Today’s e-mail from the St. Louis Young Democrats includes a couple notes about Congressman Russ Carnahan, who is hosting a City fundraiser and is looking for campaign workers.

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Congressman Russ Carnahan’s Fourth Annual Fall Gala
Friday, October 3, 2008 7:30 pm
Four Seasons Hotel
999 North Second Street
St. Louis, MO
Contact Brie Sullinger – 314-534-2004, Brie@RussCarnahan.com
There will be special guests and entertainment.  More details will be forthcoming shortly.

Also from Congressman Carnahan

Field Organizers Wanted to Help Lead the Charge for Change in November!

The Russ Carnahan in Congress campaign is currently accepting applications for field organizers and paid canvassing positions for the November Election.  We are seeking energetic and hard-working individuals to assist us in the general election.

Field Organizers will be given a wide range of responsibilities and will be expected to assume leadership roles within the campaign.   Field Organizers will get the chance to recruit and train volunteers, increase the campaign’s visibility, and talk directly to voters.

The Third Congressional District includes parts of St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson and St. Genevieve Counties.  The district is a blend of urban, suburban and rural voters.

Interested applicants, who have access to a car should forward their resume and availability to Anna Jinkerson at anna@russcarnahan.com or (314) 534-2004.

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To get info directly from the STL YD’s, contact:

MARTIN CASAS
PRESIDENT- STL YD’S!
WWW.YOUNGDEMS.COM
314-809-5083

The St. Louis Actors’ Studio, with its venue in the lovely Gaslight Theater in the City’s CWE, is set to embark on its second season of work, with “Power and Politics” as the guiding theme to all eight shows. Full details on the season can be found at: www.stlas.org. But, here, we’ll include the introductory notes to the season, one that would probably be of some interest to local politicos and the civically-inclined.

“St. Louis Actors’ Studio is proud to announce our second season, Power and Politics. The decision to choose this theme was clear, as 2008 finds our country in the midst of a heated race to the White House, not only causing bipartisan tension, but also strains within political parties—all vying for the position of power, as our country lunges into the future. No matter who is elected in November, 2009 will bring about new leadership, new philosophies and possibly new strategies of influence on the world stage—a world that is also perpetually engaged in the contest of power.

“Our new season will illuminate these struggles, these triumphs and disappointments, these power plays and the politics behind them— illustrating how we’re all human, trying to make sense of these daunting, tenuous times. Please join us in our engagement of these themes—for we are all in this together.”

About 5 years ago, I remember sitting in a University of Iowa computer lab and getting an email from Howard Dean issuing the ‘Cheney Challenge’.

Dick Cheney and his oil buddies were having a $2,000 per plate fundraiser that weekend, so Gov. Dean had a $5 sandwich online fundraiser and asked, “could supporters raise more money than Cheney by the time Cheney’s luncheon took place?” The luncheon event raised $250K from a couple hundred people while the online campaign pulled in over $500K from nearly ten-thousand donors.

Since then, the internet has fundamentally changed politics as tens of thousands of house parties, phone banks, and door-to-door canvasses have been organized. Nationally and locally online organizing has built communities of activism throughout the country and will continue to do so for years to come.

Join us on Wednesday, August 20th as DFA Night School returns for an hour with one of the pioneers of the Netroots movement: Zack Exley.

DFA Night School: Online Organizing w/ Zack Exley
Wednesday, August 20th
8:30pm Eastern Daylight Time

CLICK HERE TO RSVP NOW!

Zack Exley was an early player in the Dean movement and later went on to work as Director of Online Organizing for the Kerry-Edwards campaign. We’ll be talking about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to organizing online as well as what are some of the new technologies poised to revolutionize campaigns of the future.

Night School is DFA’s interactive online training program. Every month Night School brings top campaign experts right to your home at absolutely no cost to you. Simply visit www.democracyforamerica.com/onlineorganizing and sign up to learn how to listen to the call live on either your home computer or over the telephone.

The training will last approximately one hour and will be accompanied by a slideshow you can view online or download and print out ahead of time.

Join us online next Wednesday.

- Matt

Matt Blizek, Training Director
Democracy for America

Once again Missouri Democrats have participated in some spirited Primary races. Those who will appear as Democrats on the November ballot have now been selected. At this stage, many political activists are basking in the afterglow of victory but others are feeling wounded and disappointed.

All of us need to reach out to the Democrats who were disappointed on Tuesday and make sure that they are full members of our Democratic effort going forward. We have to elect Barack Obama as President in November. We have to elect Jay Nixon as Governor. The rest of our ticket is strong and we can be proud of all of our nominees. And we MUST elect them in November. Our national and state governments are a mess and we’re the ones who can change it.

We need to begin our efforts now. There will be many opportunities for each of us to participate in the Fall campaign. For example, the Obama campaign has scheduled a canvass for this week-end. Go to Obama’s website and sign up. Send one or more of our Democrats a contribution. Schedule some vacation time for the Fall so that you can work side by side with us in the final days.

We are going to win in November. And we need everybody on the team. Join us.