Breaking: Bill Clinton Heralds Blogs, Answers Heckler

Pittsburgh, PA

9:42pm 8/13/2009 President Clinton just took the stage at Netroots Nation, opening with a joke about how many Republicans think President Obama was born in the United States, teeing off earlier remarks by Rep. Brad Miller. Then he turned serious, crediting the netroots for playing a constructive role in American politics.

"I'd like to thank you for what you do and the contribution you have made to dramatically elevating of our public discourse and the base level of knowledge of people [in politics]," he said at the top of his speech. "I keep a file with me on economics and a file on energy," Clinton continued, "I was looking it through it the other day and was stunned at the number of articles that came from blog sites."

Clinton also credited bloggers for being candid about their policy and partisan preferences. Bloggers takes sides, he told the crowd, and "you don't have to pretend you're not [taking sides]."

The former president turned to a few general issues, saying he hoped to provide "grist" for the mills of the netroots. "It matters whether this Congress passes a comprehensive health care reform bill for this President to sign," Clinton said, to applause, and he later said he has always favored a public option for health care reform.

Clinton declared that the new era of progressive politics could last 30 to 40 years "if we do it right." He reminisced about his time working for Sen. William Fulbright, and noted that after 1968 Republicans managed to build a long-term coalition based on cultural division and corporate economics. Then, taking a page out of the Fox News playbook, Clinton jokingly hurled the c-word at one opponent, arguing that President Nixon looked like a "communist" compared to later, more conservative Republicans.

Then, ticking through recent politics, Clinton credited his successor, George W. Bush, for tapping a new mood in the country by promising compassionate conservatism and a more open, tolerant stance towards immigrants. (Clinton also took a moment to knock Bush v. Gore as "one of the five worst decisions" ever handed down by the Supreme Court.) "America is a different place today," Clinton continued, stressing that "the culture" is now with progressives, based on racial progress and global interdependence. The U.S. will have no "majority race" by 2050, Clinton added.

About 20 minutes into his address, Clinton was briefly interrupted by blogger Lane Hudson asking about a repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." First Clinton joked that the interruption sounded more like a health care town hall. Then he turned serious, answering the question by noting that at the time, Congress built a "veto-proof" majority that would reverse any attempt to admit gays in the military by executive order. The crowd interrupted several times to applaud Clinton's defense. Continuing the multi-point defense, Clinton pointed to the conversion of Gen. John Shalikashvili, who opposed gays in the military at the time, and has since reversed his position. Stressing the complexity of the issue, Clinton said he "hated" what happened and regretted that gays remain excluded from open service in the military.

"While we're at it," the former president continued, "let me say one thing about DOMA [Defense of Marriage Act]." Clinton defended the bill as a means to avoid an anti-gay constitutional amendment that, he argued, would have been worse for gay rights.

Turning back to his prepared remarks, Clinton urged attendees to continue their work on health care. He returned to discussing the blog posts he read, suggesting that some health care posts may be too technical to win over the general public. The former president emphasized that President Obama needed help to win the larger argument and moral imperative of health care reform, and that activists should be careful not to bog down in specifics. Clinton also credited the President for doing a great job at his New Hampshire town hall, and he touched on some of the conservative misinformation that has been percolating about health care reform. Finally, Clinton predicted that even if the public wavers on reform now, once a bill passes, it will draw significant public approval.

9:30pm 8/13/2009

The Big Dog is running late.

Organizers at Netroots Nation already pushed their first night schedule back to accommodate the late addition of President Bill Clinton, but now he's late for that, too. In the packed ballroom here, which is dotted with the most recent annual report from Clinton's foundation, people don't seem restless.

Attendees are cheering on Rep. Brad Miller, a dry speaker who still manages to be a netroots favorite. He just told the crowd that bipartisanship should not be prioritized in the Democrats' health care strategy, a gentle but clear rebuke to President Obama's tack, and is also knocking Republicans for comparing the President to Hitler. "I can't reach them all," he says, "you have to."

11:10am 8/13/2009

Netroots Nation, the official convention of the progressive blogosphere, kicked off its fourth annual gathering on Thursday, welcoming a slew of bloggers, activists, politicians and one former President to this industrial capital.

Bill Clinton is scheduled to give the keynote address on Thursday night. It is the first time that a former president has addressed the convention, which has previously featured Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore, Harry Reid, (then-Senator) Barack Obama and (then-Senator) Hillary Clinton.

On Friday, local politics will take center stage, as Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak are appearing to make their case to attendees. Specter, a recent convert to the Democratic Party, is fighting off a primary challenge from Sestak, who has drawn support from the netroots. Both politicians, however, hold positions that are largely to the right of the progressive blogosphere.

I am co-moderating their appearances on Friday -- along with Susie Madrak, a former reporter who blogs at Suburban Guerrilla -- and I'll be posting updates from the convention to this blog post. If you have question ideas, the conference is hosting a portal for people to submit and vote on questions for both candidates.

Update: Nation reader Mask replies: "Mr Melber, while you and the Technophiles are fighting it out in the 'blogosphere'... the real fight, for good or ill, is in town hall meetings."

I hear that, and Sen. Specter definitely held a lively town hall meeting this week. To be clear, though, this forum is also an in-person, town-hall style gathering -- though hopefully more civil than what went down in Lebanon, PA -- so it will be more physical than digital.

Comments (28)

1. Good for y'all & Bill C. Way to go.

   Posted by sloper at 08/13/2009 @ 11:16am

2. Mr Melber, while you and the Technophiles are fighting it out in the "blogosphere"...

   the real fight, for good or ill, is in town hall meetings. Real ones...where people...IN PERSON...gather...in a ROOM...and not at home in front of their computer screens.

   You think anybody is going to cover all the fights we have here? Or people packing guns...or painting swastikas on office signs in Georgia?

   Time to plan your re-entry from cyber-space and land back on Earth.

   And no, not ironic, I free admit the level of "importance" of what I and everybody else here at the "TN" blog is doing....little.

   Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 11:24am

3. Mask, it's MSM's "coverage" of small r reality that creates big R Reality. Big media has the ability to swiftboat a Kerry, to echo and hype, for ex., Rev Wright=Obama is socialist.

   And they have the opposite power. To ignore, marginalize, for example, 2012 ers and all things Rese.

   This echo-hype-make big R Real the Town Hollers, all across working class whites' TV screens, reflects a very recognizable pattern of sober, strategic corporate decision-making. The big D Deciders.

   Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 11:45am

4. Woops---- Rev Wright=Obama is racist, Healthcare reform/Public Option=Obama is socialist.

   Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 11:49am

5. Reality journalism, The Nation, blogosphere comprise an important finger on the scale. To my mind, we'd be 6 months into "4 more years"

   Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 11:52am

6. "Both politicians, however, hold positions that are largely to the right of the progressive blogosphere. "

   As far as I can tell, Karl Marx would be considered to the right of the progressive blogosphere.

   Posted by sntauri at 08/13/2009 @ 12:20pm

7. Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 11:45am

   Fine, winy....but again, for good or ill, what's going to get more coverage and thus more influence?

   A protest rally with 1000 people ...for or against health care reform...in front of a Congressperson's district office?

   10,000 bloggers at a "virtual meet-up"?

   "You know what makes this bird go up? Coverage!"---"Gordo Cooper" (Dennis Quaid) "The Right Stuff"

   Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 12:23pm

8. As far as I can tell, Karl Marx would be considered to the right of the progressive blogosphere.----Posted by sntauri at 08/13/2009 @ 12:20pm

   Well, as long as you're a totally objective, non-partisan observer....must be true.

   Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 12:24pm

9. Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 12:23pm

   Agree fully that MSM can far more effortlessly disappear the virtual meet-up. The technophile's little secret high, of course, is their ability to appear to be on equal footing with the big alphabet networks. For the NYT, WSJ and the nobody-nerd the net is sort of a level playing field: computer screens, words, images and video. You are quick and correct to pop this bubble.

   I would probably fall in between you and Ari, taking into account big, background, net-related factors we've witness in past few years. Dean's, Obama's use of it for raising money. The instant on-demand nature the net, leading to further decentralization and weakening of the fourth-estate's top-down powers.

   Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 12:55pm

10. It is no secret that I'm not particularly a fan of Bill Clinton's. I did support most of his foreign policy moves and some of his reluctant moves domestically (ie the balanced budget, reducing welfare, stating the era of big govt is over).

    Now I just came across a message he recorded while president and I am happily recommending it's use by my business partners.

    http://tinyurl.com/n4dxky

    Posted by antisocialist at 08/13/2009 @ 1:09pm

11. my Monavie multilevel business "partners".

    Posted by antisocialist at 08/13/2009 @ 1:09pm

    Does $45 Mormon Monavie juice work, other than financially?

    Random blog posts.

    "I'll cut to the chase -- no. Not for me anyway. True, I only drank one bottle and didn't take the recommended servings but I didn't feel any different after drinking the juice. Giebeig tried to explain all the scientific research and data supporting the health benefits of Monavie but I stopped him short. Jerry, I don't want to know all that stuff," I said. "If it works, I'll feel it no matter what the scientists say".

    "I received a bottle through a rep in the MLM program and tried it. IT was an oily concoction that eventually sat unfinished in the fridge till spring cleaning."

    "Hum, I'm from Brazil and I was in NC last winter, when I saw this very-fancy-overpriced-and-hype bottle of açaí juice it surprised me, açaí is a very popular fruit, athletes, surfers, sk8boarders usually drink a very concentrated açaí drink after praticing sports. 15oz of the "vitamin" here usualy costs about U$2 not $45"

    Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 2:49pm

12. Posted by winyahn at 08/13/2009 @ 12:55pm

    Mr Melber a bit too enthusiastic over the "blogosphere". I see it somewhat analogous to the difference between running on a treadmill and actually running in an Olympic marathon.

    The Blogosphere would be good for organizing or "training"....but the actual race is showing up for things like town halls or even protest marches (as much as those are effective).

    UPDATE: Even this "convention" has limited use. It's hardly like a Party Convention and more like a "preaching to the choir" party or Limbaugh or Beck doing an hour and a half in front of 5000 seats of their fans. Good for comraderie and a fun time...but not changing any minds or influencing the debate.

    But it IS more than a "virtual meet-up", which Mr Melber has touted in the past.

    Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 2:57pm

13. I don't get it. What's going on with the main stream media in this country? People like Ari Melber are going gaga over some blogosphere nonsense while the voices of dissent from angry patriots across this country are characterized as some kind of mob. We don't have to remember too far back to cite ugly demonstrations that took place against the last President. Now, people, many whom are elderly, are mobilized to protect their country yet again from what they see as a threat to American constitutional tradition and they are demonized.

    As A qualifier, I recognize that there are operatives on both sides. Code Pink? Whatever. Every American has the opportunity, or rather, the responsibility to voice his or her opinion. It's the American way. Did Barack Obama actually think that he was charismatic enough to just force his will upon the country? Rep. Jackson Lee is so rude as to actually talk on her cell phone while being questioned by a cancer survivor. Claire McCaskill is shocked that people don't trust her. She was practically the face of the Obama campaign. People remember that now. Arlen Spector needs to retire and get some end of life counciling from Obama's silly plan.

    Politicians of both parties need to get a grip. Leave the elderly and the veteran's alone. Give WORKING Americans a fair shake and balance the damn budget. Bill Clinton did it. Now it time for Obama to put up or shut up. Stop spending money on new programs and fix the one's that alrealy exist.

    Posted by gunslinger1 at 08/13/2009 @ 4:47pm

14. BTW, I haven't seen Barack Obama on the tube yet today. Did I miss something?

    Posted by gunslinger1 at 08/13/2009 @ 4:49pm

15. BTW, I haven't seen Barack Obama on the tube yet today. Did I miss something?

    Posted by gunslinger1 at 08/13/2009 @ 4:49pm

    That reminds me of what Grandpa used to say:

    "A day without Obama is like a day without prune juice".

    I don't know what he meant either.

    Posted by sntauri at 08/13/2009 @ 6:59pm

16. Conscience of a liberal? Although many people have noted Edwards' (and his wife Elizabeth's) hypocrisy and hate toward HRC, they missed the point that this hatred stems from their political ambitions ratger than morale. Now get this. ------------

    Sources: Edwards to admit paternity of ex-mistress' child

    Updated: Today at 5:12 p.m.

    Raleigh, N.C. -- Sources have told WRAL News that they expect former U.S. Sen. John Edwards to admit that he is the father of his former mistress' 18-month-old daughter.

    Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, confessed last August to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who served as a videographer on Edwards' 2008 campaign. He has denied fathering her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/13/2009 @ 8:41pm

17. RE: Bill Clinton ...

    You could feel the rightwing's pain now after having chosen Obama over Clinton.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/13/2009 @ 8:45pm

18. When inconvinience you say all polls are bull-sh. But if the man spends time drinking beer with whomever he wants and vacationing at Martha vineyard, how can the poll gets higher?

    ------------

    Daily Presidential Tracking Poll Thursday, August 13, 2009 Email to a Friend ShareThis.Advertisement The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Thursday shows that 29% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-seven percent (37%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -8

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/13/2009 @ 9:25pm

19. Scary scary ... Why noy just recall the man?

    -----------

    "Death to Obama" Sign Holder Detained by Secret Service Secret Service now involved By JIM IOVINO Updated 3:45 PM EDT, Thu, Aug 13, 2009

    WHAG-TV There were signs comparing President Barack Obama to a Nazi and showing him with an Adolf Hitler-style mustache, but federal officials believe another sign referencing the president and his family went too far.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/13/2009 @ 9:58pm

20. Edwards, a two-time Democratic presidential candidate, confessed last August to having an affair with Rielle Hunter, who served as a videographer on Edwards' 2008 campaign. He has denied fathering her daughter, saying his relationship with Hunter ended before the child was conceived.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/13/2009 @ 8:41pm | ignore this person | warn this person

    What in the HELL does Edwards have to do with anything nowadays. That man is so far off the radar screen he slid off the table.

    For equal relevance, wanna hear me chat about Mark "Studmuffin" Sanford (R) S. Carolina, zipping himself up as he emerges from his latest extramarital dalliance?

    Posted by schnellerheinz at 08/13/2009 @ 9:59pm

21. Have you guys heard of the book "The Family" ..? Scary stuff... Sanford/ Ensign wacko militant jesus, cult like insanity... Eyeopening...

    Helen.. Recall the man ..?? huh ?? Your complaining about Vacation time...?? I'll assume (maybe incorrectly) that you were hook, line and sinker behind the greatest 'conservative' president since RR... GWB..?? Were you not..??

    Give it a rest...

    Posted by Vvf1969 at 08/13/2009 @ 11:12pm

22. Hit the road, Bill, get out there & push for the public option, not least of all on Capitol Hill.

    Posted by sloper at 08/14/2009 @ 02:20am

23. Ya get the feeling Helen looks at the Line of Succession list and goes-

    "Okay, take HIM out...then Biden...then Pelosi...then Robert Byrd....then.....YES!!!!!"

    Seriously...Frankgrits wasn't this nuts over HRC. Or is Helen a poser from the Right?

    Posted by Mask at 08/14/2009 @ 08:15am

24. Mr Melber, while you and the Technophiles are fighting it out in the "blogosphere"...

    the real fight, for good or ill, is in town hall meetings. Real ones...where people...IN PERSON...gather...in a ROOM...and not at home in front of their computer screens.

    You think anybody is going to cover all the fights we have here? Or people packing guns...or painting swastikas on office signs in Georgia?

    Time to plan your re-entry from cyber-space and land back on Earth.

    And no, not ironic, I free admit the level of "importance" of what I and everybody else here at the "TN" blog is doing....little.

    Posted by Mask at 08/13/2009 @ 11:24am | ignore this person | warn this person

    --the above is what alcoholics call a "moment of clarity"

    Posted by urmygyro at 08/14/2009 @ 09:00am

25. The protest posters and their words say it loudly: some of the protesters have used racially-tinged words. Some have used expletives like "nigger." Others have called Obama "Nazi" for attempting to keep his campaign promise and do the right thing. The irony of this situation is that whenever rightwing Republicans play the race card, they accuse others of being the ones playing the race card--like in Alice in Wonderland story: They can give words the meaning they choose irrespective of their accepted meaning. These people play like Neanderthals. They don't seem to care about moral implications and consequences. Although they often try to throw the bible at your face, they care little about truth. Their behavior contradicts the moral laws they preach. They behave like inhuman abstractions when they willfully promote hatred and misinformation and seem unconcerned about the common good and broad visions. And they can always count on some sectors of the corporate media to promote their divisive tactics. Princeton Professor Paul Krugman and New York Times columnist warned back in 2007 about Republican tactics of "wild charges and fake scandals," and how they are "dutifully given credence by major media organizations that somehow can't bring themselves to declare the accusations unequivocally false." (See NYT, 14/08/09). Some media corporations have been actively complicit. Thus, CNN would run false advertisement by 60Plus but refuse one from MoveOn.org. That is scary indeed! Obama alone cannot bring about a post-racial America. Not with prominent Republicans and media hosts shouting hate!

    Posted by drsam8 at 08/14/2009 @ 09:29am

26. Posted by urmygyro at 08/14/2009 @ 09:00am

    Damn urmy, where have you been?

    Have you been stalking another blogger!??!?! You cheating, unfaithful bastard....you are breaking my heart!!!!

    Posted by Mask at 08/14/2009 @ 10:20am

27. Posted by Mask at 08/14/2009 @ 10:20am | ignore this person | warn this person

    recycling your old ad hominems...meet the new mask, wearing the old mask...

    Posted by urmygyro at 08/14/2009 @ 6:34pm

28. Clinton declared that the new era of progressive politics could last 30 to 40 years "if we do it right."

    posted by ARI MELBER on 08/13/2009 @ 11:10am

    Let's see, what would that look like?...

    Progressive Prediction#1: Year 2020, family minivans get an average of 400 miles per gallon of gas, a GPS driver option, a variety of air bag and magnetic collision avoidance features, require no regular maintenance and include a lifetime guarantee on all parts and labor.

    Progressive Prediction#2: Year 2020, all USA commercial real estate owners complete DEEP INSULATION installations that eliminate the need for heating and cooling systems.

    Progressive Prediction#3: Year 2020, Dow Jones Industrial Average tops 20,000 amid solid growth of private Mass Personalization/Customization Manufacturing, Health and Agricultural sectors.

    Progressive Prediction#4: Year 2020, American Universal Health Retention and Care system reports average USA life expectancy at 100 years old partly due to new standard 4 day work week.

    Progressive Prediction#5: Year 2020, United Compassionate Consortium continue construction of gaming casinos which use profits to fund Department of Poverty Elimination programs.

    Progressive Prediction#6: Year 2020, Department of Peace Secretary Dennis Kucinich opens National Peace History Museum in Plains, Georgia.

    Posted by thanksbutnothanks at 08/15/2009 @ 11:07pm