here we are
I am not going to make a huge diary here. I want comments from people here in the room talking about issues here in CO.
Cross Posting with and from Square State
I attended Ykos 07 and am thrilled to be here in CO to make and keep CO blue.
The first panel was about making and keeping it blue.
Second Panel: Progress Now, Square State, Drinking Liberally.
Drinking Liberally: 2nd biggest DL to CA in all of America.
Progress now to keep activist engaged now during the time between elections.
Latina Vote: younger voters and lawful permanent residents.
Advocacy Day March 15th 200 people from CO to approach the State to meet with representatives. Trying to engaged all of those that they reach during the election. Accountability is the key to make the election cycle a continual thing to help keep those engaged.
Mention of astroturfing, how the insurance companies are using a corporate grassroots against the real grassroots.
Senator Carol cosponsor of 1273- healthcare for all in CO.
Building trust is an essential to keep those engaged who are involved primarily during the election.
What is the hook to get those people to volunteer during an off year??
Answers: DL just invite people for a drink. (much laughter ensued) Attendance has dropped off even in DL.
Square State: national politics but lack for it in CO. Trying to express how talking to State Senators can acutally have a difference as opposed to on a National level where it is more difficult to get responses National leaders.
progress team hook: training, recourses and support. Empower people to use their energy.
Network of local politically active as a benefit from the Obama campaign. Community potluck and educating their neighbors.
Latina Initiative: significant increase went from 8%-13% which is huge for CO. It pushes the organization to encourage voters and engagement. Helping to overcome the active disenfranchisement of the Latina and Black community. Helping people register to vote.
Potty break
Congressman Jared Polis
Commenting on the death of the Rocky Mountain News, which published its last edition yesterday.
The new media can be isolating and engaging. It is important to reach out to the other side and not just be a part of the echo chamber. Don't just stay in the progressive haunts. Go to the Conservative blogs to become true new journalists. Since we killed the newspapers we have a responsibility to make quality content. What kind of content should elected officials give in this new media?
Fine tune email responses. www.polis.house.gov.
Now Senator Carroll will speak. Media is able to get message out with the Netroots. the Netroots helps mobilize constituents. 1100 paid state lobbyist in Denver. Are all voices equally represented by only paid lobbyist?? The Netroots is the counterbalance to the paid lobbyist. We need people to get out from behind the computer and out into the community. Dave Schuelties comment that babies deserve to get AIDS because of parental behavior would not have been made known, if not for the Netroots. It went from Netroots to Keith Olbermann Worst Person in the World. The Netroots helped pass 527. The fair act was passed with the help of the Netroots too.
Mention of "Don't think of an Elephant" the author who will be at NN09!
Congressman Polis working on sharing more info with the public re call volume and what the constituents are saying. What lobbyist have been meeting with their Congresspeople.
At state level Congressman Carroll gets 2300 of email a day. Emails should be short with a point made and contact info.
Mary Rickles talking about what Netroots Nation is all about. Talking about Vegas, Chicago, Austin and now Pittsburgh.
Stream it all live. Panels are community driven.
Raf making the money plea.
Panel 3 The New Media
Wendy: newspaper industry does not understand the new media. Democratic function of the media.
Bloggers can be journalist even though the education may not be specific to journalism.
MSM vs new media. MSM even online will not always take advantage of things link hyperlink. Rocky Mountain News website are up for sale separately from the print paper itself.
Question is journalism school a necessity for the new media?
The panel is split on if it required.
Read prolific bloggers like Meteor Blades, Digby et al.
New Media can link ideas from unions to the environment and policy.
Can anyone afford to cut off those who are not part of the new media. Can we assist MSM to push Progressive ideas. The left had no clue how to use it.
Critical Reporting: Republican Gov candidate said 70% of AA pregnancies end in abortion. The NPR reporter did not call him on his falsehood.
Attack ads: Ritter campaign plea bargain 95% of his cases. No one asked the followup as to whether that was unusual. Reporters are not being help accountable to by their editors.
Another issue energy: reporters are buying info that no one is challenging.
Where do you get your training: if it is a corporate structure it will decline because the institutional pressures on journalist has been huge. Citizen journalist must be sustainable.
Well funded investigative reporting for the public good??
Too often people are not asking for the money, you must create value for it.
Most companies need to boil it down to its simplest form. "how does it affect me?"
New media has interactiveness as a positive and old media is not interactive at all.
Panel #4 Governing as Progressives and Taking over the Dem Party
Lot of work that still needs to be done even though Obama is in office.
What is left unaccomplished? What do we do with what we have accomplished?
Mike Lux: Well left unaccomplished, in the transition I was the Progressive liaison. It is our job not to be happy. It is our job to never be satisfied. Before the economic recovery package passed, everything needed to be accomplished. Ledbetter bill and SCHIP passing are moving forward. The think I am encouraged about is that Obama is thinking big. Obama is trying to transform things. We need to help them think big. We need to transform engery, jobs, healthcare, immigration. We need to restructure our whole ecomony brink by brick.
Adam Green: there is a difference between being a Progressive and being a Democrat. What can we as progressives 1. push dems as progressives 2. push progressive agenda.
Creating an environment on electing Progressives. Left Move On to help candidates to use money better.building bad websites is a problem.
DarcY Burner: WE have the presidency, the house and the sentate. I for one would be crushed if we did not accomplish truly progressive things. It is all good and well that they want to do it. We must make them do it. We have a tremendous amount of potential leverage, we don't have the infrastructure to so. We can't say what the Progressives stance is on policy because we have not worked together to come up with clear concise articulations to disseminate. We must give them the room to govern progressively. They hear us yelling at them but we don't tell them when they do well. Positive reinforcement is important. We don't do that on a big scale. Stoller was able say that the fed spent 1.2 trillion that you just gave away. Alan Grayson was given positive feedback by asking questions.
Mike Cerbo: We hit the trifecta. I served in the legislature from 03-08. A lot of expectations have not been met. We continue to organize and mobilize. There is a big difference between progressives and democrats. Logic get turned on its head in the capital. Running into opposition for simple bills, like Sen Carroll's bill that would allow workers to see whatever MD they chose if they go hurt on the job. Progressive Dems actually take on tough issues. It is easier to let something else take care of those issues.