Parting the Red Sea

In this post and the next, I'm going to make two arguments as to why you should consider taking a progressive politics vacation in Washington D.C. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, March 17-19—that is, if you haven't made plans yet to attend Take Back America already. Thinks of it as a Nation cruise, only without Alexander Cockburn in beachwear.

The first argument: I'd sincerely like to meet each and every one of you. The writing game can be a lonely biz. Communing in the flesh with my readers is truly one of the great joys in my life.

Surest way to meet me—after, that is, registering for the conference is to attend the session I'm chairing Monday morning at 11:45 am. In, naturally, the Omni Shoreham's Blue Room, where we shall be parting George Bush's Red Sea.

Call it an early anniversary party. Almost one year ago—on April 17, 2007—we launched the Big Con as a blog dedicated to the proposition that not only had conservatism failed, conservatism cannot but fail. That a movement predicated on contempt for government cannot be trusted to govern. That the problem wasn't George W. Bush, and wouldn't end once George W. Bush was banished from office—that the problem was conservatism, and that progressives shouldn't rest until "conservative" has became a dirty word (Tim Russert: "How can you expect to be elected president, Mr. McCain, given all your well-document conservative positions?") just as "liberal," tragically, was rendered a dirty word by Republicans in the seventies, eighties, and nineties. The Scarlet C.

And so, on Monday morning, our progress report.

I'll be moderating, in my inimitably immoderate fashion. I'll be joined by three great panelists. First, Mike Zielinski of the United Steelworkers (who just got back from a very exciting trip organizing for worker rights in Liberia; be sure to ask him about that). Mike is from the USW's Strategic Campaigns department, and will speak about one of their most strategic, and effective, campaigns: fighting "Toxic Trade."

How effective? Well, I remember at Thanksgiving when a sister-in-law of mine who doesn't follow politics closely started going on and on about how disgusting it is that American companies are importing toys manufactured in China and tainted with lead. The fact that mothers across the country are talking about the issue owes mightily to Mike's excellent work on the subject (you can learn more about it here. It's been one of the most effective wedges in advancing the argument that Ronald Reagan's injunction at his 1981 inauguration "government isn't the solution, government is the problem," has brought naught but disasters to our nation.

I'm particularly excited to have Cliff Schechter on the panel. Cliff has made of himself a legend among grassroots progressives for making GOP hacks cry on TV (here, here, here, here, here, and here.

(Whoof. Just watched those videos again. Hold on a sec whilst I wipe the wingnut guts off my screens....OK...Done.)

So Cliff is going to talk about...well, I'm going to leave you in suspense about what Cliff is going to talk about. You'll just have come and see. Make like you're going to a Gallagher concert because I predict wingnut guts flying forth into the first, second, third, and possibly forth rows of the Blue Room.

Finally, I'm especially jazzed to be hosting Arizona State Representative Krysten Sinema. Becuase Krysten beats conservatives. Bad. Her biggest accomplishment? Keeping a gay marriage ban out of the Arizona Constitution.

Arizona conservatives hateKrysten Sinema.

So come on out to the Blue Room Monday after next. And remember to bring your plastic sheeting.