Obama and Pelosi rally progressives at Netroots Nation
Click to viewWashington Post: Obama, Pelosi urge activists at Netroots Nation to keep fighting for change
By Philip Rucker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 25, 2010
LAS VEGAS -- President Obama and other Democratic leaders appealed to a gathering of prominent liberal activists Saturday, seeking to win back a disenchanted constituency that appears uninterested in helping the party avoid large losses in November's midterm elections.
In a videotaped speech at the annual Netroots Nation convention, Obama acknowledged that for many Americans, "change hasn't come fast enough." He said he shared that frustration, but he asked liberals to stick with him and the party.
"Change is hard, but if we've learned anything these past 18 months, it's that change is possible," Obama said, adding, "Let's finish what we've started."
Even so, some of the 2,100 liberal activists gathered here for a three-day conference were stewing over the Obama agenda and said they would do little to protect Democratic majorities in Congress.
"There's a lot of Democrats I'll be happy to see go," said Markos Moulitsas, who founded the convention five years ago as an offshoot of his Daily Kos blog. "There is a price to be paid for inaction and incompetence. We're not getting much done with 59 [Democratic senators], so if we're down to 54, who cares?"
The liberal Net-roots movement grew up fighting former president George W. Bush, and in 2008, progressives succeeded in helping push the Republican Party out of power. But the movement's leaders complain that their efforts have not been rewarded.
Obama and some congressional Democrats were too moderate in their approach to health care and have failed to act on other issues, the activists say. It was not lost on them that Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) last week said he was kicking legislation for a cap-and-trade system to curb greenhouse gases down the road until it has bipartisan support.
"I am so sick and tired of Democrats saying, 'We don't have the votes,' " Ed Shultz, a liberal radio commentator and MSNBC anchor, said in a keynote speech that electrified the audience on opening night. "You know what? Go get 'em!"
Dose of reality
By the conference's close Saturday, liberals had swallowed a dose of reality from the Democratic Party's top officials. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arrived Saturday with a blunt appeal: The gates to a progressive agenda have opened under Democratic control, she said, and they will close if Republicans seize power.
"The leverage has changed," Pelosi said, over and over again, citing the passage of health care and financial regulatory reform. "This doesn't happen in a Republican Congress. . . . Understand what is at risk when we go into these elections 100 days from tomorrow."
Pelosi was enthusiastically embraced by the audience, as was Obama's video clip.
"In ways large and small, we've begun to deliver on the change we fought so hard for," Obama said, noting that he is working to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and to end the combat mission in Iraq.
More at the link in the headline, including a slideshow and summaries of Harry Reid and Van Jones addressing the convention.
As a regular poster on Daily Kos, I know a lot of the participants in Netroots Nation. I couldn't attend this year, but plan on going to next year's, when it will be in Minneapolis.