My door to Lakeshore in just under 2:30 – not bad from Grand Rapids. Booman in Chi town, I couldn’t let that go without getting out to see him, though I didn’t have much time to give.  I got there in a light rain, with Lollapalooza making a mess of the streets.  Took me anther 40 minutes just to work my way around to McCormick place once I hit Lakeshore…Boo walked out the doors with a cup of coffee in hand and we drove up to park in the hotel’s lot.  I relieved him of his cup, needed the pick me up.  We wandered in and walked through the ground floor, and then I saw the ballroom.  Lots of people seated, someone speaking, applause.  We continued to walk that way.

“You suck.  You played me.”
“I knew you wouldn’t come if I told you you were crashing.”
“I don’t have a badge or anything.”
“Doesn’t matter.  I have a seat for you, and I’m going to get you ice cream.  The ice cream is really good.”
“I don’t need ice cream.  I need food.  I told you I was going to arrive hungry.  Is the seat at the back?”
“No, right in the middle.”
“You suck.  I hate you.”
“Dude, its no big deal.”
“It’s not a big deal to you.  I’m uncomfortable.  Let’s get in there.”

I held tight to the coffee cup, and kept up some running chatter while we sailed through the door past the security person posted there.  Couldn’t help thinking it was a good thing for Markos that I wasn’t a heavily armed nut with an axe to grind.

There was a comedian onstage when we came in.  I don’t remember her name, but I thought she was pretty entertaining, very droll.  My seat was indeed right in the middle of the room, just in front of the cameras.  I sat where Boo pointed, while he plopped down across the table from me.  I didn’t even bother glaring at him for dragging me into this and then sticking me between some people I didn’t know – at least, not until he got up and disappeared for 15 minutes to get ice cream.  I gave him the evil eye when he got back to the table, then he realized there were no spoons and went to get those.  I have to admit, it was good, as advertised.

Markos said lots of the right things, talking about pulling together, setting aside differences to achieve common goals.  Talked about having done nothing more than starting a website, having no idea it would become what it has.  It was a good speech, well rehearsed, well delivered.  I couldn’t help feeling that he was pretty pompous, though.  The man making the speech just didn’t equal up to the man who posts all those acidic comments on his site, shredding people and slathering derision on so many of the views that are advanced there.  Kos is what it is, and if you don’t want to do battle it is to be avoided – or stick to lurking.  I don’t enjoy it even as a lurker, I don’t see the value is ripping people’s views apart the way they are there.  Disagreement, sure, reasoned discourse, absolutely – but the ugliness I see there I have no wish to be a part of.

After Markos was done speaking people headed out into the lobby, bar, terrace.  There was no food to be had that I could see, and I mentioned that several times to Booman during the course of the evening (he took no pity on me, I might add.  Putz.).  I met a number of people whom I recognized from BT, which was very cool.  I spent over an hour talking with Mary from St. Louis, who I found to be very entertaining.  I had fun, and we didn’t head out until 2 am.  Up early to have breakfast the next morning with Booman (finally, food) and then back down around the lake home.

I didn’t really feel at home there.  People were friendly, but when I talked with them and they found out that I posted very little they were by and large uninterested in talking with me.  I didn’t really go in expecting anything, because I didn’t really go there to attend anything, but I wasn’t as impressed as I expected to be (retrospect).  I wish that I had attended the whole thing; I think I would have enjoyed it.  But I can’t help but feel like there is a bit of an elitist air, a small portion of snobbery within the netroots that puts the average person off.  The average person does not blog – that is the reality.  This is a forum like no other for commenting on/being involved in the political process, and I sense that it already feels cliquish.  Don’t get me wrong, people are welcomed here at the pond with open arms, but I don’t know that that is the norm at other sites, or that open arms via welcome wagon equates to support for members in a general sense.  I’m having a hard time saying what I want to say here.  I guess it’s just this: I’m involved here to an extent.  But if I’m not really comfortable here, how can we make it so that others, newbie’s, are?  I’m talking across the liberal, democratic blogosphere here.  If we really want to be able to help chart policy, help influence elections, we need to swell the rolls.  Numbers count.  Getting those other voices, bringing new people onboard, this is important.  How do we accomplish that?  Or am I off base; is it even possible to do more than we do in this regard, should we even be trying?  I don’t know.  I just know that very few of the people I know would feel comfortable coming here to post, and if they aren’t comfortable to do that, then they don’t have much reason to come here.

Anyway, I enjoyed meeting all those who I did, and I’ve forgiven Booman (I’ve actually dragged him into much worse situations in the past).  I’ll continue to torture him for it going forward, though; such is the prerogative of old friends.  Good to see you, bro.