Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.

Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.

Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.

Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.

Connect with like-minded folks and talk with others from your community in our identity, issue and regional caucuses.

Native American women are subject to much higher levels of sexual and domestic violence than any other women in the United States. Due to a confusing maze of tribal, state, local and federal laws, rapists and batters rarely face prosecution, regardless of the evidence against them. Perpetrators are aware that they can rape and brutalize, then often walk away with no consequences. This panel will explore what can be done to ensure equal protection under the law for Native American women and the role the Netroots can play in combating these injustices.

The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and the District of Columbia). In less than two years, the National Popular Vote bill has been enacted into law in Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, and Maryland. The bill has passed 18 legislative houses (one house in Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, North Carolina, and Rhode Island, and Washington, and two houses in California, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey, Vermont, and Maryland). The bill is currently endorsed by 1027 state legislators.

There is a large underbelly to politics that bloggers often don't recognize or get involved in: campaign finance and ethics laws. A panel of Texas bloggers will explain how they single-handedly got the Texas Ethics Commission off its behind and politicians to pay attention to the campaign spending rules, and how you can do it in your state. In addition, Travis County DA Ronnie Earle, Texas’ primary ethical watchdog of elected officials, will share his views on the role of the Netroots in shaping the debate related to ethically-challenged politicians.

Debates over whether or not current policy in Iraq is “working” are meaningless absent scrutiny of the issue working to do what? Iraq needs, in short, to be placed into a broader strategic context concerning al-Qaeda, nuclear proliferation, Iran, Syria, etc. The mainstream press rarely addresses these issues, and when it does, it tends to simply reiterate conventional thinking. Can the Netroots help progressives articulate a meaningful strategic alternative?

The Interior West is an important part of the country for Democrats this year. New Mexico is the ultimate swing state in the region. It was the closest (in margin) in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential contests. Every Congressional seat is open in 2008, as is the Senate seat of retiring Republican Pete Domenici. The west has important regional issues: water, public lands, fire, remote rural areas, large Native American and Hispanic populations and more. Speakers include the Democratic candidates for NM-01 and NM-03.

How has digital technology changed advocacy? What should influence look like in a networked social environment? How can individuals best affect government? What role should intermediaries, advocacy organizations, opinion leaders and movement organizers play in organizing government?

The panel discusses "violent rhetoric" in contemporary politics: What is it? What problems does it cause? How does it undermine media, elections and policy? How can progressives work together to move U.S. national debate past it? The goal is to bridge the divide between theory and practice and to build a forward-looking discussion. This panel is of value to those looking for innovative ways to drive the political debate and articulate effective policy.