"We surround them", was a statement from emotional right-wing pundit Glenn Beck some months ago when he was distraught that elected officials aren't doing exactly what he wants. It is supposed to mean there are more right wing crazies that are upset than everyone else. Did he forget election returns?
This weekend while in Pittsburgh (an incredible city if you've never been) for Netroots Nation I realized something. The right-wing and their astroturf D.C. groups again had to act like the attention demanding little children they are and hold their own "right online" (rightonline.com) conference on the same weekend in the same city. (I'm not giving them any blogxygen.)
I stayed in a different hotel from most NN09 attendees due to last minute and low cost planning. Instead I shared a room at the Pittsburgh Hilton with several Living Liberally interns. (Yes, we have interns.) There were also a few tea baggers around. When checking in we saw Bill O'Reilly's microphone toting stalker minion walk towards the bar. The next morning I noticed a big private-chartered bus parked outside the hotel. In the photo you should be able to make out the logo, Americans for Prosperity "...Of the private health insurance industry," is the part they seem to be leaving off their title. The following morning I rode the elevator down with a young guy who gave off that aura of conservative. You know the type. You can pick them out of a lineup. So I asked if he was there for their little conference. Yes, he's part of the astroturf staff (my words) putting it on. I didn't know how long I'd have before he figured me for a mole. Then again, he didn't exactly give away any big secrets. Their webpage doesn't exactly hide who's sponsored the thing. I've seen attendance numbers from 100 to 200. Their top line speakers were Michelle Maklin and Joe the (not a) Plumber.
Let's compare that to Netroots Nation. No, that's too easy. Let's compare it to Netroots Nation in Your Neighborhood, the one day event a few of us put together in our spare time for no pay with about two months of planning. We both held ours in a single hotel conference room. We each got about the same number of people. We did not get anyone with the intellectual fortitude of Michelle Malkin however. I don't know that anyone like that exists on the left anyway. Instead we had actual Congressman Jared Polis, a former Clinton whitehouse staffer, Mike Lux, founder and chair of Progressive Change Campaign Committee Adam Green and Darcy Burner. NNiYN was basically for Denver. Rightonline was for a nationwide audience. So, some similarities and some differences.
Anyway, my point is if a few volunteers can organize a conference the same or better than a DC astroturf lobbying firm can, not to mention the obvious comparison to the annual Netroots Nation, the phrase "We surround them" is more apt a description of our progressive movement. When it comes to the likes of Glenn Beck using such a phrase, it just shows how much everything that comes out of his mouth is nothing more than projection.
BTW, the next Netroots Nation will take place in July of 2010. We're going back to Las Vegas, baby.
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