Blue America: The Next Generation

crossposted 7 june 2008 at firedoglake

Now what?

We've spent so much time on the primaries, let's take a step back today and look at the larger picture of building progressive infrastructure.

What kinds of political organizations are we building, what networks can we develop? Who can be brought into the process and at what level? For those of us who are relatively new to political activism, how do we take that next step?

Howie, who is flying around the country today helping to build that next generation of progressive politicians, asked me to step in for him today. I thought it would be cool to look at one of our own pups who has been very involved with local and state politics and see what we can learn from her. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present our dear friend Rayne.

How did you get started within your local party as an activist?

I'm a member of a local party club, a subset of the party itself. Several like-minded folks founded this club in 2005 after a year of trying to work within the party itself; we found that as a more wired and more youthful group that we were scaring the older, more traditional party and losing traction on our objectives. Our club has a bias for action on a year-round basis, where the local party tends to work on a cycle that is geared towards the election cycle. They're both fine, just different perspectives about getting the job done, and I'd rather work year-round.

You'll notice we didn't wait for a blessing from anybody; we just plunged ahead and did it.

But I started this journey back in 2003. I had been blogging for a year and thoroughly pissed off about my stepson getting shipped off to Iraq when I heard about this guy who'd balanced a state budget for eleven years straight and managed to get health care for all children and elderly residents at the same time. I was hooked once I met some of his supporters at a local Meetup -- and from then on I was a Deaniac.

After Howard Dean's exit from the primary, I stayed with the group his campaign spawned, Democracy for America.

Larry Kissell - NC-08 in '08!

crossposted tuesday 20 may 2008 at firedoglake

Announcing a special Blue America time tomorrow to welcome back our friend Larry Kissell, Congressional candidate from the eighth district of North Carolina. NC-08 in '08!

President Bush will be coming to his district Thursday to give out medals at Ft Bragg. You would think the President would be ashamed to show up there because their substandard housing has been much in the news lately.

Let's hear from a progressive Democrat how things really are for the returning troops. Larry has shown real leadership in reaching out to those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The contrast between his actions and the lack of support from the Bush administration is clear.

Kissell got national attention during his 2006 race, when he lost to the incumbent by only about 300 votes, by having an event where gasoline was sold for $1.22 a gallon, the price at the beginning of the Bush administration. That sure seems hard to believe now, with gas pushing $4 a gallon.

Larry will be with us to answer our questions on how things are going in his district, which has suffered greatly from decisions made by this administration. They have one of the highest rates of unemployment in the area and a lot of people are facing foreclosure on their homes.

I have talked with Larry by phone and feel that his concern for the folks in his district and his love for our country are genuine. You want a true grassroots progressive candidate? Kissell is the real thing.

We're eager to hear his plans for the future and how his terrific campaign with hundreds of volunteers is going. So join us tomorrow at 6:00 ET, 3:00 PT for what promises to be a great Blue America session!