Farewellby Linda Thieman
Well, the time has come for me to take my leave. I’ve been trying to get away for several days now, but running Blog for Iowa is addictive. I check my sources, get that “a ha!” spark when I see some information that I just have to post, and before you know it, I have spent several hours setting up three more posts. Kind of like Al Pacino in “The Godfather Part III,” where he keeps trying to get out and they keep pulling him back in. Perhaps that’s not the best analogy.
I have loved running Blog for Iowa. I have appreciated those of you who have spread the word. Because of you, our readership has exploded once again. I’ve adjusted the stats for a little glitch on October 23 and 24; there was a 26-hour time period during which all Blog Harbor stats stopped being recorded and over that two-day period, posted nothing but zeros. We never got that lost information back. So, that being said, I believe we actually reached 50,000 page views for the first time in October. During the last two weeks of October, we averaged 1,010 readers per day (distinct hosts served). That surprised me because I had expected that as people became more and more consumed with the final days of the campaign, readership would drop off. It didn’t.
The stats for the first 5 days of November have been surprising, too. We have averaged 1,400 readers per day. And, thanks to Dawn Mueller posting links to Blog for Iowa over at Kos during an Iowa candidates thread, we had our biggest day ever on October 11, with 2,170 readers and 2,777 page views. (We did have one day with higher page views; October 19 hit 2820 page views.) Truly amazing.
I’m sure we all realize that the progressive movement is in its infancy. I am proud of how hard we’ve worked. But if my leaving grants me the right to offer one piece of advice, let it be this. We are in this for the long haul. It took the neo-cons 35 years to set up the structure that now poisons our democracy. It’s going to take us a considerable length of time to repair it. So, pace yourselves. Take the down time you need. Get some rest. Find a way to make the movement a consistent part of your life in a way that you will be less likely to suffer burn out. We need you, and more important, we need you to take good care of yourself.
Now that we don’t have a national election hanging over our heads, we can focus on what is most important, and that, of course, is building the progressive movement from the ground up in Iowa. Iowa is where it’s at because this is where we live. You may have heard the rumors that the DNC is thinking of taking the first-in-the-nation status away from Iowa because Kerry didn’t “win.” Well, if they do, that’s the breaks. Would it kill us to let some other poor souls give up two years of their lives every time the presidential rolls around? Whatever happens, our top priority must still be Iowa.
I have just added some Writers’ Guidelines to the right sidebar of Blog for Iowa. We welcome contributions about the progressive movement, in general, or pertaining to the progressive movement in Iowa, in particular. I’ve set up two links. Click on the top link to read the Guidelines on the web; click on the bottom link to download the Guidelines.
I don’t know what my plans are or how long I’ll be AWOL – if it’s a short period of time, this big goodbye is going to look pretty silly. Anyhoo, I’d like to take this opportunity to say some thank yous.
Dr. Alta Price: Alta and her enthusiasm drive Democracy for Iowa. She’s the one who got the ball rolling. She’s the one who funds Blog for Iowa. And you’ll probably see her at your door asking for your input as Democracy for Iowa works on some bylaws and endorsement procedures. Keep your eye on this gal. She’s a go-getter.
Darrell Lewis and Molly Regan: This one is rather personal, so if those kinds of things tend to make you blush, skip to the next paragraph. During the last seven and a half months that I worked to set up and run Blog for Iowa, long periods of time passed when folks remembered to read the blog but seemed to forget I was here. If it weren’t for the moral support I received from Darrell and Molly, I would have quit long ago.
Darrell Lewis, Dave Inbody, and Dick Stater: Once when I was talking to Alta, she commented that she thought it was funny that she and I were “co-founders” of Democracy for Iowa because she didn’t know any two people who knew less about politics than we did. That cracked me up because it was so true. So, that being the case, I would like to thank these three gentlemen for teaching me everything I actually now know about politics. You’ve been kind and patient teachers.
Our Regular Contributors: I’d like to thank our regular Blog for Iowa contributors for their hard work and fine contributions, including Connie Wilson, Ira Lacher, Darrell Lewis, Ted Remington, Andrew Smith, Christina Butts, and the non-partisan Iowa Policy Project. (If I forgot someone, drop me a line and I'll add their name!)
Trish Nelson and Ellen Ballas: I’d like to thank the co-coordinators of Rapid Response – Iowa and everyone on the stellar team they worked so hard to create for never letting up in the fight to hold the media accountable. I’d also like to mention a special thank you to Trish Nelson for setting up a system that allowed us to send out press releases in an efficient manner.
Our Candidates: I’d like to thank our beloved progressive candidates for putting themselves out there to give voice to progressive values. Personally, I think there is nothing harder than being a candidate, unless you’re a Republican incumbent, and then you just hide out and sit on your behind during the whole campaign season, until the last two weeks, during which the Rove manual instructs you to do radio and TV ads and mailings smearing and lying about the reputations of your hard-working Democratic opponent. But, I digress.
The Campaign Staffers: I’d like to thank all the campaign staffers who helped keep Blog for Iowa in touch with what was going on with our candidates. And I’d like to thank all the campaign staffers, in general, for giving your all to get the word out about your/our candidates.
The Meet Up Hosts: A special thank you to the Iowa Meet Up hosts who have kept the ground game going: Dennis and Robin Roseman in Iowa City, Alta Price and Molly Regan in the QC, Dick Stater and Sue Astley in Cedar Rapids, and Colleen Jennings in Des Moines.
And last but not least, I would like to thank Cliff Day for taking over Blog for Iowa for me. It’s a big job, Cliff. Always remember, running the control panel is nearly impossible if you use Internet Explorer. Mozilla it must be! And, of course, I’d like to thank Howard Dean for awakening a movement, a movement that allowed us to network extensively with folks who understand what’s what. This thing is bigger than anyone realizes. We just haven't reached critical mass yet.
Just in case you didn’t know it, ALL the articles ever posted on Blog for Iowa can be accessed through the search feature on the left sidebar. I've made 788 posts, and some have links to as many as five other sources.
AND A BIG THANK YOU to all the readers of Blog for Iowa (including our good friends from Nebraska and Wisconsin).
There now. I think that’s enough self-indulgence for today.
Linda Thieman
