I've read a lot great blogs on DKos since I became politically active a few years ago and I'm now finally taking the plunge to sign up. Before now, I've been active on some other message boards, which consists of both liberal and bipartisan ones. Other than that, I'm a 20 year old college student in Eastern NC. I also work as a webmaster and my real name is Dan.
Issues that are important to me include: Universal health care, equality for LGBT's and veteran support. I'm open to discussion on a lot of issues, but I'm stuck in my ways for all three of those. No, not even civil unions are good enough either. To me, that's telling someone they can sit on the bus, it just has to be on the back of the bus.
As far as what I've done in the political world, in 2008 was my first full time election season. I worked with MoveOn and some other organizations to help turn NC blue across the board. Finally unseating the infamous Liddy Dole was the grand prize of the whole deal. I had my doubts about Bev Purdue, but the work managed to pay off there too. Admittedly, she isn't my favorite Democrat, but a lot better than what would have been the alternative. Giving 15 electoral votes to then candidate Obama wasn't too shabby either. I personally thought that was a huge feat considering NC didn't even change over to blue when Edwards was in the VP slot in 2004.
For those wondering, yes, Obama was my choice during the primaries. I liked Hillary and would have been equally supportive if she had been the nominee, but I thought just the transcending figure of someone like Obama would have been a huge moral boost to the country. I actually got to see him in action a week or two before the NC primaries. Thanks to some pure, dumb luck, I managed to stand within 5 feet of him while he spoke. (His head is a lot more square-ish in person.) It was a very memorable experience for one particular reason. If you remember, this was when a lot of the Muslim rumors were flying around. After he got done speaking, he started making his way around the barrier to shake our hands. I got a long hand shake in and then turned sideways so a few more of the hundreds behind me could also get a chance to. Right as I did, this other young student reached over my shoulder to shake his hand and as he did, he said "We're praying for you Senator." Obama turned to look straight back at him and said, "God bless you.". Now, I'm an agnostic theist, but for some reason, the exchange has always stuck out in my head. It cemented in me that this guy was real.
My focus for the 2010 election season will be to unseat Sen. Richard Burr in NC. I put a lot of emphasis on NC and VA not just because one is my home state, but because I see both playing a large role in the US becoming a solid progressive nation. Just imagine how hard it would be for conservatives if we named two of the biggest military states in the country as our own. We've already became more and more unionized over the past couple of years, and the future looks just as good.
I also think NC finally needs the leadership that it deserves. After years of being represented in the Senate by the likes of Helms and Dole, all the hard working people in the state have to show for it is a record of nasty campaign ads. Our diverse culture, famous universities, military bases, health care institutions and tourist areas deserve a lot more than that. We've always had the means to be great, but no leaders to take us there.
The only other thing that I can think of is that I've had thoughts of using my webmaster skills to form a PAC. Whether it's a state or federal PAC, I want one that's more than just about taking donations. One that is actually active with it's members on a regular basis. I don't despise the wealthy, but I have a hard time believing that some of these million dollar PACs and leaders have the same agenda as me. Of course, I'd like to talk some other people who hold positions in PACs (cough cough if any are around here) and get some volunteers on board before I did something like that.
Well, that's it. Sorry for going on so long. I look forward to the discussions with everyone here.