Progressive Wave . Net [roots]
For the last few days, PsiFigher37 has been spamming you with diaries (or here or here or here) about a project he created which has come to be known as "Progressive Wave".
Well, PsiFighter37 is tired tonight, so it's my turn. Follow me.
A few days before the elections, PsiFighter37 posted a diary about an idea he had:
[Progressive Wave] would be a website for all the newly-elected Democrats in this election. A slogan would run along the lines of 'Not left, not right, but forward', as I believe the progressive blogosphere is not ideologically aligned at the moment except for the issue of Iraq. The idea behind such a website would be to publicize the work of all the new representatives, whether it be what they do in Washington or what they do within the district. In a sense, it would be a form of citizen journalism - reporting on what our representatives are doing to advance the Democratic agenda and how it will help their constituents. Ideally, I would like a local resident (preferably in-district) to be the designated blogger for the district.
Turns out that the day before he posted that diary, I had sat in the library at school thinking about almost the exact same idea and jotting down some notes. Luckily, I happened to see PsiFighter37's diary soon after he posted it, and we've since joined forces in the effort.
In the 8 days since the election, I've been working furiously to build an infrastructure of (currently) 49 blogs, plus a main "hub" page. This is easily the most daunting task I've ever attempted, and it's going to continue to be a massive amount of work, but I think the idea is a great one and will be an invaluable service to both people in districts across the country and other bloggers looking for information about specific candidates, representatives, and policies.
Our goal is twofold: First, to support the newly elected progressive Senators and Congresspersons through their first terms in office and, second, to fuel future "progressive waves" by expanding our blog network to cover races in "opportunity" districts in 2008 and beyond.
The framework is in place (with a bit of tweaking left to do). PsiFighter37 has been working hard recruiting writers for each blog. We've already got some great folks on board, and even a few blog posts, but we have a long way to go.
If you're interested in writing for a blog in the district or state where you live, please contact us either in the comments here or at progresswave [AT] gmail [DOT] com. We plan to have multiple bloggers for each blog so that fresh content flows and a wide variety of voices can be heard. This, in my humble opinion, is a fantastic opportunity for all of us (you included) to establish a valuable role in the growth and influence in the netroots.
Come blog with us.
Progressive Wave: Not Left, Not Right, But Forward.