Race to Replace Kennedy Gives OFA an Opening
BY Nancy Scola | Monday, January 11 2010
All the fascinating talk of late over what has -- and hasn't -- become of Organizing for America seems, to me, to underplay the fact that 2009 was very much an "off" election year. OFA, back when it was the Obama campaign, cut its teeth getting one man elected to office. The switch to then attempting to ram massively complex and controversial health care legislation through Congress was a pretty abrupt shift. One way to look at the Massachusetts special election to fill Ted Kennedy's old seat is, then, in some ways (despite , of course, the sad circumstances of Kennedy's passing) is as a rather happy accident for OFA. They now get a chance to do what they're good at -- rallying voters -- in service of their stated aim: creating a Senate amenable to their vision for health coverage reform.
OFA Deputy Director Jeremy Bird emails the list this weekend:
On Tuesday, January 19th, there's a special election in Massachusetts to fill Ted Kennedy's Senate seat. While the large majority of Massachusetts voters support the Democratic candidate, Attorney General Martha Coakley, special interests have poured in hundreds of thousands of dollars to mislead voters -- and the traditionally low turnout in special elections means this race could be very, very close. The stakes here are incredibly high. You know how hard we've fought and how close we've come to finally passing health reform. But also know this: To get the job done, we need Martha Coakley's vote in the Senate. No matter where you live, you can play an essential role. OFA volunteers around the country are calling key Massachusetts voters and making sure they know when and where to vote, and how important electing Martha Coakley is to the country. Each voter we reach could be the one who tips the balance.
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