The Patrick Henry Democratic Club 2008 Political Writer of the Year Natasha Hull-Richter

The writings of Natasha Hull-Richter have made a major difference in politics and government. Natasha has written or co-written over 150 proposed platform planks for the California Democratic Party, over 50 resolutions, over 40 articles, and 300 comics aimed at bringing about politic reform, social and economic justice and peace. Many of her resolutions and platform planks have been adopted. Currently, she is only 17.

At the age of 11, she co-wrote the resolution that got the California Democratic Party to call for a paper trail, public oversight of elections, and public ownership of voting software. She wrote articles in support of this cause and backed this all up by testifying at Kevin Shelley’s Help America Vote Act Hearings. Kevin Shelley, California’s former Secretary of State agreed with Natasha’s position and Californians now enjoy a voter-verifiable paper trail.

At the age of 12, her resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, which was adopted by the California Democratic Party, was really an abolition resolution couched in moratorium language. Legislation was filed at the state and national levels. She has written numerous articles opposing the death penalty and has written about the need to protect innocents on death row.

Her speeches and writings against war have included a resolution for a resolution for an Iraqi and Afghani Children’s War Memorial and resolutions in support of lowering the voting age as a great many young Americans have died in Iraq before their first election where they were old enough to vote.

Through resolutions, she got the California Democratic Party to call for the recognition of Civil Rights leader Claudette Colvin and for the freeing of the Jena Six.

She worked to bring the dirty linen of American Gulag Schools, behavioral modification facilities in which teenagers often die before being released, to the attention of political and government leaders. The House passed a bill calling for regulation of these facilities last year.

On 9/12/01, she wrote the poem, “There Are None So Blind” warning against post-9/11 bigotry and discussing the real cause for the events of that day. That was when she was ten. Since then, her poems have included tributes to Paul Wellstone, Dennis Kucinich, and Barbara Boxer and to the reporting of Greg Palast.

When Democrats lost both Houses of Congress in the election of 2002, the reasons seemed obvious to Natasha and to her brother Alexandar. Together, they created a comic designed to explain these reasons to Democratic political leaders. Natasha authored 300 episodes of “The Continuing Adventures of Cowardly Tom and Bully George” that was later renamed, “The Continuing Adventures of Bully George and the Loyal Opposition” after Tom Daschle lost his Senate seat. Natasha’s brother illustrated the comic for more than
four years, later turning over the full reigns to Natasha. The 300^th and final episode of this comic followed the election of Democrat Barack Obama. It contained a warning that progressives will have to make sure Obama follows the will of the people instead of continuing the policies of the Bush Administration.

Young Dems