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Seeking Q's for Sen. John Edwards talk Friday

by raines

Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 11:49:11 AM EST

promoted...with a slight tweak or two

Hi, I'm Raines, longtime ePMedia admirer (my sweetie still wants to hear the latest GuckerGate Goop), first-time poster.

I'll be at the GnomeDex blogger technical conference in Seattle this Friday, doing some reporting for ePMedia. Recently, long after I registered and the main hall sold out, it was announced that Senator John Edwards, a presumed 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidate, would be keynoting.

So, I'm here to ask for your help: what should I ask? What should I be focussing on?

more below the fold!

commentary :: :: :: buzz-it!

It's unlikely that I'll get exclusive interview time with the Senator, and the whole hall will be filled with hundreds of bloggers and blog tool developers, many professional, so I'm not looking for a scoop or an inside line or liveblogging (especially given how overwhelmed the bandwidth is likely to be).

But I feel I can bring into the room (and share with others) some of the best questions ePM (and dKos) readers come up with (to increase the odds of them getting asked, or at least our frames getting used), and also interview others there, about matters technical and political (although Edwards says the talk will not be political in nature), the intersection of those realms, and their impressions of Edwards and of the process.

I've studied up some on the Senator's PAC site and other articles, but if you can link to relevant ones in your comments, it'll help me (and others) make the most of this opportunity. Here's where I'm coming from (to get my interests/connections disclosed):

I've got a background in tech journalism and community development, and just before yearlyKos I put up a briefly-rec-listed dKos diary reporting on Markos' talk at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco (audio now available in podcast directly from the club site), and inbetween doing a yKos table on communities/ecovillages/
cohousing and Peak Oil, I did some videoblogging, capturing Bill Richardson (NM-Gov) and everybody's favorite party animal General Wes Clark in a dark, noisy room, and writing a little commentary about bloggers "selling out" (no, that's not me in the video).

I signed up for GnomeDex early based on my experience there last year and the intuition that this would be an interesting conference, even though I didn't quite know how interesting, or that it would bring these particular realms together. I'll be doing networking (the people kind, but maybe also the technical kind) and promoting my own ventures, so I certainly can't promise wall-to-wall coverage, even if the WiFi were 'five-by-five'.

So what do you want to know about Senator Edwards? Or how tech bloggers react to politicians? Or the mood in the room? Where should I be focussing my attention in this time-limited, distracting environment? The floor is open.

Seeking Q's for Sen. John Edwards talk Friday | 14 comments (14 topical, 0 hidden)

Tips always appreciated (5.00 / 6) (#1)

(the news kind, that is)

Here's the nearly-identical dKos post, for comments from those who don't have ePM accounts yet.

by raines on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:10:33 PM EST

: Poverty (5.00 / 1) (#4)

Does he support living wage legislation - which includes healthcare costs - as opposed to simply raising the minimum?

by rba on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:38:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

kos, 6/22/2006: Edwards' Big Idea (5.00 / 2) (#2)

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/22/12411/3937

I'm guessing you're already familiar with this diary, but I thought I'd post a link, anyhow, as fodder.

You might ask how the "Two Americas" plan evolved into the "Working Society" - why is the new plan better than the old plan? Why the change?

It's a pretty open-ended question (dare I say softball?) but would benefit those of us who don't follow Edwards too closely, giving us insight into shifts in his thought processes from pre-2004 election mode to pre-2008 mode.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
by wanderindiana on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:22:42 PM EST

: understanding the evolution is always valuable (none / 0) (#8)

in helping us understand the forces that move a campaign from point A to point B, if nothing else. That kind of meta-transparency can do a lot to make the whole process more powerful.
However, as you say, it has a certain softballness to it, but I'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

by raines on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 05:16:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ask him (5.00 / 3) (#3)

Why does he feel the American people, pundits and press are reluctant to acknowledge the extent of voting irregularities we witnessed in the last election, particularily in Ohio.

by Cho on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 12:32:01 PM EST

: WaPo today (5.00 / 2) (#5)

Came out with an article today on a recent study on the vulnerabilities of electronic voting and pointed out it's not if but when. (cough)
Looks like they're finally catching on.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/6/28/93910/0063

by susie dow on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 03:48:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
: I like this angle on the vote-fraud issue (none / 0) (#9)

it makes it more about how the system and our society is broken, rather than specific allegations, gives him latitude in how to answer it. Thanks!

by raines on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 05:18:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Welcome raines! (5.00 / 2) (#6)

You sound like you've already got a good handle on things, and have gotten a few more solid questions. You're going to need to hog the mic. :o) I'm the combat PTSD broken record girl around here; so, my question(s):

What are your thoughts on how engaged the nation is on the issues facing our returning troops, including:

Unemployment double that of the civilian population
Homelessness already upon 500 OEF/OIF veterans
Mental health/PTSD where troops are falling through the cracks because the VA has been underfunded by anywhere from $4-6 billion since the wars began

Is it a problem of leadership (could the Bush administration have asked more from the country), or national will?

Welcome, again; and have a great time at the conference. It sounds like a blast...can't wait to hear your report!
On PTSD Combat | Email list | Book
by ilona on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 04:02:06 PM EST

this is going to be a big sleeper issue (5.00 / 1) (#10)

on the plate of our next President, so it's good to be asking this kind of thing now. I could imagine asking this in the context of what "support our troops" means to him.

by raines on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 05:21:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I Second This Motion...... (5.00 / 1) (#12)

and will add, unless some attending visit here, You'll Probably Be The Only One Asking About This!!

Keep in mind that Troops are Serving Multiple Tours in Both Afganistan, which is once again heating up, and Iraq!

Where as those of us from 'Nam served mostly one 1yr. tour, unless volunteering for more, i.e. his Running Mate.

by jimstaro on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 08:11:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]

: You Might.... (5.00 / 1) (#13)

want to read this, it might give you other ideas on a whole host of questions:

Macho, Macho Man
by Paul Waldman, TomPaine.com
Don't get distracted by the erectness of President Bush. It's all for show.
And not only for Edwards.
By the way, Thank Him for passing on the Good News about his wife!

by jimstaro on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 08:18:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Oh -- (none / 0) (#7)

Also, how does he feel about the McCain-Kennedy Immigration bill...

and the fence...

by Cho on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 04:26:34 PM EST

: hot issues, fer sure n/t (none / 0) (#11)

by raines on Wed Jun 28, 2006 at 05:22:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Ask... (none / 0) (#14)

Would he support a federal mandate requiring all gas stations to offer ethanol-based fuels and offer incentives to auto makers to build more alt-fuel vehicles?
When does he believe the troops should come home?
Given the recent revelations about the financial insecurity of Fannie Mae (see the dKos diary for background), what would he do to solve the situation?
How does he feel about federally financed elections, and eliminating the K-Street influence from our election system? Would he bck an initiative that would require hand-counted paper ballots?
What else would he do to reduce the influence of dollars and big business in Washington?
If he had to do it over again, what would he change about the 2004 elections?
He lost in 2004 -- first at the polls, and later after not challenging voting irregularities in Ohio, New Mexico, Florida and elsewhere. Why should Democrats give him another chance.