YearlyKos
Encyclopedia
Netroots Nation is a political convention
for American progressive
political activists, originally organized by readers and writers of Daily Kos
, a liberal political blog
. It was previously called YearlyKos. The 6th Annual Netroots Nation conference was held in Minneapolis from June 16–19.
The origin of Netroots Nation is traced to a time when a tremendous and growing number of citizens gathered every day in the virtual world to raise their collective voice and proactively influence their government. That group is broadly called the Netroots
and has since grown to include progressive organizations and politicians who use new media technologies to communicate with their constituents. The convention rebranded to Netroots Nation in 2007 in an effort to more accurately reflect the makeup of its audience and mission of implementing programs that teach and empower Netroots communities to affect change in the public sphere.
Although it is closely associated with Daily Kos
, it is not produced by Markos Moulitsas or Kos Media. Netroots Nation is a project of Bloggerpower.org, a non-profit non-partisan organization, with support from the Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI).
such as Harry Reid
, Howard Dean
, and Barbara Boxer
, as well as three possible contenders in the 2008 Democratic primary
: retired General Wesley Clark
, New Mexico
governor Bill Richardson
, and former Virginia
governor Mark Warner
.
Laughing Liberally provided comedy entertainment at the convention, with stand-up comics
Lee Camp
and Baratunde Thurston
, and George W. Bush
impressionist James Adomian
.
The convention also consisted of panels, roundtable discussion groups, and other gatherings of activists, members of the media and elected officials. Many of the panels were broadcast on C-SPAN
. The convention was held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino
.
Convention Center in Chicago
, Illinois
from August 2–5.
Seven of the eight major Democratic Presidential candidates attended the Convention in a debate moderated by bloggers. The candidates were Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards
, Mike Gravel
, Dennis Kucinich
, Barack Obama
, Bill Richardson. The most memorable moment was when Hillary Clinton refused to join John Edwards
and Barack Obama
's pledge to stop taking money from Washington lobbyists.
After the debate the candidates held their own break-out sessions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were expected to appear, but were held up in Washington due to various votes. On Saturday night of the Convention, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial FISA legislation to expand George W. Bush's powers.
as a whole rather than just Daily Kos, the 2008 convention was held in Austin, Texas
at the Austin Convention Center
from July 17–20. Prominent speakers in 2008 included Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
who was joined on stage by a surprise guest, former Vice President Al Gore
.
Other prominent speakers included Gov. Howard Dean
, Harold Ford, Lawrence Lessig
, Rep. Donna Edwards
and Van Jones
.
On Saturday night, Gina Cooper announced the end of her tenure as Director of Netroots Nation.
, on August 13–16. Pittsburgh was chosen in part because it is a leader in LEED Certified green building technology; it has more square footage of green buildings than any other city in the country. Another reason was Pittsburgh's rich labor union history. Prominent speakers included President Bill Clinton
, Valerie Jarrett
, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
, SEIU's Anna Burger
, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
and Dean Baker
. There was also a debate between Pennsylvania Senate candidates Rep. Joe Sestak and Sen. Arlen Specter
.
The keynote speaker was former US President Bill Clinton
. The event captured international headlines when the Democratic Congressional leadership seemingly abandoned the "public option" during the Health Care debate and Howard Dean spoke forcefully that the party would reconsider this issue and not compromise on it. Former President Bill Clinton also made headlines in Pittsburgh when responding to a question shouted at him during his speech, concerning gay rights and the military. Clinton quipped at a shouting audience member, "You know you should go to one of those Congressional health care meetings," and went on to say that the implementation of the policy was not what he envisioned or how it was originally defined and that it was ridiculous that $150,000 was spent "to get rid of an Arabic translator" and that 130 servicemen and -women known to be gay were allowed to serve in the first Gulf War until "they kicked them out."
metropolitan area at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino. About 2200 attended the conference.
More than 200 media covered this year's conference including CNN, Univision, AP, Politico and many others.
There were 70 panels, screening series and a Campaign Academy with 30 hands-on training sessions. These trainings, organized with the help of Democracy for America
, featured professionals from dozens of organizations and publications in the progressive movement. Along with the panels and trainings there were seven keynote sessions. Two of the keynotes were question-and-answer sessions: Ask the Speaker with Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and Ask the Leader with Majority Leader Harry Reid
.
Prominent speakers included Speaker Nancy Pelosi
, Majority Leader Harry Reid
, Sen.Al Franken
, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
, Elizabeth Warren
, Gov. Brian Schweitzer
, Ed Schultz
, Sen. Jeff Merkley
, Sen. Ben Cardin
, Sen. Tom Udall
, Rep.Alan Grayson
, Rep. Raul Grijalva
, Rep. Jared Polis
, Rep. Donna Edwards
, Rep.Jerrold Nadler
, Van Jones
, Rich Trumka, Jennifer O’Malley Dillion, Jon Vogel, J.B. Poersch, Tim Wise
, Lizz Winstead
, Majora Carter
, Markos Moulitsas, Tarryl Clark
, Bill Halter
, George Goehl, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
, Deepak Bhargava, Gerald McEntee
and Eliseo Medina
.
During his speech, Sen. Franken argued against media consolidation and for net neutrality laws. He said, in part, "If we don't protect Net Neutrality now, how long do you think it will take before Comcast-NBC Universal, or Verizon-CBS Viacom or AT&T-ABC-DirecTV or BP-Haliburton-Walmart-Fox-Domino's-Pizza start favoring its content over everyone else's?"
, with prominent featured speakers including Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, former Senator Russ Feingold
, Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak
, former Vermont governor Howard Dean
, Van Jones
, John Aravosis
, Shannon Augare
, Nevada State Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, Senator Mark Begich
, Senator Ben Cardin
, Rep. Judy Chu
, Lt. Dan Choi
, Rep. Keith Ellison
, Tarryl Clark
, Dr. Heidi Cullen
, Davey D, Rep. Donna Edwards
, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton
, Laura Flanders
, Matthew Filipowicz, Sen. Al Franken
, Rep. John Garamendi
, Rep. Luis Gutierrez
, Jane Hamsher
and Montana State Rep. Ellie Hill.
The event featured a number of incidents, including a confrontation between Andrew Breitbart
(who was in attendance at RightOnline, which took place nearby and had unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a media pass to Netroots Nation) and Netroots attendees who heckled him, as well as storm of criticism by LGBT-oriented news sources against President Obama's Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer
, who stated that Obama's signature to a 1996 pledge for same-sex marriage
legalization had been signed by a member of then-Illinois State Senator Obama's
electoral staff instead.
from June 7-10, 2012.
Convention (meeting)
A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...
for American progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
political activists, originally organized by readers and writers of Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
, a liberal political blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. It was previously called YearlyKos. The 6th Annual Netroots Nation conference was held in Minneapolis from June 16–19.
The origin of Netroots Nation is traced to a time when a tremendous and growing number of citizens gathered every day in the virtual world to raise their collective voice and proactively influence their government. That group is broadly called the Netroots
Netroots
Netroots is a term coined in 2002 by Jerome Armstrong to describe political activism organized through blogs and other online media, including wikis and social network services. The word is a portmanteau of Internet and grassroots, reflecting the technological innovations that set netroots...
and has since grown to include progressive organizations and politicians who use new media technologies to communicate with their constituents. The convention rebranded to Netroots Nation in 2007 in an effort to more accurately reflect the makeup of its audience and mission of implementing programs that teach and empower Netroots communities to affect change in the public sphere.
Although it is closely associated with Daily Kos
Daily Kos
Daily Kos is an American political blog that publishes news and opinions from a progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of netroots activists, whose efforts are primarily directed toward influencing and strengthening the Democratic Party...
, it is not produced by Markos Moulitsas or Kos Media. Netroots Nation is a project of Bloggerpower.org, a non-profit non-partisan organization, with support from the Netroots Arts and Education Initiative (NAEI).
2006
The first YearlyKos was held in Las Vegas, from June 8–11, 2006. There were 1,200 attendees, and featured prominent DemocratsDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
such as Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, and Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
, as well as three possible contenders in the 2008 Democratic primary
Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
The 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
: retired General Wesley Clark
Wesley Clark
Wesley Kanne Clark, Sr., is a retired general of the United States Army. Graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1966 at West Point, he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford where he obtained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and later graduated from the...
, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
governor Bill Richardson
Bill Richardson (politician)
William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III is an American politician, who served as the 30th Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. Before being elected governor, Richardson served in the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary. Richardson has also served...
, and former Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
governor Mark Warner
Mark Warner
Mark Robert Warner is an American politician and businessman, currently serving in the United States Senate as the junior senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Warner was the 69th governor of Virginia from 2002 to 2006 and is the honorary chairman of...
.
Laughing Liberally provided comedy entertainment at the convention, with stand-up comics
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
Lee Camp
Lee Camp (comedian)
Lee Camp is an American comedian, writer, actor, and activist.- Early life and beginnings of career :Camp was born July 21, 1980 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and grew up in Bethesda, Maryland until 1989. His father is a psychoanalyst who served 20 years in the military as a doctor. His...
and Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde Rafiq Thurston is an American comedian based in Boston and New York City. He is a graduate of Sidwell Friends School and a cum laude graduate of Harvard University....
, and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
impressionist James Adomian
James Adomian
James Adomian is an Armenian-American actor and stand-up comedian. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska and currently lives in New York City...
.
The convention also consisted of panels, roundtable discussion groups, and other gatherings of activists, members of the media and elected officials. Many of the panels were broadcast on C-SPAN
C-SPAN
C-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
. The convention was held at the Riviera Hotel and Casino
Riviera (hotel and casino)
The Riviera is a hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. The hotel has over 2,100 rooms, many located in a 23-story tower. The casino has of gaming space.-History:...
.
2007
The 2007 YearlyKos was held at the McCormick PlaceMcCormick Place
McCormick Place is the largest convention center in the United States. It is made up of four interconnected buildings sited on and near the shore of Lake Michigan, about 4 km south of downtown Chicago, Illinois, USA. McCormick Place hosts numerous trade shows, including the Chicago Auto Show,...
Convention Center in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
from August 2–5.
Seven of the eight major Democratic Presidential candidates attended the Convention in a debate moderated by bloggers. The candidates were Hillary Clinton, Chris Dodd, John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
, Mike Gravel
Mike Gravel
Maurice Robert "Mike" Gravel is a former Democratic United States Senator from Alaska, who served two terms from 1969 to 1981, and a former candidate in the 2008 presidential election....
, Dennis Kucinich
Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
, Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, Bill Richardson. The most memorable moment was when Hillary Clinton refused to join John Edwards
John Edwards
Johnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
and Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's pledge to stop taking money from Washington lobbyists.
After the debate the candidates held their own break-out sessions.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were expected to appear, but were held up in Washington due to various votes. On Saturday night of the Convention, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the controversial FISA legislation to expand George W. Bush's powers.
2008
Now called Netroots Nation to better reflect the growing influence and membership of the netrootsNetroots
Netroots is a term coined in 2002 by Jerome Armstrong to describe political activism organized through blogs and other online media, including wikis and social network services. The word is a portmanteau of Internet and grassroots, reflecting the technological innovations that set netroots...
as a whole rather than just Daily Kos, the 2008 convention was held in Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
at the Austin Convention Center
Austin Convention Center
The Neal Kocurek Memorial Austin Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center located in Austin, Texas, USA. The building is the home of the Texas Rollergirls, and was also home to the Austin Toros basketball team, until their move to the Cedar Park Center in nearby Cedar Park in 2010.The...
from July 17–20. Prominent speakers in 2008 included Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
who was joined on stage by a surprise guest, former Vice President Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
.
Other prominent speakers included Gov. Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, Harold Ford, Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence Lessig
Lawrence "Larry" Lessig is an American academic and political activist. He is best known as a proponent of reduced legal restrictions on copyright, trademark, and radio frequency spectrum, particularly in technology applications, and he has called for state-based activism to promote substantive...
, Rep. Donna Edwards
Donna Edwards
Donna F. Edwards is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
and Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
.
On Saturday night, Gina Cooper announced the end of her tenure as Director of Netroots Nation.
2009
In 2009, Netroots Nation was held at Pittsburgh's David L. Lawrence Convention CenterDavid L. Lawrence Convention Center
The David L. Lawrence Convention Center is a convention, conference and exhibition building in downtown Pittsburgh in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The initial David L...
, on August 13–16. Pittsburgh was chosen in part because it is a leader in LEED Certified green building technology; it has more square footage of green buildings than any other city in the country. Another reason was Pittsburgh's rich labor union history. Prominent speakers included President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Bowman Jarrett is a senior advisor and assistant to the president for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Obama administration. She is a Chicago lawyer, businesswoman, and civic leader...
, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, SEIU's Anna Burger
Anna Burger
Anna Burger, , was the Secretary-Treasurer of Service Employees International Union , and Chair of the Change to Win Federation....
, former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
and Dean Baker
Dean Baker
Dean Baker is an American macroeconomist and co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, with Mark Weisbrot. He previously was a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an assistant professor of economics at Bucknell University. He has a Ph.D...
. There was also a debate between Pennsylvania Senate candidates Rep. Joe Sestak and Sen. Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
.
The keynote speaker was former US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. The event captured international headlines when the Democratic Congressional leadership seemingly abandoned the "public option" during the Health Care debate and Howard Dean spoke forcefully that the party would reconsider this issue and not compromise on it. Former President Bill Clinton also made headlines in Pittsburgh when responding to a question shouted at him during his speech, concerning gay rights and the military. Clinton quipped at a shouting audience member, "You know you should go to one of those Congressional health care meetings," and went on to say that the implementation of the policy was not what he envisioned or how it was originally defined and that it was ridiculous that $150,000 was spent "to get rid of an Arabic translator" and that 130 servicemen and -women known to be gay were allowed to serve in the first Gulf War until "they kicked them out."
2010
The 2010 Netroots Nation conference was held in Las VegasLas Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
metropolitan area at the Rio Suites Hotel & Casino. About 2200 attended the conference.
More than 200 media covered this year's conference including CNN, Univision, AP, Politico and many others.
There were 70 panels, screening series and a Campaign Academy with 30 hands-on training sessions. These trainings, organized with the help of Democracy for America
Democracy for America
Democracy for America is a progressive, people-powered political action committee, headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont. Founded by former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean in 2004, DFA leads public awareness campaigns on a variety of public policy issues, trains activists,...
, featured professionals from dozens of organizations and publications in the progressive movement. Along with the panels and trainings there were seven keynote sessions. Two of the keynotes were question-and-answer sessions: Ask the Speaker with Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
and Ask the Leader with Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
.
Prominent speakers included Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, Majority Leader Harry Reid
Harry Reid
Harry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
, Sen.Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood
Ray LaHood
Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms .-Early life and...
, Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Warren is an American bankruptcy expert, policy advocate, Harvard Law School professor, and Democratic Party candidate in the 2012 United States Senate election in Massachusetts. She has written several academic and popular books concerning the American economy and personal finance. She...
, Gov. Brian Schweitzer
Brian Schweitzer
Brian David Schweitzer is an American politician from the U.S. state of Montana. Schweitzer is its 23rd and current governor, serving since January 2005. Schweitzer currently has one of the highest approval ratings among governors in the nation, with polls regularly showing a rating of above 60...
, Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz
Edward Andrew "Ed" Schultz Is an American television and radio host and a liberal political commentator . He is the host of The Ed Show, a daily news talk program on MSNBC, and The Ed Schultz Show, a talk radio show, nationally syndicated by Dial Global, promising "straight talk."-Early...
, Sen. Jeff Merkley
Jeff Merkley
Jeffrey Alan "Jeff" Merkley is the junior United States Senator from Oregon. A member of the Democratic Party, Merkley was a five-term member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly representing House District 47, located in eastern Multnomah County within the Portland city limits...
, Sen. Ben Cardin
Ben Cardin
Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin is the junior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the Senate, Cardin was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1987 to 2007.Cardin was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in...
, Sen. Tom Udall
Tom Udall
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Udall is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008,...
, Rep.Alan Grayson
Alan Grayson
Alan Mark Grayson is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 2009 until 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party and loves cookies. After losing the election he moved to Austin to start stand-up comedy and a cookie business. The district Grayson represented lies in central Florida...
, Rep. Raul Grijalva
Raul Grijalva
Raúl M. Grijalva is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes half of metro Tucson, all of Yuma and Nogales, and some peripheral parts of metro Phoenix.-Early life, education and career:...
, Rep. Jared Polis
Jared Polis
Jared Schutz Polis is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Rep. Donna Edwards
Donna Edwards
Donna F. Edwards is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Rep.Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold Nadler
Jerrold Lewis "Jerry" Nadler is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1992. He is a member of the Democratic Party.The district includes the west side of Manhattan from the Upper West Side down to Battery Park, including the site where the World Trade Center stood...
, Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
, Rich Trumka, Jennifer O’Malley Dillion, Jon Vogel, J.B. Poersch, Tim Wise
Tim Wise
Timothy Jacob Wise is an American anti-racist activist and writer. Since 1995 he has lectured at over 600 college campuses across the US...
, Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead
Lizz Winstead is an American comedienne, radio and television personality, and blogger. A native of Minnesota, Winstead was co-creator of The Daily Show along with Madeleine Smithberg, and served as head writer....
, Majora Carter
Majora Carter
Majora Carter is an economic consultant, public radio host, and environmental justice advocate from the South Bronx area of New York City. Carter founded the non-profit environmental justice solutions corporation Sustainable South Bronx before entering the private sector.-Early life:Carter...
, Markos Moulitsas, Tarryl Clark
Tarryl Clark
Tarryl Lynne Clark is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 15 from 2006 to 2011. A Democrat, she also served as assistant majority leader from 2007 to 2011. She was the 2010 DFL Party nominee for Minnesota's 6th congressional district,...
, Bill Halter
Bill Halter
William A. "Bill" Halter was the 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to succeed the late Republican Winthrop Paul Rockefeller in 2006, defeating Republican challenger Jim Holt by a margin of 57%–43%.Before his election as lieutenant governor,...
, George Goehl, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins
Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins is an American sustainability advocate and the CEO of the anti-poverty organization Green For All."From 2003 to 2009, Ellis-Lamkins was the Executive Officer of the South Bay AFL–CIO Labor Council, an organized labor federation representing more than 100 unions and more than...
, Deepak Bhargava, Gerald McEntee
Gerald McEntee
Gerald W. "Jerry" McEntee is an American union activist. Since 1981, he has been the International President of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees , one of the largest and most politically active unions in the AFL-CIO. McEntee succeeded Jerry Wurf as...
and Eliseo Medina
Eliseo Medina
Eliseo Vasquez Medina is a Mexican American labor union activist and leader, and advocate for immigration reform in the United States. From 1973 to 1978, he was a board member of the United Farm Workers...
.
During his speech, Sen. Franken argued against media consolidation and for net neutrality laws. He said, in part, "If we don't protect Net Neutrality now, how long do you think it will take before Comcast-NBC Universal, or Verizon-CBS Viacom or AT&T-ABC-DirecTV or BP-Haliburton-Walmart-Fox-Domino's-Pizza start favoring its content over everyone else's?"
2011
The 2011 Netroots Nation was held June 16-19 in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, with prominent featured speakers including Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, former Senator Russ Feingold
Russ Feingold
Russell Dana "Russ" Feingold is an American politician from the U.S. state of Wisconsin. He served as a Democratic party member of the U.S. Senate from 1993 to 2011. From 1983 to 1993, Feingold was a Wisconsin State Senator representing the 27th District.He is a recipient of the John F...
, Minneapolis mayor R. T. Rybak
R. T. Rybak
Raymond Thomas Rybak, Jr. , known as R. T. Rybak, is the 46th and current mayor of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the 2001 election Rybak defeated incumbent Sharon Sayles Belton by a margin of 65% to 35%; the widest margin in city history for a challenge to an incumbent...
, former Vermont governor Howard Dean
Howard Dean
Howard Brush Dean III is an American politician and physician from Vermont. He served six terms as the 79th Governor of Vermont and ran unsuccessfully for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination. He was chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. Although his U.S...
, Van Jones
Van Jones
Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones is an American environmental advocate, civil rights activist, and attorney. Jones is a co-founder of three non-profit organizations. In 1996, he founded the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, a California non-governmental organization working for alternatives to violence...
, John Aravosis
John Aravosis
John Aravosis is an American Democratic political consultant, writer, gay activist and blogger. Aravosis, an attorney who lives in Washington, D.C., is the founder of AMERICAblog and a co-founder of StopDrLaura.com....
, Shannon Augare
Shannon Augare
Shannon James Augare is a Democrat member of the Montana Legislature. He was elected for Senate District 8 in 2010. Previously he served the Montana House of Representatives, representing District 16 from 2007 until the end of 2010....
, Nevada State Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, Senator Mark Begich
Mark Begich
Mark Peter Begich is the junior United States Senator from Alaska and a member of the Democratic Party. A former mayor of Anchorage, he served on the Anchorage Assembly for almost ten years prior to being elected mayor in 2003...
, Senator Ben Cardin
Ben Cardin
Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin is the junior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the Senate, Cardin was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1987 to 2007.Cardin was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in...
, Rep. Judy Chu
Judy Chu
Judy May Chu, Ph.D. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
, Lt. Dan Choi
Dan Choi
Daniel "Dan" Choi is a former American infantry officer in the United States Army who served in combat in the Iraq war during 2006-2007...
, Rep. Keith Ellison
Keith Ellison (politician)
Keith Maurice Ellison is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. The district centers on Minneapolis. He was re-elected in 2010. Ellison is a co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.He is the first Muslim to be elected to the...
, Tarryl Clark
Tarryl Clark
Tarryl Lynne Clark is a Minnesota politician and a former member of the Minnesota Senate who represented District 15 from 2006 to 2011. A Democrat, she also served as assistant majority leader from 2007 to 2011. She was the 2010 DFL Party nominee for Minnesota's 6th congressional district,...
, Dr. Heidi Cullen
Heidi Cullen
Heidi Cullen is interim CEO and lead correspondent for Climate Central. Prior to that, she was the climate expert and correspondent for The Weather Channel where she helped start Forecast Earth, the first weekly program on climate change and the environment. Before joining The Weather Channel she...
, Davey D, Rep. Donna Edwards
Donna Edwards
Donna F. Edwards is the U.S. Representative for , serving since a special election in 2008. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
, Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton
Paul Eaton
Major General Paul D. Eaton is a retired United States Army General most known for his command of operations to train Iraqi troops in George W. Bush's invasion of that country...
, Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders
Laura Flanders is a British-American journalist who presents the current events show GRITtv, broadcast weekdays on Link and Free Speech TV....
, Matthew Filipowicz, Sen. Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
, Rep. John Garamendi
John Garamendi
John Raymond Garamendi is the U.S. Representative for , serving since November 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Garamendi was the California State Insurance Commissioner from 1991 to 1995, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Interior from 1995 to 1998, and the California State Insurance...
, Rep. Luis Gutierrez
Luis Gutiérrez
Luis Vicente Gutiérrez is an American politician and the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1993. Gutiérrez was the first Latino to be elected to Congress from the Midwest. From 1986 until his election to Congress he served as a member of the Chicago City Council representing the 26th ward...
, Jane Hamsher
Jane Hamsher
Jane Hamsher is a US film producer, author, and blogger best known as the author of Killer Instinct, a memoir about co-producing the 1994 movie Natural Born Killers with Don Murphy and others, and as the founder and publisher of the politically progressive blog FireDogLake...
and Montana State Rep. Ellie Hill.
The event featured a number of incidents, including a confrontation between Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...
(who was in attendance at RightOnline, which took place nearby and had unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a media pass to Netroots Nation) and Netroots attendees who heckled him, as well as storm of criticism by LGBT-oriented news sources against President Obama's Communications Director Daniel Pfeiffer
Daniel Pfeiffer
Daniel Pfeiffer is Assistant to the President of the United States and the White House Communications Director. He was previously a member of Obama's presidential transition team....
, who stated that Obama's signature to a 1996 pledge for same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
legalization had been signed by a member of then-Illinois State Senator Obama's
Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama
The Illinois Senate career of Barack Obama began in with the 1997 swearing in of Barack Obama to his first term in the Illinois Senate and ended in 2004 with his election to the United States Senate...
electoral staff instead.
2012
It was announced during the 2011 conference on June 18, 2011 that Netroots Nation 2012 will take place in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
from June 7-10, 2012.
External links
- Netroots Nation official website
- Netroots Nation at Sourcewatch