Al Gore Surprise Guest At Netroots Nation

Al Gore surprised — and delighted — the crowd at the Netroots Nation conference in Austin, Texas today, appearing on the heels of a speech by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. (Update: Video here.)

According to the various Twitter feeds from the event — it's being attended by approximately 2,000 progressive/liberal bloggers and reporters, all armed with laptops, blackberries and cellphones — the crowd went wild at Gore's unannounced appearance, with an "extended ovation" for him as he took the stage. "Nancy, we ought to take this show on the road," said Gore, according to the Twitter feed of the Washingtonian's Garrett Graff, who has been extensively Twittering the conference. Responded Pelosi: "We are on the road."

The road is one that led to Netroots Nation this year from two such conferences in the past, though then they were called "Yearly Kos," so named for Daily Kos, founded by Markos Moulitsas. Moulitsas and Kos (as both he and the site are now known) have become standard-bearers for the activist left and the progressive online movement, so much so that this year's conference was renamed to reflect the fact that the progressive left was no longer just a niche movement. That has been made abundantly clear by the presence of people like Gore, Pelosi, Harold Ford, Howard Dean, and other significant figures in politics and media.

Gore demurred on whether he'd join an Obama administration, saying he was "honored by [the] suggestion," according to Graff, but that it would not optimize what he could contribute. The Nation's Ari Melber, also reporting from the event, reported that Gore said he felt "the highest and best use of whatever talents and experiences I've gained in my life" would be best applied to "trying to enlarge the political space within which elected officials and cabinet members address this climate crisis."

Here are some Tweets (as individual Twitter entries are called) from the event (note that there is a 140-character word limit on such entries):

• "Essential we have safeguards, checks and balances. More important we have an informed citizenry. Netroots is key to future." (Graff)
  
• Compares offshore drilling to "hair of the dog": "When you're in a hole, stop digging." Applause. (Graff)
  
• "Gore: When you begin looking at environmental crisis, you see it connected to economic and national security problems too." (Graff)
  
• "Gore says NN08 is the "beginning of a movement to take back our democracy." Making it the 4,578th such beginning." (Jason Linkins via HuffPo Twitter)
  
• "Gore would rather be an organizer than a bureaucrat on climate change. No thanks (for now) to joining an Obama administration. (Leighton Woodhouse via HuffPo Twitter)
  
• "Gore, unlike Pelosi, throwing red meat into hungry #NN08 crowd. Big Texas-sized chunks of red meat. Feeding frenzy follows." (Graff)
  
• "Pelosi speaking as if she can't do anything about any problems she's citing. Isn't she Speaker of the House?" (Graff)

And, in what seems to be a new media metaphor:

• "ThinkProgress scooped Pelosi on Gore's surprise appearance." (Ari Melber via HuffPo Twitter)

Pelosi's earlier speech had addressed the FISA bill, saying she had "serious sadness" about the bill sent from the Senate, and, per Graff, said that 17 Senate Democrats had kept Congress from "the good bill." (Pelosi was playing to her crowd here; according to Adam Green, who said she was "pro-actively stating her support for Net Neutrality and calling out the telecoms for blocking innovators." Pelosi also addressed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, saying that people were "tired" of war, and that not enough was being done to care for those serving in them. She also contrasted the vast sums of American money spent on rebuuilding Iraq with the unmet needs of U.S. infrastructure, saying there was a need to re-examine priorities. And here's a great quote from Pelosi: "If you don't like abortion, you should love contraception."

Pelosi's speech was briefly disrupted by protesters from Code Pink, but according to Graff the crowd was mostly "respectful" and "anti-protests" (the HuffPo Twitter feed backs that up).

Ongoing coverage of Netroots Nation may be found here, here and here, and further links are below.

Gore Surprises Netroots Nation, Says Not Eager To Serve In Obama Cabinet [HuffPo]

Melber: Al Gore Makes Surprise Visit to Netroots Nation [The Nation]
Al Gore Is Special Guest Star at Netroots Nation [The Caucus]
HuffPolitics Twitter Feed [HuffPo]
Garrett Graff Twitter Feed [Twitter]
HuffPo Netroots Nation Coverage [HuffPo]
Netroots Nation [NetrootsNation.org]

Comments

[YankeeCanuck]

Ever try to contact Anne Coulter of Tammy Bruce or comment on their websites?
Impossible. Unless they know you.

[darthdarcy]

I saw this on C-Span this morning very early it was a great presentation...by Vice President Noble Peace Prize Winner Al Gore..!

We can easily get going with Wind power, Solar and growing Industrial Hemp..

Also he wanted others to go to We can solve it.org..

Also go to http://www.hemphasis.net/Fuel-Energy/fuel.html

[MrStill]

I wonder how much 'surprise guest' Al got paid...

[yngcelt]

And how do you think Al got to that fundraiser? Ride a bicycle? Mass transit? Drive his own hybrid vehicle? Walk?
Or did he take his usual convoy of SUVs and large towncars that sat idling outside for at least 20 minutes with the AC on before he rode them back to the airport to jump onto his fossil fuel burning, carbon spewing private jet to whisk him back to either of his large sprawling mansions where he uses more energy than a small village?

[waiguoren]

I don't know the science anywhere near well enough to draw my own conclusions on climate change, global warming, or the human gene pool, and neither do 99& of all posters everwhere.

However, I do know my opinion of Al Gore is not in sync with most progressives, and I also know that anyone still claiming that Gore ever said he invented the internet is a lying fool.

[YankeeCanuck]

Gore never said that. I don;t know anywhere near enough science to draw my own conclusions on nuclear fission. But, like 99% of rational people I give credence to a theory that a majority of scientists agree upon.
I said scientists, not "scientists" who got a PhD in creationism.

[RaraAvis17]

Republicans know this and this is why you still believe it.

Repetition equals Reality

[waiguoren]

99%

[Rpfoster]

First he invented the internet, and now Global Warming, whoops, climate change. He sounds like chicken little to me.

If he wishes host debate, whey is to no way to contact him on his web site? Why is there no way to contact or ask questions on the "Inconveinient Truth" web site?

Just wondering






January 18, 2000
Global Warming
Is 300-Year-Old News
By Arthur B. Robinson and Noah E. Robinson, chemists at the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine.

Unfortunately for advocates of the Kyoto treaty, atmospheric temperatures over the same two decades have not risen. The climate model chosen to support the Kyoto plan -- a scheme to sharply reduce energy use -- predicts that atmospheric temperature should have risen by one degree to two degrees Fahrenheit over those 20 years. Yet satellites and weather balloons have shown no verifiable atmospheric temperature rise.

Indeed, despite the hype, the NRC findings do little to advance the argument that people have caused global warming. The NRC panel's 85-page report, though concluding that surface temperature has risen a little, is full of inconclusive results.

The report further says that uncertainties in all of the records -- surface, satellite and balloon -- are too great to draw conclusions about the relative effects of volcanic eruptions, measurement errors due to localized human activity in urban areas, instrument errors, human release of greenhouse gases and other factors. The report concludes that "major advances" in scientific methods will be necessary before these questions can be resolved.

[YankeeCanuck]

Rpfoster: duped by an "institute."
Try broadcasting your fraudulent "report" where nobody uses "the internets".

[Hare]

If there is no global warming/climate change then tell me. where are the birds? I bought this house 14 yrs ago and the area was full of birds in the Spring, summer and fall and as the years have gone by the bird numbers decreased until two years ago when they were not there anymore. The insect population increases by the minute, more viscious than ever, where are the birds to feast on the insect?, I want to know.

[liberalsrheros]

and a quick read here tells you everything you need to know about those guys, nice try.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Oregon_Institute_of_Science_and_Medicine

[funwithwarcrimes]

I listened to his speech on NPR and was amazed. He would have made such a great president. Thoughtful, comprehensive, intelligent.
and yet -- what did we get?
http://www.funwithwarcrimes.com
sigh.

[Paladin32]

Good work Rachel. Very enterprising of you on such a fine hot Shabbas day as this.

Gore being far ahead of the curve is no longer a surprise. If only he'd had that vision when he was running his campaign back in '04. Oy those suits! And all of the excitement of a .5 mg Xanax.

[RTIII]

Do note that according to this article, Nancy got the FISA thing bass-ackwards saying that the bad bill came from the Senate. For those of us who were trying to stop it, we KNOW she gave ONE DAY's notice before voting the damned thing in, and then it went to the senate where cloture was performed the following week, and voted in a week after that.

No, Nancy, the HOUSE brought this piece of shame to the American Public, and YOU were the architect of its passage.

Help Remove Nancy, generously support Cindy Sheehan at CindyForCongress.org
.

[RocketmanBob]

Here is the link to Monckton's proof at the American Physical Society

http://www.aps.org/units/fps/newsletters/200807/monckton.cfm

All who are mathematically literate should read this and see how much the UN IPCC have chosen to take liberties with both the scientific method as well as the truth; the same is true for J. Hanson of NASA also!

Demand a traditional roll call floor vote at the convention. Do not rubber stamp Obama's nomination. If Hillary is going to lose than at least grant her the respect she deserves by respecting the traditions, and the rules, of our party's processes!

[hank48188]

Al probably flew there in a Private jet to tell you how YOU can live a green life, then back to his 25,000 sq ft house. I bet he even bought the carbon credits too.