Grassroots Voices for Retirement Security!

Strategy and Time Table Midwest Training

July 7-9, 2013 – Chicago, IL

2013 – Put Proactive Agenda on the Radar Screen • Internal Education • Get polling out• Identify champions & move them into action• Explore links to related state fights

2014 – Use Mid-terms to Get the Agenda More Momentum In Political Cycle

• Target party and media elites • Make use of contested Senate and House races• Link to state efforts

2015 – Make Proactive Agenda Part of Presidential Race

• Early primary states• Begin conversations with Candidates • Candidates events ?

2016 – Make Agenda Central to Presidential Race

The Plan: Proactive Agenda Over the Next Few Years

“Peaks Chart” - Proposed Strategy & Timeline

July Human Chain Action

with ARA allies

Small Meetings with Secondary Targets To

Build Allies ( Mayors, other Civic Leaders )

Fix the Debt Day of Action – July 23

September - OctoberBudget Deal

Phone calls, Actions / Story Telling at Congressional Offices,

Bird-dogging

Moving Target Members of Congress to

Support Proactive Agenda

Actions & Reactions: Rapid

Response

Ongoing Activity : Base Building - Outreach and Education - LIST BUILDING

August Recess

Launch Proactive Agenda at Town Halls, Tours or Story Circles

with Congressional Targets

Creating Local Champions & Calling

Out Corporate Targets

Ongoing Media Outreach to Change the Public’s Idea of What Is Possible

Crunch Time On Rx Drug Savings

Grassroots Ambassadors

Peer Organizing: Tabling, speaking at community meetings to recruit & inform other people, informally recruiting other people through social networks, and structured outreach such as phone banking list, canvassing neighborhoods.

Advocacy: Persuading & motivating local institutional leaders, mayors, state representatives to make them agents of change for our cause – getting them pointed at our targets.

Spokespeople: Get our message & the policy content out in the media to shift the public and the politician’s idea of what is possible.

What we need: Research, Education & Power Analysis

1. Leaders get trained & familiar with information / Collect Stories

Proposals to Cut or Improve Benefits Data sources to reference (new reports, polls, etc.) Practice with their own stories and stories of others

2. Problem - Issue Issue Expanding Not Cutting Social Security Protecting Medicare from Cuts to Beneficiaries – Any Cuts Should

Come From Pharma Expanding Medicaid

2. CCC & Your Organizations Analyze Political Environment Primary targets: Democrats – to move an agenda around expanding

benefits we need to target those most likely to embrace that agenda Enemies: Corporate Power Groups – Fix the Debt Obstacles: Die Hard Anti-Government People In Government Allies: Civic Leaders and Politicians We Can Put In Motion

2013 Targets:

Building Champions &

Exposing Enemies

Senate Moderates Claire McCaskill (MO), Richard ‘Dick’ Durbin (IL), Debbie Stabenow (MI)

Key SwingMajority Whip:

Postures to Center on Budget

Finance Committee

Contested Race in Michigan

Gary Peters Current member of the House

Representative Running for Senate to replace

longstanding Senator Carl Levin who is retiring

Social Security gives him the potential to go progressive on a popular issue

Ohio Senators: Key Champion & Key Target

Sherrod Brown Major champion on all of our

issues Sponsor of Cost of Living

Improvement and Rx Drug Pricing Bill

Rob Portman Possible 2016 Republican

Contender Fix the Debt spokesperson Postures as moderate Republican

MW Congressional Black Caucus Members

Great Potential Allies For A Strong Social Security System & other retirement security programs!

Joyce Beatty (OH)William Lacy Clay (MO)Emanuel Cleaver (MO)

John Conyers, Jr (MI)Danny Davis (IL)

Marcia Fudge (OH), Chairwoman

Bobby Rush (IL)Robin Kelly (IL)

MW Congressional Black Caucus Members: Can influence the Advocacy & Activism of the CBC as a whole

Our Ambassadors can increase the CBC VOICE on these Issues!

Possible Local Allies “Secondary Targets”

Mayors City Legislators State Representatives College Presidents Well Respected Clergy Leaders In Large Civic Organizations

Local Allies

Primary Targets

WHY THE LOCAL ALLIES? They are the future Senators and Congress members. We can get local allies to directly bring our message, information

and asks to Members of Congress! They can write op-eds and LTE’s or make other public statements

that elevate our issues and challenge our targets.

Expose Fix the Debt

Corporate Controlled PR Campaign That Fronts

As A Bi-Partisan Do-Gooder Group

Overall DebateAusterity vs.

Prosperity

Corporate Power vs. Everyday People

Sometimes our enemies give us an opportunity to call out their motives in a way that spreads our message and builds our power!

When that happens, we go after them.We take the risks!

August Recess

Whistle-stop ToursQuilts

Story CirclesHouse Meetings

Main Objective: getting our primary targets on the record and out of their comfort zone!

September to October: Budget Deal

Rapid ResponseVolume Phone Calls

Quick Actions & Office Stop-bys Put Opponents & Targets on the Spot

Media Placement

Main Objective: getting our primary targets on the record and out of their comfort zone!

Original IdeasUnexpected Action

Powerful Truth TellingRisk Taking

Common Program

Power of Creative Action

In order to win, we need a delicate balance…

“Peaks Chart” Proposed Strategy & Timeline

July Human Chain Action

with ARA allies

Small Meetings with Secondary Targets To

Build Allies ( Mayors, other civic Leaders )

Fix the Debt Day of Action – July 23

September - OctoberBudget Deal

Phone calls, Actions / Story Telling at Congressional Offices,

Bird-dogging

Moving Target Members of Congress to

Support Proactive Agenda

Actions & Reactions: Rapid

Response

Ongoing Activity : Base Building - Outreach and Education - LIST BUILDING

August Recess

Launch Proactive Agenda at Town Halls, Tours or Story Circles

With Congressional Targets

Creating Local Champions & Calling

Out Corporate Targets

Ongoing Media Outreach to Change the Public’s Idea of What Is Possible

Crunch Time On Rx Drug Savings