(I’m at the Obama/DNC registration event right now, this was a great event this afternoon with Dr. Dean.  Get out the vote!!! – promoted by David Dayen)

The Barack Obama/DNC “Register for Change” bus just pulled up in front of the Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas, so that DNC Chairman Howard Dean could lead a rally and then register voters outside the Austin Convention Center.  Dean’s visit took place during a noon-time break in panel discussions being led by the Obama campaign and the DNC, laying out their plan for winning in 2008.

Those of you who have read emails and posts from the California Democratic Party have already heard many of the specifics for their plan.  The primary tool that Democrats will be using to win this election in November is the Neighborhood Leader program.

In the morning’s first presentation, the speaker, Parag Mehta of the DNC outlined the effectiveness of various forms of communicating with voters.  He provided some data about political outreach that were extremely telling.  

The contact required to garner one vote for your cause requires the following:

• 389 mailers
• 460 phone calls
• 14 doors knocked

Those numbers don’t leave much doubt as to where we can most effectively increase our numbers of Democratic votes for November.  And something tells me there’s going to be a lot more talk here at Netroots Nation about the Neighborhood Leader program.  

That’s because the premise is strikingly effective and amazingly simple.  You sign up to be a Neighborhood Leader and promise to talk to 25 of your friends and neighbors about your Democratic values and the candidates who share your values.  You talk to them three separate times between now and November.   Then you try to find two other people to volunteer to become Neighborhood Leaders.

Our message is amplified exponentially, and most importantly our message comes to people from trusted sources.

It’s such a powerful tool, that they even plastered the message on the side of the Register for Change bus.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party