Crashing the Gate

So, Rob Miller and I went out to get a copuple of beers Tuesday night.....

OK, so not really. Hang up the phone, stop trying to call my Bishop. I didn't actually have a beer. Niether did Rob. However, we were both went to Fiddler's Elbow in Sugarhouse to meet Markos Moulitsas, author of Crashing the Gate and founder of DailyKos, hosted by the local chapter of Drinking Liberally.

It was a who's-who of the major local blogosphere. Besides myself and Rob, there was Cliff Lyon, Ethan, and Brett from the Ashdown campaign. If I got nothing else from the event, it was great to talk about the future of blogging in Utah with Ethan and and the inside status of the Ashdown Campaign with Brett.

However, I did get more. Here are some of the notes I took:

-We can't sit around and wait for the pendulum of power to swing back to our side.
-We need to stop whining about stolen elections
-Immigration rallies have been purely people-powered. There have been no large, national leaders oranizing them. They've largely used MySpace.
-We need to organize instead of simply moving to Canada.
-We could come up with the best idea in the world, but without the ability to market and frame, our idea means zilch.
-from Rob Miller: win with optimism, not pessimism.
-Win the hearts and guts instead of trying to win the minds.
-Act locally
-Message to DLC types who try to get in our way: "You can join us, get out of our way, or we're going to roll you."
-Be honest, especially with single-issue voters. Agree to disagree.

Markos talks about his day in Utah here. Also check out Cliff's roundup and pictures here.

-Bob