Netroots Nation Recap: Saving the Middle Class
Sorry to be AWOL for most of Netroots Nation. bmaz says I’ve been offline for the last few days because we’ve been drunk and busy, but it seems to me I’ve just been incredibly busy for five days straight. There were a lot of conversations, but the overall theme seemed like a desperate conversation on saving the middle class.
Early in the week, I had some extended conversations with labor folks, including some interesting discussions about the UAW’s plans to organize transplants–I hope to do an extensive follow-up on that.
On Thursday, I had the honor to be on a podium between Howard Dean and Russ Feingold, two of my political inspirations. Though the speakers of the night were probably a Pakistani and Zimbabwean woman talking about how important blogs are to giving women voices in oppressive societies. American Federation of Teachers President, Randi Weingarten, also gave a great talk.
On Thursday, I joined the ACLU and Julian Sanchez talking about all the surveillance we’re under. I think we succeded in scaring a lot of people.
I had conversations with a number of elected officials: Luis Gutierrez on immigration, Keith Ellison on saving the middle class, Sheldon Whitehouse on saving the middle class. Alan Grayson talked about what he’s reading about our increasing inequality in Fed documents. While he’s not elected, Jared Bernstein and I had a great talk about the MI auto bailout (and the fact Republican leaders are now claiming credit for results of stimulus in the midwest).
And then there were two more panels: how to beat back the demonization of the working class, and how to make blogging sustainable. Not sure I know the answer to any of those questions.
I was so busy I didn’t get to see many panels. But Van Jones had a great speech and the best panel I did sit in on featured Whitehouse and Dahlia Lithwick talking about the corporatization of the courts. Whitehouse emphasized how real people are increasingly losing the access to jury trials, something which our Constitution protects with far more urgency than corporations.
And I suppose bmaz is right that we spent a good deal of time, um, socializing. Barry Eisler–the author of the novel, Inside Out, that features a character named Marcy Wheeler–was one of the people I met for the first time this year. I thanked him for making it so Marcy Wheeler didn’t get laid or killed. But I saw a bunch of old friends, too.
I’m sure I’ll have more substantive stuff as I process the last several days. But processing it all is going to take a day or so yet.
Marcy,
Thanks for being there for us! And when you can, I still want to hear your intro to Russ Feingold. Russ was on the archives available, but couldn’t find your intro. At least maybe could you post the text of your intro?
I’m having all kinds of regrets about not coming to NN this year. I miss it terribly. And I really could have made it with adequate advance planning, which the skinflint side of my personality. And my wife would have loved the opportunity to spend a few days at the Mall of the Americas, or whatever it is called.
Thanks!
Bob in AZ
They said they were going to send me vid. I’ll follow up in a day or so.
I didn’t write down what I said. It was mostly about the 3 things he has been proven fucking right on: campaign finance (McCain Feingold), banking (Gramm Leach Bliley, TARP, and Timmeh Geithner), and surveillance (PATRIOT). Then I noted I had one gripe: that he had not yet graced Netroots Nation with his presence before. Which is when I welcomed him, finally, to NN.
Thanks! I think you spoke for all of us– me, at least!
And I’ll look forward to your vid!
Bob in AZ
Middle class will soon mean being able to buy a donut occasionally. Its being downsized along with everything besides CEO bonuses which have been SUPER-SIZED.
Who will pay taxes when the middle class expires?
The serfs.
All of the talks you had with folks centered around the fact that the MOTU have stolen the country and nothing is left. The MOTU’s are not interested in democracy, America, the middle class, the poor, the economy, the planet. I don’t know where they think they will go to live. The rest of the world is pissed and Americans are catching up. Shit, I would have had a ton to drink, too.
Will they seize it in sheep, barley and radishes?
marcy…
you have probably already read chomsky on the failure of social movements in the u.s. and “worker self-managed production aimed at real social needs” as a potential answer… if not, here is a link to the tikkun interview conducted back in march…
Overcoming Despair as the Republicans Take Over: A Conversation with Noam Chomsky
as long as we sit by and allow global capital to rule our lives, we going to keep getting the same thing we’ve been getting over the past 30 years… we also have to face up to the fact that we need to band together and stop galloping off in 48 different directions and thinking that’s going to somehow make a difference…
i’m on a number of liberal, progressive mailing lists (and, yes, a few conservative ones too), i’m astonished at the number of requests i get on a daily basis asking for my support in this or that cause, everything from saving the whales to preserving a free internet to “please support candidate x”… there’s no critical mass on anything, particularly anything i would consider important… oh, yes, there are pleas to restore civil liberties, protests against shredding the 4th amendment, but nobody is lined up on anything… it’s pathetic…
chomsky’s right… worker self-managed production that addresses the common good isn’t even on the radar, and it’s precisely a serious discussion on that topic that could be the game-changer we so desperately seek…
And, yes, I DO take it personally
On the death of the Middle Class:
For a good example of how the rest of the world views the US
(basically already a second world country with nukes),
read this piece of market commentary from a trader in Doha, more for the tone than for the details.
It’s time to slow down, get in the way and be a tree in their road. I have a feeling many are mad as hell and not wanting to bend over any more. I have a list running for Mitt and Obama…Mitt would not sign the abortion compact and he thinks warming may be man made…then there is Obama with the Bush actions and not putting on the shoes to walk with unions and not doing all he humanly can to help the middle class. It may be a matter of or choice between knowing you are going to get screwed, or getting screwed after many, many lies and broken promises. I’m getting too old not to respect myself–lies are just a waste of time. Can someone be devil’s advocate and give me more reasons to vote for Mitt?
Mitt refused to sign the R’s anti-abortion compact or statement. He did not totally fall in line with the women-haters.
“I think we succeded in scaring a lot of people.” I’m trying to figure out if I use “The quality of Marcy is not strained,” of “Putting the fear of Marcy into them..”
Either way, thanks for being there.
Have you noticed the discussion across the US on saving the middle class. I guess we gave up on boot strapping the poor under Bushco and dropped the thought totally under Obama LLC. Interesting how we went from a Nation that pulled together to overcome the Depression and defeat fascism (sure one helped the other) becoming the richest nation on earth, to one that uses loafers because we unable to tie our shoes without help. From a nation of yes we will to a nation of no we can’t.
Bmaz
This OT and maybe not the way to go about this. But its has to do with job creation and middle class values- and supporting the net root nation . Its a business plan that would target returning women veterans especially those without work and homes.
Basically it would stand up five to ten charters services in Austin ( think taxis without meters -the veterans are the owners ) The charters would support ten to twenty veterans . The funding would range from five charter services for $ 250,000 – to ten charter services for $ 500,000 ( 50k per charter service ) I would also like to look for progressive returning women veterans -as I see potential for these charters to help other groups in town – The investors would be paid back in three years principal plus ten per cent interest .
I just joined Emily’s List and left a similar comment
What do you think ?
Hey there, it sounds pretty interesting to me. I actually say a guy at Netroots Nation, Micah Sifry, talking about sharing and common enterprise, and I think this fits right in with some of the things he was talking about. I like your idea, and I bet he would like to hear it too. Here is a link:
http://techpresident.com/blogs/micah-l-sifry
EW__Thanks for all you do.
As for”how to beat back the demonization of the working class”, here are 3 suggestions:
1. Read Einstein’s essay On Socialism.
2. Read G Orwell’s Road To Wigan Pier
3.Ponder the question, “How do you tell a leader from a misleader?”.
Electrifying suggestions, Mr/Ms kilowatt. May spark some ideas.
Read Einstein’s essay On Socialism here.
Read G Orwell’s Road To Wigan Pier here.
Corporations started beating back the working class (union workers) back in the 60’s. Demonized unions. To the point where many young people had little to no idea about what unions were about. The merge between many progressives (many of them also unaware of the history of unions) and labor the last 10 or so years has been a beautiful evolution.
I keep thinking about how to engage the older union members in our country to inspire the youth. Documentary, commercials about how these folks were able to pull themselves up by their boot straps because of unions, fair wages, collective bargaining.
OT —
Why did O go to Puerto Rico this week?
To convince those folks to be come a state so he can tax them? (no fed tax in PR now).
Just what exactly was the agenda? anyone know?
Marcy, it was great meeting you and bmaz and getting to enjoy the healthful and nutritious Brits fare, too. Thanks for appreciating that the fictional Marcy Wheeler got neither laid nor killed, as for most of my characters it’s one or the other or even occasionally both.
Seriously, thanks for the invaluable work you do here and hope to see you somewhere again soon.
Middle class so beat down. Banksters etc happy to keep it that way. Does not leave much time to be keeping tabs on your elected leaders and government. Too busy figuring out how to pay the bills.
Met a former (laid off) GM worker the other day who was applying for a job at Wal Mart (really) where his eighteen year old daughter was working. You have heard those “I’m so happy to have a job” stories on Npr “So happy to have a job, any job” This represents the recovery. Yikes.
Have been wondering for two solid years why Obama team has not come out with a Government Works Program? A new “WPA” Guess he kept believing his team
OT:
The thought of bmaz counting down the 10,000 lakes just put me into giggles.
A big “thank you!” to Mr. EW for driving you and bmaz with a “Lake count down” going on in the car!
EW, one of your gifts is writing about saving the Middle Class. At the end of last week, I was suggesting a discussion needs to happen IRT the hit the Middle Class will take with the cuts in Medicaid. The job loss projections are probably too low because they only account for those in the direct line of service providers to Medicaid recipients. The second and third tier impacts have not been written about or addressed as far as I can find.
A loss of 2.1 – 2.9 private sector jobs is a disaster. And what will that job loss cost our country?
And one of these years, I will need to make attending NN fit my schedule.
Next year, it will be in Rhode Island. Keith Olberman will be a keynote speaker, as will Sheldon Whitehouse, as host. It would be a bit of a far stretch for me; I should have gone this year. California in 2013?
Bob in AZ
posaune at #17–think I saw on another blog that Obama may possibly have a bank account in the Caribbean somewhere. Am hoping though, for all of us, that this item is wrong.
bmaz@24
Thanks bmaz – I tried linking to the site you provided- but it would not let me connect . The other piece of this might be to try to do a before and after documentary . That is the veterans are interviewed about difficulties of finding work & then after– how the charter services being stood up helped these women veterans . I could see other services such as catering , also being used to help our veterans start businesses . And perhaps when the money gets paid back from the intial investors -it could be used as seed money for the next veteran owned enterprise.
Can you maybe just give me Mr Sifry’s email address ?