In the summer of 2008, Gov. Brian Schweitzer jumped into the national spotlight with a rousing speech at the Democratic National Committee Convention in Denver. He fired up the crowd by calling for a new clean energy future, saying that four billion in tax breaks to Big Oil is "a lot of change, but not the change we need."

This summer, the Montana governor will kick off the fifth annual Netroots Nation in Las Vegas with another powerful message.

Click here to register now.

From healthcare reform to smart economic solutions, we need our leaders to fiercely advocate for progressive change. And Gov. Schweitzer is no stranger to taking on powerful interests for the sake of the public good.

The LA Times attributes the Governor's success to his ability to connect with the values of Western voters. But it's his common sense approach to smart, populist policies that make him the perfect person to kick off our fifth annual convention this July.

Last summer, Gov. Schweitzer told activists to "get off your hind end" and work for change.

As progressives, it's more important than ever for us to continue organizing, building coalitions and working tirelessly for our shared goals and values -- things like healthcare reform, clean energy and immigration reform. And we'll do just that this summer at Netroots Nation.

Don't miss out! Click here to register now.

See you in Vegas!

Returning again to Netroots Nation is the Screening Series presented by Screening Liberally. And we want your ideas for films, workshops and panels to be held in the Screening Series.

Click here for more information on the Screening Series and to submit a film, workshop or training session.

And you thought March Madness was a basketball tournament. Not for Netroots Nation.

The tradition continues with our Spring On-line Auction, the proceeds of which support the important work we do, including our annual Convention and our regional Salon Series.

Well, you ask, how can I help?

Donate an item to be auctioned!

Between now and the day the Auction opens on March 10th, donate an item.

Please join the Center for American Progress Action Fund, Netroots Nation, and America's Voice for a special presentation:

Next Up, Comprehensive Immigration Reform

How We Will Make It Happen

January 21, 2010, Noon to 1:30 p.m.

In order to create the most well-rounded agenda possible, we need your help. As members of the community, we ask you to help us develop and organize the sessions you’ll attend at Netroots Nation 2010.

The deadline for submissions is February 8, 2010.

Click here to submit a Session Proposal for Netroots Nation 2010

We’re looking for sessions that range from policy discussions to best practices to case studies. Netroots Nation panels run the gamut of progressive policy, but we’re particularly interested in three areas this year. We’ll devote several slots to panels that cover immigration reform, employee free choice/labor topics and economic/financial reform topics. We also want forward-looking ideas, ones that provide attendees with tools to make change and ideas to build upon. Feel free to browse our archive of previous sessions and check out our video archive to see what has been done in years past.

Netroots Nation is holding its first ever Holiday Bazaar - Friday, December 4th through Tuesday, the 8th. This on-line auction will feature hand-made items crafted by community members and all proceeds from the Bazaar benefit our work.

We’ve already received donations as diverse as the community itself – from knitting to baking, woodworking to painting, quilting to winemaking, folks are crafting away.

So don’t delay, visit http://tinyurl.com/HolidayBazaar today to share your creativity with us by donating an item to the Bazaar!

As the national debate about comprehensive immigration reform begins to heat up, activists across the country must begin strategizing now about how to organize around this key issue. Join Netroots Nation for a discussion on the role online and offline activists can play, particularly on a local level, in the upcoming battle to pass CIR. How can we ensure that our techniques are effective and how can we personalize this federal fight on a local level and engage activists in our own communities? Strategist Jenifer Fernandez Ancona will moderate this discussion about how online and offline activists can work together locally in the coming months to ensure that when the battle heats up nationally, we're ready to fight. Panelists include Paul Hogarth of Beyond Chron, activist Bobbi Lopez, Christopher Punongbayan of the Asian Law Caucus and Favianna Rodriguez of Presente.org.

Organizing locally: Using new media to win on immigration
Hosted by Netroots Nation
World Affairs Council, 312 Sutter Street, San Francisco
Date: January 13, 2010
Time 6 p.m.

Free. RSVP is requested to help us manage crowd size. Click here to reserve your spot.

Cohosted by the Good Ol' Girls, Presente.org and America's Voice

Please join us for Netroots Minnesota, a regional conference we'll be hosting this November in St. Paul, Minnesota. Register today.

In a few short months, a national debate about comprehensive immigration reform will begin. Rep. Luiz Gutierrez has already promised to introduce legislation in the House, but the ugliness that surfaced during the August recess is nothing compared to what's coming. Opponents of immigration reform will continue to stoke racial anxiety by painting immigrants as dangerous "others" who aren't like "us" and who should be feared and hated.

The status quo enables things like racial profiling and families being torn apart to happen. Getting this reform right is important for progressives. We've always stood for being inclusive and we recognize that this great nation was built by immigrants and we're stronger for it.

So as we start strategizing about how to organize around this key issue, I hope you'll join us on October 29th as we kick off a national conversation on immigration.

To our friends in Pittsburgh and our speakers, sponsors and attendees, we can't thank you enough for helping make Netroots Nation 2009 a huge success. Whether you volunteered, organized a panel or submitted a question during a keynote, we truly couldn't have done this without your involvement.

We chose Pittsburgh for a lot of reasons. It's green, labor friendly and reflects our progressive values -- values that we will take with us to the Mountain West in 2010.

As we begin planning for our fifth convention next July 22-25, make plans to join us for the fifth annual Netroots Nation convention in Las Vegas, the place where this gathering of progressive minds first began.

Registration is already open, so reserve your spot now.

While symbolic, our choice of Las Vegas isn't just about our fifth anniversary. It's about taking the passion, activism and attention that we drum up each year during the convention to an area that will be a crucial region in upcoming progressive policy fights.

As progressives, our next big battles include insuring we have a strong 21st century economy, getting employee free choice passed and organizing around comprehensive immigration reform. So as we start planning for the next year, will you save the date for next July in Las Vegas?

Register Now!.

See you in Las Vegas!