CHICAGO—We’ve all been there. You’re home alone on the Peloton, feeling the vibe on a group ride with your (virtual) friends and (real) cats, when the instructor tells you to up the resistance. You really want to use this as an opportunity to help elect Kamala Harris, but no one has ever taught you how.
For the Harris campaign, that hypothetical is not far-fetched. It's an example of "Campaigning Online With Joy," a workshop by Team Harris digital organizing director Brynna Quillin on the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday.
"We really want to think about the most impactful places for you to engage online," Quillin told a group of supporters. "Maybe it's a Peloton group. Maybe it's a Discord for your favorite basketball team." Maybe you’re leaving a comment on a social media post about Broadway musicals, or admiring "your favorite influencer online who talks about cities and all this work like that—transportation."
These are some of the internet spaces where an amateur activist could initiate a "welcoming conversation" with people who have interests and lives outside politics, Quillin explained. It’s never a bad time to remind them that politics is the most important thing anyone could ever care about, and voting for Kamala Harris will make them a better person.
The workshop from Quillin—a former Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee staffer who holds a Master of Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School—reflects Harris's very online, vibes-driven campaign that's heavy on memes and light on policy. Quillin's online messaging advice stuck to that script.
Quillin urged attendees to constantly be on the lookout for "opportunities to engage" with normal people with normal concerns, such as "costs of living, costs of groceries, things like that." For example, if a member of your local neighborhood forum complains that politicians should do something about the rising cost of food, Quillin suggests starting a conversation about the Inflation Reduction Act.
"It's our top priority to lower costs for middle class families," she said. "And so [it's] really important that folks are hearing this. They may not know it, and so we want to share it."
The Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats' signature $1.2 trillion climate law, "has less to do with inflation," President Joe Biden said last year. Quillin did not provide those details in her suggested messaging, though she did acknowledge your hypothetical neighbor could push back against condescending dorks using the word "actually" to explain why their concerns are invalid, according to some chart.
"So let's say someone says, ‘Really? I had no idea. It doesn't feel like it.’ Not surprising that they, you know—if you're telling someone, ‘Actually, costs are lower,’ they may be like, ‘I'm not seeing that in my daily life.’ I know a lot of us know folks like that," Quillin said.
"And so it's helpful to just let folks know when you hear that, that, you know, ‘I get it. I feel it too. And we still have a lot of work to do, and that's why we need to continue the progress this administration has made. And I want Kamala Harris and Tim Walz to win this November.’"
Quillin urged prospective online activists to report their experiences to the campaign via an app, which isn’t creepy at all. "It's really helpful for us to hear how the community—the type of online community—is engaged," she said. "And if there's anything else we should know, we are taking this information, helping it inform our program, and making sure you have the resources you need to have really good conversations online."
Oh, the joy.