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You are here: Home / Politics / Political Action / Four Directions Q & A Tonight at 7:30 Eastern + Zoom on Thursday

Four Directions Q & A Tonight at 7:30 Eastern + Zoom on Thursday

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OJ Semans, Bret Healy, and Lewis Cohen will join us at 7:30 pm Eastern time this evening to talk about the plans FOUR DIRECTIONS has for 2022.

Four Directions Q & A Tonight at 7:30 Eastern + Zoom on Thursday 2

OJ is the founder and co-Executive Director of Four Directions, along with his wife Barb.  Bret Healy is the COO for Four Directions.  Lewis Cohen is the Finance Director.

OJ was recently featured in the New Republic as one of Democracy’s Heroes, featuring six people who are fighting back against the assault on voting rights.

Please join us for the Q & A tonight at 7:30 pm Eastern – these meetings with Four Directions are always interesting and well received!

They will talk about their plans for Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Michigan.  Don’t forget to bring your questions!

OJ, Bret and Lewis will also join us for a ZOOM conversation on Thursday evening at 7:30 pm Eastern time.  If you would like to attend the zoom, please send email to WaterGirl.

Reader Interactions

155Comments

  14. 14.

    Baud

    OJ was recently featured in the New Republic as one of Democracy’s Heroes, featuring six people who are fighting back against the assault on voting rights

    Congratulations to you.

  15. 15.

    Bret Healy

    Thank you Water Girl.  Glad to join tonight’s conversation.  And thank you to the Balloon Juice Community for your support of our work.

  25. 25.

    SiubhanDuinne

    I’ve lived in Georgia for 35+ years, lived in Michigan for 9 years before that. One of my brothers lives in Arizona, the other in Wisconsin. So I have personal interest in all four target states :-)

  28. 28.

    MazeDancer

    We have been hoping that we might have helped raise enough money – and certainly we hope to do more – that you might have been able to hire some organizers. Or are planning to do so.

    Is that so? And, if so, what will they do?

  30. 30.

    Almost Retired

    Maybe I am getting ahead of the program, but I am generally curious about the native American community in Michigan – how large is it, geographical distribution, percent of eligible voters registered, historical turnout etc. .

  36. 36.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: Thank you.  I have been working with Barb and OJ from the beginning.  I am the political operator, if you will – having come out of candidate and Democratic Party politics from 1995-2002, mostly working for then Senator Tim Johnson from SD.  I help with the strategy, and the nuts and bolts – and move into the various geo-locations when we are actively running programs.  And, I usually get to threaten the law suits against state and county officials.

  37. 37.

    Lewis Cohen at Four Directions

    @WaterGirl: We have been raising money for our “core four” states of Arizona, Georgia, Wisconsin and Nevada – with much help from the BJ community. Now we’d like to make serious financial inroads into financing Michigan operations so we can have a comprehensive 5 state approach as we get into 2022.

  41. 41.

    banditqueen

    hello Four Directions-thank you for being here this evening–

    What are the most significant barriers to voting in Michigan? Is there a lot of focus on non-presidential elections?

     

  43. 43.

    Bret Healy

    @MazeDancer:   Base plans involve first engaging Tribal leaders and analyzing Native voter access.  The communities we are working with have great challenges – the early investments help set the table – but fair monthly pay for a single organizer is roughly $6,000 plus expenses.  We are at the very front end of what will eventually be needed.

  49. 49.

    Bret Healy

    @banditqueen: The main challenges are the lack of private resources for tribal members – and the unequal distribution of public resources when it comes to elections.  And, of course, the apathy of election officials who simply do not provide the same level of service to Native Americans – whether or not they are aware of their actions.

  54. 54.

    banditqueen

    @Bret Healy:  if these are the baseline barriers (which are horrible already), do you see things getting worse given the aggressive anti-voting measures underway this year?

  59. 59.

    WaterGirl

    @Bret Healy:  You guys had numbers for Arizona and Wisconsin… numbers of native people, numbers of people who weren’t registered, etc.

    Is it fair to say that since FOUR DIRECTIONS hasn’t been active in Michigan before, that you are starting from a different place in Michigan.  More to learn about the tribes?  Just starting to make connections?  Or are you further along than that, and I just don’t realize it?

  60. 60.

    Bret Healy

    @Almost Retired: We have worked with closely the Midwest Alliance of Sovereign tribes in 2019-2020 with our first ever Presidential Candidate Forums in Iowa n August 2019 and in Las Vegas in 2020.  We plan on replicating this approach at the state level, again working with tribal leaders.

    This makes the candidates more responsive to tribal issues and brings media attention to bear.  We also plan to use these events as a training forum for tribal members to participate in the election process at several levels: 1) working as election workers for the state and local officials – a friendly face at the election site; 2) core Four Directions voter registration and get-out-the-vote training; and 3) Four Directions voter protection programs – making sure election officials are doing their job – and making sure no one is interefering with the election processes.

  61. 61.

    Bret Healy

    @banditqueen: The unfortunate short answer is yes.  Too many simply do not believe that is all that important for Native people to have equal access to the ballot box.

  62. 62.

    Lewis Cohen at Four Directions

    @WaterGirl: I will say this: funds raised at this stage of the electoral cycle – with some 9 1/2 months until the midterms – go a lot farther and are more meaningful than money raised 1 – 3 months out. In actuality, money raised in January of an election year can be considered its own double match if you will due to the advantageous timing of the raise. So, thank you all again for doing this!!

  64. 64.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: We have worked extensively with Tribal leaders from Michigan Tribes – but this cycle, with a nudge from our good friends in the Ballon Juice community, will be our first fully engaged effort.

    We will go through the same process – full analysis of geography, ballot access, and evaluation of local election officials – figure out the best engagement strategies – then train, train, train, – and find the necessary resources.

  67. 67.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Lewis Cohen at Four Directions:

    That’s a really interesting point. Certainly it would be much easier to leverage your funds and do strategic planning early in the year with a nice cushion or commitment. Thanks for pointing that out. So obvious, but I hadn’t thought of it.

  69. 69.

    WaterGirl

    @Bret Healy: Glad to hear that!  A lot of us have ties to Michigan, plus it’s such an important state.  With this being an election year for governor, we have to help keep Gretchen Whitmer as gov.

    Plus, I understand there are a couple of other critical races in Michigan this year.

  71. 71.

    Lewis Cohen at Four Directions

    @SiubhanDuinne: My pleasure. People often overlook that key point. They scramble to give and raise money with 30 – 90 days until an election, overlooking the fact that they no longer have time on their side. Our most effetive campaigns have been launched with time to spare. Out of necessity, however, we put together a good get-out-the-vote operation in Georgia in November, 2020 – January, 2021 – because no one had the heads up that a double Senate runoff would be taking place. If we could do that in less than 60 days with no funds raised and little time, imagine what we could do with funds raised in advance and time not being a pressing issue.

  73. 73.

    banditqueen

    @Bret Healy:  Thanks! It’s a big deal this year–getting out the vote and then protecting it from state legislatures that will attempt to find any way at all to negate any result they don’t like.

  76. 76.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: Great point on the importance of races for Governor and other state officials – Indian Country spends too much time having to fight wrong-headed efforts by state officials who do not recognize the actual history of the United States.

  77. 77.

    H.E.Wolf

    Cante waste nape ciyuzapelo to OJ, Bret & Lewis – so glad that you’re again visiting the blog, and thank you for telling us about the operations side of things. It’s really interesting to hear about the nuts & bolts of your GOTV process.

  80. 80.

    WaterGirl

    @Lewis Cohen at Four Directions: MomSense is the person who was the catalyst for the whole Balloon Juice angel thing.

    In a post one night she said she had $100 and was willing to match 10 people who donated $10 each to Voces de la Frontera.  Shortly after that Mousebumples stepped forward with a BJ angel match for Voces, and everything after that is history.

    Living history, I hope, as people continue to come forward with BJ angel matches.

  81. 81.

    Sure Lurkalot

    So appreciative of Four Directions efforts to give power to these disenfranchised voices and putting our donations to excellent use. Thank you.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    Are you still here, OJ?  We have been gabbing away so you haven’t been able to get a word in edgewise, as they say.

    Would you like to fill us in on your big event last July and how things are going on that front?

  86. 86.

    MomSense

    @WaterGirl:

    I was wondering if we wanted to reach out to Little Green Footballs and LGM to see if they would like to join in our fundraising shenanigans.  There’s a lot of crossover between the sites and it could increase our donations.
    We could make it a friendly competition or just a team effort.

  87. 87.

    Bret Healy

    @H.E.Wolf: We appreciate your interest – and support.  Barb and OJ – and all of our team cannot do the work without the support of like-minded folks willing to part with some of your hard-earned money.

  89. 89.

    WaterGirl

    @skerry:  Four Directions is making sure that the (hopefully) double-match they are arranging will match everything in the thermometer, starting from when it went up in early December.

    So no BJ angel matches until our official Jan 15 start, but whatever is donated through the thermometer will get whatever match they are able to secure for us.  (Hopefully, double!)

  92. 92.

    H.E.Wolf

    I’m thrilled to have a glimpse of what the 4D field organizer(s) will be doing. I volunteer locally with a GOTV organization, and the field organizers are inspiring in their dedication and seemingly boundless energy. I feel more hopeful about the future whenever I interact with them.

  94. 94.

    Betty

    No questions. I want to say how grateful I am for your important work especially now when the fight for voting rights has become so critical.

  96. 96.

    WaterGirl

    @Lewis Cohen at Four Directions: While I was looking for an image to put with tonight’s post, I stumbled across images that appear to be from lots of organizations that are working with the native vote – I saw some Wisconsin Native Vote images and various other groups.

    When I saw them I wondered if the various organizations working for the native vote ever work together.  Or did I come away with the wrong impression after my image search?

  97. 97.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Sure Lurkalot: So appreciative of Four Directions efforts to give power to these disenfranchised voices and putting our donations to excellent use. Thank you.

     Well said. What an honor for Balloon Juice to be part of this effort.

  99. 99.

    WaterGirl

    @MomSense: I wondered if that was an indication that they didn’t think they had anyone decent to run if Ron Johnson did not.  Which was kind of reassuring because my first thought was that they would run him but had a plan for him to back out close to the election and sub in someone else who couldn’t make it through a whole campaign.

  101. 101.

    Bret Healy

    @Omnes Omnibus: However, if Native voters vote in Wisconsin similarly to Native voters in Minnesota (and elsewhere) – it is likely that it will be a 9 to 1 vote against Senator Ron Johnson.

  104. 104.

    WaterGirl

    @Bret Healy: Is it fair to assume that your work is to identify unregistered eligible voters, register them and get them to the polls?  But that you don’t promote particular candidates or political parties?

  105. 105.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: The Obstacle at Every Turn Report was the result of the Native American Voting Rights Coalition – Four Directions is a founding member of that organization – Also, NARF is a partner of ours in much of the work that we have done – especially over the last 6 years.

  108. 108.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: Our job is to remove the obstacles to the ballot box – but candidates usually do a pretty good job of letting Native voters know where they stand – hence the often 9 to 1 ratios for the Native-preferred candidate – in recent decades, that has almost always been the Democratic candidate for office

  112. 112.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Bret Healy: The Obstacle at Every Turn Report was the result of the Native American Voting Rights Coalition – Four Directions is a founding member of that organization – Also, NARF is a partner of ours in much of the work that we have done – especially over the last 6 years.

     

    @WaterGirl:

    @Bret Healy: Oh, excellent!

    There was also a group whose design was always a red background and a feather – their images were everywhere, but I have no idea who they were or what they do.

    Looks as if that might be NARF (the Native American Rights Fund, of which the Native American Voting Rights Commission is a part.

    https://www.narf.org/cases/voting-rights/

  114. 114.

    WaterGirl

    Bret and Lewis and OJ, we so appreciate your giving us your time on both platforms – for the folks who prefer the written word and the folks who prefer the zooms.  If you can stay another 15 minutes or so to answer questions, we can let you get back to your regularly-scheduled evenings by 9 pm Eastern.

  115. 115.

    H.E.Wolf

    @skerry: Early donation makes sense so I have thrown some in the pot.

     And it already shows up in the thermometer! You just brought BJ that much closer to the goal. :)

  117. 117.

    WaterGirl

    @Oliver J. Semans: OJ, you made me laugh out loud!

    Because of our zooms with you, I always picture you in your van now, so I was imagining that you got your hundredth phone call of the day.  I assumed that’s why you had been so quiet tonight.

  119. 119.

    Oliver J. Semans

    As everybody know the key to any election is voter turnout and if your messaging does not relate to the voter there will not be a turnout. The messaging so far does not relate to voters, but we have aways found what people want and that is why everywhere we have operated has had the highest voter turnout

  122. 122.

    WaterGirl

    @H.E.Wolf: I was on a mission to find an image and didn’t have time to follow up with research.  :-)

    That so clearly was an image that belonged to another organization that I didn’t think I should use it.  Yet I used another related image, as it turns out. ?‍♀️

  129. 129.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Many thanks to all of you for being so generous with your time and plans. Look forward to seeing you on Thursday’s Zoom.

  131. 131.

    WaterGirl

    It looks like things are winding down, so we can let you go a big before 9pm, if you like.  Perhaps one of you can check on this thread in the morning and answer any questions that come in after you head out?

    Many people come to the threads late, and if they know that someone will check back in, I would bet that there will be questions.

  136. 136.

    Bret Healy

    @WaterGirl: Thank you again.  We will make sure we check back in to the thread tomorrow and answer any additional questions. And we look forward to Thursday evening!

  144. 144.

    Oliver J. Semans

    My granddaughter was born on January 10th, 2022, the day of the insurgency, so now Four Directions has another family member to carry on the fight, Híŋháŋni Wa (Morning Snow) was born so for every action we have a reaction

  148. 148.

    H.E.Wolf

    @Oliver J. Semans: Congratulations on the new grand-daughter! Maybe the MI fundraiser can be considered to be partly in her honor…. [ETA: because she’s a future voter, and we’re doing this for the next generations anyway!]

  152. 152.

    Mousebumples

    @WaterGirl: my State Rep Mike Gallagher has been rumored to be a likely candidate to replace RonJon whenever he retires. (or hopefully loses!) Marine vet, and he had an op ed post 1/6 last year about how he and his staff were trapped in his office. I definitely viewed it as an “appeal to independents” oped, personally.

    Thank you to 4D for all your efforts. As a Wisconsinite, I appreciate your help both in my state and across the country

    And edited to add – congratulations on the new grandbaby, OJ!

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