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FUN Politics

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Some Fun Organizations:

The Bus Project

Drinking Liberally

Laughing Liberally

Reading Liberally

Screening Liberally

Eating Liberally

Blogging Liberally

Living Liberally

Traction

Why have fun?

To draw people into politics by using a social setting and friendships and personal relationships to leverage change. Politics isn’t something you have to do only sometimes; it’s in bars, at comedy shows, etc…

 

Justin Kreebs, creator Drinking Liberally: Living liberally organizations are gateway drugs into politics, engaging you into the slippery slope of GOTV and progressive politics.

 

Before you get people to change behavior, it’s also an attitude problem. How many friends of ours think that “I’m not that into politics”

 

Traction builds offline social networks – potlucks, festivus for the left of us,

 

The fun is a part of it, but building a sense of community is important and relevant.

 

The Other key thing is providing role models - making sure there are young ass-kicking activists who can answer questions

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Sushi making workshop where you talk about clean water and mercury levels too!

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Electrial/Electoral dysfunction: Voting reform events.

 

Question: Has this proven to be effective?

 

Answer: We think so, but not sure. More study is needed to see how much of a change this made. Drinking liberally members are doing a thesis project to measure impact of drinking liberally.

 

Question: Why not just turn Drinking Liberally into a phone bank or canvass?

Answer: Drinking Liberally can’t legally organize a phone bank, but organizers can go and recruit at DL events.

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Party at the Polls

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Trick of Vote ®

 

Question: How can we do it so we merge these things? The fun and the work.

 

Answer: (Example of how to do it) Music for America: (MfA) Instead of trying to create fun events, it’s to realize that there are a bunch of funs that already exist, and to go into those events with peers who can speak to peers with materials that look like they belong.

 

Keep it to small shows so you can have one on one convos.

 

Concerts for Change and Concerts for Kerry - ? - wanted more info about them. Held small events and got artists and venues to hold small events to raise money directly for Kerry and state PACs.

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Run against Bush – Jogging with cool anti-Bush shirts.

 

Creating a social space is incredibly important where you create a kind of peer pressure to believe something.

 

Important thing to realize is that the internet is a tool for face to face interaction.

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN: Use Evites to invite young professionals to happy hour.

 

Question: Are their models to make this sustainable and funded by institutions? Where there is a social place to come together.

 

A lot of discussion has been about creating social spaces and social networks when we should also consider that we can tap into existing social networks.

 

C3 this kind of stuff…

 

Motor voter. Dorm voter. To register voters.

 

Apartment voters?

 

Question: How do we extend it beyond young professionals to underserved communities?

 

Youth centers. Build more of them.

 

EXAMPLE OF FUN:

 

Hip hop voter drive.

Register to vote when you get a license

Snakes on a senate.com / grandoldsenate.com

College phone bank w/beer

Stickers at a punk show that said “Fuck the naysayers I’m voting democrat’ be more racy….

Mark Warner is Good site

Soccer w/Latino outreach at Hispanic soccer leagues for grassroots outreach

Rural: Get Out the Hunt

Rural: Ride around on a donkey

Kenneth Cole political message on ads

Stoller: picking fights, making fun, making people seem evil, more mockery and spite

Don’t underestimate how important it is to keep the choir fun

Marching Band events

Local campaign support kickball team and roller derby

Generation Dean house parties

Party2Win

Legislation conference call for Human Society folks and inspire people to call own reps.

Ask own supporters for ideas

Wear random things to get attention and register to vote

Take asthetics seriously

Give people tools for conversation starters

Orange Hair subversive.com

Punk Voter Concerts

6 short satirical style videos

Thirsty Thursday

Sundae Sunday

Youth Outreach: Partisian project posters

Mock Santorum contest

Santorum scares me Halloween event

Parties at the polls

Pictures on flicker at rootscampDC

Democratic primary: speed dating with candidates

Candidates gone Wild

Find a forum where people can talk

Waxman for Leader on Facebook - value of being absurd

Sketch comedy group with Dems group fundraiser post Katrina and Habitat for Humanity.

Rootscamp

Profanity is FUN - Vote F*cker

College Voter Reg Drive: Vote Goat Pinata

Billionaires for Bush: Drinking with the enemy

Roadtrips for Canvass

Swag: beer pongs balls for drinking liberally

Dodgeball team: Dodgeleft in city rec league

Using other social capital – Frisbee, mountain biking, running, kickball, dodgeball

Halloween Party in gayborhood who went as yard signs

FOOD, FOOD, FOOD

Mayoroke (Mayor Karoyke)

Take fun to people where they are bored – people waiting at the DMVs, college registration

Yelling is fun.. Hip Hip Horray!

 

BONUS: So what does all this fun get you? Earned Media + a network of people who enjoy coming together for political action.


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