Building the movement with small dollars

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Thursday September 21, 2006 · 6:18 AM PDT

2006/09/21 · 06:18

Stop me if you've heard this one before: "We need to invest more money in youth organizing."; "Right wing think tanks have plenty of money to push their ideas into the media, but left wing think tanks are strapped for cash."; "Bloggers should be paid for what they do."

The list goes on, and on, and on: liberals need more money in order to effectively build a movement, liberals need to invest more money in this or that idea, and so on. Wherever I've seen this sort of complaint (and yes, I've been the one complaining more than a few times), the answer almost always seems to be "let the Democracy Alliance take care of it." For those who don't know, the Democracy Alliance is a group of extremely wealthy liberal donors who have committed to investing substantially in infrastructure for the liberal movement.

We've got to stop waiting for the liberal tycoons that will shower cash down on our movement, and we've got to get our act together now. Fortunately, in ActBlue we have a perfect model for how to do that. Read More

The Liberal's Guide to Your City - welcoming newcomers and bolstering local progressive groups

PlantingLiberally

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Thursday June 01, 2006 · 7:40 AM PDT

2006/06/01 · 07:40

(Cross-posted on my blog, Planting Liberally)

If you live in a major metropolitan area, chances are that there's a large transient population - students, young professionals, living-out-of-a-hotel consultants, etc. This population is a significant challenge to local political organizations: they're not likely to be interested in local politics, they're probably too busy getting settled to get involved in politics, and even if they do join your group, they're likely to leave town in the not-too-distant future.

Local political groups and affiliated organizations can turn this challenge into an opportunity by writing guides to their city from a liberal perspective. Such a guide will not only welcome newcomers to the city, but will have many tangible benefits for the groups who put it together.

Much more below the flip! Read More

Why we need a liberal book club and how to build one - Part 2

PlantingLiberally

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Friday May 19, 2006 · 8:42 AM PDT

2006/05/19 · 08:42

(Cross-posted at Planting Liberally)

A liberal book club is an important piece of a larger strategy in developing a liberal media ecosystem. As I discussed in yesterday's post (cross-posted at MyDD and DailyKos), a liberal book club would probably take the form of a business similar to the BMG CD club, and would yield many concrete advantages for the liberal movement, including lowering the barrier of entry to the liberal movement, raising more money for liberals, partnerships with grassroots liberal groups, etc. Today, I'd like to focus on how some aspiring liberal entrepreneur could build a liberal book club.

Keeping all that in mind, follow me over the flip for some free ideas about selling books...

PlantingLiberally

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Thursday May 18, 2006 · 10:00 AM PDT

2006/05/18 · 10:00

(Cross-posted at Planting Liberally)

We are currently experiencing one of the most exciting and positive developments of the past few years in the liberal movement: the development of a liberal book-writing class, culled from blogging giants including kos and Jerome Armstrong, David Sirota and Glenn Greenwald.

I'd like to discuss, in some detail, how we can fan the flames of this wonderful development, and push the development of a cottage industry of liberal book publishing.

Today I will highlight some of the many benefits we can accrue from a liberal book club; tomorrow I will discuss how such a book club can be built, for any entrepreneurs who might be willing to get the venture off the ground. I am, incidentally, aware of the Progressive Book Club, a well-intended but (as far as I know) failed effort to do just what I am describing. Although the Progressive Book Club appears to be dead, I think that a liberal book club is a project whose time has come and then some.

Follow me over the flip for much more! Read More

Carpooling liberally: how to soften the blow of gas prices, build community, and win at the polls

PlantingLiberally

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 02, 2006 · 12:03 PM PDT

2006/05/02 · 12:03

(I originally thought this up in the aftermath of Katrina, and posted about it at the time. I've tinkered with it a little bit since then, and I think it's worth a second shot, with high gas prices again in the news.)

The gas price crisis we are now facing is not likely to go away soon, and it is a burning and deep problem for millions of people.

As Democrats, I think we can turn this crisis into an opportunity - to lead, to build community, to "be the change we seek", and to improve our own electoral chances.

We can become a party of carpoolers.

Follow me over the flip for more! Read More

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Building the movement with small dollars

The Liberal's Guide to Your City - welcoming newcomers and bolstering local progressive groups

Why we need a liberal book club and how to build one - Part 2

Why we need a liberal book club and how to build one - Part 1

Carpooling liberally: how to soften the blow of gas prices, build community, and win at the polls