Take Back America 2006
May 25th, 2006 at 11:37 am by Susie
I’ve been invited back as one of the bloggers for the Take Back America conference this year, and my finances aren’t in much better shape then they were last year.
Last year, they comped my hotel room. This year, they say they can’t. You guys made it all possible then, so I’m asking again for donations. (Their hotel is pretty fucking expensive - $369 a night. I’ve found a nearby place that’s a helluva lot cheaper -$189, $153 I think, and if I get enough money in time, I can lock in a reservation.)
At least now I have a laptop and can afford to pay for my own food and transportation. Another difference, I think, is that last year, most of the press had no idea what a blogger was. Somehow, I don’t think that’s still a problem.
Speakers this year include: Hillary Clinton, Robert Redford, Barack Obama, Gary Hart, Barbara Lee, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jesse Jackson Jr., David Sirota, John Conyers, Tom Harkin, Russ Feingold, John Podesta, Ed Rendell, Kevin Phillips and the rest of the usual suspects. (The blogging panel is still mostly white males, and the lone woman is, of course, a lawyer. Love ya, Christy, but I’m kind of allergic to credentialism. No reflection at all on you…)
I’m not claiming to be the only working-class, non-academic voice around, but I’m certainly in a distinct minority and I’d sure like to be there to speak up and report back for the rest of us.
They can’t be bothered to invite the hometown blogger who actually live blogs their events, so I’m not going.
Their hotel is pretty fucking expensive - $369 a night. I’ve found a nearby place that’s a helluva lot cheaper -$189, I think, and if I get enough money in time, I can lock in a reservation.)
You’re kidding, right? Have you heard of Motel 6? Perfectly reasonable place to stay.
I don’t know where you live, Eli, but in my experience, one-star motels have roaches. Besides, the point of attending a conference is to network and if you’re not close to the site, you miss a lot.
You can get a roach free room for a lot less than $369 a night. It doesn’t seem right to call it “Take Back America” and have it cost that much.
Nonetheless, I think you should go and give them the business about it! So I’ll donate, though I can’t afford much.
I totally agree - it’s hardly a “grassroots” location at those prices. However, D.C. is the center of the known political universe and they probably couldn’t get all those big names to appear anywhere else. The only relatively cheap rooms are during the weekend, but this event is Monday through Wednesday.
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the blogger panel has a african american and a latino as well so for a panel of 5 that really isn’t that “white”.
I know and like Chris Raab - and he’s the first one to say he’s there as a token black. (He said it last year, at the blogger panel.)
My point really has more to do with economic diversity. Chris went to Yale and is in graduate school at Penn. I don’t care what color he is; we don’t live on the same economic planet.