Netroots Nation in Austin marked the first time I’ve been able to attend the convention - I couldn’t make it to either Yearly Kos, though I had wanted quite badly to go to Chicago. I’d heard stories, seen pictures posted online, and generally itched to go one of these years, and I finally had the opportunity last weekend.
By the time I left Austin, I was completely drained – physically and mentally drained, and happier than I’ve been in a long time. At the risk of sounding overly maudlin, I felt that it was a true privilege to have been able to attend Netroots Nation, for several reasons. I'm still not sure I'm able to articulate my feelings about NN very well - I still feel overwhelmed - but I'll do my best.
For an elections junkie like myself, Netroots Nation afforded opportunities I’d never dreamed of. For one thing, I was able to meet some of the most impressive candidates running this cycle, including Orange to Blue candidates Joe Garcia, Jim Himes and Dan Seals, as well as other terrific candidates like Jon Powers, Glenn Nye and Jill Derby. And rather than meeting them in a formal context, at a fundraiser or campaign event, Netroots Nation enabled anyone with the inclination to engage these candidates face-to-face - to sit with them over breakfast, or stand around sipping a glass of wine at the candidates’ event, and talk about whatever came to mind (which in my case, was generally related to their races. That, or baseball). It was a unique opportunity to engage candidates in a friendly context, to speak to them one-on-one without the sense that they were trying to sell you something.
Many candidates brought some of their staffers with them, or sent them in their stead. Most of these folks, at least those at Netroots Nation, couldn’t have been farther from what I’d expected. They were young, enthusiastic, energetic folks, far from the stereotypical political professionals. The staffers, frankly, were mostly around my age, which makes them quite a bit younger than the average bloggers. They all read blogs, they’ve all grown up in more or less the same political climates as I have...in other words, the staffers there were a lot like me, and a lot like many of us.
But one of the greatest privileges of Netroots Nation was the chance to meet and converse with so many knowledgeable bloggers from all around the country, including some of the best state and local bloggers out there. I seldom get the opportunity to talk directly with folks from California or Delaware or New Mexico about politics in the state, but in Austin, I could do all of these things at the same time.
That experience was not limited to people who have their own blogs, or write for prominent state blogs, or even have a particular interest in elections. Almost everyone at the convention to whom I spoke had unique insights as to the political dynamics of the areas they called home, had a wealth of knowledge about their regions and districts of states which I couldn’t dream of. If you really want to know the sleeper Congressional races in California, and how viable they might be, there’s nothing quite like talking to California residents with a knowledge of regional politics. And there’s no better place to do that, with a more eclectic collection of political junkies, than at Netroots Nation. Everyone is from somewhere, and everyone has their own particular areas of expertise, even outside elections; it’s a remarkable experience to sit in a room filled with hundreds of people, and realize how many questions you have for every one of them.
This leads to my favorite part of Netroots Nation; being able to engage the community I love so much in person. I’ve been a member at Daily Kos since 2005, but it was over two years before I ever met anyone from the site in person. I’ve felt like I have built genuine relationships online with several people, but there’s nothing quite like putting a face on those relationships, and that, more than anything else, is what made Netroots Nation special for me.
MissLaura wrote beautifully on community earlier, and expressed much of what I’ve been thinking myself with regards to why I found Netroots Nation special, and why I find the site special. I can say that to a large extent, the sense of community fostered by the site and its users is a major part of the reason I’ve been here for nearly three years, and it is absolutely responsible for the level of my involvement. Sometimes I don’t come to Daily Kos necessarily to talk about politics, but just to talk; there was a time when I’d written nearly as many diaries about baseball as about Congressional races. One of the reasons I love Daily Kos is because I genuinely feel a bond to my fellow users, a level of familiarity and comfort, like being a regular at a neighborhood bar. Some of my favorite moments at Netroots Nation, in fact, had nothing to do with politics. One of them came while having a couple of beers with a Hill staffers and talking/fighting about English Premier League soccer (I’m an Arsenal fan, and he follows our archrival Tottenham Hotspur).
I was lucky enough to have met dozens of wonderful, inspiring people at NN, and only wish I’d had the time to meet more. I got to spend four wonderful days with some of the people I’m lucky enough to call close friends, I was able to learn more in just a few days about regional politics than I’d ever dreamed.
It’s a year away, and I can’t wait for Pittsburgh.