Netroots Nation comes to town
Liberal bloggers' conference will hear Bill Clinton
Sunday, August 09, 2009
By Mackenzie Carpenter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
They'll be streaming into the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, ready to join a popular American politician and do battle on the signature issues of the day: the economy, Iraq and Iran, global warming.
No, not the G-20. That's next month, when leaders of 19 nations (plus the European Union) arrive in Pittsburgh.
This week, it's a single nation's turn -- Netroots Nation, as this particular conference bills itself. And the just-announced high-profile keynote speaker for the Thursday opening is former President Bill Clinton.
The citizens of this nation, about 2,000 strong, define themselves as the netroots, lower case version -- liberal bloggers who use the Internet and grassroots activism to promote their causes and candidates. Mr. Clinton met with bloggers in June, and yesterday Netroots made the announcement that he would open the convention.
"At a time when we're all working together to make sure we get the change we voted for, President Clinton's message is spot-on. After all, holding our leaders accountable is one of the things bloggers and activists do best," said Netroots Nation Executive Director Raven Brooks.
In addition to Mr. Clinton, the convention will feature a session with President Barack Obama's senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett. There will be dozens of panels, on subjects cerebral and practical: "Online Congressional engagement beyond Twitter," and "A New Progressive Vision for Church and State."
Washington insiders Mark Blumenthal and Charles Franklin of Pollster.com and Charlie Cook of Cook's Report will show attendees how to get the most out of polling data. Another panel will discuss food politics in the Obama era. There will be "keynote" sessions, screenings and caucuses, too -- attendees can choose "identity," "issue" or "regional." And if you're a shy type, there's even a "Lurker's Caucus."
The media will be in attendance, at least the left-wing variety: Ron Reagan Jr. is broadcasting his Air America Radio show live. Conservatives will weigh in, too, across the river at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, where the conservative group Americans for Prosperity is mounting a smaller counterconvention.
There will be parties, too. MoveOn.org is hosting a fete for graphic artist Shepard Fairey, who created the Obama "Hope" poster, Friday at the Andy Warhol Museum. DailyKos plans to hold a party for bloggers at Altar Bar in the Strip -- with Pittsburghers, certainly, but mostly with other bloggers and the politicians, pollsters, and special interest groups they blog about.
Now in its fourth year (for the first two, it was dubbed YearlyKos, after the pre-eminent liberal activist blog Daily Kos), Netroots Nation chose Pittsburgh because "we wanted to be able to green the convention easily," said spokeswoman Mary Rickles, noting that the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is the first and largest LEED-certified center in the country.
She also cited the city's strong union ties, technical innovations and grassroots activism as other factors.
Western Pennsylvania may not be known as a hotbed of liberal activism, but having the convention here not only allows organizers "to bring together existing local progressive communities, but also create new ones," she added, "to bring in progressive activists and surrounding states like Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky."
In previous years, this newly minted chattering class of laptop-wielding activists generated plenty of attention from politicians and members of the mainstream media.
Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09221/989701-176.stm#ixzz0Nq0K4VO
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