organizing for america
GRITtv: What Happened to the Grassroots Obama Movement?
The people who voted for him weren't organized in any kind of new or powerful way, and the special interests -- banks, energy companies, health interests, car-makers, the military-industrial complex -- sat first at the table and wrote the menu. Myth met reality, and came up wanting. So says Micah Sifry of Personal Democracy Forum; Karoli of the blog Odd Time Signatures disagrees and says that with help from volunteers like her, Organizing for America is continuing to push for change. They join us in studio to debate the present and future of progressive organizing, both within the Democratic party apparatus and outside of it. We'll also be speaking to Geoff Berman, New York Deputy Field Director for OFA, about what's actually going on with his organization and what he thinks of the critiques.
Email this pageGRITtv: Jan. 6, 2010
We take a look at what happened to the movement that put Barack Obama in office; independent journalist Rick Rowley of Big Noise Films and Chip Berlet talk about the rise of the extreme right, racism, anti-immigrant sentiment and the proper progressive response; Jonathan "J.D." Meadows, who is featured in Rowley's film, talks about his involvement with the Council of Conservative Citizens and his fears for the economy; a video from New America Media and Youth Outlook looks at the murder of Oscar Grant and what has happened since his senseless death, what has changed, and what hasn't.
GRITtv: Generation Obama: Where Are They Now?
After years and years of listening to pundits bemoan the lack of engagement among America's youth, the kids finally came out for Barack Obama. Many of the volunteers and organizers that put Obama in the White House were young and working on a political campaign for the first time. From the Iowa caucuses to Nov. 4, a new generation worked day and night to change their country. A year later, we round up a few of them and ask whether they're still involved. Lana Wilson, founder of Obamaerobics, Mike Jones, NYU sophomore and Obama 2008 campaign volunteer, and Ebonie Johnson Cooper, campaign organizer in Ohio and Pennsylvania, join Elizabeth Mendez-Berry, who wrote about the Obama youth organizers and what they're up to now for an upcoming issue of The Nation, to talk about what they've done and how Obama changed their generation.
GRITtv: Reclaiming the Healthcare Battle
August was a dark month, so to speak, for advocates of healthcare reform--public option or single payer. Where were the activists? And what's the message? Marshall Ganz, a long time organizer and lecturer at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Maggie Mahar, the author of Money-Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Health Care Costs So Much, and Nina Agrawal, Director of Community Outreach for National Physicians Alliance in NY on what needs to be done to win the healthcare war.
