YearlyKos 2007 Photo Essay (UPDATE: Nirmal Lives!)

by: Brainwrap

Mon Aug 06, 2007 at 18:25:22 PM EDT

I went, I saw, I returned. I'm not one of the more prominent or prolific Kossacks, and I didn't have any idea what to expect or what (if anything) I might be able to contribute. Even so, the closeness of the venue this year (I'm in a suburb of Detroit) combined with the realization that I haven't been on an overnight trip by myself (ie, no family) in a whopping 7 years made it a no-brainer to attend.

The first thing I'll say is that I should've paid more attention to the schedule--for some reason I was under the impression that Dean's keynote address on Thursday evening was the first event; sadly, this meant that my Thursday afternoon arrival (followed by having to check in, find my hotel room, etc) resulted in my missing several sessions earlier that day. Worse yet, the timing of my *return* trip meant that I missed all of the closing stuff on Sunday. Live and learn; lesson for next year: if you want the full experience, show up the day before and don't leave until the evening of the last day.

I was fortunate enough to receive a heads-up about the pre-Keynote event with Howard Dean held especially for DNC Bondholders. Truth be told, it wasn't really that big of a deal--he mostly just gave a shorter version of the same speech that he'd give an hour later during the keynote address. Still, it was pretty cool to sit in the front row as Dean (introduced by Cliff Schecter) talked about the new "comb every precinct" DNC program (or whatever the official title is for it), in which they plan on getting detailed info about how every precinct, city, county, district and state runs the actual mechanics of their elections.

I popped in on the "What Really Happened" panel, which went into the backstory of the Lamont/Lieberman race. I was pleasantly surprised to see Ned Lamont himself sitting quietly in the audience (yeah, it's a lousy pic, sorry about that...my camera ain't the best...)

OK, there's a great little story behind these two photos which should give some idea of the surreal stuff that was going on:

The first pic is of Michigan Liberal's own Liberal Lucy, sitting alongside Cliff Schecter, who Rush Limbaugh has "never heard of." Lucy had just been interviewed by NBC News a little while earlier; she, Cliff, myself, Nirmal and a few others were in the middle of discussing the Great Michigan Republican Progressive Blog Blackout Brouhaha when Schecter asked to borrow my MacBook's AC adapter, as his MacBook battery was dead and he forgot to bring his own charger. While his battery is charging, he pulls out some photos of his baby boy, which of course leads me to fire up my laptop to show the desktop photo of my own son.

Then, while the guy who kicks GOP talking heads' asses on a regular basis was borrowing my laptop charger, Nirmal asks to borrow the laptop itself to check his email. Some ABC News reporter sees him typing away and asks if he's a "blog-ger" (she actually said it just like that). Next thing he knows, he's being interviewed by ABC News (second photo) while holding my laptop.

Long story short, my laptop is now more famous than I am. The only concern I have is that depending on what sort of close-up b-roll footage they got, it's possible that my son's picture was seen on national TV, which wouldn't sit too well with my wife (who is pretty private about such things). I dunno--did anybody watch ABC News Saturday evening?

Some time ago, I mentioned that my mother, who's about the least politically-active person in the world, is ga-ga over Bill Richardson. When I told her that I was attending yKos, she made me promise to get a shot of the Governor, so here you go, ma (no, she doesn't read dKos, I'll send her the pic). Bonus: Richardson posed with me, yay! (I'm still leaning towards Edwards, though...)

For those who couldn't make it, I just wanted to emphasize the insane number of reporters, cameras and other broadcast equipment throughout the candidate forum on Saturday.

I'm sure others have mentioned this, but Barack Obama, while giving pretty good, solid answers during the forum, really needs to remember to face the audience (ie, cameras) while doing so. He spent most of his on-screen time with his head turned to the side, talking to the moderators. Work on it.

I attended John Edwards' breakout session after the forum. I thought he did very well (of course I'm biased, since I'm leaning his way anyway), especially with what could have been a particularly unpleasant question--the woman on the far left introduced herself as "a nurse working at a clinic with a doctor who was once sued for malpractice BY YOU!", who went on to ask Edwards about his stance on medical malpractice lawsuits, TORT reform and related issues. Edwards' response was impressive IMO--he basically said that before going to trial, a third-party/independent commission should review potential cases to give them a "legitimacy blessing" (my term, not his) of sorts; if the case isn't "certified" as legitimate, and the lawyer decides to press forward with it anyway--and loses--the LAWYER should be the one who has to pay the legal costs. Interesting idea.

Not much to say about this one--Gary Trauner, aka the Democrat who came within a whisker of winning Dick Cheney's old House seat in Wyoming last year--seems like a pretty nice guy. He told me that he Cheney actually lives only a half-mile or so from him, which has got to be pretty creepy.

Anyway, I had a great time, met some awesome people, and am greatly looking forward to attending the (newly named) "Netroots Nation" next year! (How about Detroit or Lansing this time? I'm feeling lazy...)