Bowes?

I have been active in politics since John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign (I ran into Senator Kennedy in Maine in 2004). Sitting in front of the TV during the Democratic National Convention, watching the first speech given by a little-known candidate with a funny name ---Barack Obama ---changed the direction of my life. I decided to stop yelling at my TV and got off my ass to go to Maine and knock on doors. Watching Kerry go down in a mind-blowing defeat was painful, and it forced me to ask myself, "Did I do enough to stop this?" The answer was no. On August 1, 2010, this entry was published.

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I joined my local Democratic town committee and, with a few other troublemakers, started a blog called Below Boston. That year, I went to the Democratic State Convention and heard the second speech that would change the direction of my life. It was also delivered by a little-known candidate with a funny name—Deval Patrick. I lived and breathed that campaign for the next year and was introduced to a style of campaigning that would define the way I think about politics and the possibilities of American democracy. After watching the worst defeat of Democrats in 2004, that night in 2006, I watched the whole country turn blue before my eyes and knew that there was something happening in America. On August 1, 2010, this entry was published.

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The following year, I headed north to see the potential field of presidential candidates as they stumped in New Hampshire and got to meet them all as part of my blog. I joined the army of volunteers that supported the Obama campaign (and also met my future wife!) and applied what I had learned during the Patrick campaign. I arrived in Nashua on the night of the New Hampshire primary to see the Obama campaign go down in a crushing defeat to Hillary Clinton. But from the ashes of that night emerged a campaign that became a movement that changed the world, and it all started with one amazing speech in 2004. That is where it all started for me. Since then, I have worked on some amazing campaigns that have moved the progressive cause forward.

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So....

I started a blog again.

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The blog is dedicated to exploring grassroots organizing as a way to move American democracy forward. Too often, modern campaigns fall into a rhythm of big media buys and big data analysis. It is not focusing on making connections between voters to build communities. The big changes that need to happen in America in order for this country to be vibrant in the next century require a lot of discussion about bold ideas. In the present toxic environment, those discussions are not possible.

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Over the last several years, I've been running experiments on how you create grassroot communities to create good political discussion. I have a few working theories on how to build these communities. The problem I keep having is that every time I get down to start writing the stuff out, somebody really cool decides to run for office and I get caught up in their campaign. So instead of packaging it out and putting it into something you can buy, I'm just going to continuously post my thoughts on this site as blog posts. If you think I have merit, drop me a line or maybe buy a product.