DFA

What are you doing this summer? I know we're going to be working hard to make sure progressives win in November.

Let's kick it all off together at this year's Netroots Nation convention in Austin, Texas from July 17 to 20, 2008.

There's two ways for you to come and join us in Austin.

One way is to buy your ticket right now and start making your plans to be there for the fun, training and community. Purchase your Netroots Nation ticket today and get the DFA $50 discount.

http://www.netrootsnation.org/details

The other way is to earn a Netroots Nation Scholarship.

Roy Carter endorsement Rally!

Big News! Both Roy Carter and Larry Kissell are in the finals of the Democracy for America Grassroots All Star Challenge. They are competing against each other and Nancy Skinner from Michigan. Her primary challenger placed in the top five.

If you're a long-time regular at BlueNC I don't have to remind you how little respect we were able to drum up for our Democratic congressional challengers in 2006. The two that received any attention - Heath Shuler and Larry Kissell were either too conservative (Shuler) or didn't have a chance (Kissell....yeah, right). Toward the end Roger Sharpe in NC-05 was getting noticed, but any bit of attention our NC candidates received came after fighting tooth and nail for it.

Democracy For America extended their voting deadline in the first round of their Grassroots All-Star challenge. At the original deadline, both Roy Carter and Larry Kissell were in the top three. North Carolinians stopped voting, but it seemed other people were continuing to move up in ranks. Votes were still coming in after the original deadline. It made ya go hmmmmmmm.

Now, I'm not saying anything hinky was going on, but DFA failed to notify at least one candidate in North Carolina that they had extended the deadline.

This Time/CNN story got me thinking.

There's a lot to feel down about this month: the subprime mortgage crisis, stormy, unpredictable weather, rising gas prices, presidential primary free-for-alls. So, it would be easy to believe the theory set forth by Dr. Cliff Arnall, a researcher from Cardiff University, that the third Monday of the month (Jan. 21, this year) — a day he calls Blue Monday — will be our most depressing day of the year. Arnall bases his yearly prediction on a formula he developed, which factors in the weather, consumer debt from holiday spending and failed New Year's resolutions and arrives at that conclusion that we'll hit rock bottom on Monday the 21st.

From a Democratic perspective, if this is rock bottom, imagine the view from the cheap seats in the Grand Old Party. I wholeheartedly disagree with the good Doctor's theory of today being the most depressing day of the year, and in fact draw hope from it.

As I've shared before, it's those words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that helped keep me from the bitterness of such a narrow loss for Congress in 2006. With our entirely grassroots campaign coming up less than 330 votes short of defeating an entrenched multi-millionaire Republican with virtually no help from the national party, bitterness was a temptation.

Dr. King's words, however, helped remind me and those closest to me that bitterness and regret were wasteful when there was so much to be thankful for and so much work left to do. We moved on and I hope we have honored his memory, and more importantly his spirit, with our people powered movement made up of working folks here in North Carolina.

Taylor, Carter and Kissell up for DFA All Stars

I guess I will start by adding all the things that I am doing (since this is all the rage on the site now), even though the list is short:

One corps member
County One Corps "Captain"
Active member Western North Carolina Network of Spiritual Progressives
Campus organizer
And oh yeah full time student

I am graduating in 3 weeks and still don't have a job, because I am holding out, trying to get a position as a community organizer for various organizations.

I really need your help today.

As you know, North Carolina's 'can do' campaign has been honored as one of the picks in Democracy For America's 2007 All-Star Grassroots challengers. What you may not know is we've learned we held the early lead thanks to netroots support and our outreach efforts, but have quickly dropped behind, most likely due to the large population in the states we're up against.

I know that can't sit well with North Carolina Democrats any more than it does with me. YOU are the grassroots All-Stars of 2006, and will be of 2008. Let's prove it to the world.