Former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina will run the newly formed Organizing For Action (formerly known as Organizing for America) from an office in Washington just two blocks from the White House. The group will also have an office in Chicago and hopes to soon open field offices across the country.
Among the group’s most powerful weapons: A list of more than 20 million activists who supported the President’s re-election — including their email addresses.
According to Messina, “Our job is to help the president pass some major pieces of legislation to get some things done for this country, which are common sense and that people can understand.” Messina says the group will be a lot like the Obama reelection campaign – running television ad campaigns, using social media and engaging in old-fashioned grassroots organizing to support the president’s major policy initiatives – beginning with the upcoming battles over gun control, immigration and the budget. The group will also train supporters who want to run for office themselves.
“We went out and surveyed our members — over 80,000 people said they wanted to run for office themselves in the next two to four years,” Messina said. “So we’re going to go out and train them and help them create a movement to get leaders into office.”
