I'm sure some of you have already seen the announcement made, and there will be the facebook link at the end, but I wanted to take a second to explain briefly why at least I hold "Connect! Unite! Act!" events.
It's good for many of us who are here on DailyKos to meet in a friendly environment and talk politics amongst ourselves. The problem often is, though, that becomes easy to grouse - and hard to see how to get to the "Act!" portion.
The Connect! Unite! Act! events we've held around Kansas and in Missouri are different - and I want to take a second to discuss them.
The above is from our Wichita Connect! Unite! Act! event. We had a pretty solid attendance, including former representative Patty Sloop, who attended and spoke to us about her race.
While I make an effort at times to invite elected officials and members, I've found that the best meetings are often what I refer to as "political junkfood". In the after the election meetings, our Connect! Unite! Act! meetings aren't about comiserating over losses, instead they are focused on something simple: Where do PROGRESSIVES go from here?
I want to make that very clear because there is often a misunderstanding that is is an alternative Democratic Group meeting, and it really isn't. While we discuss democratic candidates and hopes for terms, the last several meetings - from Wichita East High School to Manhattan, Kansas, Wichita Kansas and elsewhere have been focused on how do we bring the progressive message to more districts throughout Kansas.
In Johnson County on December 10, we're going to be talking abotu the last election - but also where do we go from here to GROW the party, and how do we expand the progressive message. What resources does it take, who do we need to involve, and how do we get to where we want to be?
These meetings are generally about a 40 minute 'presentation of data' a Q&A and then everyone has the floor to discuss issues. The whole thing normally lasts about 2 hours, though several meetings - like Wichita - can last 3 hours easy.
These are fun meetings amongst friends to talk about what we did well, what we need to do better, and how do we get to where we want to go from here.
To connect - build relationships and friendship within the community.
To unite in a common goal of growing the progressive message.
And to act - to leave meetings like this with a clear idea of what kind of actions are needed to reach our goal.. or, at least to understand what the problem is, and some ideas on how to fix it.
I welcome everyone who favors progressive causes in Johnson County to attend, and please RSVP!
https://www.facebook.com/...
The meeting will be held at:
7PM-10PM
DoubleTree by Hilton Kansas City Overland Park
10100 College Blvd, Overland Park, Kansas 66210
There is no charge (though if you wish to leave any to offset the room, it's appreciated)