Speaker Links
Jim McBride
Why Super PACs dont have the power of Super PACKs
There has been lots of talk lately about the influence of Super PACs (Political Action Committees) that are currently raising and spending unlimited amounts of money on behalf of presidential candidates but the most influential force in politics is still people. From the 2008 "Yes We Can" Movement of young people inspired by Barack Obama, to the "Tea Party" in 2010 and "Occupy Wall Street" in 2011, online and offline communities of activists are proving to have more organizing and media power than ever before...and paid TV advertising backed by corporate donors pales in comparison to public enthusiasm and action. The political game is truly dominated by grassroots communities best described as Super "PACKs."
About Jim McBride:
Jim is a veteran publicist, who has worked on behalf of organizations ranging from International Association of Fire Fighters to OfficeDepot.com to Check Point Software, and a grassroots activist who has been involved in political organizing since the 2004 presidential campaign. While President of the Arlington Young Democrats (2007 VAYD Club of the Year), he helped start the Obama For America campaign in Virginia as Volunteer Database Coordinator as a grassroots-led effort in Fall 2007 and continues to lead a Generation Obama-Washington, DC chapter. In February 2011, he founded Network For Progress as a community-building program to engage people inspired by the "Yes We Can" Movement of 2008 via more social and media-savvy communications and outreach initiatives. He also served on the Media Team of Occupy DC in Fall 2011.
