You never know what you'll get at a meetup of Kossacks. How many will actually show in person, how many will be conflicted out, and how will the meeting go? In a day that had shifts of persons in attendance, some staying in the morning some in the afternoon, more than 140 Kossacks and friends came together in Kansas City to discuss the future of Kansas, Missouri and the Democratic Party - as well as what they can do about it.
For Kossacks, the opportunity to meet with Markos. Thanks to Michael Bersin (ShowMeProgress.Com) we have some great photos of the event to help us remember the day.
Neeta welcomed the attendees to the auditorium - a giant theater in the fantastic Alamo Drafthouse. With a continental breakfast in front of us, attendees had a chance to mix & mingle, meet Kossacks they have read and followed as well as people who were interested in what to do next.
After Neeta's introduction, I led off the group discussing the impact of DailyKos on the elections and outcomes in Kansas and Missouri.
Open Comment: I look better than this most of the time, but yeh, typical middle age white guy
shrug. (See, for those who wonder, guys also have body perception issues.. ugh, I see this and think: need to keep losing some weight)
Rev. Reuben Eckels joined us on stage to discuss outreach to the minority vote in Kansas, the reason why organizations like his keep fighting - and KSUN, his effort to bring progressive radio to Wichita. Reuben also updated us on the situation with Rep. Valdenia Winn, who Republicans had filed complaints against in order to remove her from office for calling legislation racist.
"We will bring as many busses as possible to Topeka to defend a representative who said what she believed."
Reuben told guests after his talk.
David Nir spoke to the crowd about not just 2016, but the importance of local elections - city governments, school boards, precinct members. There are more than 519 THOUSAND offices open in the United States. I had pointed out earlier in the day that we had several races that were won by one vote. No, not that one vote separated the two candidates, but that someone was certified the winner having only received ONE vote in an election - they could have voted for themselves and won.
David's talk sparked some good questions about what is next for Missouri, and how Democrats need to work to build a bench around the country. Members of the audience asked about 2020, and the need to look forward and make sure that Democrats have more of a say in redistricting in 2020.
We broke for lunch and tables filled with individuals who had traveled from Southwest Kansas to Mid-Central Missouri, and they gathered around tables at lunch to talk about our morning sessions and prepare for an afternoon with special guests, Markos & Meteor Blades.
Joan McCarter discussed with us not just Idaho but the outlook in other states and how the progressive agenda is coming to life in Washington.
Monique Teal offered us a great interview Patricia Bynes, Committeewoman in Ferguson, Missouri who discussed her impact in helping to run spring elections.
Her discussion wasn't just about Ferguson and leadership, it was also about the need of organization at the granular level in communities, as her work as a precinct committeewoman empowered her to be a resource for candidates looking to run, and helped provide her community a voice when it needed it.
Patricia also discussed the work of statewide officials in Missouri from those who weren't there (Gov. Jay Nixon) to those that went above and beyond (Jason Kander and Claire McCaskill were singled out for their efforts).
Markos conducted a AMA and displayed DailyKos5 in action for the first time I've seen it - both different and impressive - as we discussed where the party goes.
Meteor Blades discussed with the audience the importance of year-round organizing and how off year candidate support and issue advocacy can be critical in making the small differences in each precinct that add up to big numbers on election day. "The Republicans may always have more money.. but we have shoe leather."
Finally, Jacob Wegner, from UMKC, discussed the realities of how city design and planning is impacting people - pointing out that city designs which mandate ownership of a vehicle are counter intuitive and help keep many of the working poor in the situation they are in. He also discussed how future planning of cities will have to consider environmental change, food deserts, availability of resources for a community and sustainable growth.
We had a Skype conference with those in Roanoke and the audience was glad to see other Kossacks nationwide gathering to help support each other.
We ended the day with a dinner at Anton's where elected officials from Kansas, candidates from Missouri and others joined us to discuss.. and break some news to us:
Republicans notified Democrats Saturday in Kansas that the "hearing" to oust Valdenia Winn from the Kansas house has been delayed.. indefinitely. In other words: We stood strong for one of our own, and Kansas Republicans decided this was a fight they did not want.
Outside of a great meeting with fellow progressives, this was a meeting in Kansas that ended with a win for one of our own - how much better does it get then that?
A major thanks to ShowMeProgress.Com, who provided the pictures used here, except for the final one, provided by an attendee.