Main Campaigns

• 2012 Campaigns
  

  We have a three-point strategy to build pressure for serious cuts in military spending and serious funding for jobs and services… amid the hoopla of an election year.

  1. Bring “move the money” into election campaigns. We are following candidates, asking questions, and forcing our issue onto the campaign agenda.

  2. Organize city by city. By passing resolutions – in city councils, community organizations, unions, religious congregations – we connect local funding crises with runaway military spending. And we can take it to the people with town hall meetings and People’s Assemblies that say: move the money to our communities!

  3. Get in the news. Brutal budget battles on Capitol Hill give us opportunities to say: We have the solution, cut the Pentagon! If you get this demand into your local media you can pressure your federal officials and broaden support for our cause.

  See detailed campaign plans below.

   

  1. Take the fight to the campaign trail and Congress in 2012

  How do we keep “cut the Pentagon” and “fund us” on the front burner during an election year? And how do we convince congresspeople that they need to act on the issue? By intervening at the most important point in their political lives – when they’re running for office. Candidates, friend or foe alike, need to feel the heat  at every forum or campaign stop. Bird-dogging is the way to do it.

  a. Join our webinar January 28 and learn how to train others to “bird-dog” candidates. “Bird-dogging” is following candidates, asking them questions, and making them take positions on your issues. When Romney said “Corporations are people too, my friend,” bird-doggers were there flushing out his true views. Join two of the country’s bird-dogging experts for the webinar on Saturday January 28 at 3 pm eastern time. Email cutmilitaryspending@gmail.com to register.

  b. Assemble a team, train them, and get going.

  c. Find out where your candidate(s) will be appearing. Have your question ready before hand.  Don’t go alone.  Coordinate with others. Get there early. Be prepared to also speak to the media. Bring a video camera or smart phone and record the exchange.   Let NPN know about your experiences.  Send us your videos! And click here for bird-dogging tips and training guides.

  d. Meanwhile, stay on Congress’s case with PDA’s monthly Brown Bag Lunch Vigils the third Wednesday of every month.

   

  2. Organize in your city

  Local organizing is the heart of our work. Constantly reaching out, supporting other groups’ campaigns for jobs and services, and organizing speakouts with them will build the deep public support we need to make deep changes. Whatever you do, build broad coalitions and join with new forces.

  a. Resolutions are one coalition-building vehicle. You can start with resolutions in people’s organizations (unions, community groups, congregations) and move toward a city council resolution. Resolutions must include action steps – commit the body to pressure your congresspeople, hold public hearings on budget cuts and jobs. That sets up the next phase of your campaign and enlists their leaders to lobby for us. Click here for a template resolution, a list of places that’ve passed resolutions, and tips for resolution campaigns.

  b. People’s Assemblies (town hall meetings, forums…) are another way to connect local needs with military spending.

  3. Get in the news. Big budget fights have already started. The biggest one is when Capitol Hill hawks try to exempt the Pentagon from automatic deficit cuts. You play a critical role. Beltway groups are arranging national media responses, and the impact will double or triple if there’s local work too. So:

  a. Forward New Priorities alerts to your lists. We will be sending them out monthly or more often. You will be joining hundreds of thousands of people for some of these online actions.

  b. Find people who will write op-eds and letters to the editor. We will provide talking points and sample letters; you can add local facts and voices from the people who are getting cut.

  c. Organize visible actions and pull new allies in. Hold a joint event or press conference with a city councilor, a union leader, faith and community leaders. Jointly sign a letter to the editor about city budget cuts and runaway military spending. Reach out, build your coalition, and get in the news.

  d. Tell us what you are doing – ahead of time if you can. Media consultants may be able to help you place an op-ed, get on the radio, or build an echo chamber by combining local and national coverage.

   

  4. Combine these ingredients for a real wallop!

  People’s Assemblies and visibility actions can inspire and broaden a bird-dogging drive, lobbying and pressure, or a resolution campaign.

  Capitol Hill budget battles provide talking points and media hooks that you can bring into bird-dogging, local resolution campaigns and Assemblies.

   

  Timeline

  February: Budget battles. The White House, GOP, and progressives introduce their 2012 budget proposals. Meanwhile, Congress locks horns over how to pay for unemployment insurance and payroll tax cuts. And congressional hawks file a bill to exempt the Pentagon from automatic deficit cuts in 2013. Congress is back home on recess February 20-24 – a good time for lobby visits.

  March: More budget battles. Back home, state budgets are coming out and they’ll be awful –time for People’s Assemblies that connect the city budget to Washington.

  April: House recess April 2-13 provides times for bird-dogging candidates. April 17, Tax Day and the Global Day of Action on Military Spending, is a key time for Assemblies, visibility, and protest – towns will be discussing their dismal 2012 budgets.

  May: House and Senate recesses April 30-May 4. The G8/NATO summit in Chicago May 15-22 is a great time for visibility and education actions.

  June: House recess June 11-15.