Are you ready for 2014 Midterms? What I plan to do. Resources blog.

[functioning_cog]

Hi everyone,

I am glad to have joined Democratic Underground. I would like to give you a link to my blog that will be updated frequently (hopefully each day with multiple postings per day at times).

My first foray into organized activism will be to post information for each state as to who the U.S. Senators and representatives are, information about how to contact state senators, state representatives, governors, and TV stations. I may add newspapers as I get going along with some key information about 2014 races as I find time to edit, etc.

If you view my blog and see anything you'd like changed, added, or deleted (especially for your own state) please let me know.

I am fired up!!

WE are the change we've been waiting for.

http://2014activism.blogspot.com/

I will be linking specific state posts in each state forum here at DU if that is ok. Would it be better for me to post updates about this blog in General Discussion area or in Activism or Politics 2013 or other?

Peace

[SunSeeker]

1. Welcome, functioning_cog!

I'm so happy to see an enthusiastic, spirited person here! Yes, WE are the change we've been waiting for. Looks like so far all you have is info for Alabama on your blog. Go ahead and do it for all 50 states. Having the media contacts on there is really helpful too.

I think posting in each state forum is a great idea. Posting in GD, Activism and Politics is fine too. All those forums tend to overlap. I wouldn't worry too much about where, just post!

And don't let some of the negative people here get you down. There's plenty of us who support the President and who really do want to get Democrats elected. You might enjoy the Barack Obama group under Democrats. It is a haven for folks like you and me who like the President and want to work toward electing a congress that will have his back.

Keep up the good work!

[functioning_cog]

3. Hi Sunseeker. Thanks for the positive words. I will do all 50 states

And I plan to do one that encompasses national contacts such as White House, TV Networks, "National" newspapers like NYT, WSJ, etc.

[bettyellen]

2. Thank you and welcome! This is an awesome thing you're doing.

And posts in GD are great if they are current and political. You are welcome to cross post in Activism too. Not sure what the traffic is, but you will get interested people.
I am falling asleep now, but will check your blog over the weekend.

[liberal_at_heart]

4. if you are gathering information can I make a request? I'd like to research my representatives

voting records. Do you know any good sites that give that information? Thank you for posting this kind of information. We need an informed and active electorate.

[think]

5. govtrack.us

http://www.govtrack.us/

[liberal_at_heart]

6. thank you think.

[think]

8. Very welcome!

[functioning_cog]

22. Thank you for the link. This is also an I treating site I can link to.

[Tx4obama]

10. Below is a good site to check out

Main page: http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm


And on the links below scroll down the pages to find the names of the folks you're looking for and click on their name links to see their pages

Senators: http://senate.ontheissues.org/Senate/Senate.htm

Representatives: http://house.ontheissues.org/House.htm

[functioning_cog]

21. Thank you. This is great info as well

[think]

7. Welcome to DU! Your enthusiasm is AWESOME!

I'm headed to bed but will check your site out further tomorrow.

Thank you for your efforts!

[functioning_cog]

11. Thank you. I will be working furiously to add content so it is comprehensive

Will keep everyone posted. 2014 is ours.

[Lugnut]

9. Welcome to DU!

[onestepforward]

12. Welcome to DU!

[JDPriestly]

13. I am in a staunchly Democratic district in California. My representative will be elected

without any question. I would like to know what surrounding districts could use Democrats to help elect Democrats. Will it be possible to determine that from your website? Thanks.

[functioning_cog]

18. Anything is possible, and I welcome your input. That is a good idea...

I had thought about including information about demographics for each congressional district as a part of this which could help determine which districts are more likely to flip. However, I believe we as citizens can register our voices to anyone and everyone. Kind of like Dean's 50 state strategy, I am taking a 435 district approach!

I will brainstorm this.

[JDPriestly]

25. Great.

The problem is that we are likely to have more volunteers and it is easier to find volunteers in heavily Democratic districts, so we need to reach out with our volunteers into districts that are not so heavily Democratic.

[functioning_cog]

26. I agree. That is why I'll be taking you up on your idea of showing related districts that are R

or that are closer to being a tossup so a person in California can work on helping other districts that need it.

[ErikJ]

14. Excellent idea!

[eridani]

15. A valuable resource. I'd like to point out that there is plenty to do in 2013 also

Many municipal and county elections are held in odd-numbered years, and voter turnout drops significantly. Yet this is where candidates who eventually run for state or national office start out. Do you know any young up and comers? Recruit them? Look over your local candidates, find one you like, and volunteer for him/her.

[functioning_cog]

19. I agree. I am partly rolling this out at this time to have kinks worked out

By early 2014, but if I meet my timeline there should be plenty if content for anyone wanting to contact government, media, and other resources for 2013 fall campaigns and elections.

[Dwayne Hicks]

16. Welcome!

Love the enthusiasm! 2014 is a must win election for Democrats! I will check out your blog tomorrow off to bed now.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. K&R and welcome!

What is definitely critical is taking back our states (governors and legislatures) and for those states that have draconian "Voter ID" laws, what would probably be useful is how voters (or would-be voters) can get what they need to register and be able to successfully vote.

Good to see more resources out on the net!!

[functioning_cog]

20. These are good ideas as well. I think it is important.

I will let you know what info I get up on these pages.

[Jim Lane]

23. Don’t forget 2013

I’m guessing you want to caution people against focusing too much on 2016 and overlooking the midterms. That’s certainly valid, but don’t let concern about 2014 lead you to overlook 2013. As eridani noted, there are some important races this year.

Here in New Jersey, Chris Christie’s re-election bid is being opposed by a progressive Democratic State Senator, Barbara Buono:
http://www.buonoforgovernor.com/

We also have a U.S. Senate election in October. The front-runner for the Democratic nomination is, alas, conservaDem Cory Booker, but there are two good progressive members of the House of Representatives also running in the (August) primary. Right now I’m leaning toward Rush Holt:
http://www.rushholt.com/

but Frank Pallone also has a decent record and deserves consideration:
http://www.pallonefornewjersey.com/

Other races around the country, such as Virginia statewide offices and New York City municipal offices, also merit attention.

[JNelson6563]

24. Awesome post!

Such an important election year next year! I'll be sure to check out your posts to keep up with all the action!

Julie

[lamp_shade]

27. Bookmarked. Welcome to DU and thanks.

[madrchsod]

28. good idea but...

you should use facebook too. i have at least 15 progressive facebook pages and other liberal pages.

wisconsin activists used facebook to get the message out when walker was first exposed. i have i think 3-4 wisconsin facebook pages.

[functioning_cog]

29. yes....you are right. Facebook is in my future along with Twitter, etc.

[Scurrilous]

30. K & R

[Sivafae]

31. Only One Thing I can Think of to Add.

In the districts where there is no competition for republican candidates, list the requirements to get your name on the ballot. We need to encourage people to run in districts where the republican candidate is the only one.

[functioning_cog]

32. Yes. That is a piece of analysis worth adding

In with the rest I hope to have for each state.