Netroots Nation: A Fly on the Wall
Published July 18, 2008
Can Partisanship and Business Mix?
What shocked me about many of the businesses in the exhibit hall was how ideologically motivated they were. I'm used to dealing with businesses which put the interests of the customer first and want to use their expertise to make as much money as they can from as many clients as they can dig up. What I found here was that there were a number of startup web businesses which were proud and outspoken about their intent to work only with clients who were bonafide members of the political left. They included Wired for Change who seemed proud that they had rejected a liberal Republican who wanted to work with them, and Advomatic who had cool retro signage, but shocked me when one of their staffers declared that even if a Republican offered them 100,000 times more than their usual fees they would never take him as a client. I wonder how well those principles would hold up in hard times, facing the failure that comes to so many internet startups. Does political loyalty feed the kids when the wolf is at the door? Of course, it's possible that my disguise was good enough that all of this brand loyalty was just a pitch based on the assumption that as a Netroots attendee I'd be outraged if they were less than gung ho for the team.
Of course, there were some non-partisan groups there, and they offered some of the most interesting booths. Law Enforcement Against Prohibition had a large booth, staffed by people who I had a suspicion were not exactly as left-leaning as they pretended to be in order to fit in. I was surprised not to have seen them at Republican events where I think they would get an even better reception. One of their staffers commented on how surprisingly unsympathetic Democrats as a group seemed to be to their anti-drugwar message in comparison to Republicans. Also pretty interesting was a group I hadn't encountered before called the Sunlight Foundation a DC-based group, whose goal is to increase public access to legislation, public documents and funding records, which is a pretty laudable cause. They're the umbrella group under which sites like Open Secrets and Congresspedia operate. I particularly like their new project, MapLight, which uses a google-like map system to graphically provide access to donation records for political campaigns. You can type in any candidate and it brings up a map of who contributed to him and where they live, including breaking down donations so you can tell what groups and types of donors are supporting them. Very useful, and a clever implementation. Between these various sites they're developing a one-stop resource which is absolutely invaluable.
Dave Nalle has been a magazine editor, freelance writer, capitol hill staffer, game designer and taught college history for many years. He is Vice Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, working to promote liberty in the GOP. He designs fonts for a living and lives with his family just outside Austin. You can find his writings on politics and culture at Republic of Dave, on conspiracy theories at IdiotWars and on design and fonts at The Scriptorium.
- Netroots Nation: A Fly on the Wall
- Published: July 18, 2008
- Type: Opinion
- Section: Politics
- Filed Under: Politics: Elections and Candidates, Politics: Government, Politics: Law and Rights, Politics: Local and Regional, Politics: Policy, Politics: U.S.
- Part of a feature: On The Road To 2008
- Writer: Dave Nalle
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Comments
I heard that they were issuing two different media badges at Netroots Nation, one for those who agreed with the organizers politically and a special one labelled "Opinion Media" for people who weren't left enough for them. Which one did you get?
"Blogcritic's Dave Nalle files his first spy report. As he acknowledges right off the bat, he is there undercover to see what the other side is doing. He demonstrates his complete ignorance of the left blogosphere in his description of the attendees and the dkos blogging community. Beware who you're talking to at the conference." Kos
Got your BC-issued cyanide pill, Dave?
They're on to you Dave...be careful out there...keep your head down!
maybe you need to commute between these events in something really green. You can borrow my e-bike, that might make them happy!
The Wobblies? The IWW? Didn't they officialy go extinct when U. Utah Phillips died a couple weeks ago? Oh well, no more of those great concerts. And exotic foods celebrated in song like "Moose Turd Pie". He was good, though.
I'm only surprised that you went to the convention dressed in shorts, thus risking derision for exposing your varicose veined lily-white gams to public view. Why, after witnessing that display some louts might conclude that your writing is equally shameless.
Bliff, I'm from Texas. I wear shorts 300 days a year, so my legs are nice and tanned. No need to fear.
Dave
...do you wear your chaps over the shorts cowboy - ?
Troll,
Cowboy chaps and shorts, while useful, do not protect the part of the anatomy which The Reverend Mr. Jackson graciously offered to remove from The Reverend Mr. Senator Obama.
Dan
'Blogcritic's Dave Nalle'...sounds pretty good -
those boys and girls over at the Kos take themselves awful serious-like don'cha know
"those boys and girls over at the Kos take themselves awful serious-like don'cha know"
And for no discernible reason...
Got your BC-issued cyanide pill, Dave?
Dang, Matt. Mine is past the expiration date. I hope I'm not in trouble.
maybe you need to commute between these events in something really green. You can borrow my e-bike, that might make them happy!
Sadly, my BigAss Ecotruck is in the shop.
The comment on my first report over at DailyKos would be a lot more useful if it actually explained HOW I had failed to understand the left bloggers. I suspect that my failure is that I haven't bought into the concept that they speak with the voice of god.
Dave
I didn't think a guy hunched over his computer 12 hours a day pounding out fonts and columns could get enough of the blue rays of his CRTs onto his legs to give them any color. And I can't imagine sun exposure.
Someone's wi-fi router doesn't reach their back patio.
My wifi reaches all the way to the pool, where I sometimes do my writing. Plus I've been known to frequent sidewalk cafes which have wifi when I get stuck in downtown Austin. I also type with amazing speed, leaving me time for some outdoor activities.
So, with my natural tanning ability, I'm remarkably dark.
Dave
Hi,
Can anyone confirm that postcards for my anti-war satire "Military Intelligence and You" were included in the registration bags? Thanks.
I have so much junk in my bag now that I'm not sure, but I'll check and get backl to you later, Dale.
dave
BTW, my second report, which gives some time to the other side's alternative to Netroots Nation is posted now. Look for A Tale of Two Netroots.
More later today.
Dave
Just hoping that my postcard is part of that junk...Thanks for checking.
Dale
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/79157)
oh, dave... i see you falling apart at some point. you? at a daily kos event?
i'm rubbing my crystal balls! there! i see something... coming out! there is something in the mist! oh, damn, man... i'm sorry. no, that's not mystical spit. not at all.