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Progressives party it up in Wisconsin
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| Parent(s) |
Candidate
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| Contributor | RP |
| Last Edited | RP Sep 12, 2007 05:17pm |
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| Category | Event |
| Media | Newspaper - Los Angeles Times |
| News Date | Tuesday, September 11, 2007 11:00:00 PM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The fair, known as the Fighting Bob Fest, is an annual celebration of old-fashioned liberalism -- the really, really old-fashioned kind.
Each year in this rural community of about 10,700, farmers, city dwellers and political junkies from across the Midwest gather to honor Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette -- a firebrand who, nearly a century ago, fought against railroad trusts, the U.S. entering World War I and the League of Nations. Once a Republican governor and senator, he grew so disdainful of the party system that he helped found the state's progressive movement.
He was also an inspiration to a group of modern progressives looking to celebrate liberalism. In 2002, it organized a traditional "chautauqua," or family reunion, here in south-central Wisconsin. It was like the ones La Follette used to get his message across in the early 1900s.
This year, the festival drew more than 7,000 curious Democrats and Republicans, eager Libertarian and Green Party voters, and some who are politically homeless.
In the immediate aftermath of this year's fest, attendees have flooded organizers with e-mails and phone calls, searching for ways to bolster the region's progressive voting bloc. |
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