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 McCarter is a contributing editor at Daily Kos and director of the Kos Fellowship Program. McCarter has combined her experience as a former congressional staffer and campaign director to write about politics and policy from a netroots perspective.
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.
Contributing Editor, Daily Kos. Editor, Congress Matters. Participant in online communities since the early 80s. A non-practicing attorney and former Capitol Hill aide, David holds the world record for Longest Online Series on Parliamentary Maneuvers that Didn't Happen, namely, the Senate's "nuclear option."
Jane Hamsher is the Founder and Publisher of Firedoglake. Jane's work has appeared on the Huffington Post, Alternet and The American Prospect. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and PBS and is the author of the best selling book Killer Instinct. She has produced such films Natural Born Killers and Permanent Midnight and currently lives in Washington, D.C.
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.
