On Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:20:55 -0400 Eric Brunner-Williams <brunner@nic-naa.net> wrote:
randy,
moveon is a maine-based org. it is an effective, fund raising, partisan organization. it is much more than a click-and-opine vehicle, it puts hundreds of thousands of dollars into competitive races, and has a competent political director.
to create a "NagOn" we would have to hire or appoint a political director, and a financial director, and charge each with framing the issue, and executing a seven figure plan, and a communications director, to put the message with the money in targeted media markets, and finally, to show teeth, drop the margin of error, or on the order of high five, low six figures, in targeted congressional races, for challengers and incumbants.
in about a year after starting down this path, the "Congressman, its NagOn on line one" conversation would be slightly different from today, and in several years time, more so.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." I don't know that a NagOn is the best way or the only way to make progress. I do know that the most likely source of that kind of funding is (many of) our employers, who may not have technical excellence on the top of their lists. But I'm even more certain that if technical people never speak up, their message will never be heard, except perhaps by accident. --Steve Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb