elected officials

Over the last four months I have been MIA from this site as I served as a Campaign Manager for a City Council candidate in Philadelphia, a task which sucked every last minute of my waking time (and some of my dream time too), but a task which ended last Tuesday when my candidate lost his bid to become the Democratic nominee for city council (my father ran, and lost, as well).

This was my first foray into candidate centered electoral politics, and it could well be my last. While I care deeply about getting good people elected to public office at all levels, there are things about working directly with a candidate that seem to leave a bad taste in the mouth of almost anyone willing to try it. At the very least I can say that I won’t work for a candidate that I don’t know exceptionally well, and trust completely. Given the amount of dedication and time you are asked for when you take on such a project; the financial, social, and familial sacrifices you are forced to make, I simply don’t think I’ll be going down that road again any time soon (unless Al Gore calls, then all bets are off).

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy myself, learn a ton, or meet lots and lots of amazing people and organizations, I most certainly did. But, more than anything, my little adventure into local politics reminded me of what I really want to be doing: building infrastructure for the future of our emerging progressive majority; working with/training/empowering young people to take control of their lives and their world; pushing issues and ideas that will make my city and our nation into a better, more friendly, place.

I’ll try to write some more about the last few months of my work in Philly, and the insane changes that seem to have started happening here during the election (including the emergence of my little brother’s local political blog—that I helped to build—into the center of online politics in the city and the Democratic nomination of a pretty amazing reformer for mayor), but for now I just wanted to say: “I’m baaaaack!”

Cross posted at MyDD

Last week, we had a conversation about the shape and speed of political change. In our conversation, Josh talked about the Long March, or, the pace at which our generation is expected to progress through the ranks of political institutions into places of power and prominence. In response to that, I thought I'd share some research I've done for the book I'm working on. (Yes, thanks to these good folks I am turning my blogging into a book. When we finish redesigning this site, there will even be a web page dedicated to it. More on that later.)

As part of my research, I just read Strauss and Howe's Millennials Rising, in which the authors lay out a timetable for just when our generation is expected to take over the reigns of government. I'd like to lay these down as markers, see where we are currently at, and make some suggestions about what Strauss and Howe are missing, and the complimentary roles of direct action and institutional change.

Here's what Strauss and Howe predict as the timetable for Millennials' Long March to power: