Great Depression

[makaer]

So a lot of talking heads are wondering if this economic climate is turning into a depression. And once people get on the whole depression kick, it's time to talk about FDR. So we get some folks saying "The New Deal got us out of the depression" (generally these tend to be liberal slanting voices). And in typical we-have-to-argue-about-

Comments

[makaer]

Right, war isn't sustainable unless you are pillaging a country of resources. And even then that is a cost/benefit analysis. WWII was only helpful to the economy as a shot of adrenaline but it couldn't have been sustained. But there is no modern evidence that any small scale war can behave as that same adrenaline hit to the economy

[makaer]

That's fine. Woe is my code I should be working on. Woe to lj! I can get ranty, and ranting is more fun than coding. Usually

[cos]

Start participating in today's "netroots", because the structures to displace "traditional" lobbying are already being built.

Also, Obama has gone so far as to put on his campaign web site, in writing, that he favors public financing of political campaigns, and he also said in a public speech that he thought the public financing system for presidential campaigns was completely broke (quite right about that) and we need to fix it. I have little doubt that Feingold and his allies will once again push public financing in the next Congress. So, get involved and try to make it happen.

MoveOn, and clean elections lobbying

[cos]

MoveOn has a particular niche they do well: How to use the Internet to take large grassroots organizing projects and split them up among a large number of people who want to help a little bit, don't have the time or inclination to really organize themselves, and use the Internet regularly. For such people, MoveOn can provide simple convenient chunks of basic grassroots organizing work, like making phone calls, and make it easy for them to commit as little or as much time as they're inclined to.

MoveOn isn't "lobbying", it's "organizing", and its goals are usually organizing goals: elect candidates, or bring a particular issue or framing of an issue into the forefront in public debate and use that to influence policy or elections, or mobilize large numbers of people to attempt to influence government policy.

The main lobbying group that works on promoting clean elections at a federal level (and also state) is Public Campaign so as a start, you might want to join them and donate to them

netroots involvement

[cos]

To participate in public policy making, netroots-style, you basically need to do two sorts of things on an ongoing basis:
- electoral politics
- public discussion with the rest of the netroots

Electoral politics: Find a candidate or candidates you like, for any office (alderman, state senater, whatever) and participate in the campaign. That includes traditional campaign activities like door to door canvassing, lit drops, and election day get-out-the-vote, as well as newer things like online fundraising or blogging

Re: netroots involvement

[cos]

It actually has been at a different location each year. I went this year when it was in Austin, and last year when it was in Chicago. Demfest also moves around - this year was in Dulles, VA, last year was in San Diego, and next year is in Burlington, VT. They try to move around so everyone gets a chance to have it be local or sort of local eventually.

Also, Democracy for America ran a scholarship program for Netroots Nation where they raised money online (via the netroots blogs as well as their own membership list) and used it to send 30 or so people to Netroots Nation for free. I hope they will do that again next year, keep an eye out for it (if you're following the blogs regularly, you won't miss it).

There definitely are other events that local groups organize. Of course the whole point of the netroots is, you don't wait for others do to something you wish would happen, you get some people together and do it :)

[cos]

BTW, Public Campaign is currently urging people to go to http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision and suggest that Obama push for passage of the Fair Elections Now Act, a clean elections system for US Senate and House campaigns.