The far Right Wing Washington Examiner's columnist Charlie Spiering tries to minimize the impact that the liberal blogers and activists gathered in Providence for Netroots Nation.
Liberal Netroots Nation losing luster
by Charlie Spiering
Today, I am blogging live from Netroots Nation in Providence, Rhode Island, a political conference for liberal bloggers that used to be a must-attend event for Democrat candidates and elected officials.
Back in 2007, the conference (then called YearlyKos) drew the three major Democratic presidential candidates; Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, and Barack Obama. Before the midterm elections in 2010, the Netroots Nation conference drew then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who held question-and-answer sessions with the audience. Sen. Al Franken also wowed the crowed together with several sitting Democrat congressmen.
But this year, there are very few prominant elected Democrats present who are speaking at the conference. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island is here of course, as the conference is being held in his home state - also speaking on a panel is Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon.
Losing its luster sure as hell wasn't my impression after four days at NN 2012. Attendance Netroots Nation grows each year, as more and more liberal activists take advantage of dozens of sessions for improving what we do, and the opportunity to network with people and organizations around the country. Had the Demctatic nomination been a contested one, I'm sure the candidates would have appeared, and the campaigns would have lavished attention on those attending Netroots Nation.
This is pure wishful thinking on the part of Charlie Spiering. Lets hope his ill informed readers make the mistake of writing us off as intransigent.
If anything has lost its luster its theyears Republicans' stale, warmed over, faikled policies from the George W. Bush