Jordan Birnbaum

Host

Can Twitter Activism Change Government?

Jul 3, 2013·72 visitors

Zach Green

Cohost

Stage· 116 messages

Jul 3, 2013

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:00 PM

Mr. Green, I presume?

Zach Green · 5:00 PM

Hi Jordan, thanks for having me.

Zach Green · 5:00 PM

Let's see if I can remember how to use more than 140 characters.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:00 PM

Thank you so much for being here! And I'm sure you'll adapt very well!

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:01 PM

There is so much I want to cover with you but cannot possibly cover it all in this first Tawk

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:01 PM

So I want to focus on trying to answer the one issue that I think affects us all the most - feeloing helpless

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:02 PM

In most of my Tawks, I have found a broad consensus that the need to present evidence that government is broken has been fulfilled

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:02 PM

so the question is what do we do next. I think you might have some answers. Am I right?

Zach Green · 5:02 PM

I hope so - though some would argue our government isn't broken, it's bought.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:03 PM

well, that kind of means the same thing, doesn't it?

Zach Green · 5:04 PM

The structure of the government can work effectively, but the structure of society buying the government prevents that. Folks are purposely breaking the government for their own benefit. So yes, I suppose buying leads to breaking.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:04 PM

So what was your inspiration behind creating @UniteBlue? What did you / do you hope to accomplish?

Zach Green · 5:05 PM

I've worked at the intersection of Twitter and politics since 2010, and approached it from every angle.

Zach Green · 5:06 PM

I've been an impartial analyst for the press, a developer, a consultant, an organizer, etc.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:06 PM

★ Spotlighted from Dylan Brody

“It only means the same thing if we want It's only the same thing if we want democracy rather than plutocracy”

Zach Green · 5:06 PM

Through that experience I built lots and lots of stuff, and after a month or so it would become useless.

Zach Green · 5:06 PM

An issue would subside, a candidate would drop out, an election would end - then it was back to square one.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:07 PM

does that fall on the media coverage or populace apa thy?

Zach Green · 5:07 PM

So I looked past the controversies du jour, and saw that there are the same people fighting the same battles over the long run.

Zach Green · 5:07 PM

I figured that if we could connect, organize, and empower the grassroots, then we would be stronger for the myriad of fights ahead. That's why I founded UniteBlue.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:08 PM

For me personally, UniteBlue energizes me, because it makes me feel a part of something hopeful. And it helps me know I am not the only one who sees things as incredibly screwed up.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:09 PM

So there are "soft" benefits -but now that you hagve begun to develop this community, how can we turn that into actionable strategies?

Zach Green · 5:09 PM

★ Spotlighted from Lucy Dyer

“bought AND broken”

Zach Green · 5:10 PM

I hope we're already doing that - once you have an engaged community the question becomes how that energy can be directed towards something meaningful.

Zach Green · 5:10 PM

One answer is a Twitterbomb, basically when thousands of folks scream about the same issue at the same time, to draw national and even worldwide attention.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:11 PM

So that makes complete sense to me. But in prepping for this, I had a thought that felt counter-intuitive. Has government actually gotten worse since the advent of the Internet and Twitter?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:11 PM

are twitter-bomb campaigns working yet?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:12 PM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Organization is everything in the difference between discussing change and making it happen. Nice work Mr Green!”

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:12 PM

I guess I'm saying that awareness seems at an all time high, but nothing seems to be emerging from it in DC

Zach Green · 5:12 PM

"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us." ~FDR

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:13 PM

I want that to be true...

Zach Green · 5:13 PM

This isn't just the information age, it is the empowerment age. To the degree that information is power, that power is being distributed by the Internet. It's allowing a participatory politics where television produced passivity.

Zach Green · 5:14 PM

These are all good things for effecting change in DC :)

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:14 PM

★ Spotlighted from Melissa Heath

“I want to know how we can draft good candidates to run. Real problem in Georgia, GOP running unopposed”

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:14 PM

Melissa gives a perfect example of an acxtionable problem without a real solution in place (yet).

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:15 PM

Do we need to start recruiting candidates from the Unite Blue community?

Zach Green · 5:15 PM

Yes Melissa, that's tough. Failure to produce good candidates are a symptom, not the cause. In many red states, it has been so long since a Democrat won that many feel hopeless.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:15 PM

funding campaigns on kickstarter?

Zach Green · 5:16 PM

UniteBlue made a big push for Elizabeth Colbert-Busch, where no Democrat had won since 1981 (I believe, perhaps longer).

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:16 PM

★ Spotlighted from Trey Williamson

“Power to the people Zach! F#%* yeah! We need to stop playing games with our technology and use it for change!”

Zach Green · 5:17 PM

I can tell you from visiting Charleston many times during that election that folks were getting excited again, they felt victory was possible, and that's where good people can start to seek office again. It starts with the grassroots having hope.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:17 PM

well UniteBlue certainly does provide that, for me at least

Zach Green · 5:18 PM

Hope is part of it, and that's been discussed a lot thanks to President Obama's audacity ;) But efficacy matters too - not just that something can be done, but that YOU have the power to do it.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:18 PM

So let me pivot to one of my favorite subjects: progressigves vs. the Democratic party establishment

Zach Green · 5:19 PM

★ Spotlighted from Blake Ian

“Great FDR quote, though it kind of seems that it has stopped being the case no?”

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:19 PM

Do you believe that electing Democrats over Republicans is the prime objective? (Just to be fair, I am skeptical of the Democratic Party being just as bought as the Republican Party)

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:20 PM

Would you define UniteBlue's primary mission to get Dems elected

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:21 PM

Or is it more of a policy platform?

Zach Green · 5:21 PM

UniteBlue's Mission Statement is here: uniteblue.com/join - Electing Democrats is probably about 10-20% of our focus.

Zach Green · 5:21 PM

Yes, as we put it: We elect Democrats to Congress, and fight to ensure everyone has an ongoing voice in our Democracy.

Zach Green · 5:22 PM

So get the right folks in, then keep the pressure on so they know we're watching, and vote. That keeps them listening.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:22 PM

Do you think that progressives have fallen to easily into the trap of blaming Republicans? After all, the Dems had both houses for the first 2 years of the Obama administration, and still nothing got done, without any Republican obstructionism.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:22 PM

too

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:24 PM

Perhaps it's more nuanced than that?

Zach Green · 5:24 PM

Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act - Children's Health Insurance Program - Credit CARD Act - Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform - Obamacare - Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal - Food Safety and Modernization Act

Zach Green · 5:24 PM

We got some stuff done.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:25 PM

OK - so does UniteBlue have a fully formed political platform?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:26 PM

and does it differ from the democratic party platform?

Zach Green · 5:26 PM

UniteBlue doesn't have an agenda, and that upsets a lot of people since it doesn't fit the norm. The goal is to empower your agenda.

Zach Green · 5:26 PM

Also, to find consensus where it exists and move forward on that basis. But we can't predict all the battles ahead. Nobody saw the fight for gun control coming during the 2012 election. Nobody knew the war on women would be raging at this pace now.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:27 PM

OK - let's use a test case - private, for-profit prisons

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:28 PM

This is something that sickens me, and I think a lot of other people. The inherent conflict of interest is staggering. Don't the overwhelmong majority of citizens feel the same way?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:28 PM

So how could I go about trying to affect change on this issue?

Zach Green · 5:29 PM

That's a good question. Hopefully simply by joining UniteBlue, you will be able to connect with engaged and influential folks on the Left to build your influence.

Zach Green · 5:29 PM

Then the key is to build a coalition around that issue, as somebody is doing right now, trying to start a buycott for women's rights.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:30 PM

actually, that has already happened to a certain degree, and it's only been 2 weeks...

Zach Green · 5:30 PM

UniteBlue's community blog is open to all members, and a great way to lay out what you want to accomplish, brainstorm ideas, then take action collectively.

Zach Green · 5:31 PM

Other folks are doing meetups offline, a couple passionate people in North Carolina have been meeting regularly now, and joining in for Moral Mondays.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:31 PM

That's exciting - perhaps we can integrate Tawkers to facilitate the group discussions!

Zach Green · 5:32 PM

UniteBlue is the blooming of a thousand flowers, couldn't list all the ways folks are organizing on their own initiative. UniteBlue is just there to create the enabling infrastructure.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:32 PM

OK - just to throw you a curveball - what if someone's agenda is to restrict abortion rights? In other words, the complete opposite direction of the membership?

Zach Green · 5:33 PM

Then they probably won't be able to build a very effective coalition among the membership.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:33 PM

I have noticed that a lot of people on the political right seem to enjoy negative attention, so they might enjoy trying...

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:35 PM

So, if money in politics is the over-arching problem that keeps us from arriving at fair and well-intentioned legislation, how can we fight it? By building grassroots communities and protesting to the hilt?

Zach Green · 5:36 PM

Money in politics is one of the structural issues we need to address to achieve anything long-term, along with the filibuster and gerrymandering.

Zach Green · 5:36 PM

There are a lot of good groups pushing for constitutional amendments to overturn Citizens United, but they are very fragmented and we aren't there yet.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:36 PM

Are there simple solutions that are being blocked by the powers that be?

Zach Green · 5:37 PM

A million people are stronger than a million dollars.

Zach Green · 5:37 PM

The key, as I see it, is to get everyone to make money in politics an issue that they prioritize, something they vote on.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:38 PM

but do they even get a candidate they can vote for on that front?

Zach Green · 5:38 PM

We have the power to make getting money out of politics a key issue in 2016, something presidential candidates cannot ignore.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:38 PM

But what if there is collusion, as I expect, so that we don't even get that option?

Zach Green · 5:38 PM

Democratic politicians will fight for it, if there is the energy and passion from the grassroots.

Zach Green · 5:39 PM

Of course, we shouldn't wait for them to act. There is a very simple way to combat money in politics.

Zach Green · 5:39 PM

The key is realizing that money in politics isn't the problem, it's inevitable, just like power is inevitable. The only question is how it is distributed, vertically or horizontally.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:40 PM

Agreed, which is why I blame Reagan on...

Zach Green · 5:40 PM

The problem is 1% of the population having an outsized voice because all of a sudden money is speech, and the 1% can be the loudest.

Zach Green · 5:40 PM

The solution, until we can restore limits, is for the 99% to start opening their wallets.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:41 PM

Here's something a lot of people don't realize: the biggest winner of Citizens United are the media companies who get to sell all that advertising. I don't think they're going to makie our job any easier...

Zach Green · 5:41 PM

It's a counter-intuitive idea, but the best solution to money in politics, which is really the problem of big money in politics, is for everyone else to start chipping in $5, $15, $25, or $100. Then who will politicians listen to again?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:42 PM

but to whom do we give that money? candidates?

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:43 PM

Maybe time for a 3rd party?

Zach Green · 5:43 PM

Candidates, causes, organizations, sure. The ones you believe in and trust. If you want them to succeed, you need to chip in. That's how we reclaim ownership for the 99%.

Zach Green · 5:43 PM

We can get a Democrat to fight for this, if we push them hard enough.

Zach Green · 5:43 PM

Politicians will do what they need to do to get elected, we need to make this an issue that can determine whether they will win. It's up to us to push, they won't do it.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:44 PM

Do you think an independent like Bernie Sanders is better equipped to lead because he is not guided by conflicting party priorities?

Zach Green · 5:45 PM

He's a good message candidate, and I fully support folks running for office to get their message out. Sometimes it is the only way to get the traditional media to listen.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:45 PM

BTW -I do LOVE some Dems, like Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown, btw...

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:46 PM

But I find them to be a minority in the party

Zach Green · 5:46 PM

The worst thing anyone can do is get discouraged and give up, because I promise you: the Right won't.

Zach Green · 5:46 PM

Those with money won't stop trying to buy the system. They don't get discouraged, they get very nice ROI's.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:47 PM

It's a story as old as time.

Zach Green · 5:47 PM

Sheldon Adelson spent about $150 million in 2012, and if Romney won he would have seen a lot more money in tax breaks in return.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:47 PM

But what I can take away from this is that my advice to people is very much in line with yours. Keep talking about it. Keep connecting with people. Raise the awareness.

Zach Green · 5:47 PM

For people like that, buying the system is a smart investment.

Zach Green · 5:48 PM

When folks on the Left donate, they aren't expecting to get anything in return personally. They're just trying to help others.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:48 PM

Well, on a personal level, I hope you take pride in the fact that you are helping to inspore and motivate people like me. I am so excited to further my personal relationship with UniteBlue.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:49 PM

and advocate as loudly as I can for the things in which I believe with great passion and conviction.

Zach Green · 5:49 PM

I hope so. What I know is nobody joins for me, they join for each other. For the people they meet and the communities that they build. My goal is to make that easier and more effective.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:50 PM

Well, so far, so good.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:51 PM

I'm hoping to engage other UniteBluers on Tawkers to keep that connection robust and alive, and I hope to have you back to discuss specific issues and plans of action.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:51 PM

I really appreciate your joining me today, and everything that you're doing.

Zach Green · 5:51 PM

Thanks for having me, writing entire paragraphs was an interesting new experience.

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:51 PM

it's good for you.

Zach Green · 5:52 PM

Thanks to everyone who checked this Tawk out, feel free to follow up anything, just Tweet me @140elect :)

Jordan Birnbaum · 5:52 PM

Thanks all, and if you are arriving after the fact, just hit the "top" button in the upper left to pick this up from the beginning.

Forum · 16

Forum· 16 comments

72 visitors

Tawkers AdminJul 1, 2013, 2:30 PM

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Lucy DyerJul 3, 2013, 5:02 PM

afternoon gents :-)

Lucy DyerJul 3, 2013, 5:03 PM★ Spotlighted

bought AND broken

Dylan BrodyJul 3, 2013, 5:04 PM★ Spotlighted

It only means the same thing if we want It's only the same thing if we want democracy rather than plutocracy

Blake IanJul 3, 2013, 5:09 PM★ Spotlighted

Organization is everything in the difference between discussing change and making it happen. Nice work Mr Green!

Melissa HeathJul 3, 2013, 5:10 PM★ Spotlighted

I want to know how we can draft good candidates to run. Real problem in Georgia, GOP running unopposed

Blake IanJul 3, 2013, 5:15 PM★ Spotlighted

Great FDR quote, though it kind of seems that it has stopped being the case no?

Trey WilliamsonJul 3, 2013, 5:16 PM★ Spotlighted

Power to the people Zach! F#%* yeah! We need to stop playing games with our technology and use it for change!

Trey WilliamsonJul 3, 2013, 5:22 PM

@Dylan Brody - Just checked out some of your stuff on Youtube. Good stuff!

K SmithJul 3, 2013, 5:45 PM

Is Campaign Finance Reform dead?

K SmithJul 3, 2013, 5:52 PM

Thanks to both of you! ;)

Mike WilliamsJul 3, 2013, 5:52 PM

Been disappointed with the activity for Ohio on twitter. Any thoughts on how to improve that situation?

Mike WilliamsJul 3, 2013, 5:58 PM

I accidentally deleted someone on the listener page, sorry. Don't remember who is was, clicked the x trying to close the window. to get back here.

Mike WilliamsJul 3, 2013, 6:06 PM

GA Congressman Broun ran unoppsed last time, Even after remarks about science and biology being lies from the pits (or was it gates?) of hell.

Mike WilliamsJul 3, 2013, 6:16 PM

seeya, have to go