Over the past few weeks, there has been a wealth of information in the series of posts regarding the first Congressional run by a member of the netroots, and a campaign run by members of the netroots.  In fact, the entire list of posts is below, so you can go back and see the most excellent things that have been written about Ron Shepston and his historic run for Congress.

We were treated to posts that outline the district demographics, the incumbent and his myriad of ethical issues, the political landscape in the district as well as some of the very fine people who are working on this campaign, and why Ron is both an awesome guy and the right man for Congress (and no, those two terms are NOT mutually exclusive).  But what I want to talk about is why this oh-so-very important on many levels.

Previous diaries in the CA-42 campaign rollout series:
7/15: thereisnospoon’s CA-42: A Kossack is running for Congress
7/16: atdnext’s CA-42: The Case Against Dirty Gary Miller
7/17: Major Danby’s CA-42:  I’m managing a netroots U.S. House campaign
7/18: CanYouBeAngryAndStillDream’s CA-42: CA-42: Hi, I’m Ron Shepston and I’m running for Congress
7/19: hekebolos’s CA-42: A Netroots campaign– politics the way it should be.
7/20: dday’s CA-42: The Lay of the Land
7/21: OrangeClouds115 CA-42: “I Know His Heart”
7/22: Shockwave’s CA-42: Ron Shepston rides into a Republican stronghold
7/23: Major Danby’s CA-42: The DCCC knows us, reads us, and likes us
7/24: Major Danby’s CA-42: On YearlyKos, anger, and dreams
7/25: thereisnospoon’s Get Off the Internet!
7/26:  buhdydharma’s Help Save This Baby! **

I’m only talking about the future of progressive politics and the foundation of an infrastructure that has been built over the past few years, and more importantly, how we have been shaping that infrastructure, how we helped move it along in 2006, how we are continuing to do it through the 2008 elections and how 2008 will be a springboard for the future..

Yeah, yeah, you will probably say – heard it before.  Well, sure, you probably heard it from me here or here or even here.  So, it is safe to say that I have at least given this whole “progressive movement/infrastructure” thing a lot of thought (right, wrong or other).

Building a lasting movement requires us to think about what we will do in 2008 and later – after Bush is gone from the White House, and (hopefully) with the Democrats in control of Congress and the White House.  Sure, we have to stay on top of them to make sure that they don’t overstep, or that they do things that are for the good of We the People.  Or even that they are kept honest, and that more progressive primary candidates challenge those who are more of the DINO mold (to the extent practical and reasonable, of course).

But it goes way beyond just railing and ranting against Bush, the republicans or whatever isn’t fair or right.  And just as the netroots led the charge to counter the lies and crimes of the administration and the republican party, the netroots will “grow up” and adapt to the changing times.  Whether that means pushing policy, or being part of the “progressive message machine” or developing future leaders – this is the direction that we should collectively be looking towards.

And this is why Ron Shepston’s campaign as well as all of us here is such an integral part of this.  Building off of Brian Keeler’s (NYBri) run for NY State Senate in 2006, a national campaign with the support of the netroots – and run for and by us in the netroots, win or lose, it is a giant leap forward in terms of credibility.

Gandhi had a famous statement:  “first they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you, then you win”.  Well, we have been in the “then they fight you” phase for a while now.  2006 was a big step forward, and the acknowledgment by many in Congress that the netroots had a significant enough hand in tipping the balance of power in Congress (at least the Senate) to the Democrats.  And not just in the way that many of us have done for years – canvassing, phone calls, working on campaigns, donating money – but also by sharing ideas, successes, challenges and stories.

We are a force to be reckoned with, and both Democrats and republicans see what the netroots is able to accomplish.  Obviously, we still need to do all of the above things – donate money, canvass, share ideas and work on campaigns.  However, the “netroots campaign” of Ron Shepston is one that will give us and our causes a substantial amount of credibility.  Even for those of us who don’t live in CA-42, there is a LOT that we can do to help out this campaign.  It is not just Ron’s campaign.  It is our campaign. 

And it is just the beginning.  For Ron.  For the netroots.  For the progressive movement.

To donate to Ron’s campaign, all you have to do is click here!!!