WeConverge Announces $200M Peoples Pledge Campaign for Progressive Planks

WeConverge.net, a networking site for progressives, today announced its People's Pledge Campaign, which aims to activate a strong grass-roots movement by linking volunteer efforts to progressive planks in the Democratic platform. The People's Pledge Campaign focuses upon planks not currently included in frontrunner John Kerrys platform. A web-based interface allows participants to pledge hours to the Democratic campaign if those planks are adopted.

Berkeley, CA (PRWEB) May 3, 2004 --WeConverge.net, a networking site for progressives, today announced its People's Pledge Campaign, which aims to activate a strong grass-roots movement by linking volunteer efforts to progressive planks in the Democratic platform.

The People's Pledge Campaign focuses upon planks not currently included in frontrunner John Kerrys platform. A web-based interface allows participants to pledge hours to the Democratic campaign if those planks are adopted. This will allow the nominee to ascertain which constituencies are most motivated and therefore which changes in the platform might strengthen the overall campaign. WeConverges goal is to tally $200M in pledged hours to stand in opposition to Bushs $200M campaign war chest.

Co-founder Stephen Dinan noted, The People's Pledge Campaign makes explicit what already happens internally for most voters: they support a candidate with their time in proportion to the degree of alignment they feel with a platform. By making this transparent and putting in place structures to deliver the pledged hours with local organization tools, we create a more direct form of democracy. Our web-based campaign allows platform influence to happen directly and effectively."

Henri Poole, Director of WeConverge, noted, Political campaigns often undervalue the importance of distributing power to the grass roots. Centralized control may keep a campaign on message but it can also suppress supporters natural enthusiasm and their ability to connect to people of similar viewpoints. By putting the tools of self-organization and platform influence in the hands of voters, we are helping to engage crucial constituencies that might otherwise simply tune out. Voting with hours is a potent antidote to voter apathy and will help ensure a more united front against Bush in the fall."

About WeConverge - Founded in March of 2004, WeConverge delivers online organizing, collaboration, and group formation tools to local activists, organizers, and concerned citizens. Launched in response to the need for progressive presidential campaigns to transition into long-range structures, WeConverge allows participants to match volunteerism to platform planks as well as access local allies, events, and discussions. WeConverge is not affiliated with a particular political party but finds common ground in a shared vision of the world we are working to create. www.weconverge.net.