OldLeft meet NewLeft meet OpenLeft

[courtesy of The California Majority Report]

Chris Bowers and Matt Stoller (of MyDD) and Mike Lux (of the Beltway –- but in a good way) have teamed up to launch OpenLeft, a new online venture that (and I’m about to oversimplify here) seeks to provide a space that bridges the different pieces of the movement -- both technological and generational -- and to a certain extent, activist and practioner. At least that’s my impression. And, they’re off to a great start.

And in an example of "OldLeft meets OpenLeft" is Stoller’s post on Congressman George Miller’s (CA-7) response to a question Stoller asked in "Ask George", a new feature on Miller’s website. As noted, Congressman Miller’s very smart use of technology to engage his constituents on the Iraq War and launch a virtual townhall is pretty clever -- and one of the many many reasons Congressman Miller is so popular and respected. (Disclaimer: Congressman Miller was one of my first bosses, something I take great pride in –- that and he still calls me kiddo –- which when I’m feeling old, I like). I hope to see Congressman Miller’s virtual townhall not only adopted by more members of Congress, but it would be nice to see some (any) members of the CA Legislature employ similar outreach tools.

I encourage folks to checkout both OpenLeft.com as well as "Ask George".