(I was there as well, representing the West LA Drinking Liberally. We’re going to have our Calitics Q3 Quarterly in association with DL on September 26. I was going to write this up but Jesse does an excellent job here. I did post my thoughts on the Harkin Steak Fry at my personal site here. – promoted by David Dayen)

Drinking Liberally’s 3rd Annual National Convention was held in Des Moines Iowa over the weekend.  It was a fabulous weekend for many reasons, but I’d have to say that the Des Moines chapter was the highlight of the trip.  The city leaders and their members are not only great people but they are amazing liberals who absolutely get it.  Future DL national conferences have a lot to live up to due to their effort and hospitality.  In addition to the productive meeting environment the DL National Organizers created and the great guest speakers they lined up for us, we attended the Tom Harkin’s Annual Steak Fry fundraiser.  Most of the Democratic Presidential candidates were there to meet, mingle and speak to Iowans (and some of us out-of-towners too). 

Please flip

More than anything, the national conferences are in place to get the people who run Drinking Liberally, the city leaders, together once a year.  The national leaders intentionally have a light touch on the direction of the organization.  The cities leaders are the ones really driving where Drinking Liberally ultimately goes.  The first portion of the weekend summarized where we came from, where we are today, where we want to go next and how we plan on getting there.  The “getting there” section was supplemented by guest speakers from the Center for Independent Media, Young People For and Open Left.  The panel was asked to focus on where Drinking Liberally fits into the progressive and liberal community and the value we bring.  Tom Harkin’s online communications point person (and DL member) also spoke to the group on how to engage elected officials and candidates in coming to a Drinking Liberally event.  The Harkin Steak Fry was a perfect end to the weekend.  Most of the candidates in attendance were accessible for a handshake at the very least and in some cases a casual conversation about the Drinking Liberally button they were just handed.

For those of you not familiar with Drinking Liberally you’ve obviously been working way too hard promoting the progressive/liberal agenda and haven’t enjoyed the benefits you are entitled to as a member of the community.  Flip liberally to hear more about Drinking Liberally and its parent organization Living Liberally, how to get involved or starting your own chapter.

Drinking Liberally is a national organization with more than 200 chapters where progressives and liberals come together to regularly “water the grassroots” in cities across the country.  It’s a place where progressives and liberals come to recharge our batteries, let our hair down, not work, recruit or be recruited, and generally feel at ease with others who have similar values, goals ambitions.

Drinking Liberally is the oldest and most well known group of larger umbrella organization, Living Liberally which also includes Laughing Liberally, Eating Liberally, Reading Liberally, and Screening Liberally.

Thriving communities require culture to sustain and nourish the members of the community, and Living Liberally has become a major part of the culture of the progressive and liberal community.  Living Liberally is also evolving into the face-to-face social networking component of the liberal and progressive community.  While Facebook, MySpace and Google groups are great for finding people with common interests, Living Liberally provides the in person contact and networking where real relationships are formed and can be capitalized upon. 

It all starts with an individual making the decision that their city or town needs a place where progressives and liberals can meet, can find others who share similar interests, can get a better feel for what is being done in the community or want to have a place where people can learn and engage in discussions focusing on progressive and liberal politics.  The city leader chooses a location, day, time and frequency of the “meeting.”  The meetings won’t start with an official call to order or include a meeting agenda with recorded minutes.  A social gathering is probably better a definition of the events. 

But don’t let the informality fool you.  Drinking Liberally chapters all over the country have been known to attract elected officials and candidates from all offices of city/county/state/federal government, great guests, best selling authors and prominent members of the online community.  New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson came to our National Conference party in Des Moines just this weekend.

On Wednesday, September 19th members Drinking Liberally San Diego will be attending the Calitics Quarterly Fundraiser in San Diego at the Firehouse American Eatery.  You can contact Lucas O’Connor ([email protected]) for more information.  *As an organization, Drinking Liberally does not support or endorse political parties, candidates, or issues. 

Sound appealing?  Visit www.drinkingliberally.org and look for a chapter near you.  Don’t see a chapter in your area?  Start one, it’s easy.  Running a DL chapter doesn’t take much time and is very rewarding knowing you are building the infrastructure of the progressive and liberal communities.

Feel free to email me with any question or comments.

Jesse Rubin
Drinking Liberally San Diego City Leader and National Field Organizer
[email protected]