Conference Review

As the Netroots Nation conference winds down, I feel a renewed sense of purpose in advocating meaningful change in this country. I was able to meet some real leaders, match faces and voices to screen names and eloquent digital rants, and network with other offline activists in the Beltway progressive circuit. I got to see Austin, a city to which I officially want to
move.... or at least visit again soon! And of course, I learned about new organizing tools and enhanced my depth of knowledge in issue areas like energy policy and campaign finance.

Here are some highlights of my experience at NN08:

• The inspiring speech by Howard Dean Thursday night;
• Al Gore's impromptu appearance yesterday morning, he is truly a political rock star;
• The Energize America panel featuring the venerable Jerome a Paris and a trio of top-tier candidates;
• Sharing a table with Leutisha Stills of Jack and Jill Politics as she vented out loud in advance of what would become a searing critique of the Kos-Harold Ford debate.
• Getting the chance to hear Larry Lessig, an amazing presenter and former colleague of Obama's at Chicago Law School, now running a groundbreaking ethics reform operation called Change Congress;
• A panel last evening with Ezra Klein and others about how to capture this unique opportunity for a dominant social democratic movement.
• And of course, partying hard in the great city of Austin.

Next year in Pittsburgh!

Question for Harold Ford

Here at Netroots Nation, we were just treated to a very civilized lunch debate between Markos and DLC Chair Harold Ford. In general, Mr. Ford was able to muddle the issues effectively enough to avoid drawing the ire of the (obviously) pro-grassroots crowd. One thing that particularly frustrated me, however, was his claim that he had to take very conservative positions on some issues because the demographics of his district demanded it. He represented Memphis until 2006 when he ran a less-than-spectacular failed senatorial campaign. Memphis is one of the most economically devastated inner cities in the nation, and experienced more foreclosures per capita than almost any other Congressional district. Mr. Ford voted for the anti-debtor bankruptcy bill, blocked lending and housing reforms throughout his congressional tenure, and continually supported free-trade, anti-worker policies. Ford now represents an organization that believes that in order to win, Democrats must take positions on many issues that look much like Republican stances. Now I've always been perplexed about this belief, and the following question occurred to me:

If DLC Democrats think conservative policies are so popular, then why do conservatives themselves find it so hard to speak about the issues in plain terms?

They resort to pithy, misleading catch phrases and outright personal smears to control the debate. Frank Luntz and friends have said outright that the country at large finds conservative policies unpopular if expressed honestly. Although I stood in line to ask the above question, I was unfortunately unable to do so due to time constraints. I hope that by posting it here, this question will reach Mr. Ford or one of his ideological brethren who can provide a legitimate answer.

Reporting from Netroots Nation

I'm in Austin this week soaking up the ethos of the Great Orange Satan and the progressive blogosphere at large. Thursday was a kind of slow day, with mostly informal sessions of certain constituencies. I attended one morning group discussion of state-level bloggers and that was quite fascinating. The most poignant moment from my perspective was the discussion about the importance of local bloggers to move the national debate and expand the blogging universe in ways that the large national groups cannot. I also made a work-related connection that will help us better advocate for sensible revenue increases as a partial fix to California's budget crisis.

Aside from that, there wasn't too much of personal interest yesterday, so my friend Chris Colaninno and I saw the sights of summertime in Austin. After enjoying some yummy chicken-fried steak at a local restaurant, we took a tour of the state capitol. It's a very majestic building, with a dome similar to the national Capitol building, and the main atrium is adorned with pictures of each past governor going back to the days of the Republic of Texas. My favorite part: it is powered almost entirely by a beautiful array of solar panels.

The meat of the conference is over the next two days, and I'll be checking in periodically with updates on the various sessions I attend. So far today I have been to Energize America (which I'll report on shortly) and am currently sitting in a panel on a meaningful Middle Class policy.