Last Thursday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Congressmen Keith Ellison and Jim Himes delighted a new group of students and interns from across DC in the latest installment of 21st Century Democrats' Youth Leadership Speaker Series!
This past Tuesday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar spoke in front of a group of interns and students as part of the 21st Century Democrats' Youth Leadership Speaker Series.
The 21st Century Democrats' Youth Leadership Speaker Series is off to a great start teaching and inspiring tomorrow's progressive leaders of the Democratic Party with speakers like Congressman Barney Frank, Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and--soon--Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.
21st Century Democrats is focused on building a progressive movement from the grassroots up. Our goal is to promote populist values, activists, and candidates.
Experience has shown us time and time again that watering down the Democratic Party's progressive values loses elections. And with Democrats poised to win the White House and bigger majorities in Congress in 2008, we cannot afford to make this mistake again. Governor Dean and Barack Obama called for wide ranging input on the 2008 Democratic Party Platform. That's refreshing and exciting. At 21st Century Democrats we believe that America is stronger when we adopt these principles.
The 2008 election presents an incredible opportunity for Democrats to take control of our government and build the foundation for a long lasting progressive movement in our country. But to win in November, we will have to contend with a desperate Republican Party that has repeatedly demonstrated its willingness to divide and deceive the American people for their own partisan gain. To cut through all of the GOP propaganda, Faux News misinformation campaigns and right-wing radio hate speech Democrats are going to have to get out and talk face-to-face with voters about our vision for America and how we will put this country back on track.
At 21st Century Democrats, we are working hard to play our role in the progressive infrastructure. We train activists in the art of field organizing and then put them on campaigns all across the country so they can go out and talk to voters about our candidates and our vision for the future. On June 4-8, we will hold our National Field Organizer Training: Major League Action at Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Over four days of intensive training, we will transform up to 200 activists into prepared field organizers that can be dropped anywhere in the country and start making a difference right away.
Our organization seeks to build a more progressive America not only by electing more progressive Democrats, but also by building human capital within the progressive community. Training a young person to be a field organizer helps us not only in the current cycle, but gives that person a skill that will be valuable in every election. Thankfully, there are a lot of great groups like The Center for Progressive Leadership, Democracy For America, The New Organizing Institute, Wellstone Action! and many others that train progressive activists, organizers and candidates.
If you want to get more involved with the election this year and build some organizing skills for the future, please consider attending our Major League Action Training and/or one of the other great trainings put on by our progressive allies. Or, if you can't make it and would like to help pay the travel expenses and registration fees for a dedicated young progressive to attend our training you can donate to our Field Organizer Fund. The better we are at finding and talking to our neighbors about the issues that are important to them, the more successful we will be in November and the more likely we are to build a true progressive movement in this country.
Mark Lotwis is the Executive Director of 21st Century Democrats.
Last week, 21st Century Democrats held its 13th annual Signature Gala in Washington, DC. At the event, we launched our new 21st Century Leaders In Action program, which provides support and recognition to a network of leaders who share ideas and collaborate to implement bold progressive policies. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin and Arizona State Representative Kyrsten Sinema were the first progressive standouts to be included in what will be a constantly expanding network of leaders from around the country.
The awardees in attendance spoke about a number of important issues facing our county, but I was struck by their focus and passion regarding voter participation and electoral reform. Maryland State Senator Jamie Raskin (District 20) started the ball rolling with a discussion about the importance of protecting voter's rights and encouraging civic participation - video here. He described two laws he has passed since being elected to the State Senate in 2006. The first was an interstate compact that would create a direct popular election for President and the second gave 17 year olds the right to vote in primary elections if they turn 18 by the general election. These kinds of electoral reforms strengthen our democracy by making every vote count and brining new voters into the political process.
Next up was Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, who has done a great job cleaning up the mess left by her Republican predecessor, Ken Blackwell. At the gala, she reiterated her commitment to ensuring that every vote is counted through the use of back-up paper ballots and post-election audits. Secretary Brunner also discussed the State's new Voting Rights Institute that does outreach to voters and operates important programs aimed at engaging more Ohioans in electoral politics. Watch the video here.
Finally, Congressman Ellison (MN-5) took the stage and forcefully articulated the injustice of the recent Supreme Court decision allowing Indiana to infringe upon Americans' constitutionally guaranteed right to vote by requiring photo IDs. He called out this back-door poll tax for what it is: a Republican scheme to disenfranchise students, minorities, the elderly and the poor. Thankfully, dedicated progressives like Keith Ellison are standing up against these Jim Crow era laws. He recently proposed legislation that would ban photo ID requirements to vote and last week introduced a bill to allow same-day registration in all federal elections. Check out video of his speech.
The struggle to protect the right to vote demonstrates why we must elect more progressives like Secretary of State Brunner, Congressman Ellison, and State Senator Raskin to office. We are searching for new 21st Century Leaders In Action across the country to include in our network. If you know someone who is making big strides towards achieving a progressive vision for America, please tell us about them either in the comments or by contacting us directly.
Mark Lotwis is the Executive Director of 21st Century Democrats
"Leadership is seeing the big picture, knowing how to get there, and then painting that picture so vividly that the rest of the world eagerly comes along." - Darcy Burner
Darcy Burner is a seasoned leader with bold ideas that capture the imagination of all Americans. Her work at Microsoft has given her the experience to create new paths to achieve goals worth fighting for such as health care for everyone and dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
