[FONT=Arial][SIZE=1]Besides continuing to work on rebuilding our Democratic Party, I intend to fight for the issue closest to my heart, the Environment. One of the most strongly political Environmental organizations is The League of Conservation Voters, whose campaign for Kerry was very successful. This group knows how to get through to voters, and is a fine place to start our next battles.
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From The League of Conservation Voters director, Deb Calahan:

"First, be proud of what we did accomplish together, because it was extraordinary. LCV won 7 of our 8 top priority congressional campaigns. We beat strident anti-environmental candidates and helped elect the environmental leaders of the future: Senators-elect Barak Obama in Illinois and Ken Salazar in Colorado. Returning ally Wayne Gilchrest of Maryland. New House members, John Salazar of Colorado, Joe Schwarz of Michigan, Ben Chandler of Kentucky, Melissa Bean of Illinois.

In Colorado, we ran a remarkable grassroots campaign that demonstrated the kind of impact LCV can have in a state that has not always been easy territory. Our victories in the Senate and House race there -- and on an important ballot initiative -- shows the power of our community and will be a model for campaigns to come.

Be inspired by what we've built. With our Environmental Victory Project, LCV set out to create a national grassroots campaign to highlight environmental issues and elect John Kerry. While Kerry lost, we created an incredible force for the future. 18,000 door-to-door volunteers and more than a quarter of a million supporters stand ready to carry on the cause.

Continue to fight. Our opponents may hold the balance of power in Washington, but we will hold them accountable. President Bush is claiming a mandate, but no one voted for dirty air, polluter subsidies, or the destruction of our natural heritage. Together, we will use our new grassroots strength -- people like you -- to fight for the public interest."

I agree, broad public support - our "wedge" issue. A perfect place to start rebuilding and recapturing voters for the mid term. Perhaps LCV could partner up with Moveon to reach more potential activists. So many groups it would be great to have a centralized "war zone" where hot issues are selected and the action plan is implemented.

TODAY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN IRAQ HAVE DIED AND ARE DYING BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR CENTURIES WERE PUT BEFORE THE MISTAKE OF THE WAR IN IRAQ.

A good way to get the environmental regulation changes out to the public that the Bush administration will likely continue is to take advantage of the bloggers to get the word out.

As we all know, the mainstream media has not reported on the regulation changes that were made and will probably not report on them in the future unless they are pressed to do so. However, they have all started looking at the blogs and consider them to be a new media voice and so might be pressed to actually report.

I'm of the firm belief that Kerry could have won this election if we had managed to make the environment more of a key issue in the campaign -- AT LEAST as much as stem cell research was "key" to our nation's - the planet's - future.

What do we need to do better next time to get this issue out front?

We need to re-start the ENVIRONMENTAL REVOLUTION.

Part of the problem is getting the message out. We hear over and over that our issues never get more than cursory attention by the media and that there's not enough follow-up on the stories that are published. That corporate media ownership is suppressing the transmission of the issues beyond the most shallow reporting. What can we do to combat this?

I'm not a pr/media guru; I'm only a grassroots activist, but here are a few thoughts.

1) WE NEED A POWERHOUSE COALITION that can bring together the membership, policy/research, legislative and advocacy strengths of groups like LCV, NRDC, Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, academic and scientific groups, etc. There are too many separate groups out there vying for attention. Imagine the number of white papers and talking points and press releases the media receive from the *hundreds* of groups that are all killing themselves to be heard. We need a team of leaders and spokespeople from within the coalition that can oversee message management and implementation of a grassroots strategy.

2) We need a "Top 10" agenda, and we need to "Keep it Simple, Stupid." These key issues need to be the ones we can WIN on because a vast majority of people FEEL connected to them in their personal lives. People shouldn't have to try too hard to UNDERSTAND the issues and KNOW what we are talking about because they FEEL it in their guts. If we keep in mind that we are trying to win the hearts and minds of people like Ma and Pa Jode, we will WIN.

3) We all need to agree to support the "Top 10." The talking points need to go out to all the members of the coalition so that we are all saying the same thing. Too many times during this campaign, I heard various Democrat surrogates interviewed and their answers were all over the place. Half the time, it seemed like people were making stuff up as there were going along. The Republicans? They all sing the same tune. People believe the R's are consistent because they ARE consistent -- down to every last talking head guest, local official and precinct captain.

This isn't to say that all the hundreds of groups stop doing what they do -- far from it. Only that we all agree to keep these Top 10 out front and center, that we manage or message and coordinate our local and national efforts. There is much more strength in unity. If we are united, we will win.

Tela: Those are encouraging words, 18,000 people knocking on doors is an amazing accomplishment!

I just wanted to add something to lisaeos' bullets: Liberals and conservatives need to find common ground for their sources of information. In addition to sticking to message, talking points and rhetorical frames, someone needs to develop or identify a clearing house of facts that are agreed to by all sides.

What an incredible bunch of losers. Just like your jerk candidate. You go down with Kerry. Ha Ha Ha Ha. Time to open Anwar.

Thank you for being completely non-productive. This isn't about liberals and conservatives. It's about protecting the environment, the very thing that keeps us alive. I don't know about you, but I don't want to have to use filtering machines to breathe the air and drink the water. I don't want to refer to "the country" as a collection of suburban houses that used to be a forest.

You and your friends have been trying to "open" ANWR for many years, without success. You still don't have the votes.