In St. Paul for the Republican National Convention, I trekked up a great big hill earlier this evening to check out the Liberal Lounge, a gathering place for left-leaning bloggers and activists this week about a half mile from the Xcel Center.

The "lounge" is a temporary set-up, established in a converted pool house that was once part of a complex now owned, I'm told, by famous Minnesotan Garrison Keillor. The pool house is now owned by a borrowed a friend and supporter of the local Drinking Liberally chapter, and the Liberal Lounge itself is being this week by some shining stars in the progressive firmament -- SEIU, Living Liberally, the Uptake, and the Minnesota Independent.

When I got there, the cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon were on ice, there were sandwiches a plenty, and coverage of the convention was playing on a giant TV screen. It's quite a space, and reports were that it attracted a crowd of 30 or so last night for the speeches happening down at the RNC. They're expecting an even bigger gathering for Sarah Palin's acceptance speech tonight. The absolutely giant dog above, Jerry (or perhaps it's Gerry -- I didn't ask for a spelling), roamed about.

It's quite a neat trick -- Living Liberally gets to tap into its network wherever it happens to have a need. Considering they now have Drinking Liberally chapters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, that's certainly a rich resource for a growing progressive group. They're liveblogging the speeches tonight, so hop on over to their site if you're interested.