The Next Step

In Spring of 2006 I started a blog with my brother, the brother's lane. We allowed ourselves the space to go on tirades about the Bush-Cheney Agenda and we lamented the woes of progressives' long sojourn in the wilderness. But the mid-term elections of 2006 began to change things as Democrats took back majorities in Congress, and did so by expanding the base of the party. Some called it a move to the right, but I saw it as coalition building. By February of 2008 I was convinced that Barack Obama was the Presidential candidate who would help the Democratic party return to its progressive core and expand the base even further. The past 6 months have made it seem ever more possible. This Summer, though I began realizing that getting Obama elected and building the majority in Congress was only step one. We now have to create a working progressive agenda. The tirades and lamentations of my previous blog seemed ill suited for such hopeful and forward looking work, thus I have begun "the next step."

On this blog I hope to involve other progressives in discussion and debate about plans for the work we can do in our communities and nationally in order to help solidify the gains the Democratic party has made. Whether Obama wins tomorrow night or not, we need to remain conscious that no matter who is President we are looking at global economic, environmental, and humanitarian crises that will require creative progressive solutions. My hope is that we can use this space to work out ideas and find our place in creating those solutions.