Roxanne Live at Netroots Nation

Roxanne Live at Netroots Nation

Video of Netroots Nation's panel discussion on "Why Women are the Key to the Future of Progressive Election Victories," featuring Roxanne Conlin.



Liveblog: Conlin speaking @ 5:30 (that's about 30 minutes in if you want to skip ahead, but the other speakers are worth your time too.)

Starts with her governor race. Notes that day after she won `82 primary, Register ran a multi-picture collection of her hairdos. And as followup she mentions Krusty's krude kolumn ("Last week, a very prominent Republican blogger devoted an entire post... to my breasts. With pictures."), to gasps from the mostly female crowd. "We have made progress. But are we there yet, no. But bloggers can help us to get there, men and women bloggers."

"We have something to prove in Iowa," she says, mentioning the Iowa-Mississippi club. "When women in focus groups learned this, they became not only supportive, but protective. Nothing could move those women after that."

"The new media is our chance to be heard through the static of things that don't matter." Social media has been "great fun, interacting directly with people with no intermediary."

"But I don't have as many Tweet buddies as Grassley - though I suspect some of his followers are not supporters. I don't think I'm as entertaining."

"Bloggers can create the buzz and start the narrative that even progressive women running against 30 year incumbents have a chance. Money comes along with buzz and persuasion."

"I don't think I should spend my time chained to a chair raising money. I should be out talking to voters."

National media is "fixated on Palinesque women." Notes that Haley, Whitman, Fiorina got much more attention than her own 78% win.

When I ran in `82 "it was really bizarre" for a woman to run. When asked I always said it was worth it. "I got to introduce issues that would never have been discussed had I not been in the race." Helped build a generation of women operatives and candidates (drops the Vilmain name). "Lots of women and girls saw a women try, and fail, and come back."

She wraps at 5:42. More speakers, all great, Q&A at 6:00 straight up.

Roxanne gets asked about Krusty. "It was so stupid. It was like high school, it was so regressive." Notes that she often wears jackets because of stuff like that, "but it was 100 degrees that day." Says the remarks "really just rolled off my back. But I hope someone calls Senator Grassley on it," she asks the room full of bloggers. (I was first.) "Is he going to let people get away with saying things like that in the name of the Republican Party of Iowa?" (I'm paraphrasing a bit, but just a bit.)

Last go-round, at 6:18, the woman before Roxanne says she's heard progressive women, post-Hillary, say they would vote for Palin before voting for another man ("though I wouldn't go that far"). Roxanne responds: "I vote values, not sex, and I would NEVER vote for Sarah Palin (applause) I would never vote for a woman or a man who would deprive women of reproductive choice."