This year's YearlyKos was the last

[SharonRB]

Beginning next year, it will be called "Netroots Nation" to be more inclusive of all of the netroots and not sound so limited to Kos. It's not that they weren't being inclusive already -- everyone was welcome -- but the participants were mostly Kossacks and folks from FDL. We only had about 7 or 8 DUers there. I hope the new name will encourage more DUers to come next year.

It was a fantastic experience -- there were amazing speakers, lots of candidates (in addition to the presidential candidates), famous bloggers (Digby among them), etc. I recommend that anyone who can get away for it next year attend. They haven't yet announced the dates or location.

[Skink]

1. Turkey hotdogs are good too.

[swag]

2. Good report, and thanks for the notification.

I'd love to go next year.

[SharonRB]

4. I'd love to see you there!

[defendandprotect]

3. I watched Dean's comments . . .any other interesting things to report???

[DFW]

5. I'm kinda partial, but

The Freedom Toast put on a live show the first night,
did songs about the candidates of both parties, and
were rather merciless toward the far right, doing a song
to the tune of "The Locomotion," but about Sam Brownback
singing "Come on, baby, don't teach evolution."

I wasn't there, but my rave review came none other than
Howard Dean, so I assume it was a fun show. From the sound
of it, the serious side of it was just as rewarding for all
who attended. Next year should be of an electricity level
sufficient to light up Las Vegas at night!

[SharonRB]

8. I was there!

I laughed so hard my stomach ached by the time they were done. They were hysterical! Yes, Howard Dean was there for part of the performance. I had hoped to talk to him afterwards, but he left before the end.

[DFW]

14. Now you're REALLY making me feel bad I missed it

Confession time: I wrote their Brownback "Evolution" song.
(I told you I was partial)

Feel free to tell me about the rest, though!!

[SharonRB]

16. That was a great song.

Very funny!

[SharonRB]

7. I just got home a few hours ago and haven't had time to put my

thoughts together to do a long post yet. I need to think about it a bit and want to download my photos, too. I will do so in the next few days sometime.

The major highlights:

Dean's speech
Wes Clark's speech
A session called "Left Behind by the Right" with Cenk Uygur, John Dean, David Brock and Eric Massa (who filled in for Arianna Huffington after she broke her ankle). These were all former Repubs who spoke about why they left the party. It was amazing and I loved seeing John Dean up close.
The presidential forum and breakout session with Gov. Richardson.
And getting the opportunity to meet.....

Wes Clark
Sam Seder
Jim Dean
Cenk Uygur
Sidney Blumenthal
Eric Massa
Cliff Schechter
Bill Richardson
Chris Dodd
Markos
Matt Stoller
Jane Hamsher from FDL
Christy Hardin Smith from FDL
Pachacutec from FDL
Jeffrey Feldman
Bob Fertik
Bob Geiger
John Dean (well, I didn't really meet him, but did tell him in the hall how much I liked the session noted above)
A number of other congressional candidates

[checks-n-balances]

13. "Left Behind by the Right" - what a great idea, to hear "testimony"

about why they "left" their party. Earlier, I watched Cenk's video and thought, "I with more people would put their personal experiences on video and made available far & wide for others to hear, maybe through YouTube. Since we're always getting shortchanged through Corporate Media and people are too pressed for time these days to do much digging for the truth (and/or don't know where the reliable sources are), then maybe they could get some concise reasons why they need to abandon the rightwing philosophy and influence. People could talk about the "Tipping Point" that made them change. If you know anybody influential there, pass along that idea from someone not fortunate enough to go to the Convention...yet.

By the way, the OP title of this thread sounds VERY ominous, and I'm glad it wasn't more than just a title change for next year. I thought it was going to be another very depressing thread after the events of the weekend.

I envy those who got to go to this convention, to meet other people, for the mental and emotional uplift, and to be able to focus on politics without getting utterly depressed like many of us did around here for the last couple of days. It sounds like it was an absolute blast and thrill to see and hear from such a distinguished group of leaders. I hope maybe someday soon they'll all have more power.

Wish I could've been there, but I'm certainly glad you go to go and told us about it when you came back. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us!

[SharonRB]

15. I intentionally used that thread title to draw people in

Sometimes if you put too much in the title, no one bothers to read it, so I thought I'd do what I did. Actually, when they made the announcement Friday night, this is pretty much how they did it.

Cenk was talking about that session on the show this morning, and it was pretty cool to be able to say "I was there!"

[jgraz]

6. Good move -- I, for one, didn't plan to go because of the Kos-centric name

Next year I'll be there.

[SharonRB]

9. I didn't let that keep me away

but I thought it might have kept others away. Hopefully we can get more of us there next year and have a real presence.

[Cheney Killed Bambi]

10. It was awesome

I can't wait for next year. I heard rumours that both New Orleans and Philadelphia were being considered.

[SharonRB]

17. You were there, too?

I wondered if there were other DUers we didn't know were there. I thought there were only 7 or 8 of us. We tried to get a big meetup together, but it just didn't happen. Only a few of us wound up getting together.

[bleever]

11. Thanks for the notice, so DUers can gear up.

:hi:

[SharonRB]

18. Hey, Bleev!

:hi:

[BlooInBloo]

12. I'm gonna make a point of going next year.

[KharmaTrain]

19. Well Worth Going And Thensome

When I first saw the title on this thread, I got a little shiver through me...had YKos gotten so big that it had become a Woodstock...growing too fast too quick...but I like the new name, since it really does cover what's going on here. It wasn't a "Kossack Party" as I read in some place, but a real gathering of lots of different bloggers and media types. It seemed like every other badge I saw had a green "Media" sticker on it.

My only minor complaint was that it was difficult to figure out who was talking where...especially blogger panels, even though I floated around from forum to forum, room to room, there were some panels I couldn't get to. Also, dare I say, starting at 9am was a bit of a stretch for me...and it looked like for others as well (looks like many attending enjoyed the nightlife and then some).

I'm lucky that this year's convention was on my home turf, but I do plan to go next year wherever it is. While people here were anguishing about the latest House & Senate cave-ins, YKos was a wonderful counter-balance as the netroots put on one hell of a show...yes, it wasn't just Kos, it was many, many others.

I had a chance to meet folks like Digby, Jane Hamsher, Sam Seder (we battled over the water fountain), Duncan Black (yes, he's as surly in person as in his posts) and many, many more. But it wasn't the bloggers, but the many candidates who I met and chatted with that were the most fascinating...I look forward to seeing and supporting many of these people next year.

Cheers to all who were at YKos...and to those who are thinking about it next year and can afford to go...DO IT!!!

[SharonRB]

20. Sorry we didn't get to meet.

I heard from Catchawave that you were there, but we never found you.

Didn't you hear Gina (although it may have been Markos) make this announcement about the name change when she spoke Friday night?

I felt the same way as you about everything -- I was just sorry I didn't get to more forums/workshops, etc. I was spending a lot of time with Nancy Skinner, whose campaign I worked on last time out and will be again. She made a ton of great contacts and introduced me to a number of people she knew who I never would have met otherwise, like Sidney Blumenthal, Sam Seder, Bob Fertik and Jeffrey Feldman.

I would love for it to be in Chicago again, since it's so easy for me to get to, but hopefully wherever it is I'll be able to afford to get to it again.

[KharmaTrain]

21. I Would Have Enjoyed Meeting Nancy

I talked to her years ago when she was doing a show on WLS (long since removed from my radio push-buttons)...is she still in Detroit?

I'm also hoping future conventions are held here...considering Markos not only is from Chicago, but is an NIU alumni...but I'd prefer it out of downtown...the driving and parking are always a killer (even though I found shortcuts around Lollipolooza)...my dogs are still yelping from all the walking I did over the weekend. But it was well worth it.

I'm seriously thinking of going next year no matter where it is...this time staying in the hotel and enjoying all the stmosphere. Hopefully you'll be at a future one as well...as well as other DU'ers. I hooked up with several promising Progressive candidates, including one in my Congressional District, who I plan to help in the months ahead. I brought my son to the forum on Saturday and not a lot impresses him, but this did...he kept saying "ya know, we might have just seen the next President". Priceless.

Cheers to you and hope we do catch up...along with other Chicago and Illinois DUers sometime in the future.

:toast:

[SharonRB]

22. Chicago is great, but the venue sucked

It would have been nicer to really stay IN the city where the action is.

Nancy is still in Detroit, but she hasn't been on the air since December '05. She almost won her congressional race last year -- lost by only 5% or so -- and is going to run again. I volunteered on her last campaign and we became friends.

I hope we didn't see the next president -- I'm still holding out for Al!