Al Franken at Netroots Nation
Al Franken gave a great closing address at Netroots Nation. In it he discussed the need for the blogosphere to stay engaged to force the government to do the right thing. He also discussed net neutrality, calling it the 1st amendment issue of our time. If you have some time, it’s definitely worth watching.
Yes, ironically the speech was covered by Fox News but not other news orgs. Apparently Limbaugh has been blasting the NN10 conference all week and Glenn Beck called us “weirdos and hippie freaks” on his show tonight.
Tags: Al Franken, Netroots Nation
How do we know this has not been edited? I don’t trust anything from Fox News. (Never did)
It’s the actual speech. Just beware of clips of the speech from Fox.
About NN10 in general:
There were several high-profile speakers at NN10 (Reid, Pelosi, virtual Obama), apparently attempting to get some face time with the base, which they suddenly realize they will need.
I admit to only skimming through the transcripts, but the speeches seemed pretty bland to the point of insulting, ignoring the frustrations of the netroots.
I hope some of the NN10 organizers got to grill Harry Reid in the back rooms about the public option, the rolling over for filibusters, siding with conservadems over progressives, the undersized ARRA, the loss of COBRA subidies, the compromise on CFPA independence, and on and on.
It’s not enough just to show up. The netroots are too smart to get stars in their eyes about the appearance of a few pols.
Did you hear the dead silence when Al Franken praised Reid?
I don’t think the speeches were bland & insulting. Harry Reid’s was probably the worst but he did express support for filibuster reform (I attended the filibuster reform panel, which I’ll write about later when I have time), repeal of DADT and for protecting Social Security from benefit cuts.
Joan McCarter did announce that Harry Reid promised to answer the questions that were submitted, watch Daily Kos for that post.
If Harry Reid was really interested in filibuster reform, we would not be still waiting for it 4 years after he became Senate Majority Leader in 2006.
Thanks for putting this up U.I. and for spending your personal, precious time bringing us the news from NN10. Great and inspirational stuff and I loved Franken’s reminder that with power comes responsibility. He is right, we have made great strides but we have a very, very long way to go. The fight is only getting started.
I am a heavy-user of DL. At least three visits per day, every day. On lazy summer weekends when all the “cool kids” are busy having real lives I keep on clicking in hopes that somebody will be sharing some new tid-bit I didn’t know. You might say I need a life, or you might say that DL is that useful and makes that much of a contribution to the members who gather here. I even enjoy anon’s whining and whinging because it reminds me that we can’t rest on our laurels. I need those occasional kicks-in-the-butt to keep me motivated. But that is the key, keeping motivated, not throwing in the towel. Dispair is not an option. We’ve started this and, as Senator Franken reminds us, we’ve got to stick with it.
Once again, thank you for your dedication U.I. and all the other “cool kids” who contribute here.
Onward!
If Harry Reid was really interested in filibuster reform, we would not be still waiting for it 4 years after he became Senate Majority Leader in 2006.
Well said. Except that from Harry’s point of view, filibuster reform is probably the one thing that could keep him from getting re-elected.
Conservatives are quite happy with Reid. That is why they put up only clowns against him. But a successful filibuster reform would draw serious Republican candidates out who would probably beat Reid.
I guess that’s why he didn’t mention it until now.