BlastRoots

BlastRoots helps you organize free grassroots advocacy campaigns to change your world. With BlastRoots, one voice can become a movement. Start something!

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A VentureBeat profile of BlastRoots. 

"Hull said BlastRoots bridges the gap between platforms like Change.org and Causes which are entirely focused on grassroots momentum, and the “enormous but completely subterranean” industry in Washington that influences public affairs for a very high price."

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"Come Together," direct Starbucks baristas in Washington, DC.

One activist has organized a campaign to speak up to Capitol Hill, no coffee required, and join with others who want bipartisan solutions to the fiscal cliff. Email your members of Congress, sign a petition and recruit your friends.

One (R). One (D). Fiscal Cliff Solution - via BlastRoots

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Based on the volume of traffic on BlastRoots for the One Million Moms for Gun Control campaign, there's something happenin' here. 

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Maybe you've signed petitions to change gun laws, but have you emailed your members of congress? Tweeted at them? Mailed a letter and posted all your actions to Twitter and Facebook? You can do all of that from one site -- blastroots.com -- for free. What has your petition done for you lately?

This campaign calls for a ban on assault weapons. If you support that, take action in a few clicks, and recruit your friends to do the same. 

And while you're there, why not start your own campaign about something important to you? Go ahead, start something.

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How to Grab Power Away from Lobbyists (and Give it to Yourself)

Right now, an issue that concerns many Americans, and those in democracies around the world, is the need for transparent government, to put power back into the hands of the people. By promoting campaign finance reform, and limiting the undue power and influence lobbyists have over our elected officials, the grassroots are organizing and rallying behind making real change happen.

A growing number of groups and individuals are supporting the American Anti-Corruption Act, in particular. This legislation is “the boldest package of reform that we’ve seen maybe in a century that would change how Washington would work,” Lawrence Lessig, a professor at Harvard Law School and an organizer of the campaign, told Roll Call.

Grassroots action to reform how government works is key to affecting real change in Washington, your city and state, and around the world – that's why we created BlastRoots. The ability for any individual, without the massive resources of a big corporation, association, or in this case, the American League of Lobbyists and their friends in Congress, is at the heart of what we do at BlastRoots.

In the same article, Howard Marlowe, the outgoing head of the American League of Lobbyists, the trade association for lobbyists (yes, in Washington, even lobbyists have lobbyists), made an astute observation. “In the lobbying community, there are a number of lobbyists who believe that they cannot lobby outside of the campaign fundraising process,” said Marlowe. “The reason for that is that the easiest way to get the time and attention of a member of Congress and/or his legislative staff is at a campaign fundraiser.”

This telling quote is one that makes it clear why so many millions of people are disappointed in Congress and believe their voice cannot be heard in competition with lobbyists for big organizations who pay thousands of dollars to gain access to lawmakers and their staff, and promote their policies and legislation.

By coming together on BlastRoots, and starting something in your community, you can leverage your social networks to bring real reforms in Washington. You can help democratize democracy.

It takes a massive groundswell of support to pass legislation like the American Anti-Corruption Act, or any legislation that is similarly groundbreaking; but change starts with one person – you. Start something.

--Patrick Pannett

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Is Advocacy Better than Legislating? Thinking About Jim DeMint

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint announced his resignation from the Senate Thursday to take over the helm of the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank, now working on influencing rather than writing legislation. What does this tell us about the new world order in Washington? “I honestly think I can do a lot more on the outside than I can on the inside,” DeMint said in accepting the position. This move by a forceful politician reflects the seismic shift of the advocacy landscape, its tools and tactics, both inside and outside of the Beltway. After all, DeMint, with his advisors and strategists, has always had his eye on what it takes to succeed on policy issues, and online. Indeed, he was one of the earliest, and most aggressive in his embrace of not only traditional grassroots tactics (his picnic in South Carolina is legendary for its influence), and notably of social media. Which brings us to today. DeMint, like BlastRoots, has realized that you don't have to be part of the establishment to build successful grassroots issue campaigns or to build coalitions and influence policy. This news should be embraced. BlastRoots is the most robust free advocacy platform available, allowing everyone – from the most disenfranchised to the most connected individuals and groups -- to take action on policy issues that are important to them. BlastRoots recognizes the reality of the importance and impact of vibrant social media engagement. It is why we built BlastRoots as a social platform from the ground up. Sharing your ideas, your calls to action and most importantly, letting others know what you believe in, is the real future of grassroots advocacy. In a Politico article, DeMint stressed how his chief skills are rooted in messaging and marketing, which he first acquired when his father-in-law gave him a job at his advertising firm. It is a captivating message that helps issue campaigns succeed, and we can be sure that Heritage will become more outgoing as a result. Start something today at BlastRoots.com. --Patrick Pannett

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Give the power to the people. This could be a good motto for the new BlastRoots public affairs platform. The free platform gives access to K Street advocacy tools to citizens.

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BlastRoots' patent-pending platform is live in beta and deploys the user’s zip code and social networks to allow them to communicate directly with their elected officials and network contacts through multiple channels simultaneously. In brief, they’re crowdsourcing political advocacy, or perhaps better, democratizing democracy.

Thanks to TECH Cocktail for this writeup of BlastRoots. Yes, we're trying to "democratize democracy." For free. Really.

http://tech.co/democratizing-democracy-blastroots-empowers-user-driven-political-lobbying-campaigns-2012-11

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“We think this is the most robust, free, online advocacy tool. We’re doing this because we truly believe BlastRoots can help fix politics.” --CEO Chris Hull

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[friendsofaiweiwei]

WEIWEI-ISM#14 “Citizens should bear the responsibility to act.”

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We saw "Lincoln" this weekend. Really, how could we not, given how much we love politics. We saw it in Washington, DC (or perhaps we should say "Washington City"). We were so moved that immediately afterward we drove to the memorial at night and read every word of his second inaugural and Gettysburg addresses. We walked around the outside and from the back saw JFK's Eternal Flame across the river in Arlington. We took pictures like tourists and we took pictures for tourist families.  Go see the film and don't be afraid to cry -- we did and based on the sniffling and eye rubbing around us, so did many in the audience. The DC audience also laughed a lot, especially at the lobbyist jokes, those "scurrilous creatures." But we won't spoil the story.... 

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Now is a great time to share your opinion about a tax increase with your elected officials in Congress. On BlastRoots it's easy. Create a campaign to support or oppose tax increases on the wealthy and each campaign member who joins can send email to their own congressmen. Get your message out to the politicians who care about your opinion, and can act on your behalf. 

Politico reports:

"Since the election, Boehner has said House Republicans have a strong mandate to keep tax rates frozen. Not even millionaires, he said, should see an increase in their rates.

But conversations with more than a dozen Republicans — from across the ideological spectrum — tell a different story. Hardly anyone ruled out a tax rate increase on the wealthy."

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Campaign: Peyton Manning Should Stand Up Against Papa Johns

Peyton Manning Should Stand Up Against Papa Johns Papa John's CEO, John Schnattner won't provide healthcare for his employees but lives in a 40,000 square foot home. The Papa John's athlete spokesperson, Peyton Manning has a union to make sure he has healthcare and he makes millions. Ask Peyton Manning to remove himself from Papa John's ads or demand that their workers receive healthcare.

Join this campaign and add your voice to the debate.

Start your own campaign on BlastRoots.com to lobby Congress with emails, tweets, petition and recruiting. Start something!

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Free platform disrupts the $17.2 billion advocacy marketplace by bringing the tools of modern grassroots advocacy campaigns to the actual grassroots