RedState diarist decries "Know Nothing" Trump

The RedState Gathering in Atlanta is getting big news today. RedState guru Erick Erickson "disinvited" Donald Trump to this confab of conservative bloggers after Trump made some rude and crude comments about Fox News host Megyn Kelly, one of the moderators of Thursday's debate. Here's Trump talking to CNN's Don Lemon:

"You could see there was blood coming out of her eyes. Blood coming out of her wherever."

Must give credit to Erickson. Not easy to disinvite the GOP front-runner to the largest gathering of ConBloggers. But bloggers of all stripes do actually pay attention to the minutiae of presidential campaigns. As a Liberal Blogger, I shared a hotel with the conservatives when Netroots Nation and RedState gathered in Minneapolis in 2011. I had a few intriguing conversations at the hotel bar. No common ground, but big doses of passion along with some good info I could use in my own blog.

I went over to RedState to read Erickson's statement. I also stumbled across a diary by Steve Berman that's worth sharing. I've written about the 19th-century Know Nothing movement a few times, even stooping to calling my opponents "Know Nothings" for their belligerent attitudes and knuckleheaded policies. A few of my conservative readers took me to task, feeling that I was calling them stupid. I was not. I was trying to equate their views with those of the Know Nothing Party, which arose in response to Irish Catholic immigration. The Know Nothings' no-nothingness eventually was their undoing.

Berman compares the Know Nothings with the Whig Party, which also disappeared. He contends that Trump's continual Know Nothing behavior could mean the end of the Republican Party. Here's a quote:

The final Whig president of the United States was Millard Filmore in 1853.  He marked the death of the Whigs, and the rise of the Know-Nothings.  Today the GOP faces its own death, and the continued success of Donald Trump in the polls reflects the fact that the Republican Party is staring into its own grave.

And this:

Trump is a direct result of the GOP’s inability to define itself as a party with a purpose.  If the GOP is defined as “everything that isn’t Democrat” then it’s nothing more than the Whigs of 1854.  Dead.

 Strong stuff. Well written. Check it out here. 

The question remains: Why is Trump still the GOP front-runner? 

Live from the hummingbirdminds bunker -- not-so-live coverage of the DNC from Charlotte

To my readers:

You may have noticed that I did quite a bit of posting last week about the Republican National Convention in Tampa without the bother of leaving home. Many thanks to Meg Lanker-Simons at Cognitive Dissonance out of Laramie, who scooped all of us with interviews with former Repub Chair Michael Steele and NBC's Chuck Todd, and that post-convention Q&A with Clint Eastwood's chair. Also thanks to Progress Florida, who maintained a web site about goings-on in the streets during the RNC.

I'm gearing up to provide the same service during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Last night in Denver, I bade adieu to several Wyoming Democratic Party delegates on the eve of their departure for the convention. Jeran Artery, Kate Wright and Ken McCauley promised to keep in touch via the usual e-means. I have no reason to suspect that they won't keep their word, although once they hit the ground in Charlotte, time will speed up and they will be caught up in a wave of speeches and floor votes, not to mention the sea of  hors d'oeuvres they will be forced to consume at the endless flurry of receptions sponsored by unions, conservation groups, feminist organizations, civil rights activists and other nogoodnik socialists.

But they will keep us posted because they are Democrats and they will make sure that the blog posts get through, come hell or high water or mounds of Carolina BBQ ribs.  

You can get the news feed from Netroots Nation (9 a.m.-4 p.m. EST, Tues.-Thurs.). The NN folks are live-streaming from Charlotte. NN promises this:

We’re teaming up with Democracy for America this week in Charlotte to provide a live studio where progressive leaders, pundits, and your favorite bloggers and reporters will join us for progressive conversations. You’ll hear from folks like Rep. Keith Ellison, Rep. Donna Edwards, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Jeff Merkley, Van Jones, Lizz Winstead, The Nation’s Ari Berman, Gov. Howard Dean and more.

The live coverage will be hosted by Cliff Schecter, founder and president of progressive public relations firm Libertas LLC, best-selling author (2008′s The Real McCain), nationally syndicated columnist and regular pundit on such shows as The Young Turks on Current TV, The Majority Report with Sam Seder and Take Action News with David Shuster. Cliff is also a co-founder of Washington DC’s progressive radio station, We Act Radio (AM 1480).

If you want to test your knowledge of N.C. (the Old North State), you can take this quiz here. I didn't do too well, although I did get the trick question about Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. I grew up with NASCAR, y'all. BTW, if you Dems get bored, the NASCAR Hall of Fame is located in Charlotte.

More later...

RNC in Tampa due for a direct hit from Hurricane Meg

The Tampa Bay area may have received only a glancing blow from Hurricane Isaac, but it's about to be hit with the full impact of Hurricane Meg. On Monday, Meg Lanker-Simons of Cognitive Dissonance interviewed Libertarian candidate for prez and former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. He's disgruntled with the Republicans and crony capitalism, among other things. Listen to the interview here.

Meg Lanker-Simons' Cognitive Dissonance gets "Golden Thinkr" honors from ThinkProgress

Laramie blogging pal Meg Lanker-Simons (Cognitive Dissonance) has just been named one of 10 Tumblr Golden Thinkrs by ThinkProgress (see her sardonic visage at bottom left of graphic). Agreed -- Meg's blog is a hoot and filled with cool graphics and digs at wacko conservatives, of which we have many in Wyoming. Meg is off to NN12 in Providence this week where she will earn more fans. Here's the news:

The moment you’ve all been waiting for is here! After months (days) of eager anticipation (quiet indifference), ThinkProgress is pleased to award our inaugural Golden Thinkrs to 10 tumblrs that have made us laugh, cry, think, sing, skip and—in one particular moment of weakness—drink heavily.

There are too many unique and worthy voices on Tumblr to cram into one award ceremony, so instead we relied on a complicated, mathematical formula to whittle down our list to what you see here. We did not—repeat, DID NOT—throw darts at a board and choose the first 10 we hit.

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons taking Cognitive Dissonance to Netroots Nation 12

Meg Lanker-Simons of Laramie (a.k.a. Cognitive Dissonance) was one of the top three vote-getters in round two of the Netroots Nation 12 scholarship contest. That means she gets her registration and lodging paid to attend the largest annual gathering of progressive bloggers June 7-10 in Providence, R.I. Interesting to note that Meg was the only Wyoming blogger in the sweepstakes. She undoubtedly will be telling us the story this Friday night on her KOCA-FM radio show and on her blog at http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/

No Wyoming panel at Netroots Nation 12 -- but we are sending at least one progressive blogger to Providence

I'm a bit disappointed that Democracy for America has turned down our panel proposal for Netroots Nation 12. More than 400 panels were proposed for the June 7-10 gathering of progressive bloggers in Providence, R.I. Ours was one of 150 proposals that made it to the final round, but it wasn't selected for one of the 70 panels to be presented at the conference. We still think it's a pretty cool idea, one that comes with an embedded literary reference. So, the Southeast Wyoming Progressive Blogosphere may only be sending one of our group to NN12, and that's Meg Lanker-Simons from Laramie. In case you haven't noticed, Meg is number two in the NN12 scholarship sweepstakes. Top three vote getters get scholarhips. Go vote for her now! Have your entire family vote for her. I did.

Here's the NN12 proposal. See what you think.

Panel proposal: “Where I’m Blogging From: On-line Progressives in Red State Wyoming”

It’s mighty red out here, people!

In 2008, Wyoming voters went for John McCain over Barack Obama by a 65-33 percent margin. This was the lowest percentage of “blue” voters in any state, outdoing even neighboring Utah and Idaho (34 percent). In 2010, Republican Matt Mead was elected governor by a 3-to-1 margin. All five elected offices were swept by Republicans and the GOP-dominated Legislature upped its “R” margin to 76 out of 90 seats.

Democrats are an endangered species in Wyoming. This is a state where sporting an Obama bumper sticker is a radical act. Many Democrats are afraid to speak up in public because they are so tragically outnumbered. In some cases, jobs are on the line.

The four bloggers in this proposal are not the state’s only outspoken progressives, but they represent voices unheard in Wyoming’s mainstream media. While they have been active in Democratic Party politics (one has served in the legislature), they often find themselves at odds with a party structure that is timid in the face of Republican onslaughts.

In this session, the presenters will speak about our prog-blogging journeys, and offer tips about making on-line connections in the wide-open conservative spaces. They also will discuss those ground-breaking bloggers in neighboring states who nurtured them.

Presenters

Jeran Artery, Cheyenne, blogs at Out in Wyoming, LGBT activist and Director of Social Change for Wyoming Equality, actor and visual artist, a native of Wheatland in very conservative Platte County, Wyo. Blog: http://outinwy.blogspot.com

Meg Lanker, Laramie, blogs at Cognitive Dissonance, hosts a radio show by the same on KOCA FM every Friday night. Meg brought a successful lawsuit against the University of Wyoming when it refused to let 1960s radical turned education reformer Bill Ayers speak on campus. She also organized a fund-raiser for LGBT groups when ultra-conservative commentator Ann Coulter spoke in Laramie earlier this year. She’s a member of the National Writers Union and a U.S. Navy veteran. Her web site is included in Tumblr's featured politics and government directory at http://www.tumblr.com/spotlight/politics and her site has over 3,000 followers. Blog: http://cognitivedissonance.tumblr.com/

Rodger McDaniel, Cheyenne, former Wyoming state legislator, one-time director of Habitat for Humanity in Nicaragua, retired director of Wyoming Mental Health and Substance Abuse Division, ordained minister, Blowing in the Wyoming Wind blogger. Sponsors a Monday night “Beer and Bibles” get-together each week at a Cheyenne bar where Bible stories are explored from a social justice angle. Rodger is a frequent guest columnist for the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle. Blog: http://blowinginthewyomingwind.blogspot.com

Michael Shay, Cheyenne, fiction writer, essayist and blogger on hummingbirdminds since 2005. One of Michael’s short stories is featured in the 2010 anthology “Working Words: Punching the Clock and Kicking Out the Jams” from Coffee House Press. Other poets, writers and musicians in the anthology include U.S. Poet Laureate Phil Levine, Wanda Coleman, Diane DiPrima, Bob Dylan, Eminem, Li-Young Lee, Dorothy Day and Daniel Berrigan. Michael’s blog was recently named by the Washington Post as one of the top state-based political blogs in the U.S. He was a scholarship attendee at NN11 in Minneapolis. Blog: http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com

Get well soon, Meg!

Meg is sick, people, as this photograph attests. To cheer her up, cast a vote for her on the Netroots Nation 12 scholarship page. She's in second place now but getting her to number one might just cure what ails her. BTW, a real "get well soon" message can be sent to Cognitive Dissonance.

Author Tim Wise guest on tonight's Cognitive Dissonance radio show

Shepard Symposium keynote speaker Tim Wise will be on Meg's show tonight

Laramie's Meg Lanker-Simons, currently numero uno in the Netroots Nation scholarship sweepstakes, sends this out about tonight's radio show:

Tune into 93.5 KOCA tonight, 10PM-1 AM and keep your dial locked for fab music + Legit Conservative + d-bag o' the week. Our special guest tonight is Tim Wise, author of "White Like Me" and "Dear White America: Letter to a New Minority." He'll be live in-studio! Have a question? Post it here! Still taking your requests for songs, dedications & d-bag nods til 8 p.m. Laramie Civic Center, rm #255

Help send Meg to blogger summer camp

Blogger, DJ, activist and perennial hell-raiser Meg Lanker of Cognitive Dissonance in Laramie seeks your vote in the annual Netroots Nation scholarship competition sponsored by Democracy for America. I nominated Meg and am proud as punch of my fave blogger. She's sixth in the standings now and rising fast. Cast your vote at http://democracyforamerica.com/netroots_nation_scholarships/1681-meg-lanker-cognitive-dissonance

Van Jones explains it all for you

Keith Olbermann first confirmed speaker at NN12

Netroots Nation has announced that Keith Olbermann is its first confirmed speaker for the 2012 conference June 7-10 in Providence, R.I.

Great news. I plan on being there. Hope I have an opportunity to discuss James Thurber with Mr. Olbermann. Thurber was a favorite of his late father's and Keith read excerpts to close out each Friday's show on MSNBC. That was before he was cancelled by corporate giant NBC. I also am a big fan of the man's righteous anger, which I miss these days. I'll have to check and see if Optimum (formerly Bresnan) carries Keith's network.

More on NN12 at http://www.netrootsnation.org