Obama "grassroots organizing" in a concrete parking lot.

Stalled Obama Campaign Machine Restarted for New Agenda

Thus far, the new OFA, claiming 4 million volunteers, is suffering some startup challenges.

Obama campaign volunteer Herman Galut, a freelance reporter, held a gun policy discussion last week at his apartment in Alexandria, Virginia. It was advertised through OFA’s events page. Two people attended.

They talked for an hour about how to garner support for gun-control legislation, deciding they needed to contact senators to press for support and perhaps write letters to the editors of local newspapers. Neither of the two women who attended considered themselves OFA members, though both had volunteered for the president’s re-election.

“They send me e-mails saying, ‘Don’t you want to keep giving us money?’” said Anne Haynes, a health educator. “And I wrote them back saying, ‘No!’”

“Maybe we can work with them without being officially part of them,” suggested Mary Abahazy, who is unemployed. “I guess I’m just not really sure what OFA is.”

In addition, the lawmakers they are trying to prod into support for gun legislation say they aren’t hearing much from the group.

“Members need to know that their constituents will stand with them,” said Representative Mike Thompson of California. He said one of his California colleagues -- he declined to identify which one -- won’t put his name on the bill even with polls showing 96 percent support from his district.

“He told me,” Thompson said, “‘I’m just not getting any calls on this.’”