June 12, 2006

6/12: Can't Buy Me Love

Ex-Gov. Mark Warner was by far the most blogged about candidate at the YearlyKos convention, but it is not too early to wonder if he got all that he was hoping for from his $100k investment in the weekend. Warner may be first in the heart of Markos Moulitsas, but many in the larger lefty 'sphere as well as on DailyKos' message boards are wary of Warner's hawkish foreign policy stances and his ties to the DLC. Fellow WH'08 hopeful Ret. Gen. Wes Clark received rave reviews for his appearances, but was not nearly as hot a topic of conversation. Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and DNC Chair Howard Dean, however, both brought the Kossacks to their feet repeatedly with red-meat speeches, while Reid's Iran-intelligence bill introduction was approvingly received.

Participants uniformly found the event to be a success and there will undoubtedly be another event, and bigger, in '07 (New Orleans?). If it is held at the same time of year, and blogger influence does not stagnate, how can a '08 hopeful pass up next year's convo? Will YearlyKos '07 be the site of the first '08 Dem primary debate?

SusanG at DailyKos summed up the sentiments of many attendees: "Big names may be here, but it is the extraordinary electricity of coming home to each other and our causes - "coming out" in a sense as liberals, not only unafraid but kicka** proud after years of being called extreme and hate-filled and crazed - that is making up the magic of this event. We are here. We are at the gates. ... We have arrived." Skippy the Bush Kangaroo thought attendees made a good showing to the outside world: "I have said to more than one person here that we will look very good to the outside world: we're not pajama-clad adolescents picking our nose and discussing the star trek experience over at the vegas hilton (although i can't wait to try it out... they've got a new show, borg 4d, and ... but i digress) ... we are professional, and enthusiastic. ... and i believe the outside world (read: msm) is actually starting to take note."

Dem activist NPI Blog much preferred YealyKos to last weeks WA Dem convo: "One thing I truly enjoyed about YearlyKos that made this gathering very different from the state convention last weekend is that the atmosphere was just more relaxing. No tension over platforms, resolutions, or Maria Cantwell."

Air America Radio provided streaming video of many panel discussions, all of which can be found on the YearlyKos schedule here. Many attendees liveblogged the events they went to including:

• Cream Puff of DailyKos at the student caucus: "The first thing one notices upon coming into the Student Caucus, and in fact the entire Yearly Kos convention, is the fact that there are very few actual students here at the Convention."
• John Aravosis of AMERICAblog at a foreign policy panel: "Arianna is really quite amazing. The woman is SMART. I don't have a large enough font to truly express how intelligent this woman is. Smart, smart, smart."
• caitiedidit at The South's Importance in the American Political Arena panel: "The YearlyKos panel on whether or not the Democrats need the South to win was freaking FABULOUS. Worth the $10 bucks alone. Oh, man. It was so awesome. The panel members fought and got really angry, and the crowd was yelling stuff at the stage and people asking questions were so emotional that their voices shook when they spoke. Other people shouted at the panel members with rage. It was a collision of the conflicting attitudes and resentment and tensions between the Democratic HQ and Southern Democrats and Christian Southern Democrats."
• Kety Esquivelof DailyKos at a religion panel: "The discussion was free-wheeling. Some expressed optimism at the growing strength of the religious left. Others focused on their dismay at the influence and dominance of the religious right. A graduate of the Divinity School at University of Chicago commended a study it had conducted shows trends toward greater secularity and greater orthodoxy. All seemed to agree that this discussion about faith and politics was important for progressives and asked to continued the roundtable the next day."
• baratundeof DailyKos at the African- American Caucus: "We started the way every session at a conference like this starts: where are the black people? Why aren't there more black bloggers in the political blogosphere? What is needed to change this? Is something needed to change this?"
• pastordan at DailyKos: "First, we do need to talk for a minute about the relationship between religion and politics. I want to lay out for you a positive agenda, not one that responds to the attacks of political opponents, nor one that allows ourselves to be defined by our anger. We need, I think, a way of looking beyond the short-term goals of electoral victory or increased representation in the mass media to what alternatives to the dominant conservative ideologies we can offer to our nation and our local communities. We need a way of imagining a new world, a new way of life, in which our hopes and dreams have been realized. We need a way to seek the healing of the world."

A treasure trove of YearlyKos video and audio is available. Link TV has the best collection of videos including: a foreign policy panel with Arianna Huffington, Dean's speech, Amb. Joe Wilson, a panel on net neutrality, a panel on progressive infrastructure, Sen. Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) speech, Tom Tomorrow, and Markos

Texas Nate at DailyKos also has video featuring bigger DailyKos diarists like mcjoan and SusanG, along with highlights from Warner's 6/10 "Blogosphere at the Stratosphere" party including Marko's Warner introduction.

PoliticsTV has video of Reid, Dean, Warner, and Joe Trippi. The YoungTurks has an interview with Clark, and BlipTV has a Clark address from the Hard Rock Casino.

Arianna Huffington arrived at YearlyKos and declared Ex-Gov. Mark Warner "the runaway winner of this pre-Iowa caucus." But she then quickly noted: "money no doubt helped his cause: I'm hearing that Warner, being shepherded by Jerome Armstrong, the MyDD blogger and co-author with Kos himself of Crashing the Gate, has spent over $100,000 courting the netroots here in Vegas. He spent $75,000 alone to host all the convention-goers at the Stratosphere tower for a party."

The time and money definitely paid some dividends. American Street: "Warner has more virtues than the ability to throw a good party, though. His talk the next day was excellent, and he hit all the points I care about: he spoke strongly in favor of science and education and healthcare and the obligation to take care of the least advantaged as well as the wealthy, he definitely understands the importance of technology, and he was very much against the war." Time Travel Toaster described Warner's speech as "funny and inspiring" and concluded: "Keep an eye on this guy for '08. The universal health care for everyone under 18 idea that he and other Dems are talking about now is great."

Most other Warner reax were tepid at best:

• NPI Blog: "He did sound presidential, but if he's going to run for the Democratic nomination, he's going to need to talk more about the whole country and not just Virginia."
• Bob Geiger at Democratic Underground: "Mark Warner...spoke to a lunchtime crowd that, while not providing the standing ovations accorded to Dean, was eager to hear how his well-known centrist approach would address progressive political concerns."
• Cocktail Party Physics: "Majikthise wondered aloud whether these kinds of events really changed anyone's mind for election purposes. No sooner had she spoken, when an inebriated blogger stumbled up and declared, "Mark Warner rocks! I am SOO voting for him!" So apparently Warner has a lock on the drunken freeloader sector of the blogosphere.
• Micah Sifry at Personal Democracy: "all I saw at the Stratosphere was an old-fashioned politician spending something like $70,000 on a garish party to soften up a constituency. (Apparently, his PAC needs to spend the money before the end of the cycle, one of his staffers told me, which was hardly a convincing reason for the conspicuous display.) But I've now had two opportunities to ask Markos Moulitsas why he thinks Warner is THE candidate who gets the Internet, and both times his answer is, essentially, "He hired Jerome." ...But I'm beginning to wonder if this isn't a new version of the Bob Shrum primary, where we're supposed to be impressed by the campaign with the best consultant."

Warner's lefty blogger love only got worse from there. Pacific Views took great exception to Warner's listing of Venezuela as a threat to the US: "Heck, the Reagan administration fired all the air traffic controllers just for demanding better working conditions and the Bush administration just busts unions out of spite. Mike Noonan of the AFL-CIO said yesterday at a panel that as of 2005, the Bush administration's actions had expressly forbidden over 20 million American workers from organizing unions. But Venezuela, they're the big threat."

Back on the DailyKos comment boards, Warner was faring much worse:

• astronautagogo: "Warner is a DLC member. Granted a more likeable DLC member ... but a DLC member nevertheless. The same DLC that supported the Iraq war. The same DLC that sold out the working class in exchange for corporate dollars. Thanks but no thanks Warner."
• dkmich: "If I'm gonna settle for a DLC, I'm going to settle for Hillary. She is familiar, has a useful husband, is a liberal, a woman, and can give our jobs away as easy as Warner. I know I've said this before, but it is true. Both DLC - one a newbie, the other not. Who needs Warner?"
• CarolynC967: "Warner's hawkish on defense. He doesn't have much foreign policy experience and it shows. He's great on domestic policy, but is consistently with the DLC crowd on Iraq and Iran. It's really a shame.
• Bob Johnson: "I don't understand the fascination with Warner. The guy holds positions that seem to be the antithesis of what Marko professes he wants, nevermind the fact that Warner is the DLC poster boy for 2008. What happened to "taking down the DLC?" ...Yeah, I know Jerome is on the payroll. But what the hell, kos? How does Warner differ from Clinton on any issue of substance? And he is THE MAIN MAN OF THE DLC. There is a disconnect."
• Lolligolli: "My biggest problem with Mark Warner is that he is the only potential 2008 Democratic Candidates that has opposed both Civil Unions and Marriage Equality. Plus as folks point out he is deeply tied to the DLC and well to the right of all other Democratic candidates."

Righty bloggers were also paying attention and wanted to know if Warner knew everything about his new friends. Smagar at RedState had the following questions for Warner: "Is there any portion of the tone of DailyKos that you do not embrace? (Oh, do tell! Your date is listening!)Did the Kossacks tell you, as they imbibed your drinks and ate your food, that you could hope to run for President by throwing rocks at President Bush's handling of the Iraq War without going on the record with specifics on WHAT should have been done differently and HOW it should have been done? If so, what was in those drinks?"

Democrats.com describes the atmosphere at Sen. Harry Reid's (D-NV) keynote address: "As the Rolling Stones''Street Fighting Man' blared from the speakers, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid entered the massive ballroom at the Riviera Hotel to speak to 1,000 YearlyKos attendees and, it's safe to say, wasn't sure of precisely what reception he would get."

Buzz of Reid's speech centered on his announcement of new legislation designed to keep Bush honest on Iran intel. Pacific Views: "Reid just told us this evening that his legislation will require everything the Bush administration says about Iran to be monitored and backed up in writing. To be checked and verified. Reid said that "everything they say will have to be backed up by facts," though he added that he didn't expect the Bush administration would like that requirement much. No more yellowcake. No more aluminum tubes." NPI Blog has the full text of Reid's speech.

Under the header "Howard Dean is a rockstar" the American Street writes: "His keynote drew more than one standing ovation with his passion and his clearly stated goals." Drinking Liberally, Boulder was also touched: "The morning started out with the man who gave tremendous energy to this whole movement: Howard Dean. I got into the 2004 election pretty late in the cycle, so I wasn't a part of the Dean craze I've heard so much about since then. After having heard Dean speak, I lament that I didn't get involved sooner. This man is simply incredible: charismatic, visionary, and passionate."

Thereisnospoon at DailyKos liveblogged the speech and the following Q and A. A sample: "QUESTION: What can we do to help our people get elected? ANSWER: We're interested in long-term. We're interested in ground game, getting volunteers into campaigns. I think that McCain-Feingold was a good thing, all this considered. But McCain-Feingold is also very strict about what we can discuss openly. We can't sit and strategize openly about what we're doing. But we will be on the ground in particular races where we think we have a remote chance."

Ret. Gen. Wes Clark received rave reviews for his appearance on a science panel. Chris Mooney at Science Blogs: "Facing a full room, Wesley Clark got up there and riffed for at least twenty minutes, with impressive eloquence, about the importance of science to the American future. ... Here's a guy whose past -- unbeknownst to me -- had a lot of science in it; he's a kid of the Sputnik era, and really grasps how far we've fallen from the days when scientific innovation was at the center of America's image of itself. I was very, very impressed."

Right Wing News looks at the Des Moines Register Dem '08 poll and sees Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) tilting left soon: "Hillary is losing to the Silky Pony in Iowa? That's not a good omen for a supposedly unstoppable front runner and it may throw a real monkey wrench into Hillary's strategy. ... with her support getting softer and gooier by the month, she's going to feel a lot of pressure to veer back to the left. That could put Hillary in a real pickle, because the one thing that would really shore up her support with her base would be to loudly get behind cutting and running in Iraq."

The Irish Trojan Blog thinks is "the first time a major poll of Democrats has produced a non-Hillary front-runner," and speculates that the Register's photo editor most not like HRC.

Mark Noonan at GOP Bloggers sees opportunity for John Edwards in the Des Moines Register poll: "Edwards did well in Iowa in 2004 - mostly, I think, because he's speaks the liberal-populist lingo well enough to gull the Democrats in Iowa who still like to think of themselves as average Joes. He's taken the antiwar stance - and took it early enough that even his vote to liberate Iraq in 2003 is forgiven. ...It will be the Un-Clinton who ends up with the Democratic nomination - whomever adheres to the most left; whoever, that is, who most definitively doesn't try to triangulate themselves into office. My bet is that Al Gore is best equipped to do this - but ... an allegedly fresh face like Edwards could sneak up and grap the whole."

Chris Bowers at MyDD thinks Edwards is uniquely qualified to capitalize on the progressive movement: "From now on, Democratic primaries are not going to be determined only by the typical strategy of raising early money or early buzz from a finite pool of donors / media and using that edge to knock other candidates out. With a newly energized, people-powered progressive movement, increasingly the key to success in Democratic primaries is going to be be determined by which candidate or candidates can inspire that movement and release its potential energy and resources. Edwards is one of the few candidates right now who I see with the potential to do just that. If other candidates instead decide that this new movement does not matter and focus on building an organization designed to procure the largest share of what they perceive to be a fixed pool of Democratic resources, not only will they not win the nomination, they may not even be significant players in the nomination battle."

Righty supporters of ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) were not happy with Charlie Cook's latest assessment of Giuliani's chances in '08. The American Thinker believes Cook underestimates GOP discomfort with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ): "Giuliani may decide that Cook is right and not compete, in which case his analysis may be valid. What Cook misses is that many Republicans are not enthusiastic about McCain, but would accept him as the Republican candidate most likely to beat Hillary Clinton, if she were the Democratic nominee. But what Cook is missing is that among many of these same folks who would accept McCain, Giuliani is considered a better alternative, and a stronger candidate in a general election were he nominated."

The unofficial GiulianiBlog looks at online polls at hard right Free Republic and also concludes that Giuliani is more acceptable to the GOP base than McCain: "These are the results of polls taken on Free Republic, a destination that makes even conservatives in the blogosphere blanch. And while a significant chunk say they'd go third party with Rudy (they're Tancredoites, analogous to the Feingold backers on Daily Kos), just look at those McCain numbers. More Freepers would go third party than vote for McCain. Fully a third of Freepers would be willing to back Rudy but not McCain in a general election. If the pro-life, anti-illegal immigrant core of the party is given a clear choice between Rudy and McCain, they'll pick Rudy by a mile."

Pitin at DailyKos looks at the success of YearlyKos'06 and dreams speculates about '07: "As has been pointed out numerously, we had 4 presidential aspirants turn out; General Wes Clark, Governor Mark Warner (my pick, and not just cause he gave me free booze), Governor Richardson, and Governor Vilsack. A group of us was talking about how even if the number of DailyKos users is frozen as of today, the number of YearlyKos 2007 attendees will be at least double that based on all the positive experiences of this year. So, can we not honestly expect that every candidate will be at YearlyKos 2007, I say yes, even Hillary. If 7 of 8 sign up, please believe that Hillary can't avoid showing up. And, is it not logical to assume that if they are all in the same room, that we will take that opportunity to put them on the same panel. Regardless of what you call this panel, it will have all the candidates on the same stage, for likely the first time."

Zoopnfunk at DailyKos was not happy to find that some of his fellow Kossacks held a tin foil hat building competition: "Thanks for making the rest of us look like nutbags, guys. ... If I didn't think there was so much potential in this community I would call it quits now. There is no quicker way to make yourself look like a delusional whackjob than by sporting a tin foil hat. I don't care if it was a fun competition or a serious display of paranoia -- if we want to be taken seriously we don't need a group of our own showing up in the media wearing tin foil on our heads.

Posted by Conn Carroll at June 12, 2006 12:28 PM