The Ground Game

005 David Comfort: Democracy is something you do

Monday, March 17, 2025 Release David Comfort sits down with Caroline Stack to discuss the group he started after the November election – Democracy Action Network (DAN). David discusses how his upbringing and previous work to overturn Prop 8 informs his worldview, how the only way to get rid of Trump is through grassroots action, and how DAN is organized to be a small democracy where each member steps up to lead in turn. SHOW NOTES: If the show notes links don't work below, you can also find the links at https://carolinestack.substack.com [https://carolinestack.substack.com/p/005-david-comfort] 2008 California Proposition 8 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_California_Proposition_8] Democracy Action Network [https://democracyactionnetwork.com/] West Hollywood, California February 22, 2025 Anti-Trump Protest [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcW9oOL-hFE&ab_channel=FOX11LosAngeles] Citizens United v. FEC [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizens_United_v._FEC] Couldn’t find the exact article about America becoming a nation of homebodies, but I found another article from The New York Times [https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/05/upshot/americans-homebodies-alone-census.html]. Ten Senate Democrats cave to avert government shutdown [https://www.axios.com/2025/03/14/senate-democrats-vote-with-republicans-avoid-government-shutdown] The ‘3.5% rule’: How a small minority can change the world [https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world] 50501 [https://www.fiftyfifty.one/] SpaceX Hawthorne, California March 1, 2025 Protest [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfC59RyeuFA&ab_channel=KTLA5] Indivisible Groups Finder [https://indivisible.org/groups] Democracy Action Network (DAN) BlueSky Handle [https://bsky.app/profile/democracyactionnet.bsky.social] March for Our Constitution link [https://marchforourconstitution.com/] How Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s response to a physical attack uplifted the civil rights movement. [https://kazantoday.com/WeeklyArticles/dr-king-non-violence.html] “Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, jr.]” [https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html] Mobilize link for the March for our Constitution [https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/757866/] My fundraising link for Abigail Spanberger for Governor of Virginia (100% goes to campaign) [https://secure.actblue.com/donate/joincarolinestack] E.B. White on "The Meaning of Democracy." [https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2021/07/04/e-b-white-on-the-meaning-of-democracy/]  Democracy Action Network [https://democracyactionnetwork.com/] Mobilize Indivisible Events in Los Angeles Area [https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/752715/] Democracy Action Network (DAN) BlueSky Handle [https://bsky.app/profile/democracyactionnet.bsky.social] Democracy Action Network email address: info@democracyactionnetwork.com [info@democracyactionnetwork.com]   The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com   The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com

OO4 Call for economic boycott

Caroline pivots from her usual interview format to encourage American citizens to join the economic boycott or blackout on February 28, 2025. SHOW NOTES If the show notes links don't work below, you can also find the links at https://carolinestack.substack.com [https://carolinestack.substack.com/p/005-david-comfort] The folks calling for the boycott: The People's Union USA [https://thepeoplesunionusa.com/] If you like this content pivot, please reach out at thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com. The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com

003 Kamala Lopez: Equal rights for women are overdue

Kamala Lopez sits down with Caroline Stack to talk politics. Kamala discusses how she first became aware women don’t have equal protection under the law in the United States, how she set out to do something about it, and how despite incredible wins, the effort has been stopped at every turn. And yet there is a window opportunity to push the ERA across the finish line. Trigger Warning:  Mentions of violence against women and children  from 54 minutes to an hour and 30 seconds  SHOW NOTES If the show notes links don't work below, you can also find the links at https://carolinestack.substack.com [https://carolinestack.substack.com/p/005-david-comfort] Kamala Lopez Bio [https://equalmeansequal.org/?team=kamala-lopez] Equal Means Equal film [https://equalmeansequal.com/] Supreme Court Dobbs Decision [https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf] ERA Explained [https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained?emci=a62903a1-242c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&emdi=7bd33aa5-c22c-ef11-86d2-6045bdd9e096&ceid=852732] Intermediate Scrutiny Wikipedia page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermediate_scrutiny] Misogyny “should become a hate crime in England and Wales” [https://www.theguardian.com/law/2020/sep/23/misogyny-hate-crime-england-wales-law-commission] Women of Our Time Exhibit [https://npg.si.edu/exhibition/women-our-time-twentieth-century-photographs] Women are not “community property,” a Georgia judge rules [https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/10/01/abortion-georgia-six-week-judge/] Twenty-seventh Amendment Wikipedia page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution] ERA Deadline Debunked: Wendy Murphy explains it all to Alice Crenshaw [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3JKcQ_N3no&ab_channel=EqualMeansEqual] The Equal Rights Amendment: Why the Era Remains Legally Viable and Properly Before the States [https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1271&context=wmjowl] Pat Spearman Wikipedia bio [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Spearman] ERA Coalition – Press Conference, Update on Equal Rights Amendment [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOlNl59QjNI&t=1660s&ab_channel=ERACoalition] Virginia Approves the E.R.A., Becoming the 38th State to Back It [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/15/us/era-virginia-vote.html] If you want to volunteer with Equal Means Equal email Kamala Lopez at info@equalmeansequal.org [info@equalmeansequal.org]  E.B. White on "The Meaning of Democracy." [https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2021/07/04/e-b-white-on-the-meaning-of-democracy/]   Princeton 2020 Commencement Featured Speaker – Maria Ressa [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-1ip9eRNNU&ab_channel=PrincetonUniversity] Michael Moore’s Bucket List Joe [https://www.michaelmoore.com/p/bucket-list-joe] The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com

002 Steven Borne: Building civic culture in New Hampshire

Steven Borne sits down with Caroline Stack to talk politics. He discusses how he got involved in fostering local non-partisan citizen engagement and representation, how he came to bolster and amplify civic engagement in his community of Rye, New Hampshire, and how he hopes his work leads to a less polarized New Hampshire. SHOW NOTES If the show notes links don't work below, you can also find the links at https://carolinestack.substack.com [https://carolinestack.substack.com/p/005-david-comfort] Steven Borne Short Bio [https://www.consumegov.com/about-the-author] New Hampshire Presidential Primary [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Hampshire_presidential_primary] Correction: Doug Burgum’s Name [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Burgum] (Apologies to the Governor of North Dakota for this mistake.) Interesting Article on Pronouncing Gerrymandering [https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/another-gerrymandering-question-how-to-pronounce-it] Tradition of New England Town Meetings – Small d democracy [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Town_meeting] Correction: My friend lives in Massachusetts and not New Hampshire. (Sorry, Andi!) Sometimes I think one thing and say another. Third Spaces or Places [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place] Congressional Continuing Resolutions [https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/what-to-know-about-continuing-resolutions/] The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis book [https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-fifth-risk-undoing-democracy-michael-lewis/968582?ean=9780393357455] The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis eBook [https://www.michaellewiswrites.com/#the-fifth-risk] The People (the organization) in New Hampshire [https://www.thepeople.org/newhampshire] Rules for Voting in NH Primary as of 2024 [https://www.nhpr.org/politics/2024-01-10/how-to-vote-in-the-new-hampshire-primary-what-to-bring-voter-id-where-to-register] Rank Choice Voting [https://time.com/5718941/ranked-choice-voting/] Primary System Creating Polarization [https://www.npr.org/2022/06/18/1105927483/in-a-time-of-national-division-polarizing-primaries-are-part-of-the-problem] Correction: Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip since 2007. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas_government_in_the_Gaza_Strip] Consume Government Website [https://www.consumegov.com/] Rye Civic League [https://ryecivicleague.org/] Rye Civic League Newsletter Sign Up [https://ryecivicleague.org/?page_id=5112] Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam book and eBook [https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0684832836/bowlingaloneco00] “Grace in our politics” by Sam Borne [https://bowdoinorient.com/2024/09/13/grace-in-our-politics/] Why Nation’s Fail Book by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson book and eBook [https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nations-Fail-Origins-Prosperity/dp/0307719227] Robert’s Rules of Order [https://robertsrules.com/] Open Secrets [https://www.opensecrets.org/] Winston Churchill Quote:  ...democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others which have been tried from time to time... [https://quoteinvestigator.com/2023/12/08/democracy-worst/] E.B. White What Democracy Means to You? [https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2021/07/04/e-b-white-on-the-meaning-of-democracy/]  The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com

001 Katie Fahey: The idea that sparked a movement

Katie Fahey sits down with Caroline Stack to talk politics. She discusses what brought her to the successful campaign to reform gerrymandering in Michigan, how things have changed in Michigan since Proposal 2 passed, and how her experience led her to lead The People, an organization driving non-partisan political change. SHOW NOTES: If the show notes links don't work below, you can also find the links at https://carolinestack.substack.com [https://carolinestack.substack.com/p/005-david-comfort] Katie Fahey’s Wikipedia Page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katie_Fahey]  Michigan Proposal 2 Wikipedia Page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Michigan_Proposal_2] Katie Fahey’s Ted Talk [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIAQcvewgTg&ab_channel=TED] Elbridge Gerry Wikipedia Page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbridge_Gerry] Gerrymandering Wikipedia Page [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering] Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission [https://www.michigan.gov/micrc/mapping-process/final-maps] The People website [http://thepeople.org/] or email The People at: info@thepoeple.org [info@thepoeple.org] Operation Vote America has Peace at the Polls Toolkit and Election Education Video Series (Prebunking Series) [https://www.thepeople.org/elections] Margaret Hoover PBS documentary on Counting the Vote [https://youtu.be/ZVSTFw2AgO8?si=A1V5gKL-JkpxMJTw] E.B. White What Democracy Means to You? [https://philebersole.wordpress.com/2021/07/04/e-b-white-on-the-meaning-of-democracy/] The Ground Game Apple Podcast Link [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ground-game/id1750146757] The Ground Game Substack Podcast & Episode Show Notes [https://carolinestack.substack.com/] Email: thegroundgamepodcast@yahoo.com