Connect the dots

(re)Launching Progressive Idaho

"Blue dot in a red state." I've been thinking about that phrase a lot lately. If you follow me on social media, you probably know I don't love the "blue dot" thing - I think it's self-isolating and surrenders too much power. After all, roughly one-third of Idaho voters chose Kamala Harris for president. When we talk about being left-leaning in Idaho, though, we talk and act like it's closer to 3% than 30% – I've shared my frustration on this several times. But with all the conversations I’ve had in the last month, with all the shit going on, I've come to realize something: it doesn't matter that 30% of Idaho voters supported a black woman with a "D" next to her name. What matters is that many left-leaning people in Idaho feel like it's 3%; they feel isolated. And that's a huge problem.

I will never fault someone for calling themselves a blue dot – but I hate that there are SO MANY "blue dots" that feel unheard, lonely, and isolated. These dots are everywhere: in every city, in every small town, there are left-leaning people working to resist, working for change, and many of them feel like they're the only ones. The challenge isn't that we're alone – it's that we are disconnected.

It's time we "connect the dots."

Community

Connecting people and building community is apparently just something I do. Professionally, I have a long track record of building high-performing teams and departments from the ground up. In my personal life, I find myself working to connect people, build networks, and create communities wherever I go. It's something I've always done, but I never really noticed the trend until recently.

Over the past few months, I've been working to connect Idahoans on Bluesky (which generally leans left) through the Bluesky Idaho project and the feeds that I have built. I've also spun up some Signal groups and will leverage them as they grow. And I've been talking to a fair number of progressive Idahoans behind the scenes.

Through all that work, people have been reaching out to me for months asking if I was going to relaunch Progressive Idaho. In the past few weeks, these calls have become increasingly urgent. I've been listening to this feedback, but until recently, I didn't have the time or mental energy to dedicate to it. Frankly, I didn't have a clear vision for it until this week, when it finally clicked.

Mission

I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm willing to charge forward with a mission statement and figure out the rest later. After all, making shit up as you go is one of the superpowers you have after three decades in Tech. Progressive Idaho's mission is to connect, amplify, and empower progressive voices across the Gem State. Simply put: "Connect the dots." This newsletter will be the springboard for those efforts.

I have some ideas for this site, and a vision is starting to form for the larger Progressive Idaho umbrella. But before I invest a lot of time and effort into it, I would LOVE your feedback. What types of content would you like to see here? How can we organize and better connect the dots? How can I help connect you with the community?

Newsletter Launch

We'll start with this Progressive Idaho Newsletter, which will focus on content that helps "connect the dots" in various ways. I have ideas for a few articles, and I hope others will step in and contribute as well – I'd love to see your stories, community organizing, perspectives, opinions, political analysis, news roundups, etc. Basically, whatever fits under the umbrella of connecting and informing left-leaning Idahoans—if you're interested, contact me. 

Progressive enough?

When Elon bought Twitter, the Progressive Idaho Discord group exploded in growth. One of the most common questions I received was, "I'm not sure I'm progressive enough for this group" or something similar. Listen, folks, I've spent too much of my life asking if I was "enough" of something to fit in with various groups around me. Fuck that. If you believe in kindness and equality, you're welcome here. Center, left of center, radical... I don't care; join us.

The challenge isn't that we're alone – it's that we are disconnected. It's time we "connect the dots."

What to expect

The Newsletter

I've got a few immediate ideas for topics to cover:

• Reimagining Progressive Idaho
• Security / Safety (getting a lot of questions on this)
• Reflecting on a few conversations I've had with at-risk people in Idaho
• How to #resist
• Connecting with others and how to build a support network
• Mental health (is that still a thing?)

But like I said, I would LOVE your help and input.

Other areas

Aside from the newsletter, I'll be working on providing space to connect, organize, and discuss. Right now, that looks like the Signal groups and our new BlueSky account. I will be talking with a few people as we explore what other outlets to use or provide, with security and safety being a primary consideration. I'll talk more about this soon.

UPDATE: See all of our connection opportunities –> Connect with us

Help?

I need your help to make this work; no, I don't want money. If you're organizing in your community, I want to hear about it. If you see important stories that aren't being covered, tell me. If you have a personal story you want to share, reach out. If you have ideas for how we can better connect the dots, share them. This isn't just my project - it's ours.

Thanks for reading, and please do reach out if you have ideas or want to help. In the meantime, please:

• Subscribe to this newsletter
• Share this with someone
• Check out the resources at BlueskyIdaho.com
• Join our Signal Group
• Share your stories and ideas (contact me)