Camp Wellstone Rocks!

Just got back from a 2.5 day training in Madison, Wisconsin run by Wellstone Action for people interested in advancing progressive candidates and issues. There are three tracks: Citizen activism, running for office or managing a campaign. I followed the managing a campaign track and learned an incredible amount. It's subsidized and well worth the sliding scale fee. (We also got an incredible deal through the Name Your Own Price program at priceline.com and stayed at the lovely Madison Concourse hotel for a third of what it would have cost otherwise.) I know my wife was concerned that I'd come back even more wound up about politics, but I actually feel calmer and more focused. I understand more about how to be effective politically, which translates to feeling more powerful. I know rage = anger plus shame, and shame is often bound to powerlessness. Though I feel no less angry, I do feel less enraged. I have some idea of how to harness that anger in positive ways. The friend I attended with wanted to know what I thought I would do next with what I learned; I'm not sure yet. I'll keep you up to date.