LAS VEGAS -- Hundreds of liberal (they'd say progressive) Internet bloggers crawled out of their cybertunnels for face-time and political networking here at the first-ever YearlyKos convention.
Named after DailyKos.com, the widely read political Web log by Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, the three-day convention that opened Thursday is something of a milestone - an event that unites the irreverent and ever-morphing liberal blogosphere with mainstream political figures who have begun to recognize the bloggers' potential influence.
Billed as "Uniting the Netroots," the convention at the Riviera Hotel promises top Democratic politicians as its headliners, such as poli-Web pioneer Howard Dean, the head of the Democratic Party who was one of the first presidential candidates to mobilize supporters and raise funds online; Sen. Harry Reid, minority leader, who reads and guest-blogs and has a Web site (giveemhellharry.com); Nancy Pelosi, minority leader in the House; and Gen. Wesley Clark.
The gathering resembles a mini-political convention, with seminars instructing participants on the potential power of the blogosphere, as well as talks on the Supreme Court, religion, the environment, immigration and other hot-button issues.
No hidden agenda here; the speakers and panelists mocked their own screen-worn politics as those of Bush-bashing, rabble-rousing and noodgy operatives, some already well-known for trying to breathe a new political life online to what the blogocracy views as tired old Democratic ways.
Most of the panels, too, emphasize activism, online and offline.
Some even fit the advice column mode. One session Thursday offered political pundit training: for the mainstream television appearance - smile, no matter what; wear boring clothes and always a jacket; women, don't tilt your heads; men, keep a hand in one pocket.
Not that all those in attendance needed polishing, though. Some of the featured bloggers are getting rock-star treatment. The former editor of Wonkette.com, Ana Marie Cox, who now writes for Time magazine, could barely wander around without notice.
Joe Trippi, Dean's former campaign manager, who led the charge on the Internet and then wrote The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything, was trailed by news reporters busily recording his quotes.
