Progressive Landscape:

Movements, Institutional Actors, Campaigns, Strategy, and Tactics

Created & Presented by Westley Bayas III
w/ additional content suggested by Kiran Bammarito & Branden Riley

Change the Game

August 14, 2017

ALLPPT.com _ Free PowerPoint Templates, Diagrams and Charts

Hi, Im Wes. I Get Around.
Learning Objectives

Understand the structure of the pprogressive

g lan
dscape
Learn the difference between movements, cam
paigns strategy,
paigns, strateg tactics and institutions
instit tions
Have a sense for the various spaces within the
progressive
p g movement
WTF IS A PROGRESSVE, THO?

Question: When y
you hear the word progressive,
p g what comes to mind?
-Progressive is a word that has many
meanings to many people, and defining
it is almost an exercise in futility.
y

- However, there is a definition that cover

s what it means to be a progressive. The
American Values Project came up with a
set of four pillars that represent
progressive thought:

1. Freedom
2. Opportunity
3. Responsibility
4
4. Cooperation
But at the end of the day..

Progressives
g are/should be ultimately
y about one thing:
g LIBERATION
The Pieces Of The Progressive Landscape

Movements

Institutions Campaigns
g

Tactics Strategy
Movements
A representation of a constituency or theme
Movements
M t are nott tied
ti d to
t one group, organization,
i ti
initiative or campaign they embody the value
set(s) of a particular constituency who are aligned
on a common matter.

Many entities can be part of a movement, as long

as they buy into the larger value set.

Movements are powerful because they are much

like a starfish: if you cut off one appendage, a new
one grows and the old one grows into another
starfish.

Movement are dependent on the maintaining of the

original value set when movements begin to
misson creep, they lose power and purpose
Campaigns
The specific goals that we want to achieve
Campaigns
C i are h
how we move fforward d
pieces of the movement, by setting
targeted goals that we can build around

While many people associate campaigns

with elected officials, any organized effort
towards a specific goal is a campaign. This
can vary from a issue based campaign
(End HB2) to raising funds for a new
program or building (capital campaigns)

While campaigns allow for structured and

timely progress towards the end results,
th can also
they l create
t unneeded
d d and
d
subjective timelines and create a need to
triage to win.
Strategy
The Plan to Achieve the Goal
As discussed
A di d yesterday,
t d strategy
t t iis ((nextt
to people) the guiding force of a
campaign/movement.

While many people are active and

engaged in various forms of actions, the
larger strategy helps to determine which
move will be made next and gives
context to why a move is made

While an detailed, well conceived and

nimble strategy plan can help to provide
a foundation, stagnant and immovable
plans
l can choke
h k off
ff a campaign
i
movements ability to respond.

NOTE: Were coming back to this in a bit.

Tactics
The activities that contribute to a
campaign/landscape
Tactics
T ti are the
th fun
f partt off the
th campaign
i the
th
actions and activities that are the most visible
pieces .

Also called mobilizing

mobilizing , these are usually the
least difficult to develop and recruit support for.
IMO, its because a person can see/feel/hear
instant gratification and impact from the events.

Tactics can move a powerful point forward, but

must be used much like tools in a toolbox. Using
the right tactic for the right situation is key.

Being a tactics focused organization can lead to

early burnout and loss of support.
Institutions
Where the Campaigns are host
IInstitutions
tit ti are th
the organizations
i ti that
th t have
h
been established to hold, manage and
support campaigns.

These intuitions can look a bunch of different

ways from campaign and party committees,
policy tanks, outside political groups , and
more

These organizations can hold and fund

needed capacity to support campaigns as
they come up reduces the need for start up
costs

Institutions can quickly become part of a

establishment base that ceases to push the
status que, and can deliver cookie cutter
results.
results
Exercise #1

PICK & RESEARCH

Your group will pick one of four different campaigns to work on during this session.
1. Elect a Governor to VA
2 Win Back the State House in VA
2.
3. State Referendum to end Mass Incarceration
4. Defeat and Repeal the Hyde Amendment
Take 10 minutes, and look up what does the current landscape for that campaign
1 Movements
1. M t
2. Strategy
3. Tactics
4. Institutions
Discuss among your group, and save the knowledge for our second exercise!
The institutions that make up the movement

Political Party
Orgs
g

Outside Think Tanks/Policy

Influencers Orgs

Constituency National Political

Organizations Organizations
Political Party Organizations
Or how the Democrats couldnt rig **** even if they
wanted to
The DNC (Democratic
Th (D ti N National
ti lC
Committee) the presidential
itt ) iis th id ti l committee.
itt It r
aises money, primarily, for the presidential race every four years.

The DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) is the committe

e that has jurisdiction over House races
races.

The DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) is the Senate-side c

ounterpart of the DCCC.

The DGA (Democratic Governors Association) is the organization thats orient

ed toward electing Democratic governors.

The DLCC (Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee) is the organization

thats tasked with organizing and funding the thousands of legislative races a
ll around the country.
Think Tanks & Policy Organizations

The brain trust of the movement

Think
Thi k ttanks
k serve as th
the home
h for
f policy
li an
d research development regarding a variety
of different issues.

These organizations serve as outside suppor

t to campaigns, movements, and the like to
provide professional research that can be us
ed for public and legislative use.

Think tanks are generally partisian in nature,

even when they say they arent. (PRO TIP: Al
ways review an orgs donors and board of di
rectors)

Think tanks can also provide anaylsis that ca

n be detached from the on the ground polit
ical realities
National Political Organizations
The Outside Pressure
National
N ti l political
liti l organizations
i ti provide
id
additional support and resources outside of
party committees.

National organizations have the resources a

nd capacity to shape a political landscape
that is tied to the groups/consituencys
agenda.

These organizations can push the status

quo, and push new types of campaigns and
candidates.

Outside organizations can also be involved

in tension when the goals/agenda of the
group pushes against the partys agenda.
Constituency Organizations
The lifeblood of a political movement
Constituency
C tit organizations
i ti are similar
i il tot
outside political organizations, but are more
focused on their specific constituency or
agenda.

Constituency orgs protect the rights of their

group, while creating capacity for others
within the constituency to advocate for their
issues.

They can also help to insert needed context

in broad policy debates, ensuring that their
constituencies needs are represented.
represented
Outside Influencers
THEY GOT MOOOOONNNNNNEEEEEYYYYYY

What else do you want me to say?

These people have money, fund programmi

ng, and ensure the movement continues

They also happen to usually be rich, white,

old,
ld and
d male
l

Do I really need to say how this could be a

good and bad thing?

Want to discuss or nah?

NOW BACK TO STRATEGY
Midwest Academy Strategy Chart
The strategy
Th t t chart,
h t created
t d by
b organizing
i i gurus att the
th Midwest
Mid t Academy,
A d
is a common tool used to build out the process for a campaign

It is made up of the following components:

Issue - The specific solution to a problem.
Constituents - People and/or organizations that agree with your issue an
d want to win the issue for the very same reasons you do.
Allies - People and/or organizations that agree with your issue but for re
asons that
th t are different.
diff t
Opponents - People and/or organizations that are not on your side of an
issue and who stand to lose something if you win your issue.
Tactic - The actions you take to pressure the target into making the deci
sion you want them to make in order to win your issue
Long-term goal - This is the long term goal of your efforts.
Intermediate goal - This is the goal of your campaign.
Short-term goal - This is a first step that your group can take to get to
your intermediate goal
goal.
What the chart looks like.
Exercise #2

PICK & RESEARCH

Using the option that you selected earlier, you will use the Strategy Chart to build out your
campaign
1 Elect a Governor to VA
1.
2. Win Back the State House in VA
3. State Referendum to end Mass Incarceration
4. Defeat and Repeal the Hyde Amendment
Take 30 minutes
minutes, and as a group fill out the chart
chart.
Your group will have 3 minutes to present one of the goals you have developed.

NOTE: Dont be concerned if you cant finish the full document, youll be using this strategy
chart
h t again
i dduring
i ththe nextt ttwo weeks.
k
REPORT OUT & QUESTIONS

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Email:wbayasIII@gmail com
Email:wbayasIII@gmail.com