Markos recently mentioned Living Liberally being a rare example of progressive netroots success.
We like to think that Markos was right about us - Living Liberally is as netroots as it gets, with two full-time employees and a few part-time volunteers maintaining a nationwide network. We certainly don't get rich doing this - we generally consider ourselves lucky to even keep such an effort afloat at all. With the Bush years finally over and many emboldened, vocal liberals bringing their case to Washington for the first time in eight years, it's more important than ever to have progressives in all 50 states ready to meet, socialize and, if they choose, organize for change. That's what Living Liberally means to us.
However, with one day to go until our 3rd annual fundraiser and celebration hosted by Sam Seder, there's a problem - remaining a success story, rather than one of the countless progressive infrastructure projects that had to dismantle due to lack of support, is becoming more and difficult.
As we get bigger (and despite the naysayers, we've been adding new chapters since the election at an unprecedented rate), the costs of maintaining our the resources, online and offline, for all 335 chapters, becomes harder and harder. We've always kept the barriers for entry super-low, with no membership dues, or franchising costs, or fundraising requirements for chapters. At the same time, keeping the network up and running requires serious costs - including the costs of server space that entails millions of chapter emails and web updates each year, not to mention the already-lean chapter programming, central staff and tech/legal support. Oh, and there's also an economic meltdown occurring.
That's why we're asking, if you live near the New York area, to seriously consider attending our 3rd Annual Fundraiser tomorrow night - we're honoring Media Matters for America, Jack & Jill Politics, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, all of whom will be present, along with delicious food from Eating Liberally.
However, more importantly, if can't attend, be it for reasons of geography, timing or preference, we ask you to chip in a few dollars via Tipping Liberally. We only have a fundraiser drive once a year, partially because we find them as annoying as you do. However, if there was ever a time you wanted to support a netroots progressive effort, that tries to get people involved in all 50 states (not to mention overseas - hello New Zealand!), now is the time to do so.
We've long loved the DKos community, the way its members always give us the warmest of welcomes, whether it be at meeting face-to-face at Netroots Nation (including way back when we called it Yearly Kos), or gathering at the DNC convention, or keeping our collective sanity of the RNC convention, or celebrating on Election Night and Inauguration Day, and we're always stunned at the amount of overlap between Drinking Liberally fiends and dedicated Kossacks. Thank you for your vital support up to this point - now let's keep this train running - we'll be in the comments section to answer any questions.
Best,
The Living Liberally National Team
UPDATE 1: Can't believe I forgot, but here is video of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, the man behind the great Go Green East Harlem initiative, inviting you to attend: