Ensuring Political Stability: A must for Democrats across the nation

“A house divided amongst itself cannot stand.”

Well, neither can a political party, and the national GOP has done a fabulous job proving this point. However, this Politico in Stilettos is deeply concerned about the recent talk of scary Rick Perry waking up sleepy Democrats across the nation more so than any other national political figure on the scene right now.

Now is not the time for sleep, now is the time we need to lace up our tennis shoes (or slide into a pair of ass-kicking stilettos) and hit the streets. As Democrats, lefties, or whatever you want to call yourself, we need to ensure our party’s stability by standing behind incumbent Democrats and initiating campaigns against incumbent Republicans (like former West Virginia State Senator Mike Oliverio is doing).

The GOP is weak, disjointed, and out of touch with the American dream. All I hear on the morning news, from Morning Joe to CNN to NBC’s Today Show, is that the Republican Party has no front-runner and therefore zero stability. They’re divided between scary Perry, John Huntsman and his horrible ads, Mitt Romney, and the craziest of all, Michelle Bachmann. Even more frightening than witchy O’Donnell is the possibility that Sarah Palin may run. (Hmmmm...Maybe I’ll be Christine for Halloween…)

It’s high time we lefties capitalized on this! I understand elections are all about timing, and there will be several Democratic primaries across the United States of America. Good luck to all Democrats, but I think it’s time we saw the forest for the trees, or the shoe store for the heels, when it comes to 2012.

“Think not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.”

Digital, Youth and Politics: The Week's Hottest Moves : By Lauren DeLisa Coleman

The times, they are a changin'. Voices previously a bit off the radar are gaining more and more visibility thanks to digital platforms. If you missed the MSNBC segment on the announcement of a new series on Hip Hop and politics, definitely check it out on line. NBC's The Grio and allhiphop.com have come together to create what seems to be one of the most extensive and cool looks at hip hop culture's influence on politics, almost since the culture's beginning. Entitled Hip Hop & Politics: From the Beat to the Ballot, the on-line series sizzles with info that any and all policy makers looking to connect better with influential constituents (who also happen to be those who out-index across digital media usage) should watch. Viewing this web series could only help politicians to become more savvy when interfacing with consultants they should be bringing on to specifically target this demo and convey messages to them across on-line and mobile phone platforms.

And in the spirit of further converging politics with digital platforms and youth culture, this writer is joining forces with political consultant Cartney McCracken to create a new Follow Friday series on Twitter. Beginning June 18, 2010 follow either @mediaempress or @CartneyWV to jump onto the #FFRed, #FFBlue, #FFWhite series. The first two will obviously offer Twitter handles of policy makers who correspond to their party color. #FFWhite will feature the Twitter handles of Independents as well those related to the political scene from consultants to journalists and more.

"I feel social media has eclipsed traditional media when it comes to connecting with our government. And connecting is the key world. We started #FFwhite, #FFblue, and #FFred to connect tweeps across the nation, and across the world, with elected officials and with those who are in the political arena. We're not just creating a list for people to follow, we're leveraging the influence of constituents on their government. We're proactively championing more collaboration between the public and it's government," explains Cartney.

Watch for an interesting mash-up of people.

There you have it, two unexpected yet welcome moves as we watch politics further converge with pop culture and digital tech.

Enjoy!

Website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-coleman/digital-youth-and-politic_b_616553.html