Back in June, the my.barackobama.com group, Space Policy Advisory Group, held an organizational meet-up, to try and figure how to help elect Senator Obama president, and also how to ensure that he has good space policy.
One of the things decided was to work on doing some fundraising through the Space Policy Advisory Group. On the fundraising page, you can enter a message, encouraging people to donate to the campaign. Because of some issues with internet connectivity, a failing battery, and rising levels of stress, I kept the message short. It originally read
Help Senator Barack Obama win and help Senator Barack Obama develop good space policy. Please Donate - Yes we can, even in space
Help Senator Barack Obama win and help Senator Barack Obama develop good space policy.
Please Donate - Yes we can, even in space
The hope had been that we would get everyone who was at ISDC who could donate to donate, and then I would go back and try and put a little more on the site, to encourage people to donate. Things didn't quite work out that way, and for the longest time, that is all that remained on the fundraising page.
Well, it turns out that the good people over at Redstate noticed - specifically, the front-pager Jeff Emanuel.
That's profound stuff there. What exactly constitutes a "good space policy," and how will your donation "help Senator Barack Obama develop" that "good space policy"? That, my friends, is left to the imagination, because the title and subtitle of this post is the entirety of the text on that page. Just give them your money, don't ask, and trust that Obama's Space Policy, like everything else he promises, will be "good."
I would post this response on Redstate, but as I can't find where to register, I'll have to post my response here - BTW, if anyone can tell me how/where to register, I will gladly do so. Also, if you have a redstate account, and wish to post this for me, feel free - just let me know. Anyway, to my response
Mr Emanuel, let me answer your questions. First, you have to understand the realities that is space politics - space is, at best, a 3rd tier issue (maybe even less than that). Except for a few key districts, like the Texas 22, where there are NASA centers, space policy doesn't get much play - in fact, it has gotten more play this year than arguably any other year, and that should tell you something.
That said, those of us who are liberals and interested in space policy are disorganized. So rather than trying to convince people about Obama, and space policy, the first move is to work on organizing those of us in the space community that are Obama supporters.
So the Space Policy Advisory Group is more about organization, rather than convincing people, at this point - every single person who has donated to Senator Obama has personally interacted with yours truly. Either I've met them at ISDC, or I've interacted with them extensively online. That is why there isn't much written - at this point, its about getting those who care and are inherently liberal to join up.
As for what constitutes good space policy - on the lower right hand corner, there is a link that says "visit this group", and, had he done so, he could've read the group profile, which says
The Space Policy Advisory Group is a group of Obama supporters who have come together to help to elect Senator Obama, and also advocate for a robust space program, and encouraging the development of private enterprise in space. Space is a resource that can help us deal with the problems we face in the 20st century.
Now, I will admit that this is quite vague, but that was its intention - there is great disparity in the group, about what constitutes good space policy - for example, we have myself, who is very much in favor of expanded manned spaceflight, with an emphasis on development. We also have Bill White, who prefers to pursue the Direct approach. We also have people who think the current plan is perfect, and don't want anything changed, and we even have people who are, by and large, opposed to manned spaceflight in the near future.
But the reality is that bad policy is more likely to happen when people aren't paying attention, and as I said, space policy is 3rd or 4th tier issue, so getting people to pay attention is rather difficult. Therefore, the idea is to get everyone who cares about space policy to join the Space Policy Advisory Group, and donate, and discuss various points of policy - its why the blog is more active these days at the Space Policy Advisory Group.
The main take away from this is that the Space Policy Advisory Group is, at this point, an organizational group, rather than a "convince the undecided group", which are two different things.
Anyway, I just felt the need to respond to his comments. BTW, why not help to annoy Mr. Emanuel, and join the Space Policy Advisory Group, or donate to Senator Obama through the Space Policy Advisory Group.
BTW, we have upcoming events - as you may know, there will be a space policy debate at Netroots Nation. In addition, that evening, there will be platform meeting about space in Austin Tx, also. Finally, for those of us going to the NewSpace Conference, in Washington DC, there will be a space platform meeting there, as well.
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