Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein

Name:	Michael Spitzer-Rubenstein
Location:	Los Angeles, CA
Where I blog:	The Watchtower (Personal Blog) Calitics

My Experience in progressive politics:

I have always been interested in politics, as far back as I remember. In kindergarten, I first tried my hand at canvassing. I became a Kindergartener for Clinton and during lunch, two friends and I trekked around the kindergarten playground delivering long-winded speeches beginning with the constant "My fellow Americans", a phrase borrowed from the Presidential biographies that my family got me—I thought it would make me seem more serious. After that, I would carefully enumerate the many reasons my fellow kindergarteners should vote to reelect President Clinton. I am sure that my actions delivered California for him in 1996.

Over time, I became more serious about politics and in 2003, in the run-up to the Presidential Election, I volunteered on Dick Gephardt's campaign for President. After seeing him speak, I signed myself up and helped call voters in Iowa, but after he lost, I went to work on John Kerry's bid, registering new voters and then interning in the finance office.

In 2006, I volunteered on Phil Angelides' unsuccessful campaign for Governor of California and after seeing Barack Obama speak at a rally before that election, I knew he'd be the next President. I immediately signed up, and spent 2007 and a good part of 2008 interning and doing unpaid work to help him win the primary. I'm proud to say that, because of my work, California's 33rd Congressional District (which I organized) went 63-37 for Obama.

After the primary, I went to work with the California Democratic Party as an intern. However, I chose to go to work with Mark Ridley-Thomas' campaign for Supervisor after they offered me a paying job.

My personal volunteering highlight:

This is a tough call, but I'm going to go with the first time I saw Barack Obama. I had been volunteering for Phil Angelides, the Democratic candidate for Governor (he lost to Arnold Schwarzenegger), and just before Election Day, there was a huge unity rally at USC. Eager to see Barack Obama, I skipped school with a friend to attend the first major political rally of my life. After the rally, we rushed after Barack Obama, only to have the security detail push us away, just feet from meeting Senator Obama (according to them, Barack had another event to speak at). Dejected, we turned around, moping, when we ran into now-California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, who eagerly conversed with us about the big issues of the race, even after we admitted our ages (both of us were 16 at the time). Between Debra Bowen and Barack Obama, they form the ideal characteristics of a progressive leader to me--willing to stake their position for the right principles, honest, and trustworthy, but also open and accessible to constituents, even those too young to vote.

Steps I've taken to combine on-line and off-line action:

With the Obama campaign, I posted every event online in order to alert online activists about offline activities. In a similar vein, I have worked to use Facebook and other social networking websites to involve the more Internet-inclined to get involved in offline activities like voter contact, including a program I ran with Students for Barack Obama to recruit students in Pennsylvania to serve as on-the-ground leaders in the campaign.

Why I want to attend Netroots Nation:

From working on the Obama campaign and the connections I made through it, I met a number of bloggers and progressive activists, and learned much about campaigning and politics. However, comparatively speaking, I am still a newcomer, and still have plenty to learn.

What I want to get out of Netroots Nation:

I want to meet and learn from not only the leaders in the Netroots, but from activists at the convention who might not be the top leaders in their community but can share fresh insights about the state of the progressive movement and how to build on our successes.

What is a progressive activist:

A progressive activist works to effect progress in their community, state, or country. Ultimately, though, it's all in the eyes of the beholder--that means different things to different people and there are more right answers than people offering answers.

How I think blogs fit into the progressive movement:

Blogs, themselves, aren't any more a part of the progressive movement than the television is part of a conservative movement. Blogging is merely a platform, a way for people to express themselves online, allowing readers and viewers inexpensive, unfiltered access to a person or group.

Blogging, however, is an important method of conveying information in a direct, transparent manner. By creating a well-written, frequently updated blog, progressive activists can communicate with important constituencies and get their message out, without the need for old media gatekeepers to decide that their actions are important enough to merit the news.

How I think Democracy For America fits into the progressive movement:

Democracy for America should focus on a core mission of recruiting, training, and supporting progressive activists. Similar to an EMILY's List for progressives, Democracy for America can be a leader in helping progressive activists mature and reach their potential, especially in running for office and winning. That's where programs like the Training Academy, Night School, and these Netroots Nation scholarships come into play. They help progressive activists learn and become better activists, either in preparation for their own campaign or to support the campaigns of other progressives and progressive causes.

In 10 words or less, create a bumper-sticker slogan against John McCain:

"Maybe A Hundred" Years with John McCain