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A Missouri Democrat at Netroots Nation [1]

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Date: 2022-08-18

A Missouri Democrat at Netroots Nation

Greetings from Pittsburgh and the 16th NN conference. What is Netroots Nation? It's the closest thing that Democrats have to CPAC, the Trumpist/Conservative grassroots convention. NN started as a gathering for progressive bloggers and has evolved into the only major conference for for the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party, with an emphasis on fundraising and electoral nuts & bolts.

I'm a little bit downcast this year having been through the Lucas Kunce for US Senate campaign. We ran one of the best grassroots campaigns in the nation, raising over $5 million dollars from mostly small donors throughout the country. The response from the Democratic establishment, led by coal lobbyist Dick Gebhardt, was to recruit beer heiress Trudy Busch who spent over a million a week from her own pocket and won the Dem. primary by just under 5 points. She bought it fair and square. In contrast, Pennsylvania Democrats are fired up and ready to go behind Josh Shapiro for Governor and John Fetterman for US Senate.

It was especially disconcerting during the Kunce campaign to encounter longtime politicians and party "leaders" in Missouri who have zero interest in winning outside their small and diminishing base. For the weary and battered Democrats in Missouri, the political sun rises and sets in Jefferson City. The Kunce campaign was bitterly attacked for the audacity to raise millions beyond the state borders and to run for something without first serving a sentence in the Republican (for life) state legislature.

Last week, I had a great conversation with a young organizer for the Missouri Democratic Party. I spoke to him about Netroots Nation and he was passionate about the grassroots organizing for candidates who may not win this time (Jessica Piper and Randi McCallian come to mind) but who are planting the seeds for long term success. As one of the very, very few Missourians at NN (attendance 4,000) I said I would carry the message that Missouri is winnable and that national organizations should assist our efforts. I will. I believe in a 50 state strategy.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/8/18/2117539/-A-Missouri-Democrat-at-Netroots-Nation

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