Reflections on Netroots Nation '09, health care and climate

My colleague Kimberly and I had a chance last week to attend Netroots Nation '09, one of the most important progressive political conferences in the country that brings together bloggers, professional online and offline organizers, grassroots activists, journalists, artists, elected officials and center-left political leaders of all levels. We went to Pittsburgh to meet and deepen relationships with both climate and non-climate activists, and assess the mood of the Netroots community and their level of interest in climate and clean energy. I'm happy to report that we not only found a vibrant, optimistic Netroots, but one that's deeply interested in bold climate and clean energy action.

It won't surprise anyone reading this that health care reform was front and center throughout the conference. Just like the general political debate across the country, NN09 was heavily focused on the health care debate. Having said that, climate and energy didn't exactly take a back seat. There were several panels and caucuses dealing with climate, clean energy that drew big audiences and sparked interesting discussions and some passionate debates.

Political leaders attending the conference would often bring up energy and climate right after health care. President Clinton devoted the bulk of his keynote address to health care, but he also talked extensively about the need to pass a strong clean energy and climate bill this year. He even said that the most important thing we could do to jumpstart the economy also happens to be "the least sexy thing" in the Waxman-Markey bill: energy efficiency (I personally find energy efficiency quite sexy, but to each his own). Meanwhile, a skeptical Netroots audience extracted a pledge from newly converted Democrat Arlen Specter to oppose filibusters on both health care and climate, and said action to tackle global warming was "long overdue." And Valerie Jarrett got a big round of applause when she declared the Obama Administration "loooves those green jobs" and drew cheers when she mentioned the name "Van Jones."

Being at the conference made me think of the striking parallels between the fights for health care reform and strong climate and clean energy action. Forget for a second about the relationship between the two in terms of policy. Both are huge undertakings that would have major implications for the way our economy works; they would both ensure the long-term health and welfare of the American people; both are sorely needed to jumpstart our ailing economy; and both face virulent opposition from powerful special interests that are willing to sink as low as they have to in order to block real change. In the end, both fights are really the same fight, and it boils down to the centuries-old struggle between greed and the public welfare -- and no matter the issue, we're all in this fight together.