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Fighting Bob Fest Is A Must For Hell-raising Progressives

The Capital Times :: EDITORIAL :: 9A

Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Ed Garvey

Some had successfully engaged Perrier in the fight to protect our spring water; others were fighting factory farms, transmission lines, the Crandon mine and ethanol plants.

Most had tried to engage legislators in their fights but soon learned the sad truth that most incumbent officeholders respond to contributors, not citizens -- particularly when the adversary is a contributor to the legislator. As one of the group said, "It is lonely out there." Indeed, those taking on the powerful corporate interests know just how lonely it can be.

The group of 15 or so decided that they must find a way to help each other in the fight for Wisconsin's future outside the party structure. It became obvious that self-help was the only way to protect our air, water and land.

Why not a statewide meeting of what can only be described as the politically homeless? Would there be a name? "Fighting Bob" La Follette, who had fought similar battles in a previous century, was the obvious choice.

Fighting Bob Fest was born. With a grant from The Evjue Foundation Inc., the charitable arm of The Capital Times, and an army of volunteers, the work began. The person invited to keynote the first Bob Fest readily agreed. Sen. Paul Simon was from Illinois but had strong Wisconsin ties, and his impassioned call for activism inspired the 700 people who listened. Paul Simon died last year, and Bob Fest III will be dedicated to his memory.

By the end of the day in 2002, more than a thousand people, none of whom would shy from the title "progressive," filled the hall at the Sauk County fairgrounds to be motivated by Dennis Kucinich, John Nichols, Bert Grover and many others.

One decision was to create a communications vehicle for progressives. Thus was born www.FightingBob.com, a nonpartisan online magazine that has become a forum for viewpoints and topics not covered by mainstream media outlets. The goal: to honor and revive the spirit and mission of "Fighting Bob" La Follette, the progressive governor, senator and presidential candidate.

Was this a flash in the pan or the beginning of a progressive revival? Part of the answer came one year later, when 2,500 people came to hear Bernie Sanders, Jim Hightower, Gwen Moore, Ellen Bravo, Robert Miranda, Greg Palast, Matt Rothschild, Russ Feingold and Dennis Kucinich address the theme of "Corporate Power Versus Democracy." Part of that day was spent reviewing victories large and small by grass-roots organizations.

The question facing the crowd at the third Bob Fest is whether we have started that progressive revival and, if so, how to sustain the momentum. "Rights at Risk" is the theme, and there is plenty of material to work with.

This year's keynote address will be delivered by our neighbor, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, the favorite of most progressives for the 1992 Democratic nomination for president. Harkin will lay down the challenge facing progressives in our money-dominated political system. And he will have lots of support from Texas populist Jim Hightower, who will make his second visit to Bob Fest. John Nichols and his colleague Bob McChesney will lead the discussion on the risk to free speech in the era of the USA Patriot Act.

The Kerry/Edwards ticket has been invited, but a decision won't be made until the last minute. President Bush was invited, and so were presidential candidates Ralph Nader and the Greens' David Cobb. Cobb has accepted and will speak in the afternoon. We have not heard from Bush.

Gerald Bracey, author of "Setting the Record Straight: Responses to Misconceptions About Public Education," will focus on No Child Left Behind and other challenges to public education.

We are extremely pleased that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the chief prosecuting attorney for Hudson Riverkeeper and president of the Waterkeeper Alliance, will speak on the risks to our environment under the current Environmental Protection Agency. Kennedy has earned a reputation as the national spokesman for the environmental movement. Panelists Melissa Scanlan of Midwest Environmental Advocates, environmental attorney Glenn Stoddard and state Rep. Spencer Black will join him.

State Sen. Gwen Moore, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin and U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold will speak, and we have invited the winner of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Add Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, Stan Gruszynski, Bert Grover and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, and you are in for a treat on Sept. 18 in Baraboo. Check out the details on www.FightingBob.com.

* I t looks like the politically homeless may have found a home. Held just a few weeks before the all-important Nov. 2 election, this meeting, this Chautauqua, indeed this hell-raiser, is a must. See you in Baraboo.

\ Ed Garvey, the Democratic nominee for governor in 1998, is a Madison lawyer and the editor of the fightingbob.com Web site. E-mail: comments@fightingbob.com