Another Dose of Yearly Kos

When I was watching C-Span, I noticed some bloggers were typing while people were giving presentations; on occassion, a neighbor would lean over to a typing blogger to say something and the blogger would respond while still typing. Now that's multi-tasking! Alas, I'm noticing a mild outbreak of typos among blogs posting at Yearly Kos. But their messages are clearly getting through. Here's Stirling Newberry of The Blogging of the President who makes an articulate case for what blogs and the progressive movement are about:

I am at Yearly Kos, at the Energize America panel.

That energy is on the agenda is an important moment for the the blog universe. It moves the line. The perception that has been purveyed that the blogsphere is far left, a kind of electronic granola fest. Reporters have been shocked at the mainstream aspect of the convention - and about how ordinary the attendees. And now they are shocked that the postive vision, this isn't about "not war", it is about pro-something else.

The images, from sites at Politics TV are being complimente

This is an important point. The progressive movement has become a positive source of vision, and it draws its power from a deep emotional truth. This movement have given people back their hope, their dignity and their sense of living in an America which could be more like the America that they were promised as children.

The shift is coming at a moment when frustration with the traditional politics is growing. The blogsphere's argument is that we are the cutting edge of political opinion, and that the shifts that have solidified here, will solidify in the country at large.

There are people in the media and on the right who have worked very hard to perpetuate myths about moderate and liberal progressives and their ideas. It's time to focus on the work that needs to be done and not on the myths.

Here's another post about Yearly Kos by Chris Bowers of MyDD who quotes an article by someone who is either clueless about Yearly Kos and the bloggers, or who is deliberately trying to mislead readers; Bowers simply breezes by the quote and focuses on the essential:

I have not yet had time to read through the entire article, mainly because I can't stop laughing at that quote. Since I am not really sure where to start picking at that paragraph, I will just focus on an old pet peeve of mine. When will people learn than wonks focus on policy, and I focus on infrastructure and strategy? Just because I write long posts does not mean I am a wonk. It means I am a hack.

I believe that this conference will make a major dent in the national media narrative on the netroots. It will also build connections among the over 1,000 netroots activists at the conference that will provide a significant boost to the both the progressive netroots and the progressive movement as a whole.

The Mahablog responds to some stereotypes about who progressive bloggers are and reminds people that anger about the Clinton impeachment is largely old history compared to the real problems now facing the nation:

First, we progressive netroots types are hugely ambivalent about the Clinton Administration. Righties seem to think we worship the ground the Big Dog walks on; this is far from the truth. Second, we have much bigger and more dangerous problems facing us now than to spin our wheels over the Clinton impeachment.

However, most of us are angry over the way the Right has smeared, slimed, demonized, marginalized, and misrepresented liberalism over the past 25 or so years. Well, I should clarify — this goes back more than 50 years, really, to the age of Joe McCarthy. And the Nixon/Agnew administration engaged in liberal baiting as well. But it was really in the 1980s, especially after Reagan abolished the Fairness Doctrine, that rightwing talk radio and media like Fox News began a coordinated campaign to brainwash America about the nature of liberalism, rendering the “L” word into a pejorative, as part of their campaign to take control of the federal government.

(That and the fact that many of us believe sincerely that the Republican Party — which in my childhood was associated with the centrist Dwight Eisenhower and “Republican” cloth coats — has been taken over by an extremist, hard right faction that Eisenhower would not have associated with. We progressives are closer to the center than the so-called “conservatives” who run the Republican Party, yet somehow we’ve become the extremist and the extremists are called the center.)

For the most part, I still think highly of Bill Clinton and his policies but I think the real point is that even Clinton would have to reinvent himself to deal with the problems unleashed by Bush and years of Republican neglect. Everyone who is serious about dealing with problems rather than pandering to those with the most money or the most prejudices need to understand that some hard work and hard thinking is in order.

Finally, I recommend a look at Majikthise which, starting with the June 8, 2006 post has a series of pictures from Yearly Kos.