EPISODE · Oct 3, 2022 · 39 MIN

How Democrats can harness grassroots energy

from Democracy Works · host Lara Putnam, Micah L. Sifry, Candis Watts Smith, Michael Berkman, Jenna Spinelle

The Democratic Party saw a surge in grassroots activism after the 2016 election, after George Floyd's murder, and most recently after the Dobbs decision. However, the party seems to be sticking to the same old playbook of fundraising emails and text messages, rather than building long-term organizational power. Our guests this week explore why that is and how the Democratic Party can use grassroots mometum to build and expand coaltions.Lara Putnam is professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh and previously appeared on the podcast ahead of the 2018 midterms. Micah L. Sifry is the founder of Civic Hall and writes The Connector newsletter on Substack. They teamed up for a New York Times op-ed in August and a series of follow-up pieces in The Connector.The New York Times: Fed Up With Democratic Emails? You're Not the Only OneThe Connector: An Activist Base is a Terrible Thing to WasteThe Connector: Connections, Capacity, and Impact Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.