Today is the culmination of MoveOn.org's national bake sale, a grassroots effort to help put Barack Obama into the White House. The idea is very simple and beautifully non-cynical: a bunch of people organize over the internet, bake cakes, cookies, and other goodies, sell them to a sympathetic public, and then donate the funds to MoveOn's PAC. We Americans have held bake sales at least since the Civil War, and it's right and fitting and proper that this tradition has now become a nation-wide, technology-driven effort.

Here in Williamsburg, there were several such events, and I decided to check out one of them.

[Update: The Squadron campaign emails over their endorsement by the Communications Workers of America (CWA, Local 1), and I now have my own tag with the New York Observer.]

This has already been discussed here and here, but I'd like to chime in along with Messrs. Anderson and Harding on some recent developments in the Progressive Movement.

First, on DFNYC's primary endorsements: I'm not sure I get it. That organization, the local chapter of Democracy for America, adds to its list of incomprehensible endorsements - Tasini over Clinton comes to mind, because that was such a winnable fight, or DFNYC's phase as the committee to elect Norman Siegel - with their newest round, in which they decided to back Powell over Towns in the Tenth CD, Henry over Newell and Silver in the Sixty-Fourth AD, and took a pass on the Twenty-fifth SD, featuring Connor versus Squadron. I'm going to reserve judgment on the Tenth, given that neither of the Democrats running is really all that much to write home about; Towns has been co-opted by a Washington culture of the moneyed interest and regularly votes against the interest of his constituents, and Powell has a history that is marred by some episodes best not discussed. In the Sixty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth, however, the choices are clear: Luke Henry is a very pleasant guy, no question, but there's a discernible gravitas gap, organizational gap, stature gap, money gap, and any number of related gaps between Henry and Paul Newell, the Blue to Bluer netroots candidate. Maybe the good people at DFNYC see something I don't, but what is clear is that their Henry endorsement splits the Progressive community on the arguably most important race in this state. I fail to see how this helps in the larger strategic effort, frankly.

As to the Squadron-Connor race, there's a strategic imperative as well, and it runs like this: Connor is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the worst of Albany's incumbents. But the Albany incumbency as a whole could use some shaking up, insulated as it is from the concerns of the citizenry. We need, as a state, to infuse fresh blood into both chambers of the legislature; Dan Squadron's campaign could be the first ripple of a wave of new fresh faces who are suddenly considering public service. With the Senate about to flip, membership in that body will become very attractive to some smart younger people who could transform it into a bastion of Progressive leadership. First up to the bat is Dan Squadron. There's a reason the Working Families Party is practically entranced by that race, and this is it.

Magna Carta, the Great Charter that established the rights of the subject versus the sovereign, including the fundamental right of Habeas Corpus, was signed - technically, had the King's seal affixed - on today's date in 1215, 793 years ago.

That's certainly worth remembering, given that even the passage of almost eight centuries has not been sufficient to create a proper respect for this fundamental right among so-called "conservatives".

So today, raise a glass to Magna Carta and the five Supreme Court Justices who just, again, reminded George Bush and his co-conspirators that the fundamental laws of the land remain in force. Thankfully, the nation can look forward to the end of Bush's term in office in just, at this writing, 218 days; that may just be worth raising another glass over.

We're rapidly approaching the point in the cycle where it's necessary to separate the wheat from the chaff. Specifically, it's almost time to assess the state of various campaigns to determine whether or not the netroots and grassroots should support them, or not.

The Presidential campaign truism has it that Democrats fall in love, republicans fall in line. And it's true to a certain extent: Democrats do fall in love. We fall in love with candidates that say all the right things and make all the right ideological moves. Appeal to grassroots power and we go all agog; it is what we do.

However, we in the netroots, as much as we do indeed fall in love, have learned a few things over the years. There's a misconception out there, to the effect that we back candidates based solely based on ideological affinity.

This misconception is false.

Those campaigns that received strong netroots backing in the 2006 cycle and in the present environment were distinguished by several key factors.

Chris Bowers over at BlogPAC emailed over some really exciting news I'd like to share with the Progressive community.

First, some backstory. There's probably not a single soul in Progressive blogdom who has not at some point railed bitterly about Democrats. Weak-kneed, spineless, ineffectual Democrats who fail to stand up and do the right thing for their constituents, their party, and so on. These Democrats are one of two reasons there is even such a thing as a Progressive movement (the other, of course, is the republican party in its full murderous and corrupt incompetence).

The interests of the netroots and the party have often aligned closely, whenever the goal was simply the election of more Democrats. They often diverge when the goal is the election of better Democrats. When the goal is Red to Blue, we all tend to be on the same page.

It's time to expand that goals horizon, and get us some better Democrats. BlogPAC is launching From Blue to Bluer, a program designed to bring national attention and resources to bear on state-level Democratic primaries.

From Blue to Bluer seeks to first identify, and then help elect, progressive, grassroots candidates who are running in competitive Democratic primaries in blue districts around the country. The primaries can either be for open seats or against incumbents who are either too conservative for their districts, or who are simply corrupt, or both. The goal is to find a handful of proudly progressive primary candidates for local and state legislative races, and then provide them with the national support they need to help put them over the top. Through this program, we can show Democrats across the country that that a fifty-state strategy means blue districts too, and that all Democrats, no matter how local, can be held accountable for not representing their districts or for selling out progressive ideals.

If there was ever a state this program was made for, it's New York. Leave your suggestions (I've already made mine, privately, to Bowers, as has Phil Anderson) in the comments: which primary challenger in New York deserves help against an entrenched incumbent? Or drop BlogPAC a line here.

I can't stress enough what an awesome opportunity this is for Progressive Democratic challengers across the country. And I'd love - love! - to see one of the Blue to Bluer designees being here in New York.

Welcome, Governor Paterson: New York's Progressive Community stands with you.

Statement on the accession of Governor Paterson by New York's Progressive community

New York, March 17th, 2008 – For Immediate Release

The Progressive community of New York State – activists, bloggers, fundraisers, organizers, ordinary men and women from all walks of life – welcomes our new Governor, David Paterson, as he assumes our state's highest office. We recognize that Governor Paterson is the first person of color to hold the office of Governor of New York and the first legally blind person to ever hold the office of Governor in the history of the United States. We are inspired by his life achievements to date, by his impressive and daring record of reform, and we are supremely confident that he is ready to lead our state.

We understand that Governor Paterson will face challenges and opportunities as he takes office. Our new Governor's long history of working with all stake holders will prove a valuable asset in delivering for New Yorkers. We believe that both houses of our legislature require drastic changes in their operations. Transparency and open government still elude our state, and too often, our citizens are shut out of decisions that affect our lives. The voices of too many New Yorkers still do not get heard in our state Capitol. These things must change. Governor Paterson's distinguished record of reform gives us great confidence that he will be an agent of this change.

The Progressive community of New York State is ready to support our new Governor in bringing about the change New York needs; the change that New Yorkers voted for in the 2006 election. After the trials of the recent past, we believe that New Yorkers want Governor Paterson to step forward with a bold plan for change that returns our government to our people and creates a better future for all New Yorkers. We look forward to working with our new Governor as we build a lasting Progressive majority, in Albany and around the state, conversation by conversation, vote by vote, district by district, until New York is again a beacon of Progressive governance bright enough to illuminate our entire nation.

As we look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead, our thoughts are with Governor Eliot Spitzer and his family in their difficult time. We salute Governor Spitzer's achievements, and wish him and his family the best.

Signatories after the jump.

California
   Karen Bass will become the new Speaker of the Assembly. She will team with Senator Darrell Steinberg to lead the California legislature for the next two years. She is the first female Democrat to lead the Assembly.

New York
   Daily Gotham reports on endorsements in a Congressional race beginning to heat up in New York's 13th District. This one is all that stands between us and a free-of-republican-Congressmen New York City.

Iowa
   noneed4thneed reports that corporate groups are already funding television and radio ads attacking some Democrats in the Iowa House.

North Dakota
   What if one of the people spreading the crazy lies about Barack Obama is a senior Republican member of the North Dakota House of Representatives?

Kentucky
   In the wake of the KY debacle two weeks ago with the state party in the Senate primary, BlueGrassRoots made a Wiki project to give Kentuckians the informational tools to "infiltrate" and take over their party at the local/county level.

Please take the time to join our friends from Eating Liberally for an event. Eating Liberally is part of what I like to call the Doing Stuff Liberally empire, which seeks to bring one field of human activity after another into the fold of building our Progressive Movement.

Special Event Tomorrow - "Twinkie, Reconstructed"
Come celebrate the publication of the paperback edition of Twinkie, Deconstructed with Eating Liberally and author Steve Ettlinger!

When: Tomorrow, February 27th from 6-8pm
Where: The Tank at 279 Church Street between Franklin and White in Tribeca.
(no charge, but donations welcome)

Steve will share highlights from his quest to demystify the 39 gobbledy-gook ingredients it takes to make the modern-day Twinkie, followed by a discussion with two of America’s foremost nutrition professors, Joan Gussow and Marion Nestle, on how this simple sponge cake morphed into a weapon of mass destruction—i.e., a cake-like missile full of dubious minerals and petrochemicals gathered from all over the world—and what it says about our industrialized food chain.

In trademark Eating Liberally style, we’ll have a “Twinkie, Reconstructed” tasting offering alternative variations—i.e., local/organic/sustainable/vegan, etc.—on the classic snack cake. Submissions are welcome!

We hope you’ll join us for an enriching evening with no artificial ingredients!

Give me my organic twinkie, now! Heh.

Senator Schumer ran into a bit of trouble the other day when he posted a diary on Daily Kos; the subject of it was the need of the DSCC, that worthy organization, for funding and support in the 2008 election cycle.

The trouble, in the comments section, was caused by the widespread disappointment among the fabled netroots with the lackluster performance of the Senate Democrats in the face of the republican consta-filibuster and the open contempt shown by the Bush administration for the other branches of government.

So who are these netroots, or, as we like to call ourselves, dirty fucking hippies? The Nation is hosting a panel to discuss us, per an email from Ari Melber.

LEFT OUT IN THE OPEN
How the Netroots are Changing Progressive Politics
Panel on Wednesday, March 5, 6:30-8:00pm
CUNY Graduate Center, Proshansky Auditorium, 365 Fifth Avenue, NYC

Sponsored by The Nation.

Event link at TheNation.com
Facebook link

Internet activism has upended American politics by amplifying new voices, connecting disparate social networks, transforming campaign funding, enhancing public scrutiny and electing non-traditional candidates. The progressive netroots is building a participatory, egalitarian, aggressive movement with an agenda of progressive foreign policy, populist economics, Constitutional rights and open government. Are the Democrats listening? Can the netroots advance the Democratic Party and function as an independent progressive movement?

This panel will convene progressive leaders and writers for a lively discussion of how the netroots are changing progressive politics. Participants include Katrina vanden Heuvel, Publisher and Editor of The Nation; Zephyr Teachout, Assistant Professor of Law, Duke University, and an architect of Howard Dean's Internet strategy; Matt Stoller, a founding blogger of OpenLeft and President of BlogPAC; Roberto Lovato, a writer at New America Media and blogger for Of América; and Ari Melber, a correspondent for The Nation and a contributing editor at Personal Democracy Forum.

The event is free of charge. Please arrive early.

As the dust settles from Super Tuesday, leaving the Democratic race in an unsettled state - who's the frontrunner today? - it's worthwhile to take a look at what's happening sub rosa in our own state.

The biggest political question for New Yorkers, if not necessarily top of mind, is not whether Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama secure the Democratic nomination, or how either of them will take on John McCain or, haha, Mittens Romney. It is, rather, the scandalizing condition of our own state government, run by a bi-partisan legislative incumbency whose last interest is in the wishes of New Yorkers themselves. The dividing line between reactionary rot and the will of the people in New York is not a partisan one. It runs, rather, between meticulously protected incumbents and everyone else, including you.

And on that front as well, we finally see change, with a welcome convergence between the national and the state narrative of change. As Barack Obama said, "the world as it is is not the world as it has to be."

Consider this: Sheldon Silver, iron-fisted Albany patriarch of things as they are, elected to his seat in 1976, finally has a challenger in the Democratic primary. That challenger is Paul Newell, who made what can and should be considered a first major foray into the electoral arena yesterday, reaching out to core Democratic primary voters at polling places; Shelly, meanwhile, was presumably as always absent in Albany, polishing the levers of the machine that keeps him in power and the State Assembly a joke that ceased being funny a generation ago.