In 1988, I took a delegation of California students to the South for the first-ever Super Tuesday to help mobilize African-American voters in the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. An idealistic college student at the time, I met many of the key leaders of the Movement and even visited the grave of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a young civil rights demonstrator who was shot and killed by a state trooper during a voting rights rally. Jimmie Lee’s death sparked the Selma-to-Montgomery march and led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Jesse Jackson says that the Voting Rights Act was written in blood before it was signed in ink. As a result of that ’88 trip to the South, I became deeply connected to the legacy of those who died for me, for millions of others, and for democracy itself.

Twenty years later, we are facing another historic moment. The nation and the world must confront life-and-death challenges such as global warming, terrorism, globalization, poverty and disease. In the Presidential primaries, people are already turning out in record numbers, for a slate of diverse candidates including a woman, an African American, and a Latino.

All of us are called to respond to this historical imperative, and PowerPAC is doing its part. Building on our work in 14 stats during the Primary, PowerPAC will be helping to coordinate a national effort to register and mobilize 1 million new Black voters in the 2008 election. This work will be focused primarily in the American South – where the critical battles for democracy, justice, and inclusion were waged -- collectively represent more than half of the national African American electorate.

Our goal and primary mission is to honor the legacy of Jimmie Lee Jackson and ensure that all of those whose franchise was secured by struggle and sacrifice in the Civil Rights Movement know about the upcoming elections and turn out to vote.

In addition to our core work of voter mobilization, from time to time, PowerPAC also supports candidates of conscience, who we believe will help expand democratic participation and advance the cause of social justice. This is one of those times, and we will independently promote the candidacy of Barack Obama, the first African-American nominee for a major party, during his historic quest for the White House. We will be reaching out in particular to Latino voters, who are an emerging force in American politics and who are poised in 2008 to become a permanent constituency of the progressive coalition.

2008 comes forty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and twenty years after my first sojourn to the Black-Belt South. Those for whom Jimmie Lee Jackson and Dr. King died can now pick the next President, and PowerPAC is going to do all it can to ensure that as many people as possible participate in this historic election. Jimmie Lee would demand nothing less of us.

The message was as follows:

"At a time when segments of California public higher education, the University of California and the California State University, are raising fees on all students attending college in order to maintain the quality of education provided, it would not be prudent to place additional strain on the General Fund to accord the new benefit of providing state subsidized financial aid to students without lawful immigration status. Under existing law, undocumented students, who meet the required criteria, already qualify for the lower in-state tuition rate while attending California public colleges and universities."

1) This argument is completely erroneous given that the institutions he is concerned for (UC and CSU) support the bill and even provided letters to the Governor urging him to sign the bill.

• Meet many great students/organizers.
• We made new friends and created an unprecedented coalition of SB 1 advocates including: UCSA, CSSA, Majority for Justice, PowerPAC, The Courage Campaign, American-Islamic Relations, of Greater Los Angeles (CAIR-LA),Vote Hope, various faith and labor groups, print media support (Sac Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury, LA Times, La Opinion and various others). In addition to all that SB1 and students had a positive buzz online.
• Students were able to get a seat at the table and speak their minds with government and community leadership without a middle person.
• Students negotiated with the Speaker of the Senate, Speaker of the Assembly, various committee chairs, the governor… and met amazing community leaders, business leaders and many other people and orgs...

Moreover, these months served as a testament of the tremendous capacity and commitment students have for rising above the odds with intelligence, pragmatism, passion and hope. We still have much work at the state and federal level. There is a lot of bigotry out there that we need to tackle, but I know that we can do it.

Always in Solidarity,
Cora C.

The worst is McCain, who just smiles and nods as O'Reilly is spewing his vitriol.

The exchange happens at the end of the interview. Check it out here:

Most of the time, we can ignore him. But no matter how tempting it may be, we can't ignore "Barack the Magic Negro." Here's why: a web poll by a Sacramento affiliate of CBS news shows that 91% of people don't think the song is racist. And sure, it's just a stupid web poll. Of course, Rush has instructed people to go inflate the poll. But it doesn't matter. In my own circle of highly educated, progressive and mostly white friends, there is not universal agreement on the racist nature of this song. And there is a strong tendency by them to just roll their eyes and ignore it.

I'm saying that as progressives, it's our job to explain why this is racist, and then to call it out. If we don't, we're being passively racist ourselves.

But as Dan points out on Kos, when a white DJ creates a baffoonish, stereotype-laden Amos-and-Andy-sounding voice to portray any black man, that is racist and insulting, and it can't be tolerated. The song also references "real black men, like Snoop Dog," which again reinforces unfair stereotypes of black men. But the worst comes at the end of the parody song:

Don't vote the Magic Negro in --

'Cause -- 'cause I won't have nothing after all these years of sacrifice

And I won't get justice. This is about justice. This isn't about me, it's about justice.

It's about buffet. I don't have no buffet and there won't be any church contributions,

And there'll be no cash in the collection plate.

There ain't gonna be no cash money, no walkin' around money, no phoning money.

This is what should enrage every progressive in this country. If Black leaders can be ridiculed, and when their fight for justice can be characterized as a ploy for money without consequence, our cause is in serious trouble. We can't just dismiss it.

It's an important conversation, and I am happy to see it being brought up there. While diversity as a progressive value is assumed, and the overly white and wealthy make up of the progressive blogosphere is a noted problem, there seems to be some confusion around what the right solutions are. People are struggling with this for a variety of reasons, one of the main ones being that progressives are still not comfortable confronting, dealing with or talking about issues related to race. I think exploring this issue requires some level of stepping back and looking at the bigger picture.

Include racial justice issues in your organizational discussions and analysis.

Commit to doing serious work against racism as part of your organizing and to forming meaningful, principled alliances with people of color organizations in your communities.

Make sure that your agenda isn't set before considering the goals and demands of activists of color. Too often, white activists think of the issues that they are working on as "universal" and approach activists of color asking them to join their "big tent". Why aren't white activists holding themselves accountable in the same way and viewing racism as a universal concern?

Take steps to create a more tolerant culture within your own organization. Sometimes, white culture is "invisible", meaning that methods of work, choice of music, food, ways of communicating, etc., are thought of as "progressive" ways of doing things, instead of "white progressive" ways of doing things. One way should not be held up as "authentically progressive", especially when that cultural form is typically or historically white.

Consider the needs of people of different backgrounds than your own. Can people with jobs attend your meetings? What about people with children? What email list or social scene do you have to be a part of, to hear about meetings?

Work to build long term, authentic and trusting relationships with organizations led by people of color in your community. As we stated above, white activists are prone to "shopping" for minorities. Too often, when it comes time to host a conference or chose speakers for a rally, white activist organizations are out looking for brown faces, when they haven't supported the daily work of anti-racist organizations all year long.

Speak up when people of color in your community are being attacked! Don't wait for the Black Student Union on your campus to write all the letters to the editor of your student newspaper. It is time for white people to police their own communities around these issues -- after all, whose responsibility is it to fight racism in the white community?

Listen harder, and better. Too often, white activists try to be the savior -- instead of the ally. One of the legacies of the early Civil Rights Movement's organizing style, which came from people like Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer and Bob Moses of SNCC, was the deeply rooted belief that there is no one who knows more about the experience of oppression than those who are oppressed themselves. Simply put, go to meetings of people of color organizations, find out what they are up to, and help out. Period.

Working in an inter-racial coalition can be a difficult and humbling experience, but also a sweet one. The most important things we should take with us on this winding road are a willingness to be vulnerable, to make mistakes and be self critical, and to listen to each other. We have a lot to learn, and we need all the brains and hands we can gather. Within the movement, as in the civil rights movement of the 60's, we need a "division of labor," in which the special responsibilities of various groups are recognized. Andy Goodman was one of the many who acknowledged his own responsibility and sought to accept leadership from African American activists. To broaden and deepen today's movement, we need to learn from that spirit of listening, uniting and acting with courage.

Part of me thinks that the progressive blogosphere needs to better define itself before truly being able to tackle these questions or put these suggestions to work. That discussion is ongoing on blogs like MyDD and Daily Kos as well. What I mean is, where does the blogosphere see itself fitting in to the four main components of successful movement-building, which Northwestern Professor Aldon Morris lays out in his book, "Origins of the Civil Rights Movement." They are: a compelling narrative, indigenous local leadership, mass organizations, and communication channels. If the blogosphere is primarily a communication channel, then it's not the diversity of the bloggers that matters so much as ensuring that the content being communicated reflects the entire movement. But if the blogosphere is part of creating the narrative, then diverse voices are absolutely critical, and getting there should be an immediate No. 1 priority.

As I have said before, this is an important conversation, and it cannot be solved in one blog post on one blog. I hope the various communities in the blogosphere will continue to have these robust discussions, and begin taking steps to go deeper.

"Turn the Page," was the refrain of this speech. It was powerful even on its own, but stood in stark contrast to Hillary's "You are Invisible" earlier in the day.

First, I'll give the critique, and then the glowing review. The part that fell the flattest with this crowd was his usual stump lines about "changing politics as usual." with the phrases like "they get to write the checks, and you get to write a letter." It was a bit tone deaf to say to a room full of 2,100 hardcore and longtime Democratic activists a message that resonates much better with people who have been checked out of politics. I'm happy that he is bringing that message to those people, but for these people, the problem is the Republican-embraced conservative ideology, not the lobbyists in Washington.

But any lukewarm reaction to that part of the speech was more than made up for when the topic turned to the war in Iraq. It became the focus of the speech, and it was the strongest on Iraq that I had ever seen him. He spoke forcefully about how this was a war that should have never been authorized, and about how this is a conflict that will never be resolved by the military, and will never be resolved as long as U.S. troops are there. But the most brilliant thing he did was turn the "I" into "we," as he deliberately connected with and identified with this very anti-war crowd.

"I opposed this war from the beginning in 2002, just as many of you all did," he said. "We knew back then this war was a mistake." He also said that if the President doesn't sign the bill to withdrawl, he will fight to get the 16 votes needed to override the veto, which was more than any of the other candidates said.

If Iraq is the defining issue of this race, Barack Obama has it. Clinton's careful avoidance of the topic, to boos from the crowd, was a clear signal of that.

The part of the speech that brought tears to my eyes was when he talked about his recent trip to Selma, Alabama, commemorating the anniversary of Bloody Sunday. When the fire hoses and the dogs came, those people were beat down and beat down, but they kept coming back, and they finally got to the other side. He said people said to him, how amazing it must have been to celebrate that African American history.

"No," he said. "This is not African American history. This is American history we're celebrating. This is our story. It reminds us of a simple truth, one I learned all those years as an organizer on Chicago: In the face of impossible odds, people who love their country can change it."

Four years ago I stood in a similar hall in Sacramento and got inspired by the fighting words of a then-obscure Howard Dean. Today, I stood there with tears rolling down my face, knowing that the work I have done, along with the work of millions of other people, is changing this country, and will continue to do so.

Obama's final quote is one that I will continue to repeat as we head down the road of this very long campaign:

"There are few obstacles that can withstand the power of millions of voices asking for change."

I took notes during the press conference, which was amazing -- to be sitting 10 feet from Hillary as she fielded questions from reporters and bloggers alike. I've got to go back down to the floor to help move people for Pelosi's speech (her office asked us as good San Franciscans to volunteer), so I don't have time to write them up, but read on for my bullet-pointed notes:

- Says she was "not a ribbon-cutting First Lady."

- She has been an advocate for the environment and working people. As a Senator, she knows not just to say the right things, but to do the right things necessary to get things done.

- Her experience is second to none, of all the candidates.

- We know shes going to get the country back on track, improving education, expand universal coverage to all Americans, fight to protect the environment, and restore America's place in the world.

- As a kid who grew up 15 blocks from here, in a poor neighborhood, who would have thought I would be here, introducing the next President of the United States. That is the hope of this country.

Clinton:
- Delighted and honored to have speakers' endorsement and members of assembly. We're putting together a very strong group of leaders in California.
- CA offers leadership on energy independence. Reassure people you can do this because CA has done it, to know CA will lay a critical role in nominating the next President of the US.

Question:
For every dollar we pay in California taxes, we get 78 cents back in services.

Clinton:
We have the same problem in New York; The real goal I have is to create opportunity for all Americans, wages go back up. Get a handle on this health care issue. Deal with preschool, No Child Left Behind.

Question:
Can you comment on the money grab? in the race for President?

Clinton:
I am in favor of public financing, when I'm President, will try to get around the legal concerns. Might have to look at a Constitutional amendment. Too much emphasis put on the money you have to raise. It is a burden, and it's a burden for how you spend your time on the campaign trail.

Question:
Can you dissuade us of the notion that you are the candidate of the Dem Party establishment, Obama is the candidate of the insurgent?

Clinton:
We have great candidates running. I am thrilled and honored to be running with this team. Each voter makes his or her own decision. I have a clear-eyed view of what it's going to take to turn this country around. Begin to persuade the country, to give Dems a chance to go back to the White House.

Question:
What about immigration and trade agreements?

Clinton:
Trade agreements have to have labor and environmental standards.

Question (Carla Marinucci of the Chronicle):
Everyone talks about the Golden Years of the Clinton Presidency. Would the Presidency be a Two for One if you were elected?

This was one of the funniest moments. Nunez said,"Yeah, but with a woman in the driver's seat." And Clinton cracked, "and who would ask for directions."

Clinton:
I know that the buck stops with the President. Ultimately the decision will stop with me. We've got to send a message to the rest of the world, that the aberration is over with regard to foreign policy. Bipartisan consensus is back. There isn't a better messenger than Bill. There is a traditional role he will fill well. There is an advisory role, as with every first family, but there is the additional benefit that he has popularity in the world.

Question:
Would you support a ballot measure being considered in CA to get the U.S. out of Iraq?

Clinton:
We're trying to get the US out of Iraq. Passed it in the Senate. Also included a provision I authored that said you cannot send anyone unless they are properly equipped.

This legislation is a road map out of Iraq. We hope he will not veto it, if he does, he will have to be held accountable. The people have spoken and he needs to listen.

Question:
What is the effect of the early California primary?

Clinton:
CA has been added to the mix in an extraordinary way. We've never had this before, and we're all trying to figure it out . I'm excited CA is moving up. Way more than half of the population will have voted by Feb. 5. Enormous burden on me and my campaign.

But it will mean we are well-positioned to get into the General, because the Republicans' time has passed; They have tried to govern on the basis of fear-mongering, and people have learned what the differences are.

Her stump speech mostly glossed over Iraq, not surprisingly, but otherwise focused on typical red-meat Democrat issues: global warming, public education, health care. She had trouble keeping the crowd's attention, and things got pretty testy toward the end when she did talk about Iraq. There is a strong anti-war contingent at this convention, as there always is, and they made their views known.

Sen. Clinton did talk about immigration, which was impressive, particularly because it wasn't strictly "enforcement first." She got one of her biggest applause lines when she asserted that we needed to do everything in our power to "bring people out of the shadows."

My biggest critique of her speech, and her campaign generally, comes not from policy or ideology, but from her inability to tell a good story about this moment in history, and Democrats' role in it. Her story is negative -- she tells us we are "invisible," as opposed to making us feel hopeful -- and the individual anecdotes she tells feel stale at best, and insincere at worst. When she talks about issues, she relies on the laundry list (health care - check, environment - check, pro-choice - check), and adds nothing about what binds us all together as progressives.

We desperately need that if we're going to win in 2008.

This is a landmark convention in many ways. It's the first time in at least 5 years that they have sold out of floor passes to the state convention, with so much interest and energy in the 2008 Presidential race. And I am sitting on the floor of the convention hall on a media platform dedicated to bloggers! There are about a dozen of my fellow California bloggers typing away and reporting minute by minute their observations and insights. Everyone has special "Internet Media" press passes hanging from their necks. It's truly an amazing and inspiring sight!

The Chronicle has a front-page story on the bloggers' descent on the Democrats.

Hillary supporters are swarming near stage left...stay tuned for more coverage here and on Calitics.