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Birddog Nation

Website:

sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/home
Type:

Left-Wing Health Care Activists
Formation:

2017

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Birddog Nation is a national network activists who encourage politicians to support the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) against repeal efforts. The group was formed in 2017. The group defines ‘birddogging’ as asking “a public official or aspiring candidate to do something you care about, in-person, and in-public” to influence their stances on issues. The network is closely associated with Housing Works and the Center for Popular Democracy.1

Birddog Nation opposes gun rights, supports abortion, advances LGBT issues, and advocates for government-run health care and a $15 minimum wage. 2 In 2020, a documentary titled Birddog Nation was released, telling the story of women who received activist training from Birddog Nation and lobbied Congress to block repeal of the Affordable Care Act. 3

Platform and Activities

Birddog Nation advocates for 12 left-of-center political objectives as its official platform on its website. These include reducing prescription drug prices, advancing health care that costs no more out-of-pocket than 8.5 percent of a patient’s income, and offering universal access to addiction treatment medicine. 2

Birddog’s platform includes an assault rifle, bump-stock, and extended-magazine ban. It also advocates for so-called “hiring equity and equal pay” for people irrespective of gender, race, religion or sexual identity. The group also argues for “full employment by 2025,” a universal minimum wage of $15 per hour, and closing alleged corporate tax loopholes. 2

Birddog Nation supports increased funding for the public education system, a rehabilitative criminal justice system, and an end to mandatory minimum sentences and what it considers “excessive drug laws.” The group also advocates for left-of-center immigration policies, LGBT interests, increased early and mail-in voting options, rent control, and holding more town hall meetings. The group also advocates increased abortion access. 2  1

Birddog Nation sells merchandise, provides information on how to “birddog” a candidate, how to register to vote, and where to register for Birddog Nation-affiliated events, such as webinars and town hall meetings. 4  5  6  7

Partner Organizations

On its website, Birddog Nation states that it works closely with Housing Works and the Center for Popular Democracy to train activists to pressure elected officials into supporting its platform. Birddog Nation’s website also claims to that the organization receives “training and limited support and facilitation from Housing Works and the Center for Popular Democracy.” 1

According to tax information from its nonprofit tax returns, Birddog Nation has also partnered with the Rights and Democracy Project and the Katahdin Foundation to train activists advocating for left-of-center policies related to health care. 8  9

Several other groups have used Birddog Nation’s popularization of the term “birddogging” to inspire more direct confrontation of elected officials, particularly related to the Affordable Care Act. In 2017, activists from the Indivisible Front Range Resistance employed Birddog Nation’s tactics to confronting then-U.S. Senator Cory Gardner (R-CO) outside his congressional office on Capitol Hill to convince him to vote against the American Health Care Act which sought to reform and repeal aspects of the Affordable Care Act. 10 Also in 2017, the Positive Women’s Network–USA, an HIV advocacy group, developed a Recess Resistance Toolkit that incorporated “birddogging” into its plan to publicly confront and test politicians regarding their commitments to protecting the Affordable Care Act. 11

In 2018, thousands of members of Birddog Nation participated in protests in Washington, D.C to oppose Republican Party-led legislative efforts to reduce taxes as well as the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. In that vein, per reporting from The Nation, the organization took part in protests related to the latter as part of a broad coalition alongside organizations including the Women’s March, Housing Works, Ultraviolet, and Center for Popular Democracy.12

Birddog Nation Documentary

In 2020, a documentary titled Birddog Nation was released. It followed the stories of female activists who helped campaign to block the Affordable Care Act repeal movement in Congress. The film depicts the women receiving training from Birddog Nation. Birddog Nation activists represented in the film include Ady Barkan, a dying father with ALS, and Ana Maria Archila, a professional activist who confronted then-U.S. Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) during U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh‘s confirmation hearings. The film was directed by Sophie Sartain. 13  3

Leadership

In a report on Birddog Nation published by left-of-center outlet The Nation in 2018, Gabriel Thompson noted that though the organization had no official leaders Jennifer Flynn Walker “comes about as close as any single person can to embodying its spirit.” In that vein, Walker was the co-chief for campaigns at the Center for Popular Democracy, one of the two organizations that provided trainings and facilitation services to Birddog Nation. Previously, Walker was the co-founder and executive director of Vocal-NY, director of Health GAP, and consultant to the Open Society Foundations, as well as a board member of organizations including the Met Council on Housing and North Star Fund. 141516 17

References

  1. “Home.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/home
  2. “2018 Birddog Platform.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/the-platform
  3. “Birddog Nation.” Rotten Tomatoes. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/birddog_nation
  4. “Birddog Gear.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/birddog-gear
  5. “How To.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/how-to
  6. “Event Finder.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/event-finder
  7. “Register to Vote.” Birddog Nation. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://sites.google.com/view/birddog-nation/register-to-vote
  8. “Rights & Democracy Project Inc – 2019 Federal Form 990, Schedule O.” ProPublica. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/473746922/202043159349302929/IRS990ScheduleO
  9. “Katahdin Foundation – 2020 Federal Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/900089252/202143169349304764/IRS990
  10. “They voted to repeal Obamacare. Now they are a target.” Anchorage Daily News. May 8, 2017. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2017/05/08/the-voted-to-repeal-obamacare-now-they-are-a-target/
  11. “This HIV Group Helped Save Obamacare, but What’s Next?” POZ. August 11, 2017. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.poz.com/article/hiv-group-helped-save-obamacare-next
  12. Thompson, Gabriel. The Nation. November 9, 2018. Accessed September 30, 2025. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/feminists-birddog-aca-kavanaugh/
  13. “Birddog Nation.” IMDB. Accessed September 28, 2025. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28759460/
  14.  Thompson, Gabriel. The Nation. November 9, 2018. Accessed September 30, 2025. https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/feminists-birddog-aca-kavanaugh/

  15. “Jennifer Flynn Walker.” The Forge. Accessed September 30, 2025. https://forgeorganizing.org/author/jennifer-flynn-walker/
  16. “Jen nifer Flynn Walker.” C-Span. Accessed September 30, 2025. https://www.c-span.org/person/jennifer-flynn-walker/134359/
  17. “Jennifer Flynn Walker.” The Org. Accessed September 30, 2025. https://theorg.com/org/center-for-popular-democracy/org-chart/jennifer-flynn-walker
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