I really enjoyed the  conference call. It was an amazing wealth of information and analysis and as Rep. Solis said, we could spend hours talking about this stuff.

If you missed it or want to hear it again, LISTEN TO OUR CONFERENCE CALL HERE.

I was particularly intrigued by Joel's comments about the politics of acceptance vs. rejection. Democrats will be in power for 2 years before the 08 elections so it will be easier for Republicans to argue the NO vote than for Democrats to argue the YES. Certainly we saw that dynamic at the statewide level this year with the initiatives - just everyone said NO.

It seems to me people get in a rejecting mood when they're feeling apathetic and when there's a lack of inspiration. It's clear that that's the environment we're seeing among California voters as a result largely of entrenched Democratic power in Sacramento. Not only is Democratic registration declining but so is voter participation in elections.

The Courage Campaign's effort to build a progressive infrastructure in the state outside the party will work toward turning that around.

In addition, we'd ask our conference callers to join the Courage Campaign Group that we started just for you called The Future of California. Just click the link, create a profile and join the group and you'll be able to be in touch with your fellow Courage Campaigners to continue online what we started offline with the call earlier today. You can stay in touch via the listserv, send invites to events, and create your own personal blog.

Please feel free to continue the discussion in the comments below.