"OFA Under Fire"
BY Nancy Scola | Wednesday, January 13 2010
Such is the title of a look at the current state of Organizing for America from Politico's Ben Smith and Alex Insenstadt. The sampling of opinions in the piece reflect the criticisms of OFA that have been circling for some time, namely that the group is too obviously top-down as compared to the Obama campaign and that the health care reform battle was a mismatch with what the organization's core competencies seem to be. Smith and Insenstadt bring into the debate an angle that hasn't, it seems, gotten a good look in this whole discussion: how local Organizing for America chapters are interacting with state Democratic parties. For example, a view form inside a pair of east coast state parties:
“There seems to be an unwillingness or lack of an ability to work well with the state party” in Pennsylvania, said T.J. Rooney, state Democratic Party chairman. The chairman in neighboring New Jersey, Joseph Cryan, described himself as “frustrated” with the group.
Smith and Insenstadt don't put too fine a point on it, but they do bring up what seems to be Organizing for America's very energetic efforts to, not surprisingly, defend their work and their relationships:
Inquiries about disgruntled party chairpersons that made their way back to Washington produced a deluge of official denials: The Nebraska Democratic Party said it had a “fantastic, synergetic relationship” with OFA; the California Democratic Party said it “has enjoyed a very positive working relationship”; the Kansas Democratic Party said it has a “great relationship”; the Alaska Democratic Party said it has “an outstanding relationship”; the Vermont Democratic Party said it has an “excellent relationship”; the Missouri Democratic Party said it has “a very good working relationship with OFA.” Wrote Dan Parker, chairman of the Indiana Democratic Party: “Our experience has been great.”
Give it a read here. (Photo credit: Barack Obama's Flickr account)