June 19, 2007
Take Back America: Get Going, Grassroots!
Watch out, Washington. More than 3,000 progressives have descended upon the city, and they're hungry for change.
Monday marked the beginning of the fifth annual Take Back America conference, hosted by the Campaign for America's Future and sponsored by an abundance of unions and Democratic-leaning organizations. Here are some of The Gate's thematic observations about the conference's first day; check back for more dispatches as it progresses.
• Grassroots Activism: According to Jean Ross of the United American Nurses, this year's underlying theme is the importance of the grassroots movement. Indeed, every speaker this reporter heard urged listeners to take charge. Ross thinks some in the base are disappointed that congressional Democrats have been unable to push more of their agenda through, and for that reason citizen participation in the legislative process is more important than ever.
• Demonizing Bush & The Right: Absent from much of the discussions on Monday were mentions of the Republican presidential hopefuls. Why? Because it's President Bush this group hates, and that's who they seemingly plan to run against next year. Vocal contempt for the president was rampant throughout the day, and quite a few speakers declared the conservative movement dead.
• Boldness: The three senators at last night's forum, "The New Populist Energy" -- Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. -- were bullish on the progressive agenda. But they cautioned that they don't have all the votes they need yet in the Senate to get what they want accomplished. It was the audience that was the boldest: The first attendee to ask a question demanded why the senators haven't pushed for Bush's impeachment -- an idea that all three defused quickly. But when Sanders gave his two cents, one disgruntled heckler cried out, "Zell Bernie!" in reference to former Sen. Zell Miller, D-Ga.
• Greater Media Emphasis: The left has long criticized talk radio for its conservative bent, but conference organizers made a point to employ the media sympathetic to them. Right in the center of the activity is the "Progressive Media Row," and inside the exhibition area is a large enclave of left-leaning bloggers.
Yesterday's focus was largely on activism and policy, and not so much on the presidential race. But most of the Democratic presidential candidates will address the confab either today, before attendees head to the Hill for a rally in support of the Employee Free Choice Act, or tomorrow morning.
This is certainly a big week for the unions: today, AFSCME is hosting a Democratic presidential forum with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, and the ACLU is hosting two human rights events.
Posted at 11:29 AM
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Congress, Democrats, Labor, Senate, WH 2008
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