Election 2009 was a mixed bag for all sides.  Democrats lost the governorship in New Jersey, a “blue” state, and Virginia, a “red” state that had seen two successive Democratic governors.  Maine voters overturned a law passed by the state legislature that allowed same-sex marriage, joining Californians in taking away marriage equality after it had been granted. Yet New York’s 23rd Congressional District defeated a Palin- and Beck-backed Conservative Party candidate and sent its first Democrat to Congress since the Ulysses S. Grant administration, and openly gay public officials were elected all over the country.

But what did these results have to do with Obama? Our panel agrees on one thing: Democrats neglected the base that Obama worked so hard to build up. Jehmu Greene, of the Women’s Media Center and formerly Rock the Vote, notes that Democrats reverted back to the old way of doing things, and Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake points out that the candidate who supported the public option, Bill Owens in NY-23, won, while Creigh Deeds in Virginia, who said he might opt the state out if he was governor, lost. Mark Green of Air America, who once ran against Michael Bloomberg, noted that despite the massive outlay of cash, Bloomberg ran a tight race and could’ve been defeated if the Democrats put more effort into supporting his opponent. Katrina vanden Heuvel of The Nation notes that the youth vote was critical in 2008, and warns Democrats of what they risk losing if they ignore the young voters now.

GRITtv’s Natalia Ospina and Sophie Gore-Browne hit the streets to talk to New Yorkers about the anniversary of Obama’s election and what it means for them, one year later. Are they disappointed, pleased, still hopeful?

“I’d like to celebrate the accomplishments and not the occasion,” says one New Yorker interviewed by GRITtv of the anniversary of Barack Obama’s historic election. One year ago today, November 4, Obama defeated John McCain with the support of new voters, young voters, and thousands upon thousands of small donors and volunteers who gave time and money that were in short supply. He’s already been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but health care and other promised changes have been slower to come about, and the economy is still battered and struggling.

Election day 2009 was called a referendum on Obama’s presidency by many mainstream pundits, but things are a bit more complicated than that. Still, what has been achieved? What have we changed, and what do we still need to change? And most importantly, we saw so much talk of hope on the campaign trail. Do we still feel that hope, or did Republican victories in New Jersey and Virginia, coupled with a defeat for marriage equality in Maine, have us feeling more like our old cynical selves?

In a special one-hour show, we convene two panels of GRITtv regular guests to talk about these questions, the election results, and what progressives need to do better going forward into 2010. Joining us are Katrina vanden Heuvel and Chris Hayes of The Nation, Jehmu Greene of the Women’s Media Center and formerly of Rock the Vote, James Rucker of Color Of Change, Danny Schechter of News Dissector, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Ron Reagan and Mark Green of Air America, and Esther Armah of WBAI.

We also took to the streets of New York City to find out what the word on the street is about Obama and the changes that have–and haven’t–happened in the past year.

In a special one-hour live stream, we bring back many of our guests from last year’s election day show to discuss what’s changed, what’s stayed the same, and what we still hope to see happen under Obama.

Elections around the country of course saw nowhere near the turnout of the presidential race, yet the corporate media still insists on considering races in Virginia and New Jersey referenda on Obama. What do the results really mean? And what’s going on in the Obama administration? We’ll talk to Katrina vanden Heuvel and Chris Hayes of The Nation, Jehmu Greene of the Women’s Media Center, James Rucker of Color Of Change, Danny Schechter of News Dissector, Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake, Mark Green of Air America, Esther Armah of WBAI, and special guests from the Maine Equality movement and elsewhere.

Leave comments on this post or tweet them @GRITtv and we’ll ask our guests!

After years and  years of listening to pundits bemoan the lack of engagement among America’s youth, the kids finally came out for Barack Obama. Many of the volunteers and organizers that put Obama in the White House were young and working on a political campaign for the first time.  From the Iowa caucuses to November 4, a new generation worked day and night to change their country.

A year later, we round up a few of them and ask whether they’re still involved. Lana Wilson, founder of Obamaerobics, Mike Jones, NYU sophomore and Obama 2008 campaign volunteer, and Ebonie Johnson Cooper, campaign organizer in Ohio and Pennsylvania join Elizabeth Mendez Berry, who wrote about the Obama  youth organizers and what they’re up to now for The Nation, to talk about what they’ve done and how Obama changed their generation.

From RH Reality Check, this video looks at the state of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in South Carolina.  Much of the state is poor and rural, and suffers from a lack of both proper health care funds and proper education for the population. Activists in the state note that the stigma and the lack of information are still as bad in parts of South Carolina as they were in 1981, when the virus first hit the American consciousness.

Activists are calling for a massive public health initiative to slow the spread of HIV and to treat people who have already contracted the virus. RH Reality Check has more on how you can help.

One year ago, Americans were energized to elect Barack Obama president, casting more votes than had ever been cast in a U.S. election. Now it’s election day again, and with Democratic candidates facing tough races in several states, we take a look at what the left can learn from religious organizations, who manage to keep people coming back week after week. Does religion have a place in social justice movements, and does the right have a lock on religious motivation to act?

Joining us to debate the proper place of religion and spirituality on the Left are Michael De Dora of the Center for Inquiry, Reverend Osagyefo Sekou, Senior Minister of Lemuel Haynes Congregational Church, Kim Gandy, Fellow, Institute of Politics, Harvard Kennedy School and former president, National Organization for Women, and Rabbi Michael Feinberg, Executive Director of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition.

David Brower was a pioneering environmentalist, first Executive Director of the Sierra Club, and a mentor to many young activists.  The Earth Island Institute created the annual Brower Youth Awards to honor six young people for their outstanding activism and achievements in the fields of environmental and social justice advocacy. Each winner is awarded $3000 and brought to San Francisco for the award week and a backcountry camping trip.

This video, made by Rikshaw Films, gives a little bit of insight into the kind of work the Institute is promoting with this award.

In this latest clip from Senator Bernie Sanders‘ ongoing collaboration with Brave New Films, we take a look at the way good environmental policy can actually be good economic policy as well.  Despite the claims of those who say that acting to fix climate change will kill jobs, we can actually create a sustainable economy by investing in green jobs, and making those jobs pay a living wage.

Watch previous episodes here.

In this exclusive video shot for GRITtv, Sabrina Artel takes a trip to Maine to talk to organizers and volunteers for the No On One campaign, fighting an attempt to overturn Maine’s gay marriage law.