This Sunday we’re trying an experiment - pairing an offline phonebanking party for the Obama campaign with an online event. Readers in DC are invited to the former (use the link above to RSVP), and readers who live elsewhere are invited to join us here at The Seminal (see email form at the bottom of this post).

As D-Day and our own Ian Fried have discussed, Obama’s ground game will be one of the most essential components for victory. So now we’re going to do our part. From 3-6 eastern time on Sunday we’ll be making calls to critical states in order to help Obama win a decisive victory this November. We’re partnering with MoveOn, DC Drinking Liberally, and D-Day (also at Hullabaloo) and we’re reaching out to other bloggers and organizations as well. If you’re interested in supporting the effort, please let us know.

Phonebanking is not necessarily fun. I made calls to Indiana for Obama during the primary, and most people didn’t answer - and of those who did, many were uninterested or even hostile. But I had a good friend for company who was calling at the same time, and that took the edge off; it’s easier when you can share jokes or complaints. So that’s one reason phonebanking parties are more fun than making calls alone. The other reason is that it lets you get a sense of how your small contribution fits into the larger effort: while you might make 50 calls and get 5 people, you and nine friends can make 500 calls and reach 50 voters.

So I encourage you to join us. We’ll be here liveblogging from 3-6 on Sunday as we make our own calls, and we’d love to hear about your experiences. Please sign up here:

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