One of the true battlegrounds that Progressives should be focusing on is Brooklyn. But I often feel that the grassroots have been awfully lazy in Brooklyn. In 2005 I was briefly mistaken for a troll because of a piece I wrote expressing considerable frustration at progressives for dropping the ball, at least in NYC. You see, I am heavily involved in local politics, often getting to meet candidates one-on-one, and I find that contrary to the impression many have regarding the Democratic Party, we have some of the best candidates you can imagine. Problem is, they don't get past the primaries because big money and political machines oppose them, and the grassroots tends to be a bit lazy.

But I am finding evidence that in 2006, the Brooklyn Grassroots are doing fine. My one fear is that 2006 will be the year of hard work for Brooklyn progressives and yet they will still lose to the local political machine and to the candidates that get huge piles of money from big business.

I have posted before about my friend, Chris Owens, who is running for Congress in the NY-11 district. This race is reaching a critical point. Chris has been doing wonderfully at the grassroots level, but lags in fundraising and the local "pundits" are looking only at fundraising in their estimation of who has a chance in this race. Chris is really one of the smartest and most progressive candidates I have met. Well, finally, after much urging, Chris is taking the plunge into the blogsphere.

I have posted about my friend, Chris Owens, who is running for Congress in the NY-11 district. This race is reaching a critical point. Chris has been doing wonderfully at the grassroots level, but lags in fundraising and the local "pundits" are looking only at fundraising in their estimation of who has a chance in this race. If Chris doesn't make a good showing in the March 31st fundraising numbers, his chances of winning will go down. Don't get me wrong. He would still have a shot. But a nice spike in fundraising would boost his chances enormously.