Tea Party Haunting This Year's Netroots Convention

LAS VEGAS (July 23) -- Reports of their demise have been greatly exaggerated. Or so insist left-wing activists gathered here to buck themselves up amid President Barack Obama's sinking approval ratings, a flailing economic recovery and conventional wisdom -- not to mention historic patterns -- that points to heavy Democratic losses in this fall's midterm elections.

Pshaw, say many of the 2,000 or so attending the fifth annual Netroots Nation conference, and that's likely what they'll be telling a parade of bold-faced Beltway names appearing here over the weekend, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

"We believe we're going to keep the House and Senate, and we believe we're going to be working with, possibly, a strengthened Democratic majority," said Daily Kos blogger Dante Atkins, predicting that Democrats could strengthen their Senate control by picking up seats in New Hampshire and Kentucky, among others. "If we do lose a few seats, we need to make sure that Democrats and Obama don't take the wrong lesson for it. The reason we may have lost a little bit of energy and Republicans are a little more motivated is not that we've done too much, it's that we haven't done enough."

That awfully rosy picture of the national political climate may be precisely what attendees have come for at an event that is part pep rally, part support group. Witness the session called "Blogging a Red State Blue," in which blogger Barbara Banoff groused that she'd just moved to Ocala, Fla., "which is deep, deep red, so I need any help any of you can give."

For some Internet denizens who do their work largely alone in their homes, Netroots was a moment for star gazing and realizing the oft-unseen impact of their efforts.

"I ran into Mike Rogers. OK, that's major!" said VegasTeaRoom.com blogger Chandler Levrich, referring to a blogger famous for exposing the gay sexual orientation of conservative congressmen who vote against pro-gay laws. "I turned a corner and I had a lovely conversation with [Americablog founder] John Aravosis. I met Joe.My.God. Oh my God, I met Joe. As I was leaving a party, [Nevada lieutenant governor candidate] Jessica Sferrazza walked in, looked at my tag and said, 'You! That post of yours got forwarded to me by 30 people. I loved it.' "

To be sure, not everyone at Netroots is as confident as Atkins, but they aspired to be.

"People are scared of losing their seats," said Katie Andriulli, a spokeswoman for the Center for America Progress, a liberal Washington, D.C., think tank. "They're scared radical tea partiers are going to come to power, which I think is valid. The tea party has certainly tapped into frustrations in this country. I don't believe in anything they are espousing, but I don't think they should be dismissed, either. Clearly, we should be talking about them. They've come onto the scene, they're something that needs to be addressed."

And talk about them they did, incessantly. In virtually every panel session, the conversation somehow turned to the small-government grass-roots groups whose activism has been responsible for the primary ouster of Utah Sen. Robert Bennett, the departure from the Republican Party of Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and the selection of several Senate nominees, including Rand Paul in Kentucky and Sharron Angle in Nevada.

It was clear the movement has gotten under the skin of many liberal activists. As speakers in a session called "Right-Wing Populism and the Tea Parties" assured listeners that this too shall pass, one audience member from Utah responded dubiously with what sounded like an analogy to a roach infestation: "But even if the tea party falls apart nationally, they will never leave our state Legislature. We will never be rid of them."

In the health care session, tea partiers were credited/blamed with a putting a measure on the Aug. 3 Missouri ballot in which voters are being asked to approve a law that would bar the federal government from imposing the individual mandate that is a central component of the reform law passed by Congress this year.

The bloggers also attempted in some meetings to find ways to respond effectively to the catchphrases of the tea party and its favorite figures. Liberal communications expert Jenifer Daniels admitted frustration over how derogatory terms like Obamacare and death panels have gained traction, noting, "Everything Sarah Palin does is something you're taught not to do when you're taught about communications, yet everything she does gives her a larger platform."

In the session, attendees labored to conjure up their own terms to sell progressive policies and redirect the political conversation. Among the phrases bandied about to counteract right-wing attacks were to call Republicans "the party of bankruptcy" who are "filibustering recovery." One audience member's suggestion of declaring Republicans guilty of "reverse Robin Hood" drew oohs from the crowd.

Yet even as Daniels led this discussion, she urged caution.

"We react to everything right-wing people do," she noted. "We should be taking about our things. We're giving them credence."