separating your Catalist from your VAN

And now for some real palate cleansing...

Here's a great article from Marc Ambinder of The Atlantic, providing a short but useful breakdown of Catalist, the VAN and a hint of what it takes to make campaign organizing *really* work. The more I learn about this stuff, the more I realize what a totally fascinating, endlessly tweakable endeavor it is to get out the vote.

Also, the more I realize how smart it is to learn tools in addition to learning facts. Data is great, but looking at data and knowing how to coax new perspectives and possibilities from it is a thing of beauty.

I know, it's an off year, but I think now is a good time to be brushing up on those crucial details of how to get out the vote. Be prepared, as they say. Check out the article-- very worth it.