| Want a case study on why statewide candidates should go to Netroots Nation? Three words... Linda Chavez Thompson. Even through Linda is only 5 feet tall, you couldn't miss her at the conference.
In 36 hours, Linda Chavez Thompson met one on one with bloggers from Texas and across the country, attended multiple caucuses and panels, had a campaign briefing, spoke to 2,000+ attendees as a keynote speaker moments before Sen. Al Franken concluded the festivities, hosted a latino blogger breakfast, and was so impressive she became a trending topic on twitter.
Saturday, July 24, success was spelt L-C-T.
As KetyE on twitter said:
KetyE: Here at briefing w Linda Chavez-Thompson. #NN10 #NetrootsNation #latism What an amazing woman! #p2 #gov20 http://tweetphoto.com/34692166
Linda was impressive. Along with Judy Jennings and Rebecca Bell-Metereau, the three women from Texas were everywhere and working hard to talk to people from every state and every walk of life.
Attendees took notice. As Linda bounced from the Women's Campaign Forum Breakfast to her Campaign Briefing, others already started talking about her speech that night.
@caradox: RT @nerdette Linda Chavez-Thompson @ElectLinda will be one of the keynotes tonite (6p PT) Live stream here: http://bit.ly/aQxb6x (expand) #p2 #NN10
@ernestomedia: RT @MeanRachel: Linda Chavez-Thompson (@electlinda) will speak tonight at #nn10 keynote, spread the word Texas will have a Latina Lt. Gov in Nov!
Which had the added benefit of getting Texans a little fired up.
@XicanoPwr: It's people like Bill White, Linda Chavez-Thompson and Chuck Rocha that make me feel proud being from Texas again! #NN10
At a conference packed with events, LCT had over 40 folks attend a campaign briefing. Leaders ranging from the Hispanic community, labor community, and online leaders. Folks were enthusiastic and as a result of positive feedback Linda hosted a Lation blogger meeting the following day to capitalize on the passion being generated.
Without missing a beat, as many of us loitered after the briefing (or in some cases headed down to the blackjack tables... it was Vegas after all) Linda immediately went to talk to her brothers and sisters in the labor movement at the labor caucus.
@michaelwhitney: Picture of Linda Chavez Thompson at labor caucus. #nn10 http://yfrog.com/4vixkj
I wish I could take the time to show you what happened next on twitter. Seriously. But with over 200 tweets in less than 15 minutes, Linda Chavez Thompson dominated twitter feeds across the country.
Linda spoke to over 2,000 attendees before Sen. Al Franken's keynote. The speech easily one of the best speeches of the night and convention.
@sadydoyle: Linda Chavez Thompson is KILLING ITTTTT. I want to be LCT when I grow up. #nn10
@GottaLaff: Lovin' Linda Chavez-Thompson
@escapetochengdu: Linda Chavez-Thompson = major crowd pleaser. #nn10 Heart!
@doeyjavis: Linda Chavez-Thompson, I love you. #nn10
@asigrist: Linda Chavez-Thompson is awesome! I wish she were from my state, but TX needs her more anyway.
@Dirk2112: Ok, I may move to Texas just to vote for .. Linda Chavez-Thompson! #NN10 #P2 #TXgov
@jamesreyes: Linda Chavez-Thompson makes me proud again of being a Texan. She is like a Latina Ann Richards. I love her. #nn10 #p2
@MeanRachel: Hello, Nation. Linda Chavez-Thompson is our new Ann Richards. #NN10 http://www.actblue.com/page/lct
And the list goes on and on.
It was incredible to watch the room as she spoke. She was funny, interesting, and a crowd pleaser. She talked policy. She discussed the Texas political climate. And she showed there was hope not just in Texas but everywhere.
Not long ago, Texas earned a unique honor. The city of Laredo became the largest city in the country without a bookstore. Over a quarter million people and there isn't a single bookstore in the whole town. If we don't work together, we are going to continue to see the gap grow between the haves and the have nots. We are going to see our budget shortfall grow at the same rate we watch our education deficit increase.
The thing that was so refreshing to watch at Netroots Nation wasn't that Linda was there, but that she was there speaking truth to power and influencers. She was open and honest about her beliefs and her solutions. To every politician or candidate out there who is afraid or timid, what we saw this past weekend was how well people response to honesty. What we saw, online and off, people are hungry for leadership. We are starving for an honest debate. Instead, we are either too often ignored or pandered too. Linda Chavez-Thompson was successful at Netroots Nation because she used the medium the way it was intended... as a political space to have fair, open, and honest discussions about how we can work together and fix complex problems.
For 36 hours, Linda Chavez-Thompson was the political embodiment that Texas is changing, and not because of time, but because we are devoted to making a difference. Linda Chavez-Thompson is a difference maker.
Linda Chavez-Thompson is a client of GNI Strategies. A company Matt Glazer launched in 2009 with two others - Katie Naranjo and Will Ikard. Linda Chavez-Thompson nor the campaign saw, edited, or had any direct input in this Netroots Nation retrospective. |
