When yearlyKos was first announced I knew I wouldn't be going. There was no way I could swing it financially and, although I had lurked since 2003, I rarely posted. Beyond that, I shared the concerns mentioned by a number of people early on that it would be cliquey. And as someone who doesn't smoke, drink or gamble, and who prefers intensity to superficiality and simplicity to materialism, Las Vegas was the last place on earth I ever wanted to visit.
Over the winter and spring I came out of lurkerdom, tried to comment regularly, and got involved in some of the action items. When I received an overdue but unexpected windfall 2 weeks ago I gave into the urge to go to Yearly Kos. I won't duplicate the many wonderful diaries on the panels or workshops. I'd like to talk about what the experience was like coming as an outsider, known by very few people and unrecognized by my screen name.
All of the suites at the Riv were taken by the time I booked so my family and I stayed in a hotel further up the strip. I figured this would only amplify my outsider status. I did connect with
Andy about the 12 step meeting,
Doggie about C&J, and Christina about volunteering prior to leaving. We arrived Wednesday afternoon and I headed over to the Riv to help. I was immediately swept into the assembly line, first attaching Warner invites to the bags and later stuffing registration packets.
Shermanesque had brought great tunes and I met the very gracious and friendly
Klio, the warm and welcoming Shanna, and many other good folks of all ages from all over the country. This was a really good way to meet people because we were so busy there was no time to feel awkward. I only lasted 4 hours since I was without food and on East Coast time.
Registering on Friday morning was a breeze; the volunteers at the desk were cheerful and efficient. It was a warm intro to YearlyKos. The LGBT caucus was full to overflowing, impressive for 8 am. It was a lively room with passionate and articulate debates. The Northeast caucus was also full with a dozen of us just from Massachusetts. I was excited to meet brillig who I'd read on C&J. She was energetic and friendly. It was interesting that only about half of us were there from dailyKos. The others were from Firedoglake and D4A.
I went to the Mother Talkers caucus at the last minute. I haven't been to the site more than twice but I wanted to be around other moms. It was great to meet Elisa, Markos's wife, who chaired the meeting. It was an odd meeting for me in that I shifted from feeling very in sync with the other moms, when we were discussing how much having children completely reoriented our lives, to feeling very different from them, when we were discussing children and political involvements. Elisa's mom and dad were there and it was heartwarming to see how proud they were of her. Elisa's mom was very moving as she spoke about her worry for the younger generation of moms who seem to have so much less support than she did when her kids were young. She told the story of dad printing one of Elisa's diaries and mom giving it to one of the young women with whom she worked. She was so full of pride when she reported that her coworker said the diary was exactly what she needed and to have hope.
I spoke with the Batista's again later. They're thoughtful and friendly people. They seemed to be amazed by all of the people at the conference and by what Markos' friends had organized. It was exciting to be in the room for the kickoff keynote with all the great vibes. I ended up next to Cincinnati News, a young guy who awed me by his enthusiasm and dedication to the progressive cause.
I skipped the Clark party that night to relieve my husband of child care duties. He and my son had spent the day trying out as many arcades, theme parks and roller coasters as they could. At the end of the day I felt excited but not really connected. The inability to liveblog was really disappointing. I still felt like an outsider but I was okay with it.
I began Friday with the 12 step meeting and it was just what I needed to get into the right frame of mind. I'd dressed in the dark that morning and raced to the cab stand so that I could make it in time. The cabbie and I discussed politics the whole way there. I gave him my booklet so he could check out the conference.
My feelings about Friday are myriad. I was moved to tears by Joe Wilson's grace and dignity. I was glad to meet pontificator and bondad who were both warm, friendly, and very pumped to be at the conference. Now I'll read bondad's diaries listening for that southern twang. Andy has that great southern hospitality thing going coupled with a wicked sense of humor, all dressed up in a kilt. Shermanesque is much like her writing, gentle and supportive of everyone. Doggie was proud to identify himself as "the perv."
I was surprised to find Jerome a Paris different from what I'd imagined. He is very soft-spoken and was the gentlest, kindest soul at the convention. I told him how moved I was by his writings on critically ill children, his own and others. One of the first diaries I responded to was one of Jerome's about the death of a 2 year old. My son has had chronic medical problems and I felt a connection to Jerome outside of his diaries on energy policy. I'll also say that Jerome was incredibly kind on Saturday to my son and he made it a point to say hello to my husband as we were trading off child care. Sean was so excited by Jerome that he announced to the hotel doorman, "I met a man from France today. That's not even in the United States! He flew here all the way from Europe!"
I had the opportunity to speak with Joe Wilson at his book signing and asked him to thank his wife for her service. My husband and I have followed their story avidly. I've occasionally been harassed and stalked by the abusive parents of my clients and my husband has always been a steadfast support. So I told Joe that he was inspirational. He said that as much as they had been through, at least they still had their lives unlike 2500 of our soldiers.
Kos and Jerome were having fun at their book signing. They seemed annoyed that they didn't have more time to spend with people individually and each of them tried to get a sense of the person in front of them (What do you do for work? What brings you out here? etc).
By the end of Friday I felt like a part of something much larger than myself and no longer an outsider. I didn't go to the big swanky party at the Stratosphere--child care issues again, and it really isn't my kind of thing. Feeling a part of isn't about going to the cool parties. For me it's about being with people who share a similar vision--the big names and the lurkers. Every person I met was exuberant and friendly. Truly. Everyone, no matter their age or gender was warm and friendly and introduced themselves immediately.
Howard Dean was electrifying, and very respectful to the blogging community. But I was definitely disappointed that he didn't directly address his misstatement about gay marriage and the DNC platform. I don't think he or the DNC get how angry the LGBT community is.
The panels were great. It was hard to choose which panel to attend; I often had 3 that I was really interested in taking place at the same time. One of the things many people don't realize is that the volunteers who have been working this for a year didn't have the opportunity to enjoy it. They were behind the registration desk while we were at panels. When we had breaks to grab a meal, they were grabbing Cheetos while setting up for the next event. I don't think I ever saw Shanna or Fabooj not in motion. They rarely slept. They truly gave us this event as a gift of their time and of themselves.
The convention fed me intellectually. The Net Neutrality panel was a wonky delight and far more detailed than I expected. The Science panel was very smart and passionate. The Meta Kos panel was great fun with all of the in jokes. The Privacy Rights panel and the Netroots Candidates panel were far better than I would have predicted. The attorney from the ACLU in the Privacy panel was a credit to all ACLU members; she really rocked. I was mesmerized by Eric Massa, Joe Sestak, and our own NYBri. I've written out donations to each of them--the first time I've ever contributed financially to candidates.
It was also interesting to get a different take on some of the big name bloggers. Jane Hamsher is stunning, absolutely gorgeous but that pales in comparison to her energy and determination. I loved the comparisons Christy made about how come she can get her 3 yo to understand consequences and yet politicians don't comprehend accountability. Marcie is studious, incredibly detailed and laughs at her own eccentricities. Atrios passed up every opportunity to discuss ponies. John Aravosis is exactly like he writes: brash, outspoken and not about to take shit from anyone. Glenn Greenwald also comes across as he writes but he seemed shy at the book signing and uncomfortable with his popularity. It was interesting to see the contrasts between Matt Stoller and Chris Bowers. Chris described himself as "the gangly long hair," but he is careful and measured when he speaks. Matt looks like a preppie but is quicker to speak and less cautious about his tone. Maryscott O'Connor speaks (rants) exactly as she writes.
mcjoan can appear in different guises. One day she has her hair down and has the "hippy" look. The next night her hair is up and she's in a chic black dress looking like a society girl. Hunter manages to combine being soft spoken with being passionate and his words are as weighty aloud as they are on the monitor.
For me, one of the best things was the opportunity to thank people in person. I told Susan G how helpful the diary rescue is to me since I'm on the East Coast and would otherwise miss the late West Coast diaries. She was very gracious, thanked me and then asked me to be sure to comment both in her rescue diary and in the rescued diary. Her desire to know whether she's being helpful, and her wish to provide support for other writers will move me to do so. I was able to thank Matt for leading the charge on Net Neutrality and celebrate getting my congressman to change his committee vote. I was able to tell bondad and Jerome how much I've learned from them about fields in which I have no expertise. I took the opportunity to tell mcjoan how much I appreciate her role modeling how to deal with dissension in a comment thread. And I told her that even when we aren't writing about it we're still thinking about her sister and brother-in-law. I also got to tell wclathe that I've enjoyed his diaries and comments. His daughter is beautiful.
My son came with me for the interfaith service with PastorDan on Sunday morning. He told his grandparents, "we went to a different kind of church today. There was no kneeling and no communion but lots of hugging everyone." He had plenty of energy to burn so I ws grateful the volunteers allowed us to assist with setting up the brunch tables. We were working right alongside darksyde.
I have no position on the Warner thing. I didn't go to his party, I liked his speech, but Clark moved me more in the science panel. I don't think I'm alone in being more likely to be seduced by ideas than fancy parties.
We got in early this morning. My son is returning to 3rd grade with stones from Red Rocks Canyon, pictures of the Grand Canyon and a ghost town, and a tshirt "from a man in a movie who wants to be the President." But his most treasured posession is his photo with Markos.
In the end I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to attend. I plan to harness my gratitude into action and to pass it on to others. Advisor Jim was kind enough to autograph a copy of his book for my libertarian brother-in-law. My Dad called me to ask about mojo, TU, user ids, and Armando after watching C-span. Every cabbie who drove me heard about the convention and the need for Democrats to be in power. I'm already the coordinator for the Kennedy campaign in my town but now I'm committed to infiltrating the "ladies who lunch" clubhouse that makes up our town Democratic committee. Thank you to all of the volunteers who made the weekend possible. I hope that we can reward you with many Democratic victories in November.