There's a common saying that we should "Think Globally, Act Locally". Some of acting locally is participating in a protest, holding signs at a vigil, canvassing door-to-door, or even buying locally-grown produce (even if it costs a little more). Keeping an eye on local politics is also important. Most politicians at the national level got their start at the local level; it's a training ground for those working their way up the ladder.

People often don't pay much attention (much less vote) in the primaries and local races, and if they do, they either skip the local races on the ballot, or just pick a random name based on name-recognition. As a result, the most well-funded person usually gets elected because they can get their name out there most effectively. Money picks the winner once again.

Most people don't think of this as a typical election year, but elections are held every year. They may be local races or special elections. Although some consider voting an inconvenience, voting is a privilege paid for with the blood of our ancestors. Voting in the local contests (and knowing who is running, what their positions are, and what experiences they have) is vitally important. Today's state house representative could be tomorrow's leader of the U.S. Senate.

In a recent column, Micheal Moore also points out that voting in local races is important. He adds that we should consider running for office as well (Moore ran for - and won - a position on the school board when he was 18 and still in high school. He became his Principal's boss). As our regular members may well know, we have two members of our blogging family that are currently running for local office: TriSec (for school board) and SwingStateGirl (county commission).

During the past 3 presidential elections, the Green Party has tried to float a candidate and failed miserably. That's likely because they didn't build a grassroots platform, targeting local races, and creating a base on which to build for larger elections. The Tea Party, however, is not making that mistake. They are starting at the local level, with New York state district 23 as their ground zero:

The results of this election could be the first ripple of a huge wave that engulfs the dynamics of the Conservative party -vs- the Republican party, and within the Republican party itself. Moderate Republicans - already unsure of where to go - could be further confounded.

Here in Atlanta, we are winding down a hot race for mayor, as well as members of city council. Campaigning is already underway for the primary race for governor with the primary next spring. What's going on in your city and state?