ColorOfChange.org changing the color of democracy

This week, ColorOfChange announced a partnership with our friends at The Root to educate, register, and mobilize African-American voters.  As part of the lead up to the 2012 election, ColorOfChange will feature our new online voter registration tool at TheRoot.com -- an online hub for Black news and perspective that reaches an average of 1.4 million viewers monthly.

Be sure to check out the new voter registration tool at The Root. Just scroll down to the bottom of the homepage to register with a quick click. And keep visiting TheRoot.com and ColorOfChange.org for more news as we near the 2012 election.

Some state legislators are still working hard to control the polls through harsh voter ID laws. But on Monday, the Obama Administration took a stand against Texas lawmakers who backed a plan to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of Texans. Latinos, people living in rural areas, and low-income voters would have been disproportionately affected.

So what are these new restrictions really about?

UPDATE: If you're in Austin Sunday, 03/11, please join ColorOfChange and Colorlines for a meet and greet at 6:30pm. Location: #321 Gables Park Plaza, 115 Sandra A. Muraida Way (near N. Lamar Blvd. & W. Cesar Chavez St.) Hope to see you there!

South by Southwest (SXSW), the annual conference showcasing cutting-edge music, film and technology, kicks off this week. On Monday, ColorOfChange ED Rashad Robinson will be there as part of a panel titled, "Can Bloggers Put Hope Back into the 2012 Election?" Watch it live at YoungVoterLive.com.

ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson appeared on "The Young Turks" last night to talk about the culture war rhetoric that's been a centerpiece of the Republican primary. The conversation was prompted by a recent Salon.com article that warns that a long primary "threatens to change the very parameters of our political discourse," shifting the dialogue further right as social issues take center stage and the economy and unemployment go ignored.

But as the candidates head into today's Michigan and Arizona primaries, Rashad points out that voters have more opportunities to see just "how far outside the mainstream some of [the candidates'] proposals are..."

UPDATE: (02/28/12) "Evangelist Franklin Graham apologizes to Obama for questining his Christian faith"

Rev. Franklin Graham, son of Rev. Billy Graham, just can't seem to accept that President Obama is a Christian. During an interview this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Graham said that he accepts statements presidential candidates Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich have made about their faith. But he implies that President Obama is lying when it comes to the topic of his religion. ColorOfChange Executive Director Rashad Robinson had this to say...

Resolved to get more politically active in 2012? The Candidate Project is for you.

If you’ve ever considered running for state or local office, 2012 is the year to get in the game.

ColorOfChange is joining forces with New Organizing Institute and Progressive Majority to bring you the Candidate Project, a new way to connect you with all the tools and resources you need to run for office.

Read the rest at Loop21: http://loop21.com/politics/color-of-change-candidate-project

UPDATE: (01/12/12) Marc Lamont Hill weighs in.

In case you've ever wondered what Newt Gingrich would say at an NAACP conference, wonder no more. While campaigning yesterday in Plymouth, NH, Gingrich remarked," I'm prepared, if the NAACP invites me, I'll go to their convention and talk about why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps." 

This just days after GOP hopeful Rick Santorum told a group of Iowans in Sioux Falls that he "doesn't want to make black people's lives better by giving them someone else's money." This much is clear: Race-baiting has taken center stage in the Republican primaries.

Republicans across the country have relentlessly pressed for voter ID laws that threaten to disenfranchise millions of voters-- most of them low-income citizens and people of color. Proponents of the discriminatory ID laws claim they're needed to end voter fraud and preserve the integrity of voting-- a phantom threat that has proved more myth than anything. So yesterday, when Iowans participated in the Republican caucus, we were left scratching our heads when they were allowed to vote without an ID and even granted same-day registration.