While Jealous is working to make sure that folks in the wake of Ike get proper aid and electrical power, he and the NAACP are working hard to make sure that those folks’ electoral power is also fully restored and available.
I am responding to James’ article this week where he lauds Obama’s recent policy reversal on supporting off-shore drilling, essentially claiming that when it comes to comprehensive energy policy reform, there is no magic bullet and we need to embrace all solutions and not the solution. And Obama gave red meat to conservatives by explaining that he would support offshore drilling as part of an overall package in part because “we shouldn’t allow the Perfect to be the enemy of the Good.” The problem is that offshore drilling is not a good idea.
So the question is, why can’t we change the model? Instead of recruiting an army of volunteers, why not recruit an army of employees? If we want to get real about letting “regular” people work on behalf of their best interests politically, why not financially incentivize them to do so?
By shifting the framing of this type of engagement from volunteering to working, we properly compensate the good people that participate in these processes, paying them in not only political results, great community atmosphere, and spiritualy upliftment, but also in dollars and cents.