Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

LIVE from Pittsburgh: A salute to participatory democracy at Netroots Nation

After a long day of panels, workshops, and trainings, it's finally time for the opening ceremonies here at Netroots Nation.

Our keynote speaker will be the one and only President Bill Clinton, a giant in Democratic politics and a true American statesman, whose recent mission to North Korea negotiate for the release of American journalists held by Kim Jong II's regime has once again put him in the headlines.

President Clinton will be addressing us at approximately 6:30 PM Pacific. If you are reading at home, remember that you can follow along live on C-SPAN.

The crowd at Thursday night's opening keynote
So far we have heard from Chuck Rocha of the United Steelworkers, who delivered a passionate, heartfelt speech about the importance of people powered politics. AFSCME greeted us with a very funny and friendly video that emphasized the need for healthcare reform, and Netroots Nation Executive Director Raven Brooks introduced two great progressive leaders, Judd Legum and California Secretary of State Debra Bowen, to speak briefly about the strength and the accomplishments of this amazing community.

Simon Rosenberg of NDN lamented that the netroots community did not exist when Bill Clinton took office in January 1993. Despite enormous obstacles placed in his way by obstructionist Republicans, Rosenberg noted that Clinton was successful in creating jobs, growing the economy, and generating a surplus during his eight years in office as President.

And we were welcomed to Pittsburgh by the mayor of Braddock and the executive of Allegheny County.

Adam Bonin, the Chairman of Netroots Nation, is currently introducing Congressman Brad Miller, the only sitting member of Congress to attend the first YearlyKos Convention in Las Vegas back in 2006.

Comments:

Blogger adugan said...

I wish I could have heard this on C-span
check out my Bill Clinton blog
adugan-billclintonblog.blogspot.com/

August 14, 2009 5:37 AM  

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