CHICAGO
Fierce as a dog with tongue lapping for action, cunning
as a savage pitted against the wilderness,
Bareheaded,
Shoveling,
Wrecking,
Planning,
Building, breaking, rebuilding,
Under the smoke, dust all over his mouth, laughing with
white teeth,
Under the terrible burden of destiny laughing as a young
man laughs,
Laughing even as an ignorant fighter laughs who has
never lost a battle,
Bragging and laughing that under his wrist is the pulse.
and under his ribs the heart of the people,
Laughing!
Laughing the stormy, husky, brawling laughter of
Youth, half-naked, sweating, proud to be Hog
Butcher, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with
Railroads and Freight Handler to the Nation.
--Carl Sandburg
Here's my Flickr photo set (just from a cell phone camera- nothing too great. I didn't want to risk taking my digital camera because it is a work tool for me)
We've just returned from the second annual, and by the way final, YearlyKos.
Next year's conference will come under the banner of a new progressive brand: Netroots Nation. We will be the stronger for presenting ourselves as a coalition. It will reduce the cult of personality element that we tend to run up the flagpole around which we rally, but which can be used as a target against individuals. It will also hopefully somewhat mimic the structure of the progressive blogosphere itself- lots of little roots doing big things in a new sort of virtual victory garden where citizens may gather to plant & harvest & plan & celebrate.
One theme consistently sounded from the cheap seats (which, honestly & very much to the detriment of the conference- there weren't any cheap seats!) to forum to podium this year were a swarm of questions around how the progressive infrastructure will be built for the long-term & how it will sustain itself financially, on individual, collective & industry-wide & industry-creating levels. Musings & invitations about a victory garden approach as a business model to follow in the future...
A prominent emergent YK2 theme is the subject of lobbyists & lobbying, more precisely, the undue influence exerted upon elected officials by many such persons & entities. It is estimated that there between 11,000-37,000 registered Washington lobbyists (the number is in question, as detailed here in the WAPO ). It is certainly crucial for a more precise terminology to be deployed post-haste about this titanic lobbying clash- because we're clearly talking apples & oranges here.
Inside the beltway bubbledom rarely comes into contact with actual constituents. What we as constituents need to realize is that we actually do aspire to be the antidote or counterweight to some of these special interest groups- so, surprise, we too kind of qualify as a special interest group. In fact, you might even call us fundamentalists (if you read the Constitution, right!? heh)!
Because there is strength & persuasion in numbers, this little ragtag progressive crew was able to band together to erm lobby kind of- against lobbying. So yes, by all means, laugh wildly & as loudly as possible in the face of the entrenched & bubble-land pols, but at the same time, please, do realize that it really is also true that many good groups also have lobbies. And the pols as you know love to pretend those are the ones they accept contributions from. Cough gag choke. More to the point- we will be & in many cases ARE basically lobbying- whether for net nuetrality, a free press, etc. etc.
Most pols sadly are poorly equipped & under resourced to live in the real world without lots of sunscreen & dark glasses. It's like an unfunded mandate for them. They can only survive here momentarily transplanted outside of their native habitat bubble with special equipment for short bursts of time. The Moment of Zen on TDS last night (a re-run, I think) showed Barack Obama speaking about how he went on the YouTube once, you know. His remarks were enjoyable & refreshing in that they were a little off-kilter & he talked (thoughtfully) about the weird celebrity freakshow that is politics. So I don't mean to pick on him as much as single out the fact that it seems like when many people make it a few rungs up their tier, they seem to stop experiencing reality as it is experienced by we, the unwashed "scumbag" blogger masses, as Time so charmingly called us. Two Americas, The Haves & Have Mores, call it what you will. One exception- Mike Gravel, at 77, can book down a hallway faster than a person half his age! We had to hustle to keep up with him! ) (He was also besides Hillary Clinton (as first lady) and Wes (NATO) and emptywheel (citizen blogger journalist) probably the only person of actual deep historical significance at the conference.
In the end given the attacks by the DLC on the progressive community as they try to keep their deathgrip on the One Ring as they tumble into the volcanic pit in Mordor... all I can say is that it is evolve, or extinct. I'm not sure the candidates totally understand the netroots, or the potential, or the necessity of a real body politic. All of a sudden, we can yell back at them through the tee vee, and they can hear us. I don't know if they came to prevent or to create a PR nightmare for themselves. I thought it was good of them to come, but they also didn't seem to really get down in the dirt & spend a real day with the unwashed masses either. Perhaps that is simply expecting too much. Are we merely a fundraising mechanism or potential free PR? Or is it something more.
Hillary Clinton was "told" about "this", but "this puts a real face on it" she said (somewhat sportingly, I thought) when she got soundly jeered in the main debate for defending some of her lobbyist ties. Perhaps the funniest thing I saw was upon entering the room where the sponsors & vendors were located- the Edwards 08 campaign had bright green & blue plastic blow up chairs scattered around a seating area. I cannot tell you how hard that made me laugh at the unintended parallel such a scene could not fail to evoke in my mind... but, they were really only trying to be accomodating. And Edwards was just as good as any of them when it comes to speechifying. And quite frankly, even though these people are more or less on the good guy team, they should certainly be soundly & loudly & often booed, just to keep it real. :)
I'm glad the potential Presidentials came- I got to go to two breakout sessions. One was Hillary's. In the interests of full disclosure I must say that two people at our table including me were among the first to start saying "BULLSHIT!" loudly when it was announced the night before that she wouldn't be participating in her own session. And I like Peter Daou - he did good small crisis management, I thought- and though there weren't many questions (run out the clock apparently the strategy there) they were decent ones.
She did best I thought when speaking from direct experience in a riff about NCLB. She talked about how school has to be a bigger experience & expand outside the classroom- remembering school field trips & summoning them up in a way to make her point that allowed a curious audience to take a few steps in her shoes as a young girl in a way that was authentic & cut through that sense many of us have of never being able to get a strong sense of Hillary simply by virtue of the fact that she has led such a public life. I thought it was a nice, all too rare snapshot.
However the talk got bogged down in arcane mass transportation details which in some other year without two wars going on might have been understandable. While I realize the current administration "governs" if you can call it that by emergency decree, and I am down with what Hillary was saying about mass transit & her points were well taken, I myself found it to be a positive outrage that she did not herself bring up the subject of Iraq. She also DID make it a point to summon up 911, in an interesting way. I only noticed it because I also noticed Richardson do it at the end. With Hillary it was in the context- very near the end of her talk- of being a Senator from New York & standing on site (or near), smelling the air & she shared how she felt certain on that day that people would become ill from the noxious chemicals in the air (she was right). With Richardson he also made it a point to summon up 911 near the close & he (who I also enjoyed) uses a few well-honed tricks, of which more later.
I think her "team" decided that she was damaged overall (I didn't think so) so I did notice Eliot Spitzer came out to kos yesterday (and plused a comment of mine, doncha know!) and Bill Clinton also sent out a very touchy feely (yeah um don't touch me there, Bill- heh!) Clinton Foundation [I'm sorry- is someone annoyed about that joke? Cause I'm kinda annoyed about it too.. heh] email asking (nicely) for feedback on a recent trip to Africa.
So let's work on that language about lobbying & special interests & try to break it out better, as a project. When you name your demons, you gain power over them (heh- you can stop typing your most non-preferrred candidate's name over & over again now, heh!). It is important that we figure out how to draw some distinctions here, especially as we as progressives try to band together & build a lasting infrastructure that does not merely mimic the forms of the old establishment, including forming lobbies & registered non-profits & PACs, etc.
I'm sorry this is a scramble- I just want to write down some things before I lose them- I have VIP company on the way for a few days arriving in about 12 hours so once they get here I'll likely be away from the blog for a few days- but I don't want the fresh impressions to disappear-
Richardson's break out: Wasn't as well-attended as I'd have liked it to have been, but if I'd heard his ridiculous statement about his "one point plan to get out of Iraq: Get Out" before the breakout, I'd have frankly skipped his session. He strikes me as a pragmatic problem-solver, reminded me of a backroom deal type of Ed Rendell politician- your average smart 70s type of Democrat? He has a smart emphasis on public & private partnerships that seems to have borne a lot of fruit. He knows how to work a room & light up for the camera. In fact he enlisted the aid of a surprised kid out of the audience when towards the end of the session a whole bunch of cameras which must have been moving from session to session suddenly invaded the room. In the middle of whatever point once he saw the cameras he asked for a volunteer to pretend they were the President of Mexico.
"What's your name?"
"Blair."
wild laughter from audience
Richardson looks around for affect; "Ladies & gentlemen, this is Presidente Blaire Caviello..."
The camera's whirred & buzzed & clicked & shot & Richardson did his bit & kind of rudely, or comically, I couldn't figure out which, muttered thanks to the guy & kind of dropped the act - it was a strange moment, but I'm probably the only one who thought it was weird! heh
Anyway he also scored a point by "smuggling" uranium or plutonium across the border while telling a story wadded up in a handkerchief- don't think these people won't play a fear card against you.
He also did say of 300 days, he probably spends 150 on the road, raising money- which is astonishing, and a sad indictment of our political system which selects & sends salesmen to the top while neglecting the true statesmen (and women).
I bumped into another candidate very familiar to us here, and he drifted off at one point in our conversation & like a zombie, looked around, and said: "There's so much money here!" like a dog begging for table scraps. It was QUITE disturbing, and I'm sure he didn't mean to say it out loud.
He's made a lot of hay out of his involvement in diplomacy. He was asked who "his Bill Richardson" would be & he revealingly said it would be he himself & he wouldn't outsource it. I'd be happy to see him in the mix, just not Presidential material imo - he may really have a sense of and talent for it but in a way that seems it might be a full time pursuit sort of thing .Richardson made the hard things sound super easy and the easy things sound ridiculously unachievable & turning Iraq into a one liner slogan sort of thing was & will remain unforgivable & irresponsible in my book, as bad if not worse than the un-reality of Kucinich. His understanding of Iraq would have been greatly enhanced by attending WKC's brilliant keynote the previous morning, to say the least. Our interests in the region do not evaporate with removing the troops. We must get out much, much more carefully than Bush got us in. So that crosses Richardson off my list, 150%. I think he actually said- if the CIC says out in six months, they'll find a way. I don't mind leaving "some equipment" behind.
Well, I do. "Lord of War" ring a bell? Concerned about Russia's "loose nukes," Guv?
I am! Considering that guns don't kill people yet somehow 600,000+ civilians in a country that DID NOT ATTACK US are dead & 80% of Iraq is experiencing serious water & power shortages. Anyway- he's off my list.
Howard Dean was a major presence & utterly delightful, with it, instructive, enlightened, enlivening... there just aren't enough words or enough time for me today to give him proper credit. He just threw up a giant bubble of light over our heads & it continued to shine through the entire conference, lighting the way.
I like - make that- love- to think of how the establishment machinery Dems have caused themselves untold future grief by allowing against their own wishes this good good man into shepherding the DNC. heh Few things in Democratic politics make me as happy as that knowledge!
As for WKC's speech- after the dynamic last year of most of we the rabble partying with Wes in the Hard Rock Cafe Casino into the very wee-est hours of the night- and his having to start the science panel at 8 a.m. the next morning.... It filled me with such a glowing sense of well-being & pride to hear the roar of 1500 kossacks eagerly jumping to their feet as they streamed in, and streamed in & kept coming. They were on their feet cheering for Wes as soon as he stepped forward- talk about greeted as a liberator!!!! - it was so heartfelt & it was NOT simply 20 of we diehard Clarkies standing up then them standing up- No, no no no no no- they lifted us!! What a wave of goodwill. And nobody deserves it more!
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The speech I'm going to have to revisit & restream- The best parts, of course, BY FAR- were meeting up with a treasure trove of Clarkies! Wish I could have those hugs on tap for other times in my life when I really need them, but they are tucked safely away. Dorma did such a great job with the Grace O'Malley's party- and I even was the lucky winner of a Wes book raffle! The conversations were simply treasures, actual jewels. And I didn't even get to discuss the panels which I found the most amazing- The two Steve Clemons was at plus the What New Media Will Look Like panel was my favorite & for me the most valuable.
I also got to meet a very famous & very cool blogger who wishes to remain anonymous & meeting this person was a profound delight & somehow just overall restored some kind of faith in or hope for people & re-establishes the immense importance of the anonymous handbill.
I didn't even get to John Soltz or Illona or the fact that McCormick place is like the moon, but in a bad way, or a millon other things!
I so hate to shortshrift this part - but I must go for now & I hope to find time for a part 2 very soon!!!!
Also a big thank you to the organizers- it is impressive to see a self-funded gathering of so many concerned citizens. But dear organizers, please, in selecting the next site we do beg that you avoid selecting the most expensive cities in the United States of America. The cost was simply prohibitive. Not only that but with slightly better use of technology the majority of what I experienced could have been streamed live or by satellite. Let's really spend some time this year figuring out how to maxmize the face time & minimize the trucking around between scattered sessions.
There is a fair amount of detail like the scheduled hours I'd like to discuss but I'm going to save that for dkos threads where that is the topic. I've heard New Orleans mentioned many times as a potential next destination & I think sending a bunch of progressive partygoers to New Orleans in the middle of August is a truly terrible idea- as I've detailed here- I want to see next year's conference really leverage technology & an emphasis on expanding the opportunity to gather to more people, so do some smart surveys about where people are coming from & don't try to make a political point with the conference- try to serve your constituents. The conference was shockingly expensive, shockingly so- I don't want to see that again.
NO to NOLA
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Okay- over & out - gotta get ready for our guests!!!