A daily series, Connect! Unite! Act! seeks to create face-to-face networks in each congressional district. Groups regularly socialize but also get out the vote, support candidates and engage in other local political actions that help our progressive movement grow and exert influence on the powers-that-be. Visit us at Daily Kos every morning at 7:30 A.M. Pacific Time to see how you can get involved. The comment thread is fun and light-hearted, but we're serious about moving the progressive political agenda forward.
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The orange pinpoints are the location of each organized group of Daily Kos readers.
If you'd like to join a group, click on a point and a box will pop up showing contact links.
If you'd like to start a group, contact navajo for instructions.
View Interactive Map of Daily Kos Regional Communities in a full screen version.
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Welcome to WHAT IF Wednesday!
WHAT IF... a lot of us quit LOOKING for candidates and became one, instead?
What's the worst that could happen?
Seriously. The Republicans already own the US Congress, 2/3rds of the Statehouses and County and City councils across the nation. The Party of the ClownCar is running the nation, folks, and unless we submit one hell of a lot of pink slips to the Republicans in those seats this year and next year - then things are just gonna go from bad to worse.
Remember 2009-2011 and how damned hard it was watching the Democratic Party, from President Obama on down the line, tell us all how utterly impossible even a Public Option was to consider...
"Every single criteria for reform that I put forward is in this bill," Obama said. "It is true that the Senate version does not have a public option, and that has become, I think, a source of ideological contention between the left and the right. But I didn't campaign on a public option. I think it is a good idea. But as I said in that speech on Sept. 9 (on health care), it is just one small element of a broader reform effort. And so we don't feel that the core elements to help the American people that I campaigned on and that we've been fighting for all year have been compromised in any significant way."
Now, cast your eye out upon the vast number of organizations clamoring for "redress of grievances", from Black Lives Matter to
Everytown Against Gun Violence to
Campaign Zero to the
Palestine Freedom Project and a whole host of others.
Do you image the current Congress will move ONE INCH to further the goals of any of those organizations? I certainly don't. Hell, they're threatening to SHUT DOWN THE FEDERAL GOV'T again this fall, over of all things, Planned Parenthood.
Now some people here at DailyKos seem to think that those who support Bernie Sanders for president are just looking for a Knight on a White Steed to ride in and save us. But Sanders himself keeps telling his audiences that he can't do it alone. That even if he gets elected to the highest office in the land, he won't be able to effect any change unless We the People join a political revolution...
What does he mean by that? He sure doesn't mean to have another march or rally, those are garnering lots of people but barely any Media attention - which is the ONLY way activists can convert their efforts into VOTES, by getting the attention of the Lawmakers, which can then create the atmosphere where their goals can be legislated into Law.
What he means is he needs a lot of people like you and me (and I'm already on the job, fyi) to STOP TYPING and get out there and run for Office. From local Animal Control Board to State Representative to the US House. What Bernie is calling for is a return to Citizen Legislators.
People putting their own career aside for a couple of years to do The People's business, in the US Congress and in our Statehouses. Remember, even though they originally restricted the ability of women or minorities from running for Office, such restrictions no longer apply.
If you are 25 years old (or will be 25 by the day of the General Election) and are a US Citizen who has spent at least 7 of those years in the US, then you can run for the US House.
For the US Senate, it's 30 years old and have been a US Citizen at least 9 years and inhabit the State you are running from:
No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age of thirty years, and been nine years a citizen of the United States and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he shall be chosen.
For State offices check with your Secretary Of State's Elections department for rules for your State. Likewise for County or City offices.
There is a reason the nation has been trending conservative and Republican for decades now - the conservatives are eager to run for Office, up and down the line. Look at how many of them are willing to line up and join their ClownCar every four years!
So if you think things can get better by just Retweeting on Twitter or Sharing on Facebook? If you think that your Duty to Country ends with casting your ballot whenever there is an election? I'm here to tell you that is not nearly enough.
When your nation, your way of life is at risk, it behooves you to take a good, hard look around and see where your talents and skills could make a difference, and then take that first step towards Building a Better Community, a better County, a better Nation...
STOP TYPING, GET OUT THERE AND RUN FOR OFFICE
You never know, what if you win your election and become part of the Change you Seek in the World? Wouldn't that be something to tell your grandkids about?
I'm hoping that it's a story I'll be telling mine, starting next year.
By the way, for those interested, I'm starting a September "5K for $5" fundraiser today. I'm looking to raise $25,000 by the end of September, to hire myself a Field Organizer starting in October, and buy Yard signs and bumper stickers. You'll see campaign diaries from me each week (and probably two times a week) from here going forward, talking about it, throughout September. You can help by donating here www.Angie4Congress.com through my ActBlue page (which has a 5,000 donors graphic to track how many donate).
Yes, fundraising is an aspect of running for office at every level.
Perhaps if enough of US got elected, we could change the rules and convert to a 100% Publicly Funded Election system, so that anyone with the skills and desire could run for office and have a decent chance of winning if their ideas are good enough...
as always...
#StrongerTogether for a better future for OUR posterity |
Please be sure to open a new tab to www.NetrootsRadio.com and listen along to:
The After Show
Hosted by justiceputnam and winkk
8:00 am PST each weekday
The Kagro in the Morning Show
Hosted by David Waldman and his DKos Crew
6:00 am PST each weekday.
Jibber Your Jabber with Wink
Hosted by Wink Edelman
9:00 pm PST Wednesday and Sunday.
Latest Updates on Regional Meet-Up News Can Be Found Below the Orange Group Hug.
Let's Build Communities!
Our team is here to provide support and guidance to new and existing volunteer leaders of each regional and state group, helping them with recruiting, organizing and executing social and action events.
We invite you to join in this effort to build our community. There are many ways to pitch in.
If there isn't a group to join near you, please start one.
Instructions on HOW TO FORM A NEW DAILY KOS GROUP
List of All Existing Meatspace Groups
Where the Kogs Are: Index/Directory of the 130+ Localized Daily Kos Groups
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY
Colorado: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Mountain
Michigan: Wednesdays, 6:00 PM Eastern
North Carolina: Sundays, 1:00 PM Eastern
Washington: Sundays, 3:30 PM Pacific
Event Organizers! Please contact wink from Netrootsradio.com by KosMail to schedule airtime with them to live broadcast the date of your Event. Wink & Justice will then promote it on The After Show radio program!
Wednesday, August 26th
Houston Kos Meet-up
TIME: 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Barry's Pizza
6003 Richmond Avenue • Houston
ORGANIZER: Send Chrislove a kosmail to attend
RSVPs:
1. Chrislove
2. Blood
3. Delilah
4. suesue
5. jmbar2
6. cosette
7. htowngenie
8. JJR1971
9. scott5js
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Maybees:
suesue daughter
suesue son-in-law
Blood guest
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Latest diary: Houston Area Kossacks: Meetup Scheduled for Wednesday, August 26
Saturday, September 26th
Dallas Kos Meet-up
TIME: Noon
LOCATION: Ojeda's Mexican Restaurant
4617 Maple Avenue • Dallas
ORGANIZER: Send Andy T a kosmail to attend
RSVPs:
1. Andy T
2. Catte Nappe
3.
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Maybees: |
Latest diary: Dallas Kossacks Round Up and Meet-Up!
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Daily Kos Connects Asheville
LOCATION: US Cellular Center in the Banquet Hall
87 Haywood Street • Asheville, North Carolina
Grow our network, unite our progressive communities, help win elections!
Join us for a day of progressive strategizing and camaraderie with Big Orange flavor. In a day-long seminar, learn how our Connect! Unite! Act! team used the Daily Kos forum to help affect change in North Carolina state politics. Participants will focus on organizing from the ground up. You'll also get a chance to meet the blog's founder, Markos Moulitsas and some Daily Kos writers, such as Joan McCarter, Meteor Blades, Denise Oliver-Velez and others.
8:00 AM - Registration and continental breakfast
9:00 AM - Presentations, panels and Q&A's begin
Noon - Free lunch provided
1:00 PM - More presentations, panels and Q&A's
5:00 PM - After party at nearby Lexington Avenue Brewery, 39 North Lexington Avenue. You'll need a wristband from the day event to get in.
$30 registration fee required for Saturday's events
Seating is limited to 200.
Parking at US Cellular
Pre-Events:
Friday, September 25, 2015
12:30 PM - 2:30 PM, Church opens at noon
St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church,
44 Hildebrand Street - 2.5 miles from Crowne Plaza; 0.6 miles walking distance from Crowne Plaza shuttle drop-off near US Cellular
Rev. William Barber II, president of the NC NAACP, will welcome Daily Kos to Asheville and speak about the Moral Monday Movement, blessing by Reverend Edwards, introduction by Denise Oliver-Velez, vocal performance by Yara Allen • No charge for this event but donations to the church are welcome
Friday, September 25, 2015
5:30 - 8:30 PM
No-Host Mixer, The Bywater, 796 Riverside Drive
(2.5 miles from hotel and US Cellular)
Post-Event:
Sunday, September 27, 2015
9:00 AM - 11:00 AM
No-Host Brunch, Crowne Plaza, 1 Resort Drive,
Overlook Restaurant
Logistics:
Hotel providing the best rate:
Crowne Plaza, 1 Resort Drive
Double-bed rooms available:
Thursday, 09/24/15 - $129.00 plus 11% tax
Friday, 09/25/15 - $209.00 plus 11% tax
Saturday, 09/26/15 - $209.00 plus 11% tax
Reservations: 888-211-7755
Mention KOS as the group code.
Hotel Airport Shuttle cost:
14.5 miles from AVL Airport
Hotel Shuttle to/from AVL Airport $20 per person, each way.
Flight details must be provided to hotel 72 hours in advance notice for arrivals, 24-hour notice for departures.
Hotel Shuttle to US Cellular $5 per person, round-trip
Drop-off location is 0.2 mile walk from US Cellular
Questions? Need a scholarship? Send me a kosmail.
navajo's Last Minute Trip to DC
by navajo ♥ for Connect! Unite! Act!
Here are two photos of the readers who took up a last minute invitation to join navajo for dinner or drinks, many thanks, what a pleasure to meet them all in real life!
Reston, VA - Thursday, August 13, 2015
L-R: Diana in NoVa, JamieG in Md, Elizabeth Amy Miller, Edward Adams, NinthElegy and navajo
Washington, D.C. - Saturday, August 15, 2015
L-R: navajo, mollyd, Edward Adams and mimi
by navajo ♥ for Connect! Unite! Act!
Outstanding leadership in Colorado forced Daily Kos to make a personal appearance.
We had a terrific event in Denver on Sunday, July 26th with 50 readers of Daily Kos. Read the details about it
here.
A special thanks to Leftcandid and ColoTim for leading the Daily Kos Denver group! Leftcandid spent several hours after the event inputting all the email addresses collected. These two are determined and that's why we made this trip happen!
If you'd like to join Denver Kos, please kosmail Leftcandid.
The following evening, Monday, July 27th, we had 30 readers attend. Read the details about it
here.
Another very successful event, great food, drink and conversation! We both gots lots of hearty handshakes and thank yous.
If you'd like to join Pikes Peak Region Kos, please kosmail thanatokephaloides.
Durango, which is 314 miles from Colorado Springs, was our final destination. Our early evening venue was the beautiful home of
nzanne and her husband. It was very generous of them to host. We had 32 Durangotangs attend.
What a pleasure to visit beautiful Durango! A special thanks to Thinking Fella for setting such a great example of leadership by winning a seat with his local Democratic Party Executive Committee! Yes! Go Local!
Durango had the largest collection of readers with user names:
L-R: Thinking Fella, mnguitar, COMTNGRL, Meteor Blades, nzanne,
Gary Norton, navajo, Merry Light and Warkman
If you'd like to join Four Corners Kos, please kosmail Thinking Fella.
The entire state of Colorado has almost 50,000 subscribers to our Daily Kos emails. We can't wait to tap into that more. We've got a lot of organizing ahead of us for Colorado. Leaders, please step up!
We've declared this road trip a great success and look forward to doing some more around the country. It's important to unite entire states in addition to cities and towns. I hope you'll contribute in some way to this effort.
by AndyT ♥ for Dallas Kossacks
AndyT had his largest event ever, 28 people in Dallas! Here's one photo:
Please visit AndyT's diary for many MORE photos! Enjoy! You can still REC it. You can join Dallas Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to AndyT.
by ZenTrainer ♥ for Nashville KosKats
Clockwise from bottom right: Anonymous L, Anonymous M,
Patrick is Lucky, Zen Trainer's water, Jon Sitzman, Al Fondy
You can join Nashville KosKats by sending a Kosmail to ZenTrainer.
by GreyHawk ♥ for Boston Kossacks
Mad Mary, CwV, a snapshot via his blog of gmoke, GreyHawk, HawkWife, Knockbally
You can join Boston Kossacks by sending a Kosmail to GreyHawk.
navajo maintains the above event list. Kosmail her if you have any diaries
about your event or if you have changes or additions.
EVERYONE is welcome, tell us what you're working on,
share your show and tell, vent, whatever you want.
This is an open thread. Nothing is off topic.