A humbling moment in the revolution...

[Kevin Spidel]

A little over a year and a half ago, I left the Kucinich campaign as his National Field Director. I did it to go back to the states that already had their primary, to keep those organizations together as a progressive force in the Democratic Party. I started a group called Progressive Vote.

While this entire time, I was in discussion with my brother in arms, Tim Carpenter from the campaign who said we need to build the grassroots arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. To create a grassroots movement that is truely PROGRESSIVE and has supporters in Congress.

I (and at that time, others around me) felt these two are complementary. Thus Progressive Democrats of America were born as a hybrid of both caucuses in the state party (locally) and a bridge to the Congressional Caucus (federally.)

This morning in my inbox, I have had several updates regarding the grassroots strategic planning session we are hosting in DC this weekend after the antiwar mobilization.

The updates...

Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee (the two co-chairs of the caucus) will be there to great PDA'ers. Bill Goold (Director and staff manager of the caucus) will be on a panel with our staff and grassroots members. We have just passed another Iraq resolution in Washington State to bring our troops home, now marking 8 state parties declaring an Iraq Exit NOW! And one of our state groups (Colorado) has been officially recognized by their state party, making it now 16 official caucuses in state parties. 16!!! These caucuses will begin nominating progressive DNC members who will thus turn the party around to its progressive roots!

A humbling moment today.... we did it! And we are doing it! YOU DID IT WITH US! THANK YOU ALL.

WOW.


Today is a new day in the revolution!

on edit: Conyers is working his schedual to try to make it. Stay tuned!

[annabanana]

1. This is very good news....

And thank you for bringing us along, brick by brick..
This is how revolutions are built!

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Great job!

and good luck.

[Seansky]

3. very hopeful news.

thanks.

[calimary]

4. THANK YOU!!!

We've only just begun to do it, though.

LOTS of work ahead, not the least of which is IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!

Chances are, because of the seeds you planted and the hard work you did, we may be able to win back the House of Reps - and then IMPEACHMENT ought to be a foregone conclusion. Or at least a helluva lot easier to achieve.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Good job Kevin

now let me ask you a sticky question, how can we go around the Diebold problem?

[Kevin Spidel]

6. nonpartisan state initiatives such as this....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=181x421

which are started locally... state by state... PDA supported!!

[Kevin Spidel]

7. We are also supporting Key Secretary of State Races...

Like Bonifaz in Mass!

[nadinbrzezinski]

9. Good just asking as locally I try to educate folks

including the poll workers... you'd be amazed how many of the poll workers just follow the game no thinking whatsoever.

[lindashaw]

8. Not to be a downer, but that is the bottom line, isn't it?

You can't be a good soldier in a bad war, and you can't win elections using corruptible machines. The machine will win, every single time.

[Kevin Spidel]

10. hence the top two actions. n/t

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Yeah that is the bottom line

and we must be ready to take to the streets.

I have said it... I no longer believe we can turn this at the polls and we'd better be ready to do other things....

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We are at a similar moment... just that we are all reaching this sad conclusion at different points. My reaching this point was 48 hours ago, after much thinking over Katrina and the response and what was done.

We need a national strike...

http://troopsoutnow.org/
they are pushing for a national strike on December 1st

We are well past marches, but the one in DC is a hopeful beginning

We are well past of a concerted physical resistance effort, beyond the WWW.

There are days I wonder if it is too late for the United States.

[Kevin Spidel]

12. wow... thank you for the votes....

For info about this event, please visit:
http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/events/sept2005/index.php#planning