Karl Singer

Name: Karl Singer Location: Saint Paul, MN

A little about me

Round Three Winner of a DFA Netroots Nation Scholarship.
Contribute to support this campaignso we can do it again in 2010

My name is Karl Singer and I'm a 15 year old living in Minnesota. I first got involved in politics around 2006 supporting the "Draft Obama" movement and then candidate Obama for president and have been blogging since 2007. I was a local team data captain in the election, canvassed and phonebanked and also started the Obamathon and Obamajority fundraising drives that raised over sixty five thousand dollars from over a thousand small Internet donors for Barack Obama and good congressional candidates. I'm very passionate about a lot of issues, particularly climate change and I blog about many issues at DailyKos, MN Progressive Project under the moniker Populista where I focus on turning online activism into offline change.

Why I deserve a Netroots Nation Scholarship

The Millennial Generation is the most progressive generation of Americans yet. That's fortunate because we will face some of the largest challenges that any generation has faced and those challenges require bold progressive solutions. As a 15 year old I feel like I could offer a unique perspective on building a strong progressive movement among Millennial's. Particularly the second half of the generation which is just now beginning to get politically involved.

Attending Netroots Nation would help me be more active and effective in organizing for the progressive causes I care so much about. I would love the opportunity to learn more, meet new people and get motivated to get even more involved. In addition, if selected I will be on a panel about blogging and how it can and can't mesh with field campaigns.

I manage these blogs

The Populista Report

The blogs I use most are

FiveThirtyEight
Swing State Project

What first inspired me to get involved

We face what is probably the greatest challenge human civilization has faced, climate change, and what we do about it in the next decade will have a impact for thousands of years. And that's only one of the pressing issues facing us. We are living in a historic time and if we work together we can make a difference. That's what keeps me going.

How I've gotten others involved

By giving them a clear picture of what needs to happen, why and how they can personally make a difference. If people are informed about the issues and have the knowledge and tools to take action they usually do. It's particularly important to show how their individual action does make a difference and how it does matter that they get involved. Al Franken won by 312 votes, every voice counts. If people don't feel like their actions have an impact or if they feel that a issue is not important they won't get involved.

The blog post I am most proud of

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/29/427795/-Barack-Obama-will-change-the-system

Why I think participation in the blogosphere is important

Blogs are a powerful tool for social change and progressive organizing. We've never had a tool like this before so no one really knows what the full potential of blogs could be. But already they've been making a huge difference in politics and I think they have great potential to continue to be a effective tool for change. Participating in the progressive netroots, particularly your states progressive netroots, is a easy way to begin to get involved in progressive politics.

More about my volunteer work

Volunteering at the Minnesota precinct caucus's for Obama on super Tuesday. I'd been supporting Obama for President since 2006 and for the first time that night it seemed possible that he could become President. The highschool that the caucus was held at was packed with overwhelming numbers of people, almost none who had caucused before, I helped guide hundreds of people to their caucus location within the building. In the end, Obama won Minnesota 2-1 and my area by a even larger margin. It was a exhausting and inspiring night.

My suggested bumper sticker slogan

Stand With Dr. Dean: Life and Death Isn't a Partisan Issue