Yesterday, my daughter brought in the mail. It included a package from the Edwards campaign, a kit for hosting our house party on Wednesday. My wife and I looked at the package with a sense of excitement and nostalgia. Four years ago, we hosted house parties for Gov. Dean’s Presidential campaign. Now, we are doing it for Sen. Edwards.

For those of you who don’t know what a house party is, it is really very simply. You have a bunch of your friends over to your house, let them know why you are supporting a specific candidate and encourage them to contribute to that candidate. In short, it is a simple fundraiser.

I remember when we first talked about hosting a house party. It reflected a profound change in the way we understood politics. Back then, I thought of politics as a game for the rich and well connected. There is no way that regular person like I could host a Presidential Fundraiser.

Well, campaigns have changed. Some of it is due to the Internet and the ability of people to contribute online. Some of it is due to candidates that understand that democracy isn’t a spectator sport, reserved for the rich and well connected.

No, today, we can all be much more involved. We can work together to help change our country. My wife and I learned that from Gov. Dean and so now we’re hosting a house party for John Edwards because we believe that he is the candidate that is doing the most to help the voiceless find their voice, whether it be helping bringing his voice to calling for an end of the war in Iraq, getting people to focus on the needs of the poor, in New Orleans, the whole gulf coast, across our country and across our world, or in many other ways.

If you want to find your voice in the political dialog, if you want to help others find their voice, please attend a house party Wednesday night. If you’re in Stamford, CT, please come to ours. Otherwise, find one near where you live, or host your own.

It is a wonderful feeling to realize how much difference we all can have.

(Cross posted at John Edwards' blog)