Tweet Congress!

So the election is over and you voted and made your voice heard...so now what? KEEP TALKING! There are some great web tools to help you reach out to your Congressperson and tell them what YOU want. In your elementary school in need of books? Do you want Blagojevich out of office? How do you feel your Senator is representing your state? TELL THEM!

My new favorite social media discovery is Tweet Congress (www.TweetCongress.org). If you have a Twitter account, check to see if your Congresspeople (Congresstweeple) or Senators are on and tweeting! You can follow individuals like Nancy Pelosi (here: twitter.com/nancypelosi) or visit the Tweet Congress tweetstream to view all congresstweeple's tweets.

You can follow where your congresspeople are going, what they are working on and reply back! Check out the Declare Yourself tweetstream as well at http://twitter.com/declareyourself

Btw I dont think I've ever said "tweet" so many times...

How Can You Help President-Elect Obama Create Change?

Have an idea to make lasting a social or political impression on America? We want to hear it!

We are proud to announce that the Constitutional Convention: Building Democracy 2.0 will be held on January 9-11, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!

We are looking to give grants to innovative projects focused on creating lasting social and political change using grassroots methods and new online social media. If you have an idea or an organization that needs funding, apply for the Constitutional Convention: Building Democracy 2.0, and you could receive up to $10,000 to make your idea a reality. Click here to find out more.

This summit is being held by Declare Yourself, Mobilize.org, Why Tuesday, Change.org, the National Constitution Center and the National Conference on Citizenship.

Help Define the Presidential Agenda and Provoke Social Change!

Declare Yourself is supporting "Ideas for Change in America," a groundbreaking citizen-driven effort to help define President-elect Barack Obama's presidential agenda, and we want YOU to participate!

Visit Change.org and submit your ideas on how you would advance change on an important issue, then discuss with others, and vote on the best suggestions from across the country. The top 10 ideas will be announced in the days leading up to the inauguration and then be presented to the Obama administration!

Declare Yourself is going to the Inauguration!

Declare Yourself will be in Washington DC for the week of the inauguration and we will be blogging live! Check out the Declare Yourself blog for updates on inauguration events, politics, and people! DY will also be throwing an inauguration kick-off event in DC so stay tuned for more details!

White House Counsel

White House Counsel
Name: Gregory B. Craig
Hometown: Norfolk, Va.
Current City: Washington, D.C.
Job at time of appointment: Advisor for 2008 Obama campaign, lawyer
Age: 63

A well-known Washington lawyer, Greg Craig was an early supporter and aide to Barack Obama during the 2008 campaign, and will now serve as White House Counsel.

Having known both Bill and Hillary Clinton from their days at Yale Law School and directed former President Clinton's defense team during his impeachment trial, in addition to serving as a State Department official during Clinton's term, Craig's Obama endorsement was a surprise to many in Washington.

Craig boasts an impressive resume, being a partner at a top Washington firm, Williams & Connolly, LLP, representing several public figures and acting as foreign policy advisor to Sen. Edward Kennedy, and is expected to bring a depth of foreign policy knowledge and negotiation experience to the Obama presidency.

Photo from Free Republic

Obama's Senior Advisors

Senior Advisors
Name: David Axelrod
Hometown: Manhattan
Current City: Chicago
Job at time of Appointment: Chief strategist for 2008 Obama campaign, AXP&D consultant
Age: 52

Hailed as the mastermind of the extremely successful Obama campaign, David Axelrod is graduating from his post as chief strategist for the campaign and moving on to become one of the new president's senior advisors.

Credited for some of the Obama campaign trademarks, such as "hope" and "change," Axelrod has also served on campaigns for Sens. Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Chris Dodd.

A consultant for AXP&D Message and Media, Axelrod was a top political reporter before leaving the Chicago Tribune in 1984. As a consultant, he is known for being an "advertising guy" and a "postideological approach."

Photo from USA Today

Name: Valerie Jarrett
Hometown: Shiraz, Iran
Current City: Chicago
Job at time of appointment: Strategist for the 2008 Obama Campaign, President and CEO of The Habitat Co.
Age: 52

A longtime mentor for both Barack and Michelle Obama, Valerie Jarrett was the chief of staff for former Chicago Mayor Richard Daley when she hired Michelle for a job in his office.

Prior to becoming the chief of staff for the mayor's office and then the city-planning commissioner, Jarrett was a corporate lawyer in a large Chicago firm. In 1995, she left city government to work for The Habitat Co., a for-profit-real-estate firm, rising to become President and CEO. The firm has been accused of mismanagement of some of its properties, which include range from public housing to luxury condos, according to the Boston Globe.

Her longstanding relationship with the Obamas has led to a strew of nicknames, including "First Friend," "big sister" and "the other half of Obama's brain." Jarrett has been co-chair of the Obama transition team and will be become a top White House advisor, taking her name out of contention as a Senate replacement for the president-elect.

Photo from The University of Chicago Chronicle

Name: Pete Rouse
Hometown: New Haven
Current City: Washington, D.C. and Chicago
Job at time of appointment: Barack Obama's chief of staff in the Senate
Age: 62

Having spent three decades on Capitol Hill, Peter Rouse's job as Barack Obama's Senate office chief of staff was to introduce Obama to the workings of Washington, being, as The Washington Post called him, "The Outsider's Insider."

Prior to becoming Obama's chief of staff, co-chairman of the transition team and future senior advisor, Rouse served as the chief of staff to former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle (D - SD) for 19 years, holding the same position for Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) when he was in the House and for former Lt. Gov. Terry Miller of Alaska.

Known as "The 101st Senator" during his long tenure with Daschle, Obama picked up Rouse as his chief of staff following Daschle's loss in 2004. Since then, Rouse has strategically steered Obama in the right political direction to become president, and is expected to continue to use his insider knowledge of Washington to aide the new president-elect.

Photo from The Washington Post

WH Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel

Chief of Staff
Name: Rahm Emanuel
Hometown: Chicago
Job at time of appointment: Congressman, Chicago representative
Political Party: Democratic
Age: 48


Barack Obama chose a fellow Chicago congressman to be his White House chief of staff, bringing in the No. 4 Democrat in the House of Representatives and a former senior Clinton advisor.

In the House since 2003, Rahm has served on the important House Ways and Means Committee and was elected to be the Democratic Caucus Chair in 2007, making him the fourth highest ranked member of the House Democrats.

Nicknamed Rahmbo for his tough, combative style in the Clinton administration, Rahm had a successful venture in the world of investment banking before moving into Congress.

Rahm graduated from Sarah Lawrence College with a liberal arts degree, and went to Northwestern University for a masters degree in speech and communication.


Photo from Wikimedia Commons

The Youngest Candidate

For those of you who want to avoid the crush of Twilight fans (pale is the new tan btw) at the local movie theater this weekend....check out The Youngest Candidate! The film will be released soon so check out the trailer and spread the word!

President-elect Obama promises “new chapter” on climate change
Tuesday, November 18, 2008 09:54am EST /
More than 600 climate change leaders from across the country and around the world convened in Los Angeles today for the opening sessions of the Global Climate Summit, a 2-day event arranged by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to break gridlock on the issue ahead of next month's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan, Poland.

Watch President-Elect Obama's latest video on the Global Climate Summit. MORE

If I Were President

What would you do if you were president? Check out this video from http://www.247townhall.org/ and (in our comments box) tell us what you would do if you were president.

What now for the Party of Hope and Ideas?

"Hopefully, in the future, another crazy, independent child of a politician will also draw back the curtain on a journey that so few people get the chance to see up close, and not adhere to an image that is long overdue for change."

Megan McCain wrote these words in her latest blog entry, which remains her final post on The Blogette. The 24 year old was the face of young Republicans for her father, Senator McCain's, campaign. Her blog chronicled the campaign through pictures, video, and stories (and of course a song of the day), showing McCain not as a seasoned politician, but a father and war hero.

Despite this attempt to connect with young people, Barack Obama overwhelmingly won the youth vote, 66% to McCain's 33%. Considering Bush's approval rating is hovering around 27%, we can probably assume most American kids and teens, highly influenced by their parents and peers, probably don't hold the highest opinion of the current president either and will likely lean Democratic when they turn 18.

So what will become of the Republican Party? Where are all the Young Republicans? They are going online! A group of under 40 Republicans have built a site called Rebuild the Party in response to the lack of youth support in the Republican party and to the grassroots efforts of the Obama campaign that led to his victory.

"The time is now to set in motion the changes needed to rebuild our party from the grassroots up, modernize the way we run campaigns, and attract different, energetic, and younger candidates at all levels," the site says.

Rebuild the Party is attempting to start a dialogue with young Republicans, requesting their opinions and ideas through a Feedback Forum like this one: http://ideas.rebuildtheparty.com/ This tool allows you to submit ideas for the direction of the Republican National Committee and vote on the ideas others have posted. The suggestion currently in the lead? Reach Out to Ron Paul and the Campaign for Freedom.

"The younger generation is overwhelmingly turning away from the social conservative platform perpetuated by what they see as "old, grumpy, white guys" Instead they are turning by the thousands to people such as Ron Paul and his Campaign for Freedom to give them fresh perspective and a new outlook on the way a government should be run."

The Republican National Committee has also launched a new website that they are terming grassroots called Republican For a Reason. While the site is less of a conversation than Rebuild the Party, although it is yet to be fully developed, they have released this video. The video is meant to inspire young Republicans and remind them that the Republican Party is the Party of hope and the Party of ideas.



So where do you think the Republican Party will be in 4 years? 8 years? How did this video affect you?

The Birth of Generation WE!

In 1996, 14.5 million young people came to the polls. In 2000, the number rose to 16.2%. In 2004, 19.4 million young people voted. 

And now... the exciting news: according to new estimates by CIRCLE, 23 million young people cast their ballots in the 2008 General Election!

In the states where both candidates (not to mention the Declare Yourself Street Teams!) did the most campaigning, youth turnout averaged 59%! These numbers are still rising furiously in states with strong absentee voting campaigns, since many of the late returns are being tallied up while you read this!

So, I double dog dare the media to call us the "Slacker Generation" one more time... The Millennials are coming of age and voting by the millions. As 18% of the voting bloc, WE make the difference.