I volunteered for the Obama campaign and went canvassing on several occasions.
The experiences of volunteers like me and the training from the campaign staff, I think, help to explain why so many people are focusing attention on convincing the Blue Cross Dogs to back the public option and stop caving in to unreasonable Republican demands.
Follow me over the fold for the details.
There was a recent diary in which the case was made that attacking Blue Dogs is stupid because it puts health insurance/care reform in peril. The idea being that, even without a public option, we should still support a bill if it makes incremental progress.
While making incremental progress is better than regressing or the status quo, I find the argument unpersuasive. I don't even see going after the Blue Dogs as necessarily "attacking." In fact, based on what I learned from canvassing training, it's smart politics.
I remember being told on several canvassing days that, once the team was finished with voter ID, people had classified into one of three basic groups. Solidly for the opposition, solidly for our guy or undecided/persuadable.
On multiple canvasses, the message was the same and sent loudly and clearly: i.e. Don't waste time trying to convince people who have already made up their minds. The campaign preferred that we spent our time talking to people who had not made their minds up since the chances of them ultimately agreeing with us were much greater than a Clinton or McCain supporter making a 180 degree turn. Therefore, the most effort and personal attention got focused on the undecideds.
In a similar fashion, I see focusing attention on the Blue Cross Dogs as very reasonable, in light of their persistent waffling on important issues such as the public option and disturbing ease with which they seem to be willing to let Republicans hijack and/or weaken a bill they don't really want to see pass in the first place.
Why waste time trying to persuade Chuck Grassley or Mitch McConnell or Republican party leaders Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck? They will get on board the Obama reform train only when the era of porcine aviation dawns and Mephistopholes is ice dancing on the plains of Hades.
Likewise, do we need to spend resources to persuade the progressive part of the party? Do the people who want to vote for single payer need to be convinced that the public option is a good idea?
I submit to the Rahm Emanuels of the world that persuading the people who have not made up their minds is pretty much what politics is all about and you should not be surprised that we are trying to get the Blue Dogs to do the right thing since it is clear they may not without sufficient influencing.
The bottom line is that it was David Plouffe and the Obama campaign team that taught the lesson of focusing on those who can be swayed to the masses of new volunteers. Therefore, it should not be a surprise to anyone that we are still using that knowledge as the fight for health care/insurance reform continues.
Keep the pressure on. It seems to be working based on what I have seen lately.