Here in Ohio I've participated in registration drives. I was a Billionaire for Bush. I started up a blog that deals with politics. It's nothing much, but friends and coworkers to myself and my wife read it. I've participated in meetups. I've participated and hosted Move On events. I've written letters. I've worked to actively engage my coworkers in political discussions.

Do I feel like I did enough. No. But considering the fact that I'm working full time in a field where I'm constantly at risk of losing my job and raising a high school football player, it's something.

My problem was that the more I did it the more I realized that it doesn't mean a thing if we have no way to insure the integrity of the vote. Ohio is a mess, and as far as I've seen the Democrats have done nothing about it. Why? Why should I bust my ass for you if you won't even lift up a finger to insure that every voter can vote and every vote is counted?

Also, The more I worked, the more I realized that we were making a big mistake by only focusing on Bush. He's a lightening rod sucking up all our energy. This is a war of attrition. We need to focus on the most vulnerable targets, not just the head. That means Congressmen. Hammer them and they will crumble into dust.

Since the election I've come to the conclusion that there will be no hope in Ohio until we insure the integrity of the vote. And given the structure of elections in Ohio we will have to light a fire under the Ohio DNC's ass before we'll see any progress on that front. Maybe a ballot initiative is called for.

While I'll stand by the small things that I've done, I'm more concerned with the future. While I can't do anything about the DNC in Washington, I can effect change here in Dayton.

Here's my plan of attack:

1) Learn as much as I can about how local Ohio politics work. Much of it is back room. Who are the players? What are the laws? How does it work? Who are the movers in the Ohio DNC? Who are the stallers?

2) Learn what it takes to become a precinct captain. Encourage other people to become precinct captains. What can this accomplish? Maybe a lot be what I've learned so far.

3) Find ways to reach out between Black and White community leaders in Dayton (That will include church leaders). How do we get a dialog? What are they doing? How can we get everyone more connected, both online and off? What can we do to get out the message about Ohio Jim Crow?

4) Purchase all voter information available in Montogery County. Transfer that into a database format for later use.

5) Learn more about the what it would take to get an initiative on the ballot concerning voting. While it would be nice if this was handled on the national level, the DNC seems to have no intention of making any noise on the subject. This will have to be done state by state. I live in Ohio so I'll start there. Who else is involved? What are they doing? How can we concentrate efforts? Who are the opponents to this effort? Who can the monkey wrench things? Who can offer legal help? What national voting groups would be interested?

6) Create a blog devoted to one thing: Ohio House District 3. Follow Turner's voting record like white on rice. Make every vote he casts in DC personal. Tie it to him. What are the job numbers in this district? How can I display them in a graphical manner? What feeds are available to document his actions? Who's giving money him money? He has strong ties to foreign outsourcing companies. What can I learn about how they are prospering from his actions. What are they getting? Who wants to run against him? What do they have to offer? I want whomever is running against Turner in 2006 to have a source of information that they can work with when they run against them.

7) Be more proactive in meetings with other people. Have something to offer. A card with my blog on it. Get connected. Show people what a blog is and how they can use alternative media. Be an evangelist. Don't wait for Move On or ACT or even the DNC to save my ass in 2008. Start fighting now. Race by race. Person by person.

8) Improve the quality of my blog. I've already purchased the domain daytonprogressive.com. I want to make it less personal. More focused. Offer a local event calendar of progressive goings on. I'm working on the software for that right now. Get the hardware to start podcasting local events.

9) Find ways to reach a better dialog with right leaning voters. How do we engage them? Instead of GOTV do win the vote. How do we frame issues so that it speaks to people who voted for George Bush? Why do they hate our candidates so much when they believe what the candidates stand for?

10) Learn from my enemies. They ran a very strong operation here in Ohio. What can I learn from it?