Why 'Community Organizer' Isn't Funny

Matt Lewis | October 23, 2008 9:45 AM

We've all gotten a good laugh out of the fact that Barack Obama was a "community organizer," but the truth is that his training, as such, has -- in my estimation -- prepared him to run a tremendously effective grassroots campaign.

In 1992, as a community organizer, Barack Obama ran a highly-successful voter registration effort for Project VOTE (an ACORN affiliate). His effort resulted in registering more than 150,000 new voters to oust two-term Senator Alan Dixon in the March Democratic primary. Dixon was replaced by Carol Moseley Braun. Dixon's sin, of course, was in voting to confirm Clarence Thomas. This was a payback for apostacy -- but it also demonstrated Obama's effectiveness as a grassroots organizer. (I don't have to tell you how difficult it is to oust a sitting U.S. Senator in a Democratic Primary)...

So as we watch voter registration numbers -- and turn-out -- change in numerous states (even Georgia), it is clear that Obama's training as a community organizer made him a firm believer in the importance of voter registration and the ground-game.

This, of course, is not to say that voter fraud is not being attempted -- it is. At the very least, ACORN is attempting to create chaos by overwhelming secretaries of state -- as well as the nice 78-year-old lady who volunteers to work the polls every year on Election Day...

But it is clear that Obama's legitimate voter registration efforts are very real and impressive -- and are most likely a result of his firm belief in their efficacy, based on his success as a community organizer who helped oust a sitting U.S. Senator in Illinios.

Some of the votes have already been cast (early voting or same-day registration). But for others, the question will be to see how many of the voters Obama's team registered actually show up at the polls on Election Day. Rest assured, they will have a concerted effort to make sure these folks turn-out...