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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Why I've decided to not attend Netroots Nation

Posted by Jill | 7:34 AM

I bought passes last year. I figured that since this was an election year, it was a good year to go. I was still flush off a bonus, and I figured if Mr. Brilliant was still out of work in June 2012, it might be a good networking opportunity for him. So I bought two passes at the early bird rate of $195 each, reserved the hotel room, and figured that gave me the option to go or sell.

Well, I'm selling.

Aside from the fact that Mr. B. is working and no one else I'd go with wants to go, I just can't say that I'm thrilled at the idea of attending endless wonk sessions at a time when the only alternative to John Boehner and Eric Cantor and Mitt Rmoney is a party that is by turns sellout and clueless. Oh, sure, there's the opportunity to hobnob with Paul Krugman and Elizabeth Warren, but there's just something that seems so Rearranging Deck Chairs On The Titanic about the whole thing. It feels sort of like an army of Orcs is descending upon us, but the Dave Matthews Band is on next and the music will be awesome.

On June 5, the denizens of Wisconsin will go to the polls to decide whether to toss corporatist tool Scott Walker out of office. Right now, for inexplicable reasons, Walker is leading in that race, largely due to the dumptrucks full of cash from outside Republican groups and super PACs that are shoveling money into propping up their sock puppet. Wisconsini really IS a bellwether for the November election, except that the national Democratic Party can't seem to see that:

Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s “attacks on workers’ and women’s rights are the definition of a fireable offense” and that recalling him would “[send] a powerful message to the far-right extremists.” But on Friday she downplayed expectations for her party if Walker stays in office. In an interview Friday, Wasserman Schultz said “there aren’t going to be any repercussions,” nationally if Wisconsin voters decide to stick with Walker.

The interview, taped for C-SPAN’s “Newsmakers” and reported by the Washington Post, is set to air Sunday.

Wasserman Schultz made an effort to keep the national presidential race separate from the Wisconsin race, which is set to be decided in under two weeks. And there’s a reason for that — Walker has an enormous cash advantage, and has led Democratic challenger Tom Barrett in polls for more than a month, even in surveys commissioned by Democrats.

“It’s an election that’s based in Wisconsin. It’s an election that I think is important nationally because Scott Walker is an example of how extreme the tea party has been when it comes to the policies that they have pushed the Republicans to adopt,” Wasserman Schultz said. “But I think it’ll be, at the end of the day, a Wisconsin-based election, and like I said, across the rest of the country and including in Wisconsin, President Obama is ahead.”

Democrats involved in the recall effort have been frustrated by the lack of support from the DNC, despite the late fundraising push. A party official in Wisconsin told the Washington Post that while the DNC has said the right things, they haven’t provided the financial support state forces had expected.

Rachel Maddow begs to differ:

If your mileage differs, please e-mail me at the address on the right. I paid the early bird rate of $195 a pop for the two passes, but I'm willing to listen to offers.

2 comments

2 Comments:

The Wifely Person said...

The senior son is here (MN) for the weekend, having trained in from Milwaukee on Thursday night. He was stunned when he heard that after the debate Walker was still leading in the polls.

The senior son's significant other drove in from MKE today, and reported that once you're past Madison it's WALKER, WALKER WALKER until you hit the WI/MN border towns. Said it was just unfathomable.

5/26/12, 9:31 PM

jurassicpork said...

Mrs. JP and I were briefly entertaining the idea of going since it's in New England for the first time (and in her home state of RI) but that was before I found out what the passes cost. I imagine that doesn't include the cost of the hotel room or anything else. All told, it could easily total close to a grand which I cannot, even if I had that kind of money on hand, justify spending. After all, for nearly eight years, I've been studiously and strenuous shunned, ignored and banned by the so-called liberal blogosphere. Why should we spend scarce bill money that literally would mean the difference between life and death money to have it happen to me again in real life? I hope you find a buyer for the passes. I was always kind of suspicious of this glad-handing, back-slapping convention back when it was still Yearly Kos. It's "liberal" elites congratulating themselves on jobs not very well done, only in the meat world instead of online.

5/27/12, 11:34 AM