Cross-posted at MotherTalkers with pictures, which I took with my iPhone but can't figure out how to post here.
LOUISVILLE, KY -- First, I want to say how surprised I was by Louisville. I have never been to Kentucky, and as it turns out, Louisville is the 16th largest city in the country. There was a lot to do, a lot of descent restaurants, healthy night life (as you can see by the photos), and it is affordable.
I stayed at the beautiful Galt House, where the Coffee Party Convention took place, had a spacious room on the 15th floor with a view (see photo), and I was amazed how affordable it was -- at least compared to other large cities: $300 for three nights. The food -- even at the hotel -- and the nearby Hard Rock Cafe, which usually charges over $10 just for a burger, were affordable, too. I ate for under $20 at the Hard Rock Cafe, including salmon, mashed potatoes and veggies. I peeked into shops around it, and delis were selling sandwiches for $2 and $3. I can't fathom this in the Bay Area.
As for the conference, I was surprised by the small number of conservatives, even though it was a non-partisan conference and it took place in Kentucky. On the one hand, I was thrilled to see so many progressives/liberals and so many people I recognized from the Netroots Nation Convention. On the other hand, I was hoping to have more discussion with people whom I disagreed with -- the purpose of the conference. More on that later...
But as a start-up conference is was well-run and well-attended. I tip my hat to Annabel Park, her partner Eric Byler, and Kentucky Coffee Party Convention Chair Brian Endicot for pulling it off -- in two months! About 400 people showed up, and there were impressive speakers, including author Frances Moore Lappé, Lt. Dan Choi, Republican consultant Mark McKinnon and Harvard Professor Lawrence Lessig. Not to toot my own horn, but I spoke on four panels!
I plunged into the conference with an interview in Spanish with BBC Mundo. As the conference progressed, one common theme popped up: why was I there since I was clearly partisan? Also, where do my husband and I disagree? It was no secret that I was married to him, Markos Moulitsas of the Daily Kos, and he flat-out refused to go to the conference because he did not agree with its message of "cooperation."
"I don't think the Tea Party or the Republicans are interested in 'cooperating' in anyway," he told me.
I can't say that I have never felt this way, especially after the Republicans unanimously voted against the repeal of "Don't Ask Don't Tell" and passing the DREAM Act, which would have granted undocumented college students and young people interested in serving in the military conditional residency. Even Republicans who once supported the measures -- like Sen. John McCain -- voted along party lines.
But, like Annabel and Eric, I refuse to believe there is not a single Republican voter who was also not disappointed in the vote. I was in Kentucky, hoping to meet those folks and independently-minded people I could reach out to, to listen to them and see where we can agree and work together. Unlike my husband, I also make a living lobbying for legislation on behalf of MomsRising.org. We are a non-partisan group who believe that our issues of economic security for families doesn't just affect people of one party.
One Day 1, here is what caught my eye:
I have never heard Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet, speak. But boy, did she open my eyes. She pointed out the "scarcity mentality" that plagues so many of us whether it be jobs, health care, money, or energy, which creates this fierce "me-first" competition. Suicides now outpace homicides, she said. "Since I wrote Diet for a Small Planet, there is 1/5 more food available (in the world), yet we have more people going hungry."
I was able to use a similar ethos in my panel with John De Graaf about the politics of happiness and work-life balance. After reading a list of third-world countries that offer paid maternity leave and even paternity leave, I dismissed the concern that the United States can't offer this to its citizens because "we are too big."
"India has a billion people, China has a billion people, and they have paid maternity leave," I said. "We don't offer women paid maternity leave because we don't want to."
But, I digress, more on that later...
One panel discussion that blew me away was on the deficit and debt -- and, yes, there is a difference as I learned -- by Heather McGhee, economist at DEMOS, and Josh Gordon, economist at the Concord Coalition of New Hampshire. In a calm way they pointed out why people are concerned about the deficit, which is yearly, and debt, which is long-term accumulation.
Gordon got a tongue-lashing by an audience member for -- unfairly in my opinion -- peddling fear. In a very calm and reasonable manner, he pointed out that the debt will grow unless we fail to increase revenues (taxes) and/or cut services like social security to the point that countries may not want to lend us money anymore. BUT, he also said that the recent Obama stimulus package with unemployment benefits, etc., only added between 2 and 3 percent of our total debt, clearly not worthy of the hysteria on FOX News and in Tea Party rallies today.
McGhee (pictured on left in photo) was incredible. As a New Yorker I chatted with later on said, "I want to kidnap her and bring her home with me." Seriously. She made the excellent point that we need to spend money to create jobs so that people can contribute taxes to pay for social services and pay down the debt. She also pointed out the increase in inequality in our country has resulted from the emphasis on making things (work) to stock, which by the way, 10 percent of the U.S. population controls 90 percent of the stocks. I left thinking that extending the Bush tax cuts, when so many are unemployed, is plain immoral. Not only would it hurt our economy and pass on more debt to our children and grandchildren, but it would not make a dent on the 10 percent unemployment rate.
That day I had a panel discussion on the "politics of division," which dealt with practical solutions on combatting divisive campaigns like racism, homophobia and xenophobia. I was on the panel with Lt. Dan Choi and writer Rich Benjamin of the think tank DEMOS. Benjamin, by the way, wrote a book I am fascinated to read: Searching for Whitopia. A lot of members of the audience had questions about his experiences living in the whitest parts of the country as an African American.
Both Dan and I focused on our personal stories. Dan made an impassioned -- and humorous -- plea to focus on people's better side, to focus on love. He said whenever he is asked what it was like to serve as an openly gay man in the military and whether it was "comfortable for others," he responds (paraphrased), "Oh no. We couldn't do our jobs because we couldn't stop having sex. It would start when we woke up in the morning, all night long. Heck, we wouldn't sleep! You should have seen how many men I made gay by me being there." The audience laughed.
(Paraphrased) "It is offensive to me and my fellow soldiers the insinuation that we are too unprofessional to work side-by-side with people who are different from us. Why don't we ban interracial units, because you know, there is still racism in the military? Having black and white soldiers serve together may decrease morale among the troops and pose a security risk to America."
I focused on the scapegoating of Latinos due to the debate over immigration reform and the DREAM Act -- which has popular support by the American public, by the way -- and SB 1070 in Arizona. I feel humbled to have shared the room with so many enlightened people -- of all races and ages -- that shared my disdain for this law because of its vitriolic bent and the danger of racial profiling Latinos. "I was born and raised in the United States. I should not have to feel like I have to carry around my birth certificate to prove that I am an American," I said to applause.
Personal stories are powerful and the first step to understanding one another. I was grateful to listen and be listened to. Doing it over the phone, on the news, or online, is not the same as doing it face-to-face. In this respect, this is a very necessary conference.
Here is one last photo of me and fellow panelist Lt. Dan Choi. I will post more stories and pics tomorrow.