Fighting Bob Fests I-VI have been graced with many heroes. The late Senator Paul Simon, RFK, Jr., Russ Feingold, Amy Goodman, Cindy Sheehan, Doris "Granny D" Haddock, Members of Congress: Gwen Moore, Tom Harkin, Bernie Sanders, Tammy Baldwin, John Conyers, and David Obey; Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, John Nichols and Bob McChesney, Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich; and, what would a Wisconsin Chautauqua be without Stan Gruszynski, Mike McCabe and the nation’s favorite populist, Jim Hightower?

1,200 attended our first Fest; year two saw 2,500, year three over 4,000, and so on. In 2007 over 8,000 jammed the fairgrounds. People are inspired by great speakers and from the knowledge that, as they look around, they are not alone in fighting the good fight. While some say we preach to the choir, we say the choir needs inspiration as well. And we have fun!

My role? I keep the program rolling on time. So, come, enjoy, participate, raise hell, and take words into action. See you in Baraboo.

Ed Garvey
Editor and Publisher of FightingBob.com

Sep 16, 2008
Speech Transcripts

We've received your email requests for speech transcripts from the wonderful speakers who inspired us at this year's Fighting Bob Fest.   We are working hard on getting all of those too you, and thought we would start out by giving you the call to action from Granny D, asking us to help make publicly funded campaigns a reality in Wisconsin, and Arvonne Fraser, reminding us that government is an awesome responsibility in which we all play a part, however, elections do not a democracy make, human rights do.

A special thanks to all of you who attended the Seventh Annual Fighting Bob Fest; especially to all of the hardworking volunteers, food vendors, and exhibitors who helped make the festival such a success.  It was a perfect day with a crowd that was engaged, captivated and motivated by our wonderful line up of speakers and breakout leaders.  We were over 10,000 strong!  We hope that each and every one of you brought home with you new ideas on how you can become an activist in your own community and share that inspiration with others who couldn't be with us on Saturday.  The Bob Fest momentum must be carried out throughout the year. 

So until next year, keep fighting the good fight, and check back with us soon as we will announce the date for next year's Eighth Annual Fighting Bob Fest.

Lost and Found:  Several items were collected throughout the day at the fairgrounds.  If you are missing either a pair of glasses, jewelry, clothing, or a Bluetooth, please call our office to identify your belongings at 608-256-1339.

The night before Fighting Bob Fest, Friday, September 5th, Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's documentary film “Body of War” will be screened at the Barrymore Theatre in Madison with Daniel Kuene, reading his poetry; Jim Hightower, the nation’s favorite populist, giving us a preview; and Donahue himself on hand for a question-and-answer session after the film. Friday will be a real treat.

The screening begins at 7:30 p.m., and the Barrymore is located at 2090 Atwood Avenue in Madison. Tickets are $10.00 at the door, unless you've signed up for a volunteer shift at Fighting Bob Fest, in which case your entrance is free.

Fighting Bob Fest is an annual Chautauqua featuring progressive speakers, networking opportunities, and entertainment. Fighting Bob Fest carries on the tradition of Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette by providing a forum for progressive ideas on issues facing Wisconsin and the nation.

Freedom and justice are defended through education, and the exchange of ideas promotes solidarity among progressives. To this end, Fighting Bob Fest strives to provide citizens with a forum for democratic participation where frustrations with current policies can be constructively molded into calls to action.