I'm giggling like a schoolgirl. Meetup info in the Illinois forum, but on to the press release:
JULY 18, 2007—YearlyKos Convention organizers announced today that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, U.S. Rep. Rahm Emanuel, and Sen. Charles E. “Chuck” Schumer will participate in a unique Ask the Leaders Forum to be held August 4 in Chicago.
The event—much like the YearlyKos Presidential Leadership Forum that will be held later that afternoon—empowers citizens to engage America's current Senate and House leadership in substantive discussion about hot topics such as Iraq.
Emanuel serves as House Democratic Caucus Chair; and Schumer, the Senior Senator from New York, is chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
"We are proving that the best kind of democracy is flat," said YearlyKos Convention Executive Director Gina Cooper. "By decreasing the distance between citizens and their leaders, regular people are better able to affect the direction of our country. And these leaders are showing their commitment to regular people by being here."
The 8 a.m. panel will be moderated by Bob Geiger, who covers the Senate for the Huffington Post, AlterNet and other online publications and is considered by many to be the Progressive blogosphere's go-to guy on U.S. Senate activity.
Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. John Edwards, Sen. Barack Obama, Gov. Bill Richardson, and Sen. Chris Dodd have confirmed their participation in the Presidential Leadership Forum.
YearlyKos Convention 2007 will take place August 2–5, 2007 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.
In addition to the forum, the conference will include panels and caucuses led by national and international experts; prominent nationally recognized political, issue and policy-oriented speakers; a progressive film screening series; and the most concentrated gathering of high-profile progressive bloggers to date.
The forum and convention are open to media coverage. For more information about the YearlyKos Convention or for credentials, visit www.yearlykosconvention.org/press.
ABOUT THE YEARLYKOS CONVENTION
The YearlyKos Convention is an annual convention gathering people from all walks of life who belong to the Netroots community, the US-based (but globally focused and inclusive) non-partisan grassroots community that uses the internet and blogs as primary tools for expressing viewpoints; building consensus; acting to change the status quo; mobilizing huge numbers of people and informing each other and the world about current events, grassroots actions, networks, meetings, policy and more.
More information:
http://www.yearlykosconvention.org/node/391