Get involved in election campaigns

Published: Saturday January 26, 2008

As Armenian-Americans, we have seen our political clout grow over the decades.

The overall trend in the United States has been for citizens' groups to cede power to large moneyed interests. Some $4 billion was spent in the 2004 national elections. It is not easy to compete when that sort of money is at play.

And yet, we compete.

We do so in part by constituting cohesive voting blocks in key states. Here our ­community organizations and community media have a fundamental role: There can be no cohesive "Armenian-American vote" unless Armenian-Americans are made aware of what they can do about the issues they care about and unless they're motivated to act.

The most obvious step is to vote. But there's a lot more to do both before and after voting.

Volunteering time or donating money to support the campaigns of elected officials and candidates who work with us is, of course, important. This applies also to the campaigns of worthy candidates running against elected officials who work against our collective interests.

In volunteering time and donating money, we help the campaigns of our allies, but we also create opportunities to educate the candidates and their key advisors on issues that matter to us. (To do so effectively, we must, of course, educate ourselves.)

And some of us can become those candidates and advisors.

In increasing our effectiveness as a community, we must look beyond our community. This means forming alliances with other groups that share some of our collective concerns. But it also means reaching out to the American mainstream.

And we can all play a role: donors of sums large and small; the rock sensation System Of A Down, which urged its fans to support Armenian Genocide resolutions; the writer of a letter to the editor; the author Antonia Arslan, who wrote Skylark Farm, which was transformed into a moving film; the amateur filmmaker who posts a good clip on YouTube; the people who picket the appearances of Genocide resolution flip-flopper Jane Harman; the people who publish books to document the Armenian experience.

As the high-profile U.S. presidential primaries continue, campaigns for the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, as well as state offices are taking shape. Their campaigns offer excellent opportunities for Armenian-Americans to get involved in shaping our government and its future policies. Let's hurry up and get involved.

One by-product of our involvement is campaign pledges. Elsewhere in this edition are statements from Senator Clinton, former Senator Edwards, and Senator Obama. Of course, we know that office seekers make so many commitments during the long course of a campaign that honoring all would be impossible. By staying active after the election as volunteers, donors, and as vigilant members of our community's advocacy organizations, we increase the chances for our particular promises to be kept. The responsibility lies with us as much as it does with the successful candidate.