People Powered Politics

Net Roots is something you should know about. It's a group of folks gathering in their states, not in person, but online through Google Groups. They've decided to do more than just complain about state and national politics.
For example, take a look at what us New Yorkers had the gall to do recently:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/25.html#a8042

Yup, we actually visited our Senators' Offices. I wrote to friends about the stark contrast between our reception at each office and I have to share this response, from a wise friend, with you:

Hillary Clinton's reception (or lack thereof) of the group is a further illustration that she is not much better than her Republican counterparts. If she is the best candidate we have to do battle in 2008, we are in trouble (again). Interesting how the receptionist wanted to know what company these people represented; a further example of who many, if not most, members of congress believe their constituency is.

The Schumer response was much more what I would expect my senator to do.

Regarding Nancy Polosi: I admire her spunk, and side with her positions, but she lacks the ability to deliver an off the cuff speech that can hold the attention of those "not in the choir". Also, her energy message does not tell the complete story. We Americans have been spoiled by cheap gas for ages while citizens of most other nations endure prices up to twice what we pay at the pump. Of course, the pump price is not our actual cost, which comes in the form of higher taxes to protect our access to the oil supply. These other nations have dealt with the real price of energy by using mass transit and driving sensibly sized vehicles. They don't give tax breaks to business owners to offset the cost of a Hummer or Lincoln Navigator, at the expense of every other taxpayer, not to mention their impact on the environment.

If the Democrats are looking for a cause, The Environment is the place to be. Within that subject are issues of the carbon effect on severe weather patterns, national security (energy independence), health and managing personal finances through tough times of energy procurement.

The Republicans will throw up political smoke screens in the form of Anti-gay marriage, Anti-choice, and Anti-immigration initiatives, all in an effort to diffuse the real issues of sustainability and survivability in the competitive global market place. Cogent arguments why environmental issues affect people's lives in real ways, in language understandable by the masses must be presented and the voices of our spokespersons must be heard above din. The concept of Global Warming is not something that is readily understood by most of our citizenry, and new terminolgy must be developed to better advance the message.

Join Net Roots by sending an email to: stateproject@gmail.com, list your state as the subject of your email. You will be added to your state's discussion group. Participate as much or as little as your schedule allows. It's your group. It's your country.