Monday, June 26, 2006

Vermont campaign finance limits thrown out by U.S. Supremes Elevated Voices: "The U.S. Supreme Court today overturned campaign finance limits in Vermont that were among the most stringent in the nation, and the ruling may set the stage for a similar challenge in Colorado." "denver 2006" 6:14:16 PM

Valle Vidal Unbossed.com: "Thanks to the massive public outcry in support of the Valle Vidal Protection Act (HB3817), Rep. Tom Udall, champion of the Valle Vidal from day one, has been able to move the bill out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives. At the same time Rep. Heather Wilson has decided to co-sponsor the Valle Vidal Protection Act and Rep. Steve Pearce has voiced his support for the bill. In a further step forward, New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid has reiterated her long-time support for protecting the Valle Vidal in any way she can." "2008 pres" 6:14:44 AM

Markos and the Daily Kos TalkLeft has a long post up about Markos and the Daily Kos. Ms. Merritt writes, "I'll make my point at the outset: Mainstream media will not weaken Daily Kos. Daily Kos is more than just Markos. It's a community of diarists whose views on issues may or may not mesh with his. What Markos has done is provide progressives, those who feel their government and the ideals of our country are being hijacked by the radical right, with a place to express themselves. If Markos retired to a remote island off of Fiji tomorrow, Daily Kos would continue for years. "Markos has never held himself out as the Pied Piper of the netroots. He repeatedly has expressed his discomfort at the media's attempts to cast him in this light. He has no ambitions of being the maestro or rock star of the movement. I have known Markos for 4 years. He designed TalkLeft. I've spent time with him and his family in San Francisco and at their home in Berkely. I've hung out with him in Washington, Boston, New York and Denver. Here's how I see him. "What Markos has is passion and a vison. While he has been hugely successful in implementing his vision through Daily Kos, trust me on this one, he's only just begun. His plans for the future will take progressive activism to heights not dreamed of today. The mainstream media is playing catch-up and Markos is way beyond them. In short, anyone who discounts Markos does so at their peril... "Big media has a dog in this fight. Newspapers are losing readers like a sieve to bloggers and online media. Have you noticed that every newspaper now has 'blogs,' most of which seem more like articles that didn't make the cut of the paper's final edition -- articles written by traditional journalists in that impersonal, reporting tone with too much prose and too few external links? It's like they don't have a clue what this blogging thing is all about. "By the time the word 'blog' is understood by mainstream Americans, bloggers will have moved on. Markos and those in the netroots once again will leave big media in the dust. Politicians, if they are smart, will hang with the netroots to avoid a similar fate." "2008 pres" 6:10:04 AM

Women in politics? The Denver Post asks Are Republican women are snubbing politics? From the article, "What's with the dwindling number of Republican women in Colorado politics? In 1998, there were 21 Republican women in the state legislature. Now there are six. Democratic women have increased from 15 to 28 in that same period. Colorado State University political scientist John Straayer compiled the data. He questions whether the 'candidate gatekeepers in the Republican Party are keeping women out of the game.' Former Republican Sen. Norma Anderson says her party has shifted hard right. GOP women, generally speaking, tend to be more practical and more moderate and 'can't get elected' through the caucus system, she says. Many won't even try. Two decades ago, most legislative committees were chaired by women. Last year, Anderson was the only woman in her caucus. Viewed as 'too conservative' two decades ago, Anderson says she's now called liberal by fellow Republicans. 'If I had to start over again, I wouldn't get elected,' she said." "denver 2006" 5:45:53 AM

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