efratti (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} efratti) wrote,@ 2009-01-16 13:56:00 |
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With Direct Orders from Washington...
...how else would I be able to plan an FEC-compliant event overseas?
For those who have been sleeping for the last two months, President-Elect Obama will become President Obama on Tues 20 January. Israel is joining the ranks of other countries around the world and hosting an Inauguration Celebration, under the auspices of Democrats Abroad. More precisely, Israel is hosting an Inauguration Event while the other countries are hosting Inauguration Celebrations. Ours is an Event out of sensitivity to the war in Gaza.
The party is officially being organized by the Jerusalem Branch of DA-Israel, also known as me. Of course, I do not get all the credit. I have a competent and resourceful co-chair and volunteers; the support from the DA-Israel Chair and the sponsorship from the larger organization is giving this party more status and a farther reach. Nonetheless, a bunch of names in a database tied to Jerusalem addresses is not the same as a "Jerusalem branch." If I had not left the DA-Israel Internal Elections in mid-December committing to organize the event, 200 people would be watching the action on their television, not together at an Event.
******************
Event Info:
The Jerusalem branch of Democrats Abroad-Israel invites all Americans, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and friends of Americans to celebrate the inauguration of our next President.
Where? At the kosher Zollis Pub in Nachalat Shiva.
When? View the inauguration live Tues January 20th at 19:00 Israel time, doors open at 17:30.
How much? RSVP after January 13 and entrance at the door is 65 NIS. Entrance fee includes dinner and beverage, snacks, music and lots of fun!
RSVP and inquiries to OBAMArsvp2009@gmail.com.
******************************
Hosting an FEC-Compliant Event:
Back to the Washington directives, Democrats Abroad is an official arm of the U.S. Democratic Party and is subsequently subject to all regulations imposed on political parties. One example, membership to DA is restricted to citizens and free. In the US, only citizens can vote and joining political parties, which enables primary voting, is free because otherwise it would be a barrier to the right to vote. (Israel, please take note.)
Ironically, it is the McCain-Feingold law that is imposing rules on our Event. The law is ultimately an anti-corruption measure that does not allow foreign entities to contribute money to US political parties. Sounds reasonable. I don't want the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to give any political party millions of dollars. However, why is the logical extension that non-citizens cannot pay to attend my Event? I am confident that no corruption in the US government will result from Israelis, Brits, and others, attending an Inauguration Event held in downtown Jerusalem. I believe this is the first election cycle since the law was passed.
The essential FEC restrictions: 1) This cannot be an income-generating event and 2) DA cannot accept payment from non-citizens. First restriction is easy to manage. We are not aiming to generate funds and if we are faced with a surplus, we'll just give the wait staff generous tips. The second restriction is a little trickier. We sought legal counsel explaining our our proposed solutions and we passed. Non-citizens are now allowed to ay and attend; we will be careful with our record keeping to demonstrate our compliance. I'm not going to FEC jail...
Party Planning Updates:
So far, the planning is going really well and I'm getting really excited. We have more than 130 advance RSVPs, which is totally exceeding my expectations. I was speculating a total attendance of 100, with 50 advance and 50 at the door. While the final attendance count remains to be seen, we have definitely created an event that is in demand. Beyond numbers, we also have RSVPs from international and local media, and while the Jerusalem Mayor is not coming (boo-hoo), he is sending a representative from his office.
The Mayor is apparently wise enough to realize that one does not completely blow off an invitation to an Event hosted by politically active Americans. In order to give the Mayor pause and encourage him to re-think his response, I informed the aide who works in the Media and Foreign Relations Office (I'm assuming this is a recent creation; our last mayor was not classy enough to have one of those) that we have confirmations from foreign media. I also commented that as someone who worked in a significant position on his campaign, "it would have been my honor to host the Mayor in another political context." The subsequent email from the aide hinted that Barkat may come after all.
In summary, we have great space, things are coming along, and all the cool people want to come.
Personal Reflections
On a personal note, this is giving me such a high: I'm hobnobbing with the important people. Most likely every Western immigrant who moves to Israel by choice has significant adjusting to do. Recreating your life and reclaiming any former glory left behind in the Old Country is not easy. Often, I've used my parties as a benchmark for adjustment. If I could host cool parties that meet my standards in terms of menu, turnout, etc., then I am achieving my goal of reclaiming glory. This party is breaking all records and turning out to be significantly cooler than my standard living room gig. It is also rivaling my graduation party held at the Watergate Hotel, and may even exceed it.
Foreign media! Local politicians! More than 100 people in attendance! Getting irritating orders from Washington! Seeking follow-up counsel in order to ensure compliance with the law! A right-wing nut posting the Event info on his blog so that other right-wing nuts can show up and protest! (Really guys, just stay home and cry in your beer.) I'm definitely arriving.
On an ambivalent note, there is a war going on in Gaza. It's tough to be coping with an exciting historical event, my personal excitement at the party's success, the ongoing terror being committed against my country, and being concerned for the well-being of those engaged in my country's self-defense. (I'm also sad for the loss of innocent Palestinian life, of course. However, there won't be real progress in peace utnil the Hamas leadership decides that it, too, is sad. I can't be any more sad than they are.) A friend who does amateur photography agreed to work the event, assuming that he does not get called up for reserve duty before Tuesday.
The Event is definitely helping me disconnect from the horrible news. Unclear if that is good. With all of the turmoil and transitions surrounding us, we can only hope they get resolved in a way that guarantees peace and security for all residents of the region.
...how else would I be able to plan an FEC-compliant event overseas?
For those who have been sleeping for the last two months, President-Elect Obama will become President Obama on Tues 20 January. Israel is joining the ranks of other countries around the world and hosting an Inauguration Celebration, under the auspices of Democrats Abroad. More precisely, Israel is hosting an Inauguration Event while the other countries are hosting Inauguration Celebrations. Ours is an Event out of sensitivity to the war in Gaza.
The party is officially being organized by the Jerusalem Branch of DA-Israel, also known as me. Of course, I do not get all the credit. I have a competent and resourceful co-chair and volunteers; the support from the DA-Israel Chair and the sponsorship from the larger organization is giving this party more status and a farther reach. Nonetheless, a bunch of names in a database tied to Jerusalem addresses is not the same as a "Jerusalem branch." If I had not left the DA-Israel Internal Elections in mid-December committing to organize the event, 200 people would be watching the action on their television, not together at an Event.
******************
Event Info:
The Jerusalem branch of Democrats Abroad-Israel invites all Americans, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, and friends of Americans to celebrate the inauguration of our next President.
Where? At the kosher Zollis Pub in Nachalat Shiva.
When? View the inauguration live Tues January 20th at 19:00 Israel time, doors open at 17:30.
How much? RSVP after January 13 and entrance at the door is 65 NIS. Entrance fee includes dinner and beverage, snacks, music and lots of fun!
RSVP and inquiries to OBAMArsvp2009@gmail.com.
******************************
Hosting an FEC-Compliant Event:
Back to the Washington directives, Democrats Abroad is an official arm of the U.S. Democratic Party and is subsequently subject to all regulations imposed on political parties. One example, membership to DA is restricted to citizens and free. In the US, only citizens can vote and joining political parties, which enables primary voting, is free because otherwise it would be a barrier to the right to vote. (Israel, please take note.)
Ironically, it is the McCain-Feingold law that is imposing rules on our Event. The law is ultimately an anti-corruption measure that does not allow foreign entities to contribute money to US political parties. Sounds reasonable. I don't want the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to give any political party millions of dollars. However, why is the logical extension that non-citizens cannot pay to attend my Event? I am confident that no corruption in the US government will result from Israelis, Brits, and others, attending an Inauguration Event held in downtown Jerusalem. I believe this is the first election cycle since the law was passed.
The essential FEC restrictions: 1) This cannot be an income-generating event and 2) DA cannot accept payment from non-citizens. First restriction is easy to manage. We are not aiming to generate funds and if we are faced with a surplus, we'll just give the wait staff generous tips. The second restriction is a little trickier. We sought legal counsel explaining our our proposed solutions and we passed. Non-citizens are now allowed to ay and attend; we will be careful with our record keeping to demonstrate our compliance. I'm not going to FEC jail...
Party Planning Updates:
So far, the planning is going really well and I'm getting really excited. We have more than 130 advance RSVPs, which is totally exceeding my expectations. I was speculating a total attendance of 100, with 50 advance and 50 at the door. While the final attendance count remains to be seen, we have definitely created an event that is in demand. Beyond numbers, we also have RSVPs from international and local media, and while the Jerusalem Mayor is not coming (boo-hoo), he is sending a representative from his office.
The Mayor is apparently wise enough to realize that one does not completely blow off an invitation to an Event hosted by politically active Americans. In order to give the Mayor pause and encourage him to re-think his response, I informed the aide who works in the Media and Foreign Relations Office (I'm assuming this is a recent creation; our last mayor was not classy enough to have one of those) that we have confirmations from foreign media. I also commented that as someone who worked in a significant position on his campaign, "it would have been my honor to host the Mayor in another political context." The subsequent email from the aide hinted that Barkat may come after all.
In summary, we have great space, things are coming along, and all the cool people want to come.
Personal Reflections
On a personal note, this is giving me such a high: I'm hobnobbing with the important people. Most likely every Western immigrant who moves to Israel by choice has significant adjusting to do. Recreating your life and reclaiming any former glory left behind in the Old Country is not easy. Often, I've used my parties as a benchmark for adjustment. If I could host cool parties that meet my standards in terms of menu, turnout, etc., then I am achieving my goal of reclaiming glory. This party is breaking all records and turning out to be significantly cooler than my standard living room gig. It is also rivaling my graduation party held at the Watergate Hotel, and may even exceed it.
Foreign media! Local politicians! More than 100 people in attendance! Getting irritating orders from Washington! Seeking follow-up counsel in order to ensure compliance with the law! A right-wing nut posting the Event info on his blog so that other right-wing nuts can show up and protest! (Really guys, just stay home and cry in your beer.) I'm definitely arriving.
On an ambivalent note, there is a war going on in Gaza. It's tough to be coping with an exciting historical event, my personal excitement at the party's success, the ongoing terror being committed against my country, and being concerned for the well-being of those engaged in my country's self-defense. (I'm also sad for the loss of innocent Palestinian life, of course. However, there won't be real progress in peace utnil the Hamas leadership decides that it, too, is sad. I can't be any more sad than they are.) A friend who does amateur photography agreed to work the event, assuming that he does not get called up for reserve duty before Tuesday.
The Event is definitely helping me disconnect from the horrible news. Unclear if that is good. With all of the turmoil and transitions surrounding us, we can only hope they get resolved in a way that guarantees peace and security for all residents of the region.
