Over the past few weeks, various members of the online liberal/progressive community, that included quite a few Kossacks, worked together in a democratic fashion to create the Netroots Platform.

For those of you who have just joined us, check out Ferris Valyn's Mothership diary entry or yesterday's kickoff diary to get the whole picture.  

For the Netroots Energy and Environment Plank, we had 34 Contributors who wrote 29 different versions, and 138 rankings.  Join me over the fold to read the final version...

As many of you know, the online progressive community has been working together to collectively and democratically craft a shared vision for the country.  Only three short weeks ago, a small band of netizens gathered in Austin to kick off the process of writing our own political platform.  We set our goals high: to collectively write a shared progressive vision for the country, which we would use to influence the Obama/DNC national platform process.  

After many intense days of writing, remixing, and rating, the final version is complete. Amazingly, what started with just a few people brainstorming ideas at Netroots Nation has since grown to an impressive 29-page policy document, involving 246 registered participants, 167 planks and 925 ratings, and ultimately coauthored by 164 people across the country!

And we just received word that some parts of the Netroots platform were included in the National Platform.  (We're just not sure which...)  

Follow us below the fold for more...

--2 & 1/2 weeks

--11 plank categories

--137 participants

--More than 150 154 collaboratively developed draft planks

--550 ratings

The result?

One Unified Netroots Platform

Or it will be, with your help!

We are down to the closing hours to refine the planks of this netroots defined platform; plus two additional days to rate up or down the planks WE have collaboratively authored.  

You can still participate and make sure your voice is heard. But to make sure the best and most representative planks appear in our platform we need your help in the next 3 days, because we want to get this into the hands of the DNC and the Obama campaign in time for them to integrate your ideas into their planning.

To learn more about how, when and where you can still participate see the email after the flip from the Netroots Platform Committee:

I was struck over and over at this year's NN convention by a few related and very simple thoughts:

1. if all goes well, we're about to be in charge

2. our leaders are practically begging us to make the same kind of push behind governance that we have successfully achieved in the political arena

3. if we want to influence our leaders, and give them something to run with the minute they take office, we better start working now.

So here's the challenge, netroots nation. What do we want to do now??

Here's an idea, below the fold...
   

Ever since YK/NN started I’ve said wouldn’t it be great if we actually worked on drafting policy? Like, what if this year we had a session or two on creating platform planks?  I never imagined that could actually happen but I just got this from Barack Obama’s campaign:

Every four years, the Democratic Party assembles a platform that outlines the party's position on a number of issues.

Traditionally, the drafting of the platform is not open to ordinary people.

This year, that's going to change.

Yes I apologize. It's a candidate diary. It's actually a long comment that turned into a diary. But I still wanted to post it as it's really a personal story with a surprise twist, because within this echo chamber I'd have imagined this could not happen.

The moral of the story below? By standing strongly in progressive posture, you may attract some unexpected allies. Read on...

Ok, so you're thinking, I have barely crawled out of bed in my post New Year's Eve fog and already there's yet another candidate diary? But fear not, though I could write some snark about how we'll all react if Iowans choose candidate B, C, or E, that's not what I have planned.

No,  I'm here to talk about the dark side--the R side. I woke up recently and realized one of these clowns is actually going to win the (R) caucus in Iowa. That's a real stopper, no?

Honestly friends, who can imagine any of those bozos in office? Or take them seriously on the campaign trail? I mean really, why haven't they all just dropped out of the race from shame? As I watch each of them fall over the others in a mad race to reveal his true calling as biggest hypocrite, criminal, fearmonger, theocrat idiot of all time, I wonder how there can even be a republican nominee at this point. They should all of them just leave the stage today!

So as a public service (and to save us some time and energy come Friday morning) allow me to provide a crib sheet for dkos reactions to the republican winner in Iowa, apres le break...

Hi all,

This is a short diary only because I am launching a discussion/putting a question to you all so I apologize for the brevity. I hope this is offset by my posting diaries so rarely. So here it is, a simple call for ideas.

I have the opportunity to meet Senator Feingold at a reception on Sunday. Not wishing to pass up the opportunity for communication to/from the netroots, I wondered if any of you would like to pass along questions or thoughts for issues to address when I get a chance to converse with him...

Hello from Southern Connecticut!!!

I rarely diary but I just had to write you all from the Lamont offices in S. Norwalk to report that things have been going fast and furious as we come down to the wire on this race. We've been phone banking, and canvassing and organizing and GOTVing all day and the anticipation is palpable. It's pretty exciting around here, and I do want to tell you all about it (and will say a bit more below the fold). But mostly I'm writing to say, we need your help!

I was floating around msnbc a while back(yea I know) and ya see, I'm a volunteer at a botanic garden so I'm always on the lookout for interesting information about plants and pollinators and whatnot. So today's conservation/environmentalism talk reminded me that back at the end of April I'd flagged one of the scariest articles I've ever read. Here are a couple of paras that kicked me way way back...

Whoa...what the...? Honeybees cease to exist? No more melons? When did that happen?