Netroots Nation ‘08: Can America Save New Orleans?
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at last year’s Netroots Nation (nee YearlyKos) by Chuck Olsen.
I need your help assembling a panel for a major political conference this summer. The conference is Netroots Nation ‘08 on July 17th-20th in Austin, TX. I need your help reaching out to three national panelists and two local panelists who can discuss the topic “Can America Save New Orleans?”
Netroots Nation ‘07 (YearlyKos)
Last year I was invited to participate in a panel at Netroots Nation ‘08. I didn’t know what to expect, so I set my expectations low. I’m not a political blogger in the red/blue sense. My politics are the politics of wet/dry.
I was more than pleasantly surprised. I was amazed. I’m not much of a conference goer, I was swept up in the exictent of a 1,500 like minded people. These are people who are working to change the national dialog using social media, blogs, and the Internet.
It was not a technical conference, but a conference on politics and on media. It featured a debate between the full field (save Biden) of Democratic presidential candidates. Panels discussed political strategy, policy, and media.
People often mistake my efforts for technical efforts, when my work is really about marketing New Orleans, putting our issues in front of the nation using our voices. This conference was incredibly energizing. I felt at home with the people and the message.
These were people active in mainstream politics using grass roots strategies, like the ones that have been so successful in fund raising for the 2008 presidential campaign.
It Did Absolutely No Good To Imagine the Audience Naked
I spoke on a panel with Malik Rahim and Trace Washington. The panel was moderated by Angela Glover Blackwell. Our panel was on a main stage. It went on before the Democratic presidential debate. A debate of the full field (save Biden) of Democratic presidential candidates. When I sat down for my panel, on the back of the chair was a sign that read Edwards.
I’m not sure how I fared. I’m generally a good speaker, but Malik and Tracie are much better speakers. I certainly enjoyed the rest of the conference. I met some amazing people and forged some new relationships.
A fine time. Maybe I’d do it again sometime.
Can America Save New Orleans?
This year, Gina Cooper contacted me. The Netroots Nation ‘08 organizers wanted to feature another New Orleans panel. They were looking for someone to propose one. They called me.
I did not know what to say or do. I said yes. Then I called Dan Lavoie who organized last years panel and ask him what to do. He suggested a topic that would energize participants in an election year. He suggested “Can the Democrats Save New Orleans?” Building on that, we’ve created a panel entitled “Can America Save New Orelans?” to reflect the non-partisan, yet progressive tone of Netroots Nation ‘08.
The design of the panel was to have two New Orleans people, and two national figures, with a national figure as a moderator. This panel would talk about the reality on the ground as well as the reality in Washington, and hash out a strategy to make New Orleans an election issue.
My panel was accepted. Now I need to put it together.
The Collective New Orleans Rolodex
This is tricky, because I am in almost over my head. I’d love to turn this question to you, in the true Bart Everson style, and ask you to use this post and comments section to pitch names of who we’d like to ask.
Then you can hold my hand while I call these scary important people. Or maybe you could make the call yourself?
Keep in mind that Netroots Nation ‘08 is a national conference for political activists in the middle of an election year. Gina Cooper and the Netroots Nation organizers have been very generous in her patience and support. They really want to create an opportunity for us to inject New Orleans back into national agenda.
In essence, don’t let the fact that they dropped this in my lap confuse you as to the opportunity and the potential to influence the election agenda.
The topic, Can America Save New Orleans? is supposed to get participants to think about New Orleans as an election issue. Can America Save New Orleans? or will New Orleans have to struggle on, saving itself one family, one home at a time.
We want people to realize that we in New Orleans are not OK, that the current course has been a failure of government, and that this is a real, pressing issue for all Americans. We need to look at the failure of our government response as indicative of a system problem that needs to be solved.
The failure of our government response goes well beyond the emergency response.
I’ve asked Mark Mosely, Michael Duplantier, and Mary Rowe for their suggestions, and I’ll nudge them to stop by and get this conversation rolling.
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Mr. Gutierrez,
I must apologize for having believed that that which was printed in the Denver Post was the straight poop-from-group, since the source was the Denver committee hosting the Democrat[ic] National Convention. Obviously, as a rather elderly (and therefore, supposedly wiser) conservative, I should have questioned the printed word, since the source, as we all well know, was/is an organ, or something, of the Democrat Party, and you simply can’t tell what such dastards are like to say.
How-some-ever, although “washah nah” (very colloquial, Japanese politico to non-constituent, “I”) committed a grievous error by believing the Denver Post’s hearsay based article, and because I (preceding note) had never, till now, heard of the 8/29 committee, I feel sure, Mr. Gutierrez, that, in this instance, you will kindly forgive my ignorance.
But please know, Mr. Gutierrez, that as a rather unhappy taxpayer I have grave doubts about the worth of any politically orientated commission’s findings, especially one on which, I fear, the preponderance of the sitting members shall be of the Democrat stripe. And also, sir, pray know you that I do not dislike individual Democrats, for after all, as I readily admit, my father, whom I honor, was one. ‘Tis only, sir, that relative to New Orleans the “batting average” of the Democrat Party of Louisiana is verily alike to that of mighty “Casey at the Bat”.
I wish you the best of luck in your quest for answers, Mr. Gutierrez, but lest you eventually be disappointed by the results, or lack thereof, forthcoming from the 8/29 Commission, I suggest that you keep a very close and skeptical eye on the commission’s proceedings.
James
Mr. Gutierrez,
I am writing, sir, to tender an apology for inserting my “lang und breit Schnauze” into a purely New Orleanians’ family affair. It was a most regrettable blooper; one that, had I not been so confounded impatient to vent a bit of spleen, could have been avoided, and would have saved me the red-faced embarrassment of having barged in, like a boar rooting in a turnip patch, and making an ass of myself.
In the event, what happened was that, having apprised myself of the contents of the article in the Denver Post, I most indignantly decided that it was far from proper, or legal, for an avowed charity to become so involved in politics as to sponsor a delegate bash for ANY political party presidential convention, Democrat, Republican, et al. Then, whilst cruising around seeking info on the “Friends of New Orleans”, I somehow found my way to your comments page, at the head of which was the photo of the excellent teleprompter, platitudinal orator Obama and Bill’s Hil, and since I am a fan neither of one or the other . . . I flipped. Without switching to your home page or reading any of your correspondents’ comments, as is my wont in such a case, I bone headedly decided that you were the “Friends”, and set out to “give you an earful”. The following day, once I had read the Denver Post’s retraction, I forwarded my second comment, but only then bethought myself to dig a bit further, which I did, and acknowledged to myself that I had been a bloody jackass.
Short story, long explanation. I’m sorry, Mr. Gutierrez.
James
James,
The 8/29 Commission defined in Senate Bill 2826 would establish a bipartisan truly independent investigation of the flood protection failures on August 29, 2005. The Investigation is needed because the official levee investigation sponsored by the US Army Corps of Engineers is flawed and controversial. Meanwhile, the results are being used to redesign and construct levees that protect the lives and property of 1.5 million Americans in Louisiana and also to educate civil engineers nationwide on levee construction.
James
Thank you for the apology. It is perfectly civil of you to offer such a sincere apology for a common mistake that too many of us make, that I know that I have made. The Internet lacks context and sometimes, especially in the evening after a long day, we can read something that flips us over into write-only mode.
Can’t tell you how many times I wished I’d waited until the morning to press send on an email. How many times I’ve written my own apologies. It is so nice to be on the receiving end. Thank you for doing your part to ensure a civil discussion of different perspectives.
Alan