Outside Getting In: Tying the Progressive Movement to Congress for Policymaking
While the Netroots has gotten better at helping elect good candidates to office, there's still a lot of uncharted territory in making policy happen once the people we elect get there. This panel will discuss how the Netroots and progressive movement can have a greater impact on Congress. We’ll also discuss current Congressional processes and some of the innovations being pursued by the Progressive Caucus.
Joan is Senior Policy Editor at Daily Kos, where she's been blogging in various capacities since 2004. She writes on everything from healthcare and financial reform to the politics of the Mountain West from a home base in Idaho.
Darcy Burner is Executive Director of ProgressiveCongress.org, honorary chair of the PCCC, honorary chair of More and Better Democrats PAC, a board member of the Council for a Livable World's PeacePAC, and a national board member for NARAL.
The principal author and organizer of "A Responsible Plan to End the War in Iraq," which was endorsed by more than sixty candidates for the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, she has been a candidate for Congress in Washington State's 8th District, a Group Program Manager at Microsoft Corporation, and a software developer at Lotus Development Corp.
As a Contributing Editor at Daily Kos and editor of Congress Matters, David has made a specialty of blogging about the dynamics and intricacies of Congressional procedure, dating back to the 2005 “nuclear option” showdown over judicial nominations. His writing has helped focus campaigns challenging the continuance of Joe Lieberman’s committee assignments, raise awareness of the limitations of Congressional subpoena and contempt processes, broker a more favorable deal on Senate committee ratios, keep the “public option” debate alive beyond all expectations, push the Senate toward rules reform, and inform both activists and the media about the reconciliation process that salvaged the administration’s health insurance reform legislation.
Jane Hamsher is the founder and publisher of Firedoglake.com. She has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, ABC, NBC, Al Jazeera, PBS, and the BBC. She is the author of the best-selling book Killer Instinct, and she has produced such films “Natural Born Killers” and “Permanent Midnight.”
Shaunna Thomas is the Grassroots Program Director of ProgressiveCongress.org. Most recently, Shaunna was the Director of Young People For, a nation-wide leadership development program for progressive youth and emerging political leaders and social entrepreneurs. At YP4, Shaunna was also a co-founder and Chair of the Generational Alliance. Prior to that, Shaunna was the Executive Director of BikeandBuild.org.
