Nadene Goldfoot
What skills did Obama bring to his presidency? "Obama accepted an offer to work as a community organizer in Chicago's largely poor and black South Side. "
There is such a group that Obama created called Organizing for Action. It didn't get much public attention until later when someone connected Charles Krauthammer's name to it. I fell for it as his name always gets my attention. What I have found out about this group is interesting enough in light of today's events with our election and all the marches and protests to be noticed.
"The current 501(c)(4) Organizing For Action is actually the third iteration of OFA, which itself reaches back to Barack Obama’s first presidential election campaign in 2008 when it was named “Obama for America.” Shortly before Obama’s inauguration, the then-President-elect announced that Obama for America would be reformed into Organizing for America. The second iteration of OFA officially launched in mid-March 2009."
Organizing for America, then Organizing for Action, (OFA) is a community organizing project of the Democratic National Committee. Initially founded after the presidential inauguration of Barak Obama, the group sought to mobilize supporters in favor of Obama's legislative priorities, particularly health care reform.
Barak Obama's first day of taking office happened on January 20, 2009 and ended on January 20, 2017. Through both terms, Joe Biden was his Vice President.
The formation of Organizing for America was announced by then-President-Elect Obama on January 17, 2009- before he officially took office.
The group officially began operations on the third day of the Obama administration, January 23, 2009. On the same day, it was announced that Mitch Stewart would serve as the first Director. Jeremy Bird, a former Obama for America field operative, was named Deputy Director.
In mid January 2013 the organization was transformed into a nonprofit group Organizing for Action. The president's 2012 campaign manager, Jim Messina, was announced as the group's national chairman, and White House official Jon Carson will leave the administration and become the executive director. Campaign senior adviser David Axelrod will serve as a consultant.
The organization will accept donations from individuals and corporations but not from lobbyists and political action committees. Offices will be in Washington and Chicago. Except for some work on health care reform, the Obama administration has not made extensive use of OFA. This choice has been criticized by some veterans of the 2008 campaign, who believe that Obama has erred by being too ready to compromise with conservatives instead of mobilizing the OFA volunteer base. The shift to a tax-exempt politically active organization in January, 2013, may foreshadow a change in policy, especially since Jim Messina became the head of OFA later that month.
Organizing for America is composed of 50 different state organizations, united by a single national umbrella. The states have a high level of autonomy when it comes to deciding how to execute tasks given by the national office, but most major programs are ultimately delegated by the National directors. Under the federal tax code 501(c)(4) the group will have tax-exempt status as long as it is not primarily involved in activity that could influence an election. As a nonprofit, it can run support ads for an issue as long it is not involved in activity aimed at electing candidates for office.
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