Elaine Cartas reports in from the campaign trail. Here are some of her thoughts as the summer comes to a close, with a couple of pictures to give you a closer peek at what it’s like in the office (after the jump):
Over the next few weeks, we at SNAPPAC will be updating the blog with posts from our fellows. Reporting from across the nation, they will be reporting on their experiences on the campaign trail. This one is from Amanda Johnson, who is working on the David Segal for Congress campaign in Rhode Island.
On June 22, SNAP had its first win of the season. Elaine Marshall, the current North Carolina Secretary of State, won a run-off election against her challenger Cal Cunningham, a former state senator. The final results, reported by the Associated Press, can be found here, where they show Marshall’s landslide victory of 60%. In Durham county, where the SNAP fellows are located, Marshall beat Cunningham 71% to 29% – a large increase over her eleven-point victory there in the first round.
This Wednesday, February 24, between 6PM and 8PM, The Nation and Katrina vanden Heuvel (the publisher of The Nation) are holding a fundraiser in support of Students for a New American Politics (SNAP). The event will be taking place at The Nation’s office in New York City: 33 Irving Place.
SNAP is a political action committee that is dedicated to engaging America’s youth in electing progressive leaders today, and to training the progressive leaders of tomorrow. The lessons we’ve learned since President Obama’s inauguration have taught us the necessity of having a firm majority of progressives in both houses of Congress — it is not enough to have a majority of Democrats.
Furthermore, the Citizens United decision by the Supreme Court — the decision in which a small majority of the Court ignored precedent to allow unlimited contributions by corporations directly to political candidates for office — has underscored the need for an active, vibrant and well-funded progressive grassroots movement. Without such a movement, we will be unable to combat the influences of multinational corporations whose primary motivations are profit, not what is best for the American people.
If you are interested in attending, please contact Rhiannon Bronstein by e-mail (rhiannon.bronstein@snappac.org) or by phone (206-778-6404).
SNAP is still reeling from the success of our first fundraiser of the 2010 cycle. We are excited that our mission and our message are continuing to resonate with progressives across the country. Even in the wake of recent setbacks in Massachusetts, we are all heartened to find that progressives’ resolve has only been strengthened.
SNAP would like to thank Linda Seamonson and Jeffrey Mayersohn for hosting the event and all of the members of the host committee for all of their efforts. SNAP is continuing to accept applications for the fellowship program and is excited to begin our endorsement process next month. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!
Students for a New American Politics (SNAP) is proud to announce that it is now accepting applications for its 2010 Summer Fellowship Program from now until March 31, 2010. In every major election since 2006, SNAP has sent participants in its fellowship program to help campaigns for progressive candidates throughout the United States. In total, SNAP has sent forty students to help with the campaigns of over twenty endorsed candidates.
One student, who worked for the 2008 Al Franken (D-MN) campaign said of the program that “I was given real responsibilities from which I learned valuable skills,” and noted that she worked “directly underneath the Political Director” who asked her to take on a project of her own to help the campaign. Another student worked for the Tom Geoghegan (D-IL-5) campaign as a field organizer where, she said, she “gained invaluable experience” working as a full-time staff member for the campaign.
SNAP encourages all students interested in politics and campaigning to submit their applications for the fellowship program, where they will learn skills valuable campaign skills and meet like-minded individuals from across the country, all while doing their part to make a difference.
You can find the application here.
Dear Friends,
Last weekend, progressive leaders distinguished themselves in the House of Representatives, and among them was Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy. Despite what will be a tough re-election battle for her next fall, she stood up for health care reform and for women’s reproductive freedom.
When SNAP endorsed Kilroy in 2008 and sent two student fellows to work on her campaign, we were confident that she would be a leader for progressive values in Congress. And she has surpassed our expectations.
If the excitement and the frustration of last weekend’s votes told us anything, it is that we need more progressive voices in Congress. In 2010, we must defend leaders like Kilroy and make sure that they have new allies to make the change we need.
And, for this, we need your support. Between now and December 31, we must raise $15,000 in order to expand our organization’s impact in 2010. Please contribute today to support progressive leadership throughout the country.
Thank you so much for your continuing support!
Sincerely,
John Riley
Communications Director, SNAP PAC
http://www.snappac.org/contribute
PS. Follow SNAP on Twitter and become a fan of our Facebook page!
Dear Friends,
After the success of the 2008 election and our endorsement of Tom Geoghegan last spring, we have spent the last months reflecting on what SNAP has accomplished and we are headed.
After four years, we have seen that SNAP’s model, providing fellowships to students to work on progressive congressional campaigns, has worked. Over 40 students have worked on more than 20 campaigns, helping to elect 12 progressive leaders to Congress.
Now we must make sure that this opportunity is available to as many students as possible. It is time for our organization to expand its impact.
To that end, we are pleased to announce two new members of SNAP’s team: Rhiannon Bronstein, our new Executive Director, and Kendra Green, our first Director of Development and Outreach.
A junior at Yale University, Rhiannon had her first opportunity to work on a political campaign as a SNAP Fellow in the summer of 2008, working on Darcy Burner’s congressional campaign in Washington State. Since then, she has worked in politics from the local to the federal level, and she will bring her enthusiasm for student organizing to SNAP.
Kendra Green joins SNAP with an extensive background within the democratic and progressive movement. She was recently a development coordinator with Progressive Majority and prior to that she worked for several other 527’s and PACs. Kendra began interning on campaigns while a student in college at Randolph-Macon Women’s College, where she received her B.A. in Political Science and Women’s Studies in 2000.
These are big steps for the organization. In bringing on our first Director of Development and Outreach, we are confident that SNAP will be able to exponentially expand its impact on progressive politics.
At this crucial moment, we can’t allow the progressive change we need to slip away, and we can’t lose the momentum of the student activism that played such an important role last November. We know that the 2010 election must send an important message to Washington: that change has only just begun and that progressive elected officials and students across the country will be working tirelessly for the values we believe in.
And, for this, we need your support. Between now and December 31, we must raise $15,000 to begin our expansion. Please contribute today to support progressive leadership throughout the country.
Thank you so much for your continuing support!
Sincerely,
Hugh Baran & Margaret Sharp
Executive Directors, Students for a New American Politics PAC
http://www.snappac.org/contribute
P.S. We want to thank everyone who made these last four years for SNAP possible. Leaving SNAP is not easy for the two of us. It has been a powerful incubator for our own values, skills and commitments. SNAP is truly unique in progressive politics in its deep belief in the power and vision that students can contribute to our movement. We are grateful to you for recognizing our potential in these early years, and we thank you for your continuing commitment to our vision. As we move on to continue our work within the progressive movement, we know that we are leaving SNAP in good hands.
Dear Friends,
It’s been a dizzying month politically. Students for a New American Politics was thrilled to see our endorsed candidates Mary Jo Kilroy, Tom Perriello, Jim Himes and Jeanne Shaheen be sworn into Congress. We’re still glowing from the inauguration, waiting with baited breath for SNAP candidate Al Franken to officially become Senator Franken, and watching as governors select senators in Delaware, Colorado, New York and Illinois.
And in the middle of all this, SNAP is still working to shape the new Congress. With Rahm Emanuel now the Chief of Staff to President Obama—two words still delightful to write—his Congressional seat is open and a special election has been called to fill it. The Democratic primary will be held on March 3rd.
In this first election of the Obama era, SNAP is proud to endorse Tom Geoghegan for Congress in Illinois’ fifth district.
Tom Geoghegan would bring a unique and fresh perspective to Washington. A Harvard Law graduate, Tom has spent the past thirty years in Chicago working as a labor lawyer, representing the Teamsters for a Democratic Union most prominently. Whether fighting for steelworkers who were cheated out of their pensions, low-income women trying to bring a class-action suit against predatory lenders or Illinois residents shut out of absentee voting, Tom has always practiced in the public interest. At the same time, he has written extensively for The New Republic and The American Prospect and his book Which Side Are You On? was a National Book Critics Circle finalist in 1991. This combination of a fighting spirit with intellectual rigor and curiosity provides Tom with a creativity to match his politics.
Tom is a bold progressive. In the context of our economic crisis, Tom is articulating a vision of a new government commitment to the economic security of every American – a new pension system, real health care reform, smart and stringent regulation of the financial sector and changes to our labor law regime. His voice sounds completely different from all those in Washington and there can be no doubt that even as a freshman representative, he would be a national leader. For more information on Tom, read endorsements by James Fallows, Hendrik Hertzberg, Katha Pollitt, or Michael Tomasky.
Our endorsement of Tom marks the first time SNAP has endorsed in a primary. As we enter a period of at least two years of Democratic government, SNAP feels that creating progressive change will require us to support progressive leaders at all stages of the electoral process. Where we can help build a better Congress in the general election, we will be there. When we can add progressive heroes like Tom to Congress by entering a primary, we will be there too.
It should be noted that in this wide-open special election, we were thrilled to talk to multiple progressive campaigns. Both John Fritchey and Sara Feigenholtz, in particular, should be commended for their leadership in the state house in Springfield on the issues we care about. That said, it is rare to have an opportunity to elect a man like Tom Geoghegan to Congress. The Illinois Fifth and the House of Representatives would be lucky to have him.
In response to SNAP’s endorsement, Tom stated that “These extraordinary times require a bold new way of thinking in Congress. Let’s stop the bank bailout. Let’s get working people out of debt. Let’s get students out of debt – even by canceling a good portion of that debt now. That should be the focus of an economic recovery program. I’m honored to receive the support of Students for a New American Politics, and I look forward to working with them throughout the course of this campaign.”
For more information about Tom’s candidacy, visit his website: http://www.tom09.com
We need your help to ensure that Tom makes it to Washington. The special election is just a month away. Due to a crowded field and what will likely be low turnout, the work of an additional SNAP fellow could be the difference. Please contribute today to help us get SNAP fellows on the ground immediately.
Send a strong ally to President Obama. Send a strong leader to Congress. And send a strong message to the nation that change is only just beginning.
Thank you for your continuing support!
Sincerely,
Hugh Baran and Margaret Sharp
Executive Directors, Students for a New American Politics PAC
http://www.snappac.org/contribute
—-
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, February 2, 2009
Contact: Hugh Baran
Executive Director, Students for a New American Politics PAC
201-218-4409, hugh.baran@snappac.org
SNAP PAC Endorses Tom Geoghegan for Congress
In this first election of the Obama era, Students for a New American Politics PAC (SNAP PAC) is proud to endorse Tom Geoghegan for Congress in Illinois’ fifth district.
Tom Geoghegan will bring a unique and fresh perspective to Washington. A Harvard Law graduate, Tom has spent the past thirty years in Chicago working as a labor lawyer, representing the Teamsters for a Democratic Union most prominently. Whether fighting for steelworkers who were cheated out of their pensions, low-income women trying to bring a class-action suit against predatory lenders or Illinois residents shut out of absentee voting, Tom has always practiced in the public interest. At the same time, he has written extensively for The New Republic and The American Prospect and his book Which Side Are You On? was a National Book Critics Circle finalist in 1991. This combination of a fighting spirit with intellectual rigor and curiosity provides Tom with a creativity to match his politics.
Tom is a bold progressive. In the context of our economic crisis, Tom is articulating a vision of a new government commitment to the economic security of every American – a new pension system, real health care reform, smart and stringent regulation of the financial sector and changes to our labor law regime. His voice sounds completely different from all those in Washington and there can be no doubt that even as a freshman representative, he would be a national leader. For more information on Tom, read endorsements by James Fallows, Hendrik Hertzberg, Katha Pollitt, or Michael Tomasky.
Our endorsement of Tom marks the first time SNAP has endorsed in a primary. As we enter a period of at least two years of Democratic government, SNAP feels that creating progressive change will require us to support progressive leaders at all stages of the electoral process. Where we can help build a better Congress in the general election, we will be there. When we can add progressive heroes like Tom to Congress by entering a primary, we will be there too.
It should be noted that in this wide-open special election, we were thrilled to talk to multiple progressive campaigns. Both John Fritchey and Sara Feigenholtz, in particular, should be commended for their leadership in the state house in Springfield on the issues we care about. That said, it is rare to have an opportunity to elect a man like Tom Geoghegan to Congress. The Illinois Fifth and the House of Representatives would be lucky to have him.
SNAP PAC is the Students for a New American Politics political action committee, a federal PAC. We are working to provide stipends for as many students as possible to work as full time grassroots organizers on progressive congressional campaigns. In doing so, we hope to expand and diversify America’s progressive movement by helping to elect the new progressive leaders of today and by training those of tomorrow. Since our founding in 2005, we have sent 40 students to work on 20 Congressional campaigns and helped elect Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, Al Franken, Ben Cardin, Bernie Sanders, Sheldon Whitehouse and Sherrod Brown and Reps. Tom Perriello, Mary Jo Kilroy, Jim Himes, Chris Murphy, Joe Courtney, Julia Carson, Nick Lampson, and Paul Hodes.
In response to SNAP’s endorsement, Tom stated that “These extraordinary times require a bold new way of thinking in Congress. Let’s stop the bank bailout. Let’s get working people out of debt. Let’s get students out of debt – even by cancelling a good portion of that debt now. That should be the focus of an economic recovery program. I’m honored to receive the support of Students for a New American Politics, and I look forward to working with them throughout the course of this campaign.”
For further information, please visit our website at www.snappac.org or contact our Executive Director Hugh Baran at hugh.baran@snappac.org or 201-218-4409.
Dear SNAP Supporters:
CONGRATULATIONS
The dust has settled and SNAP is proud announce an impressive record of achievement and meaningful activism during this election cycle. With the ballots finally counted in Ohio’s 15th district, SNAP is proud to announce that 4 of the 9 candidates we endorsed will be headed to Washington, D.C. in January to help bring about the change we seek. In fact, one of our endorsed candidates, Al Franken, remains locked in a recount against incumbent Norm Coleman in what is the closest US Senate race in the country. SNAP is proud to have endorsed in some of the most competitive and tightest contest across the country and with your support we were able to make a difference. We would like you to join us in congratulating Tom Periello (VA-5), Mary Jo Kilroy (OH-15), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Jim Himes (CT-4) on the victories and Tom Allen (D-NH), Victoria Wulsin (OH-2), Darcy Burner (WA-8), Dan Seals (IL-10) for their intense efforts to bring progressive representation to their constituents. We are proud of the work that we have done and it is only with your support that any of this was possible.
SNAP is also excited of the experienced afforded to our 19 fellows from around the country through our fellowship program. In two notable cases, these fellows returned to their college campuses to organize students to help get out the vote for Jim Himes, Tom Allen and Tom Periello this fall. We will continue to work to build on this progressive activism and student momentum to expand the scope and breadth of SNAP’s activities. SNAP hopes that you will continue to be active partners in promoting the progressive agenda and training a new generation of progressive leaders for the future.
How Can You Help?
SNAP is in the process of developing an ambitious plan of action for the future. We would be happy to hear your ideas as to how SNAP can be a more effective organization. Feel free to contact us with any ideas.
The most important way you can help us is with your financial support of our fellowship program for the 2010 election cycle. Every contribution puts us that much closer to funding another student organizer, putting more in summer ‘08 and forging another future progressive leader. Please visit our ACTBLUE page and contribute today. Donate $50 to sponsor a student for one day, $250 for one week, $1000 for one month or $2500 to sponsor a student for an entire summer. The more you donate, the more candidates we can endorse and fellowships we can provide.
Finally, please help us spread the word about SNAP by contacting your friends and family.Please send them an email, encourage them to visit our website and ask them to contribute. You can also do this by hosting a house party or reception in your community (please contact us if you would like to do so).
Hugh Baran and Margaret Sharp
SNAP PAC
Executive Directors
Dear SNAP Supporters:
Endorsements
Students for a New American Politics PAC is excited to announce the endorsement of two, well-know progressive leaders to help build a progressive governing majority in the Senate. Along with the seven leaders we endorsed earlier, SNAP hopes to help take full advantage of the opportunities this cycle provides while providing unparalleled experiences for our fellows.
Former Governor Jeanne Shaheen (NH-D)
Jeanne Shaheen has been serving New Hampshire families for over a decade and would like to represent the state in the United States Senate. During her time as governor, she expanded kindergarten programs, worked to strengthen small business and fought for unemployed workers during the recession of 2002. Now, she is seeking to replace John Sununu, one of the most out of touch and fear-mongering Republicans in the Senate in order to work for those same values at the federal level. Jeanne Shaheen will bring real change and fair representation to the people of New Hampshire.
Al Franken (MN-D)
Al Franken, well know as comedian, author and Air American host, is now trying to extend Minnesota’s history of sending bold progressives to Washington to lead America in the face of challenges. He seeks to continue the tradition of Walter Mondale, Paul Wellstone and Hubert Humphrey by being unabashed in his demands for a change of direction in Iraq, healthcare for all Americans, a reformed education system that fosters learning and opportunity, comprehensive immigration reform cognizant of the struggles of immigrant families, economic policies that benefit working families like the Employee Free Choice Act, and revitalizing and funding our commitment to our veterans. SNAP hopes to help Al Franken become a forceful and true voice of progressive change in the U.S. Senate.
How Can You Help?
We need your support to help SNAP reach it’s goal of sponsoring 40 to 50 fellowships this summer and to fund student GOTV efforts this fall in contested races. There are many ways you can get involved and help us lay the groundwork for victory in the coming elections.
The most important way you can help us is with your financial support of our fellowship program. Every contribution puts us that much closer to funding another student organizer, putting more in summer ‘08 and forging another future progressive leader. Please visit our ACTBLUE page and contribute today. Donate $50 to sponsor a student for one day, $250 for one week, $1000 for one month or $2500 to sponsor a student for an entire summer. The more you donate, the more candidates we can endorse and fellowships we can provide.
We are still accepting applications! Although the deadline has passed, SNAP will be willing to review applications for late summer and fall fellowships. Check out the application here.
Finally, please help us spread the word about SNAP by contacting your friends and family.Please send them an email, encourage them to visit our website and ask them to contribute. You can also do this by hosting a house party or reception in your community (please contact us if you would like to do so).
John Riley
SNAP PAC
Communications Director