by Lucas O'Connor [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Last year, the convention was down the hill from my front door, and it was the first or second time I had met many of the bloggers and activists from around the state.  This year, in my first hour in the Convention Center I was happy to see again dozens of fellow bloggers, candidates, activists and friends from every corner of the state.

The growing community is fantastic, but I'm sure that the growing list of disclaimers raises some questions.  Workings within the system has long been established as the preferred tactic, and I'm energized by the possibilities.  The growth and nuance and personal relationships are encouraging as we head into today's activities.

by Charles Harker [courtesy of Blog for America]

Without question the US has the best military and the finest soldiers but what our misguided president does not realize is that these wars he so loves cannot be won with bombs and bullets, to truly win these wars we need something of which he is unfamiliar. We need people who truly believe in our principles, in equality and that democracy is best. That's where we come in, we are the ones who fight to keep and change and improve this system, As good as it is, it can always be better

by Bob Brigham [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Moveon has 575,000 California activsts:

Spurred by John Edwards's withdrawal from the race on Wednesday, MoveOn surveyed a sample of its members to gauge endorsement interest, according to a source with knowledge of the group's operations. Then MoveOn set a deadline of 11 am Thursday for members to back a virtual endorsement vote. If a majority support the idea, virtual balloting will run overnight, open only to the group's 3.2 million activists, and an endorsement could be announced by Friday.

Your ballot will be hitting your inbox shortly. Looking at the movement in the Daily Kos poll, I can see Obama meeting the revised, 2/3 threshold.

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

1)      DFA Wireless, a phone company for activists, growvotes.org

http://growvotes.org/blog/2007/09/24/dfa-wireless-a-cell-phone-company-for-activists/

2)      Friends in peace actions, blog.360.yahoo.com

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-8nTTlsAhfqhmc6BGnqbaHB.z3cYaQpP3XPxwWIFJgy0e?p=652

3)      Dartmouth Dem debate add-ons, democracyfornewhampshire.com

http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/4706

4)      The political effectiveness of the progressive netroots, part I, openleft.com

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1511

by Kim Stevens [courtesy of Party Line]

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

The words are those of Governor Schwarzenegger. Not since Diane Feinstein chided the liberals of my party on capital punishment has a public figure faced down the activists that dominate Party conventions in a major speech.

Schwarzenegger’s criticism of the Grand Old Party were funny and accurate. The Republican position on global warning is “to doubt it”. But they also drew blood: “If it is our policy to ignore the majority of the world’s scientists, then we are a Party at odds with the future”.

The tension that exists between activists who believe their party’s elected officials should be faithful to platforms they adopt regardless of the opinion of the voting public is not new and not unique to Republicans. The greater the divide between the votes needed to win elections and the opinions of activists, the greater that tension.

To the activists, the principles and ideology define the Republican Party. While lip service might be paid to victory at the polls, it isn’t victory if the price is compromise of those principles and ideology. Who wants to work to elect Tweedle Dee? Of what value is the principle of “me too”?

by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

In cities across the country this year, thousands of activists have gathered to learn the skills needed to elect progressive Democrats to offices from City Council to U.S. Congress.  The DFA Training Academy has visited 18 such cities already this year and we’re excited to announce that we’ll be coming to Atlanta, Georgia this weekend.

Sign up today: www.dfalink.com/gatraining

Since 2004, over 13,000 activists have been trained by DFA, and we’re just getting started.  Just listen to how one Jackson, Mississippi training attendee summed it up: