One week ago I attended Yearly Kos along with Gary Peters. A lot has happened in a week!
Clearly this has been a thrilling week, but I want to recap what we did at Yearly Kos.
Together with over 1,500 of our friends from the blogosphere we attended sessions on Iraq, Healthcare, and Progressive Capitalism. We heard SEIU President Andy Stern and Senator Hillary Clinton, both over lunch. We met bloggers from across the nation, all uniting to support a fundamental shift in politics.
We attended "Public Opinion Matters: Iraq and the 2008 Campaign", where the polling data shows that battleground districts like MI-09 want a change of direction in Iraq. Gary has promised to draw on his military experience, and demand accountable from the Iraqi Government and our Administration. Gary believes that "accountability starts with benchmarks to measure progress and a clear plan to bring our troops home".
At "Progressives and Capitalism" where Blue Fund founder Daniel Adamson explained how he runs a mutual fund that invests only in progressive companies. Progressives and Capitalism set aside the myth that companies must ignore ethics to succeed. Gary understands this. He always marketed the State Lottery in an ethical way, despite the potentially higher profits.
However the highlight of our trip was "Your Money or Your Life: Healthcare in America". Those in attendance know how powerful this panel was. Gary has called the health care crisis in American "unconscionable". I was moved to tears by the film of the woman who DIED because she could not afford health insurance. One of the panel members was attending a funeral for a similar case later that day.
There is no question our health care system requires some serious change, the only question is who will be writing future policy...progressive leaders like Gary Peters or Washington insiders like Joe Knollenberg?