netroots

Crossposted from Left Toon Lane, Bilerico Project & My Left Wing


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Between election events and campaign catastrophes, I've been cogitating about elections past and future - and what we as a community could and should do to affect the greatest amount of real change.

Front-paged by Anglico. Much to think about.

As I mulled over the defeat of common sense this week (smoking ban bill defeated 61 to 55) I was having trouble getting in touch with the better angels of my nature. How the hell do you make progress within a political system that is owned and operated by corporate special interests (big tobacco, in this case)? I then came upon a fascinating and relevant article that is a variation on whether the ends justify the means. See if you agree:

“If you are chiefly interested in the consequences, then you are not chiefly interested in the ideas. The netroots, like most of the conservative movement, is interested in the consequences, not the ideas. The battle is being joined at last.” ~Jonathan Chait

Has anyone perused the list of NC Democratic Candidates available for donations on ActBlue?

Also, check out the Active ActBlue page.

Good stuff.

Cross-posted at the Brock Log.

 Democracy for America's Night School is a very cool service provided free-of-charge to anyone that wants to register.

DFA Night School will teach you strategies you can use to take back your city, your state, your country.

This past Saturday, I was attending the North Carolina Progressive Bloggers Conference, which was hosted, appropriately enough, by State Chair Jerry Meek, of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Depending on whom one asks, the highest-profile attendee was either Matt Stoller, who has some nice things to say in a diary over at MyDD, or Representative Brad Miller, who has excellent taste in both basketball teams and snark!.

Of course, any venue that has me around for (too) long is just asking for trouble. More on that later. :)

From the News and Observer, December 4th: "Although vote-counting is difficult, the conventional wisdom among lawmakers and lobbyists is that Black has 23 or 24 votes of the 68 Democrats -- and no other Democrat has even close to that total."

BlackOut-NC is trying to figure out who the 23 or 24 pro-Jim Black Democrats are and which 44 or 45 are willing to shift the paradigm in Raleigh. Contact your representative to ask if she/he will commit to voting for anybody but Jim Black for Speaker of the House, then go leave the name, district, and disposition in a comment section at BlackOut-NC or email them at ethicalgov A T yahoo D o T com.

Four sample emails are on display here.

Find a Representative's contact info here.

While so many of us are waiting to see family during the holidays, House Speaker Jim Black is waiting to see if he'll be indicted after being fingered as a co-conspirator by convicted extortionist, Michael Decker.

Representatives are, by and large, coy over whether they'll support another Jim Black term as Speaker if he somehow avoids indictment. There are a few exceptions - Bill Owens says, "Even if he is indicted, it doesn't mean he's guilty", and Bill Faison says, "We do not need a sitting speaker indicted and carried off the podium in handcuffs."

A new Democratic netroots effort, fertilized by the sulfur spread by Black, is underway at BlackOut-NC.com. The tagline says it all:

"Encouraging our representatives to make an ethical choice when voting for Speaker of the House. Promising respect for candidates who choose to elevate our party and our government, and promising a permanent pain in the ass to those who don't."

Following on the success of BarCamps around the world, where geeks get together to share information and build community in a collaborative “unconference” format, folks are organizing RootsCamps for progressive organizers to debrief the 2006 election and talk about next steps.

I really wanted there to be a RootsCamp in North Carolina (and there still could be) but I just didn't have the energy to make it happen on my own. But I did hook up with a west coast colleague (Andrew Hoppin of CivicSpace, Clark campaign, etc.) and we are taking it to the new(ish) frontier of Second Life!

Crossposted on dKos and MyDD

WGHP News Video of Debate

YouTube - Why we support Roger Sharpe

What a stink! More after the flip.