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April 08, 2006

Dignitaries

Kevin Phillips, author of American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century, was in town last night, speaking and signing books.

I was going to go, but as the evening got later, and I thought about what an unhospitable place Powell's can be if you want to actually see and hear an author, I decided with some regrets to take a pass. (You can get the bottom line of his book, and his main talking points on tour, here.)

Did any of you attend? How was it? Reports and reviews are most welcome.

I suspect that his main remarks were familiar to anyone who's seen him on the cable circuit in the last month, but the Q&A afterwards could have been very interesting indeed. Smart guy, and a slice of history: He was present at the creation of the monster that is the modern Republican party--Phillips, who coined the term "Sun Belt" circa 1969 was one of the theorists of the electoral/demographic strategy that changed the shape of the electoral map for the next four decades. He's since distanced himself from the Republican ideological machine (although I have no idea how he votes), and most especially from the Bush dynasty.

And then tomorrow, bloggers Jerome Armstrong (founder of MyDD) and Markos Moulitsas Zuniga (founder of DailyKOS) will be at the Lucky Lab from 3.30pm until 7pm, at which point the whole thing relocates to Powell's, where they'll be promoting and signing their book Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics.

Not sure I'll be attending the formal-ish part at Powell's (see above, re: limited speaking areas), but I'll probably make it to the Lucky Lab.

I'll be the one shushing the bartenders when they complain that my mail is piling up behind the bar.

Posted by Nothstine at April 8, 2006 09:25 PM