuse Obama of being ‘elitist’, but their comments epitomize how elitist they in fact are.
I hope every community organizer on the planet hear these insults.
AN OPEN LETTER TO SARAH PALIN
Hi, my name is Ross Steinborn and I must apologize because I was not able to watch your speech on TV. You see, I live in a house with six other people and get paid just enough to take care of my basic living which does not include cable TV. My situation is such because I am a community organizer with a program called the Lutheran Volunteer Corps. I live in Oakland CA and volunteer at a Food Bank where I am conducting a research project which will give us a clearer picture of the community we serve and who is most affected by hunger in our area.
I write today because I recently read about your statements concerning community organizing. I think the statements you and others made concerning the lack of responsibility community organizers have seemed to be the general theme of RNC on Thursday night. To say the least such a message was disheartening. To know now that the Republican Party does not appreciate any of the blood, sweat and tears we community organizers dedicated and sacrificed to the Democratic project we call The United States of America makes it seem that our voice has not been heard by our elected officials.
Your statements, were either ignorant of, or purposefully disregarded, the role that community organizers have played throughout American history. Folks like Harriet Tubman, who organized and participated in civil disobedience and risked her life countless number of time in defiance of slavery. Years after, individuals like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, W.E.B. Dubois and countless others, through grass roots community organizing, changed the legalized racism of American society. Furthermore, I am reminded of strong woman organizers, like Susan B. Anthony and Alice Stone Blackwell, who lead thousands of women to understand they too have the right for their voices to be heard. And, indeed, their voices were heard as yours and Senator Clinton’s historic campaigns signify. Community organizers were also significant in the labor movement in the United States which after much struggle, finally, was able to get better working conditions and high wages. All these examples, I feel, clearly demonstrates that community organizing has been one of the bedrocks of the American way.
So what responsibilities do community organizers have, it seems, that democracy rests on our shoulders.
Let’s take back the offensive!
If James Brown were still alive, he’d say that community organizers are the hardest working public servants in America! They’re also the most underpaid, many working for FREE. People can pick up the phone and their credit card and order everything they need, like childcare, housecleaning, education and medical services, have no idea how hard millions of youth, women, men, veterans, and disabled persons — community organizers — work every day just to get poor people’s basic needs met, and to improve their communities with parks, safe streets, etc. — which benefits us all.
Shame on the Republicans — that slur was like making fun of moms for not having a “real job.”
I was personally offended and troubled when they mocked community organizing. They look down on people who are not in their social class and don’t make a certain amount of money. Just because they don’t care about those who can’t afford health insurance, the unemployed, unaffordable housing, can’t buy food, and pay their bills thank God that someone does and that’s community organizers, or plainly just people in the community, and the Democrats who have or interest at heart. I will never vote for a Republican especially after those remarks.
I truly don’t get why republicans think community organizing is so fumy. I heard them laughing and I just didn’t get it. This was clearly meant to scorn all who do this service.
Each time I try to tell myself that there must be a humanitarian republican out there somewhere, I am reminded how much of an oxymoron that is.
The convention also reminded me how much republican sentiment resembles “Old South” sentiment.
I thought I was the only one outraged by what was said at the Republican convention. Thank God for Democracy Now!
I did campus organizing against the Vietnam war, helped to organize welfare workers into the SEIU Local 535 in the mid 1970’s. These Republicans are like vampires–they get their strength from mocking people who are poorer and weaker. Hypocrites & bullies. Wasn’t Jesus a community organizer?
Community organizers we have known: Cesar Chavez, John L. Lewis, Nelson Mandela, Reverend King, Dorothy Day- and I do believe Jesus would fit that description.
If you are an organizer worth your salt you do have “actual responsibilities”. Sticking to those responsibilities has to come from the strength of an internal decision –not required by a job with the government and certainly not well paid or celebrated.
Speaking as a parent and a long time PTA member, this work is the job of a community organizer. I help organize parents to fund public school systems that have been gutted in part by trillions of dollars to war profiteers in Iraq.
In a society where only the very wealthy can afford to run for office, organizing locally is the only avenue left to middle, working and poor citizens to affect decisions that determine their lives.
Knocking the work of people who work hard for considerably less reward is more of the same arrogance from Karl Roves people.
Please expand your fund raising efforts to include getting your message out in the media, over and over and over. I am so infuriated and disgusted with the Republicans after the last 8 years and even more so after the convention in St. Paul. We as a nation of community organizers just can’t allow these smug bureaucrats to disrespect us and get away with it. Thank you for starting this website.
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Please get the word out now Community Organizers! Power to the people! Now is the time! It IS OUR TIME. Let me know what I can do. Mr. Obama must be elected. As a citizen, I am disgusted with Bush, McCain, Guiliani, Pataki, and new on the scene–very frightening Palin–Anita Bryant on steriods. What happened to our Constitution (ie. separation church). I still want to impeach Bush. What happened to our America? We have created more terror from within and without this country.
Senator Obama seems to be the more reasonable, trustworthy candidate–for all US citizens and for All around the rest of the world. The Republicans have been and continue to be Pigs in a Blanket of lies.
Jesus was a Community Organizer. And perhaps we all should be….Let’s save America!!!!!! 9/11 Peace.
Wouldn’t it be tragic if the lawsuit awards from the RNC exceeded $10,000,000?
The RNC agreed to pay $10 million to cover their illegal police tactics, but if it exceeds that amount then St. Paul would have to pay.
That would be a shame, because the city leaders would be kicked out by the bankrupted voters.
And, maybe this wouldn’t happen so often!
All 800 of you that were tortured with handcuffs and suffered nerve damage and trauma should get a million each!
That would be a real protest.
Community organizers are usually lazy bums that like to pretend to “save” the poor from themselves. They are a bunch of trust fund babies who feel “white guilt” and want to “give back”. This of course is referring to a certain group of so called organizers.
The real organizers are not sitting here whining about that BS statement. They are our organizing. Get a life people. Better yet, stop whining and go ORGANIZE.
Why are all the statements here suggesting that Obama is somehow the answer to the nations prayers? Organizers should view politicians in the old “we’re with you when your with us, we’re against you when your not” school of thought. Otherwise your a bunch of Democratic party tools.
I’m not a community organizer, and I seriously had no idea what one was until I watched Democracy Now! recently. Thanks Amy Goodman!
After I knew what community organizers are, and then seen all those videos of the Republicans mocking them, it made me mad. Regular people are trying to get things done for the poor and working class families, and the Republicans seem to not want to care. You know what? They also don’t care about the Constitution, so it’s down to us, the regular citizens to protect and uphold it since the politicians don’t want to.
I keep up with politics these days, especially during the two conventions. Visit my blog at http://www.americasprotector.blogspot.com and please feel free to offer advice on stories I should contribute and advice on what can be added to the blog to help everyone rally together and protect our country.
I was listening to the report on Democracy Now Wednesday about this web site as I was driving from my regular job to meet with a city council committee. Myself and a few other cyclists were going to this meeting to talk to the committee about changes in the bicycle traffic code. This is a small community activism effort; I can only imagine the difficulties that larger projects encounter and the challenges of winning broad support for important causes. But we do what we can and its a good thing because for issues large and small, who else will look out for us? Who else knows or cares?
Glad to see people are still posting here! Here’s a link to a blog that I think someone might find interesting……. It’s a different perspective on the movement.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/rooanne/gG5QtK
it is realy sad to think any one would MOCK kids trying to do GOOD things shame on rudy every little bit helps in ny he should know that. as far as palen she is got that mean spirited edge (scarry)
I heard an interview with Laura Bush the other day on my way to work, focused on the upcoming service forum at Columbia U. on 9/11. When the reporter asked about her take on the mockery of community organizing at the Repub. convention, she said “Well, I don’t know what that [community organzing] is.”. So she also suffers from the sudden selective amnesia regarding the long-accepted name of the method of capacity-building that is at the foundation of the work of the Peace Corps, Americorps, most community service efforts and many public health initiatives (including the Chicago-based program to prevent youth gang involvement that Laura B raved about in the same interview). She refused to acknowledge that the Chicago project, spearheaded by a physician and described as a public health effort, would rely on any community organizing techniques in the low income neighborhoods it targets. Odd statement since community organizing is integral to public health program implementation and part of the education of health educators. It’s pretty sad when our First Lady, in order to maintain the political game of the day, chooses to play dumb about the term rather than be truthful about what she knows very well – that community organizing is the lynchpin of community service.
obama owes apology to community organizers
About 20 years ago in the windy city of Casper, Wyoming, I was privileged to serve among a group of ‘community organizers.’ These men and women served at the local mission, helped in latchkey school programs and we got involved in politics teaching on free enterprise and the constitution, helped register voters, and ran for precinct chairs all for the betterment of our communities. And we did it for free. Our pastors encouraged us to get off our blessed assurances and make a difference in our community. We knew what they preached and it wasn’t anti-American nor did they call us white folk ‘prosperity pimps’. My mentor was a hockey mom and I toted my Down Syndrome son around while doing these Random Acts of Kindness.
Meanwhile in the windy city of Chicago, Barack Obama was doing his own ‘organizing’ involving himself for a paltry $12,000 salary (coming from taxpayer subsidies) for doing what? Serving soup? Mr. Obama has not yet answered to the public about his involvement with the far-left ACORN, Bill Ayers and those who masquerade as clergy. I guess that is why he has some skewed ideas about what service really is. I am not surprised why in the recent Service Nation Summit he promoted offering college tuition credits to students for community service. Maybe he should use the acronym IDRC for his big idea. It means – I Don’t Really Care; I’m Doing it to Reduce my College tuition. Maybe he can enlist the IDRC’s from liberal colleges to get more bogus voter registrations as ACORN has in over 12 states! I think Barack Obama owes an apology to those of us who have and continue to serve from the heart in communities all over this nation. Worse yet to use his questionable service activities and his 143 days in the U.S. Senate as a qualification for the executive office of President.
Please unite with other like minded, socially responsible citizens…
http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25017724377
Community Organizers Unite!!
This is a great site…I have really enjoyed reading everyone’s thoughts on this issue.
Way to go!
I am glad that you guys created this site.
CO’s are the “co” in “cool.