It's that time of the year again, when the stifling heat of late summer and a recess on Capitol Hill combine to unite an eclectic mix of politicos, activists and media figures at a convention hall somewhere in the US.
It's called Netroots Nation--nee YearlyKos--and this year it'll be held in Pittsburgh, PA, from August 13-16.
In 2007, almost every major Democratic presidential candidate attended the conference. In 2008, attendees included Al Gore, Nancy Pelosi and Larry Lessig. In 2009, Netroots Nation will host Governor Jon Corzine, Howard Dean, and influential Obama advisor Valerie Jarrett. It will also feature a debate between Rep. Joe Sestak and Sen. Arlen Specter. As always, the discussion will be wide-ranging and passionate.
At ActBlue, we share an interest in broadening the political discourse. Usually that involves encouraging people to set up fundraising pages to help candidates generate the funds and buzz they need to run a competitive campaign.
But every so often we get a chance to do more.
We're giving away two of our passes to Netroots Nation '09 to two lucky recurring ActBlue donors. (Not a recurring donor? Become one!)
This isn't the first time we've been able to do something like this, and I thought I'd share the story of our last winner.
In June we found ourselves with an extra ticket to the Personal Democracy Forum (PDF) conference in New York, so we gave it away to one of our recurring donors. The lucky recipient was Meta Brown, who is working to save Grant Park in Chicago. She spoke with ActBlue Chairman Matt DeBergalis about how she sees ActBlue:
I really like what ActBlue does. It's not easy for a small candidate to put together that infrastructure in order to take online pledges and get the message out. With ActBlue, they don't need to use their own resources to figure out how to do that. They can use their time to get out on the streets, to talk to people; it makes it easier for small candidates to get out there.
And why she became a recurring donor:
I think you're going great things. I thought, how can I be helpful here? If I give a little bit at a time, consistently, it's going to add up and I'll feel good about it and it'll be useful to you. That's an effective way for me to do something for ActBlue and also to send a message that I really like what you're doing.
She dedicated $15 a month, or roughly three cups of Joe Scarborough's much-derided corporate coffee, to helping us empower Democrats in all 50 states. I like to think it's a worthy cause.
So, if you're an ActBlue recurring donor and you'd like free ringside seats for this Steel City Showdown between recent Democratic convert Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and his putative challenger for the 2010 nomination, Rep. Joe Sestak (PA-07), email us with the subject "Netroots Nation." If you're not a recurring donor, it's not too late! Sign up for a $15 recurring donation today.
ActBlue will also be well-represented at Netroots Nation '09, and we'd love the chance to meet some of our users. At 10:30AM on Thursday the 13th, we'll be hosting a panel called "ActBlue Fundraising to Influence Policy," so feel free to stop by Training 307 and meet us.
-Adrian