What happened in Vegas was a family reunion. After my trip to Pittsburgh last year, strangers became colleagues and my work colleagues became my close friends. The Netroots Nation community is active and engaged, and I truly do believe that we can be the catalysts for momentum in a candidate's race. But conventions are about those few days a year when all the family comes together, works together, and plays together. From our own BOR family to the larger group of Texans I got to spend my time with, Vegas was a family reunion. What happened in Vegas was a lot of good work. The Texas caucus that Matt Glazer led on Thursday brought together nearly three dozen of us -- all of whom work in Texas -- to discuss our races and our work going forward. We went to the SBOE panel about Texas' education & textbook problems together. We saw Linda Chavez-Thompson give a briefing on Saturday afternoon and deliver the best keynote speech of the whole convention later that night. We ate the largest pizza in the world together as we gathered on Thursday to discuss the Bill White campaign. We supported each other all weekend, and now we're all back home and ready to lift all boats and to move Texas forward. What happened in Vegas was a revitalizatoin. After hours of blackjack, poker, craps and slots in a casino -- and the drinks that come with them -- it can be hard to leave the sleepy desert town of Las Vegas and still call it a "revitalization." But it was. In the middle of summer months -- when those of us who enjoy politics for a living have spent long summer days killing ourselves to get out message about our candidates and causes -- we run out of energy. But I am more excited for these last 99 days than I have been about any work in over three years. Lethargy is the enemy of opportunity, and I can promise that we're all ready to go full steam ahead to November. What happened in Vegas was an education. The panels at Netroots Nation are very diverse. You can learn about political organization -- like the panel KT and Katherine led on Thursday. You can talk about issues like energy, where the crew from Public Citizen enjoyed lots of time, and immigration and the new health care reform law. You can enjoy panels on redistricting hosted by the DLCC, or on Governor's races across the state hosted by the DGA. The panels at Netroots Nation bring together experts of all stripes to have a shared conversation about the future of our country. What happened in Vegas was an evolution. On my last night in Vegas, after having completed my blackjack for the trip (finished nicely ahead overall), I got to meet someone who's gone to and been involved in all five Netroots Nation conventions. He talked to me about the evolution of the convention, and it's this point that I take away that I believe in the most: First we came together to build the community. Then the candidates came to ask for our votes. Now the elected officials have come to ask us to govern. The people in power come to the Netroots to engage -- and on our terms. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Harry Reid were there. Members of the DNC, DGA, DLCC, and just about any other major organization you could imagine showed up. The message was about elections and 2010, sure -- but it was also a conversation about what kinds of politics and policies we want to see going forward. There was a conversation about strengthening the primary process, so we can build towards not just a Democratic majority, but a progressive majority in Congress. There were countless discussions about getting involved in State Legislatures and winning back local chambers so we can develop our ideas in the laboratories of democracy that can be state government. We heard about beautiful words and reviatlizaing our economy with wind energy from Van Jones, who gave a Friday morning speech that nearly brought me to tears. We talked about how we make immigration reform a reality and not just a rally cry. And no matter the issue, or the policy, or the campaign, we all talked about -- in our own ways -- promoting and celebrating authenticity. The last point -- authenticity -- was my biggest takeaway from Las Vegas, as unbelievable as that may be. A candidate who spoke to the Netroots Nation crowd in broken talking points and didn't understand how to organize did poorly. A candidate, like Linda Chavez-Thompson, who has spent her entire life organizing communities for progress fits into the "new face of politics" with the greatest of ease. Those speakers who have fought with us are adored; those who come before us asking for a handout are ignored. The authenticity of our dialogue, and our belief in the value of facts in the face of the lies, lies, lies of Republicans and their conservative online community, is what gives us our strength. In almost every way, that strength rests on net neutrality, a conversation I'm going to throw myself behind after this election and one we cannot, as a community, give up on. What happened in Vegas was different than my first Netroots Nation, where I felt like I was learning the ropes. Now I feel more empowered to get in the ring myself and fight, and join the entire Netroots Nation family in moving Texas forward, moving progressive causes across the country forward, and doing all we can -- at every level -- to build momentum we need to push our issues and our ideas forward so we can sustain the strength, beuaty, and freedom of our state and our country. See you in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2011! |
