It's primary election day across the Valley and the state, and while there aren't *too* many contested primaries, there are a few and they are important ones.
- There are contested primaries on both sides of the ballot for Corporation Commission.
On the Democratic side, Kara Kelty, Sandra Kennedy, Sam George, and Paul Newman are running for the three spots on the general election ballot; on the Republican side, Marian McClure, Barry Wong, Keith Swapp, Bob Robson, John Allen, Rick Fowlkes, Bob Stump, and Joe Hobbs are running. (Want proof that I spend too much time thinking and writing about AZ politics? I recited all 11 of those names from memory. :) )
- In Maricopa County, Democrats Gerald Richard and Tim Nelson are squaring off for the chance to knock off incumbent County Attorney Andrew Thomas.
- In CD5, six Republicans are contesting for the privilege of facing Democrat Harry Mitchell in November. The candidates include Laura Knaperek, Susan Bitter Smith, David Schweikert, Mark Anderson, Jim Ogsbury, and Lee Gentry.
- In CD6, Democrats Rebecca Schneider and Chris Gramazio are facing off for the chance to unseat Republican Jeff Flake in November.
- In CD1, it's a free-for-all as a number of candidates on both sides of the ballot vie to replace the indicted and departing Republican Rick Renzi.
On the Democratic side, Jeffrey Brown, Mary Kim Titla, Ann Kirkpatrick, and Howard Shanker are on the ballot; on the Republican side, Sandra Livingstone, Sydney Hay, Tom Hansen, and Barry Hall are in the running.
- In the Republican race for the LD4 Senate seat, incumbent Jack Harper is facing the challenge mounted by John Zerby.
- In the Republican race for the LD18 Senate seat, in perhaps the nastiest race of the season, Russell Pearce and Kevin Gibbons are competing to face Democrat Judah Nativio in November for the chance to replace the retiring Republican incumbent Karen Johnson.
- In the LD18 Republican race for State Rep, Cecil Ash, Steve Court, Kanani Henderson, and Ron Middlebrook are contesting to face Democrat Tammie Pursley in November.
- In LD22, the Senate race will be decided in the Republican primary, as no Democrat is running. Incumbent Thayer Verschoor is facing challengers Eddie Farnsworth and Joe Bedgood.
In the LD22 Republican State Rep primary, Andy Biggs, Laurin Hendrix, Adam Armer, and Bob Brown are vying for the chance to face Democrat Glenn Ray on November's ballot.
- In LD26 Senate, Republican incumbent Pete Hershberger is facing challenger Al Melvin; the winner goes on to face Democrat Cheryl Cage in November.
- Up north in the LD1 Democratic State Representative race, Tom Chabin, Christopher Clark Deschene, Mark Haughwout and write-in candidate Jolene Tom are facing off for the privilege of joining the lege - there aren't any Republican candidates.
- In LD3, Doris Goodale, Trish Groe and Nancy McClain are vying for the two Republican spots on the November ballot. They winners will face Democrat Pamela Durbin once there.
- In LD6, the Republican race for State Rep has been *interesting* between Sam Crump, Tony Bouie, and Carl Seel. The winners of that primary will face Democrats Teri Conrad and Jack Doody in November.
- In the LD12 Republican primary for State Representative, Robert Blendu, Steve Montenegro and Jerry Weiers are fighting for the chance to face Democrats Eve Nunez and David Scanlon in November.
- In LD14, Democrats Robert Meza, Chad Campbell, and John Valdez are facing off for the chance to represent the district in the state House of Representatives. There are no Republican candidates.
- In the Democratic primary for LD16 State Representative, Cloves Campbell, Jr., Betty Doss Ware, Ben Miranda, and Jimmie Munoz Jr. are fighting it out for the two Democratic spots on November's ballot.
- In LD20, Republicans John McComish, Jeff Dial, Frank Schmuck, and Andy Swann are opposing each other for the right to face Democrats Rae Waters and write-in Michael Williams in November.
- In the LD23 Democratic State Representative primary, Barbara McGuire, Krista Pacion, Dorian Bond, Ernest Bustamante, and write-in candidate Emily Verdugo-Aldrich are facing off to oppose Republicans John Fillmore and Frank Pratt in the general election.
- In LD27, Phil Lopes, Olivia Cajero Bedford and John Kromko are facing off.
- LD29 has perhaps the largest Democratic primary, as Tom Prezelski, Daniel Patterson, Eric Carbajal Bustamante, Ephraim Cruz, Gil Guerra, Matt Heinz, and Patricia Puig are contesting for the two November spots on the ballot.
Finally, in the LD30 Republican primary for State Representative, Frank Antenori, Sharon Collins, Doug Sposito, and David Gowan are vying for the two Republican slots against Democrat Andrea Dalessandro in November.
In addition to the above primary races, there are a number of municipal elections on Tuesday's ballot, including Scottsdale, Avondale, El Mirage, Chandler, Glendale, Guadalupe, Peoria, Queen Creek and Wickenburg in Maricopa County.
The Maricopa County Recorder's polling place locator is here. If you live in another county, contact your county's Recorder for that information.
Note: I was going to try to provide links to campaign websites for all of the Democratic candidates mentioned in this post, but if I did that, I wouldn't finish this post until after the polls closed. :)
Note2 - Zelph at AZNetroots has an informative post on some of the write-in candidates in Maricopa County here.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Labor Day and candidates for office: A quick comparison
On one hand, we have Bob Lord, the rising Democratic challenger in CD3, who spent his day walking neighborhoods of the district and talking to voters, and attending the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Phoenix.
On the other hand, we have John Shadegg, the embattled, retiree-wannabe incumbent, who spent the morning dining in a luxury hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota calling the Democratic Presidential ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden 'a product of the "radical left." '
So now he's calling two sitting U.S. Senators "radicals? Two members of what is perhaps the most exclusive and privileged club in America? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
They're radicals only by the standards of extremist ideologues, not responsible public servants.
In any event, today, Bob Lord issued a statement of appreciation and commemoration of American workers -
Have a happy and safe Labor Day!
On the other hand, we have John Shadegg, the embattled, retiree-wannabe incumbent, who spent the morning dining in a luxury hotel in St. Paul, Minnesota calling the Democratic Presidential ticket of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden 'a product of the "radical left." '
So now he's calling two sitting U.S. Senators "radicals? Two members of what is perhaps the most exclusive and privileged club in America? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!
They're radicals only by the standards of extremist ideologues, not responsible public servants.
In any event, today, Bob Lord issued a statement of appreciation and commemoration of American workers -
On Labor Day, Arizonans and Americans observe their hard work, the quest for the American Dream and the importance of preserving the American Dream for our children and grandchildren.
We take time off to appreciate the hard work our parents and grandparents did so that they could make life better for us. We take time to appreciate those of us who have to work today, even though most of us have the day off. And most importantly, we take the time to recognize those of us who can't get by because we lost our jobs to the failed economic policies of the current leadership.
Fortunately, my wife Tammy and I both were lucky enough to live the American Dream. We both were born to modest circumstances, but we were both fortunate enough to attend fantastic public schools. We worked hard, we learned and we built a very good life for ourselves and our seven children.
On this Labor Day we celebrate the contributions workers have made to better our country. We have worked so hard and we have come so far and things will get better, because Arizona deserves better.
We just need leaders who are willing to make that change.
President Bush and John Shadegg's economic policies have resulted in hundreds of thousands of jobs lost, a huge housing and financial crisis, and a middle class that is holding on by a thread.
This is about investing in America's future, and Arizona can lead the way. We have the workers, we have that American drive that says, yes, we can do it and we will succeed.
Thank you for all your hard work.
Have a happy and safe Labor Day!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Hate to say I told you so...
...OK, who am I trying to kid...I *love* being able to say 'I told you so'...
Nearly two and a half months ago, I predicted that the bloodiest race in the September primary wouldn't be a legislative or Congressional race, but would in fact be the race for the Republican PC slots in LD11.
That predictions wasn't quite right, as the race between Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Kevin Gibbons (R-Jeff Flake's brother-in-law) for the Senate seat in LD18 has gotten far nastier than anyone could have expected.
However, this post from Seeing Red AZ proves that the prediction wasn't far off, either.
Apparently, *someone* is spending some big money to finance some robocalls from former RNC Chair Haley Barbour that support the pro-McCain candidates for PC, and the Rep leadership in the district is most assuredly not happy about it as one of the people targeted for defeat is the chair of the Maricopa County Republicans.
One prediction that I made that turned out to be accurate -
:)
Other interesting races (aka - "Republicans eating their own") -
In the Rep race in the LD6 State Representative primary, the various (and competing) supporters of Tony Bouie and Carl Seel have been trading jabs - "Bouie's a RINO!", "Not so!", "So!", and so one. An example of some of the anti-Bouie rhetoric here; an example of the anti-Seel stuff here.
Over in CD5, former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert and former Scottsdale City Councilwoman (and current lobbyist) Susan Bitter Smith have dropped the gloves (that's a hockey reference for you AZ lifers :) ) and are airing attack ads targeting each other. (PolitickerAZ coverage here)
And in a very mild example, three of the Democratic candidates for AZ Corporation Commission, Sandra Kennedy, Paul Newman, and Sam George, are running as a slate and are airing a TV spot that implies that only they support an increased use of solar energy in Arizona. One minor detail - non-slate Democratic candidate Kara Kelty also supports solar and renewable energy (see her AZ Republic candidate questionnaire)
Let's be clear - it's the Republicans who oppose any efforts to change the status quo regarding energy production and consumption in Arizona.
With these races, as well as a couple of others (like the 8-way Rep primary for the 3 open seats on the Corporation Commission and the Scottsdale races for Mayor and City Council), Tuesday's primary election day will be an interesting one.
Later!
Nearly two and a half months ago, I predicted that the bloodiest race in the September primary wouldn't be a legislative or Congressional race, but would in fact be the race for the Republican PC slots in LD11.
That predictions wasn't quite right, as the race between Russell Pearce (R-National Alliance) and Kevin Gibbons (R-Jeff Flake's brother-in-law) for the Senate seat in LD18 has gotten far nastier than anyone could have expected.
However, this post from Seeing Red AZ proves that the prediction wasn't far off, either.
Apparently, *someone* is spending some big money to finance some robocalls from former RNC Chair Haley Barbour that support the pro-McCain candidates for PC, and the Rep leadership in the district is most assuredly not happy about it as one of the people targeted for defeat is the chair of the Maricopa County Republicans.
One prediction that I made that turned out to be accurate -
"Anyway, should be fun to watch...if you're a Democrat."
:)
Other interesting races (aka - "Republicans eating their own") -
In the Rep race in the LD6 State Representative primary, the various (and competing) supporters of Tony Bouie and Carl Seel have been trading jabs - "Bouie's a RINO!", "Not so!", "So!", and so one. An example of some of the anti-Bouie rhetoric here; an example of the anti-Seel stuff here.
Over in CD5, former Maricopa County Treasurer David Schweikert and former Scottsdale City Councilwoman (and current lobbyist) Susan Bitter Smith have dropped the gloves (that's a hockey reference for you AZ lifers :) ) and are airing attack ads targeting each other. (PolitickerAZ coverage here)
And in a very mild example, three of the Democratic candidates for AZ Corporation Commission, Sandra Kennedy, Paul Newman, and Sam George, are running as a slate and are airing a TV spot that implies that only they support an increased use of solar energy in Arizona. One minor detail - non-slate Democratic candidate Kara Kelty also supports solar and renewable energy (see her AZ Republic candidate questionnaire)
Let's be clear - it's the Republicans who oppose any efforts to change the status quo regarding energy production and consumption in Arizona.
With these races, as well as a couple of others (like the 8-way Rep primary for the 3 open seats on the Corporation Commission and the Scottsdale races for Mayor and City Council), Tuesday's primary election day will be an interesting one.
Later!
What a difference an even number makes...
Before giving free rein to my inherent cynicism, let me say that my thoughts and prayers go out to the residents of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast area as Hurricane Gustav approaches. May they all come through this with nothing worse than a wet car and some interesting travel stories to tell their grandchildren.
Now on to your normally scheduled snarkiness...
In the wake of the spectacular success of last week's Democratic Convention in Denver, Hurricane Gustav may be the best gift that Bush, McCain, and the Republicans could have asked for.
To whit -
- When observers inevitably note that the Rep convention didn't match the Democratic convention for energy or eyeballs, they can now point to Gustav, not their own lackluster candidate or tired platform, as the culprit. They've already altered the schedule for the first day of the convention, turning it into a functional meeting only.
- McCain gets to show he has a heart by visiting evacuees in Mississippi with his running mate Sarah Palin rather than being wined and dined by the Republican Party elite and its financial backers in Minnesota.
- McCain also gets out from under the cloud that accompanies Bush and Cheney wherever they go, because they have cancelled their scheduled appearances at the convention. The McCain campaign couldn't exactly *ask* a sitting President and VP to skip the gathering; now Mother Nature has done it for them.
- Following in the theme of the above note, Bush gets an opportunity to somewhat rehabilitate his image after the debacle of Katrina. Instead of his post-Katrina "flyover" debacle, Bush will inspect preparations and meet with evacuees and emergency preparations in Texas (in Texas instead of Louisiana so that his presence doesn't interfere with emergency preparations).
- Federal agencies now have an opportunity to demonstrate that they aren't soullessly mismanaged the way they were during the run-up to and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The biggest difference between the two storms, Katrina and Gustav, is one of simple timing -
- Katrina hit one of the poorest areas of the country, and hit during 2005, which was not an election year.
- Gustav is hitting the same area two months before a presidential election.
Any other questions?
The Obama campaign's message on Gustav is here; the McCain campaign's response is here (note: they don't have anything on the campaign website as yet.)
Now on to your normally scheduled snarkiness...
In the wake of the spectacular success of last week's Democratic Convention in Denver, Hurricane Gustav may be the best gift that Bush, McCain, and the Republicans could have asked for.
To whit -
- When observers inevitably note that the Rep convention didn't match the Democratic convention for energy or eyeballs, they can now point to Gustav, not their own lackluster candidate or tired platform, as the culprit. They've already altered the schedule for the first day of the convention, turning it into a functional meeting only.
- McCain gets to show he has a heart by visiting evacuees in Mississippi with his running mate Sarah Palin rather than being wined and dined by the Republican Party elite and its financial backers in Minnesota.
- McCain also gets out from under the cloud that accompanies Bush and Cheney wherever they go, because they have cancelled their scheduled appearances at the convention. The McCain campaign couldn't exactly *ask* a sitting President and VP to skip the gathering; now Mother Nature has done it for them.
- Following in the theme of the above note, Bush gets an opportunity to somewhat rehabilitate his image after the debacle of Katrina. Instead of his post-Katrina "flyover" debacle, Bush will inspect preparations and meet with evacuees and emergency preparations in Texas (in Texas instead of Louisiana so that his presence doesn't interfere with emergency preparations).
- Federal agencies now have an opportunity to demonstrate that they aren't soullessly mismanaged the way they were during the run-up to and in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The biggest difference between the two storms, Katrina and Gustav, is one of simple timing -
- Katrina hit one of the poorest areas of the country, and hit during 2005, which was not an election year.
- Gustav is hitting the same area two months before a presidential election.
Any other questions?
The Obama campaign's message on Gustav is here; the McCain campaign's response is here (note: they don't have anything on the campaign website as yet.)
Quotes from the Democratic Convention
Most of these are from the "as prepared for delivery" press releases (my note-taking ability couldn't keep up; hence, for most of the speakers, I didn't even try...); some are from different meetings and forums...
"With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States." - Senator Barack Obama during his acceptance speech...
"All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. " - Michelle Obama...
"We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys." - Barney Smith, former Republican and former RCA worker whose job was sent overseas...
"This is our time. This is our moment to change the course of history." - Mark Udall, Colorado Congressman and candidate for U.S. Senate...
"For every American who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring their pledge to uphold the law and honor the Constitution, no longer will you hear the eight most dreaded words in the English language: "The Vice President's office is on the phone." " - Senator and Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden...
"If every criminal has the right to see a lawyer, every family should have the right to see a doctor." - John Melcher, former U.S. Senator from Montana, at a meeting of the Senior Caucus (This was a major talking point among the health care reform crowd; I heard it from other speakers at various meetings, but Melcher was the first I heard, so he gets credit. )
"Barack Obama had the good judgment to know that we should not risk the lives of our brave soldiers in the wrong war." - Illinois Senator Richard Durbin...
"That's a thousand dollar hat on a 10-cent head." - Populist and Texan Jim Hightower to the Rural Caucus, discussing pictures of George W. Bush wearing a cowboy hat while clearing brush on his Texas ranch, the one that has not cattle.
"Card laid, card played - keep your word." - Representative Mike Honda (D-CA), speaking at the Veterans' Caucus about the plight of Filipino WW2 veterans who were screwed out of their benefits by Congress immediately after the war (but it's a valid sentiment in other areas, too)...
"Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time?" - Senator Barack Obama...
"These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. I'm ready. Barack is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America's time." - Senator Joe Biden...
"It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it." - Senator Barack Obama...
"We honor McCain's service; we ask him to honor ours." - Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers, speaking at the Veterans' Caucus...
"McCain has been AWOL on Veterans' issues." - Colonel Richard Klass, USAF (Ret.)
"...we don't need four more years . . . of the last eight years." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own." - Senator Barack Obama, referring to the Republicans' 'trickle-down' theory of economics [which I call 'tinkle-down' economics]...
"Obama will be a great president, but he can't do this alone. He needs your help." - Congressman John Dingell...
"All the governors need a partner in the White House, and Barack Obama will be that partner." - Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio...
"I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow. - Senator Barack Obama...
"No way. No how. No McCain." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"It was the classiest thing that I've heard in 32 years of coming to these conventions." - DNC Chairman Howard Dean, referring to Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech on convention Tuesday.
"McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we will pay for his flip flops." - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson...
"I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families." - Senator Barack Obama...
"Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Senator Barack Obama the next President of the United States." - former President Bill Clinton...
"The forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change that Barack Obama represents." - Al Gore, former Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and Oscar winner...
"Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America." - Senator Barack Obama...
"With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States." - Senator Barack Obama during his acceptance speech...
"All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be. " - Michelle Obama...
"We need a president who puts the Barney Smiths before the Smith Barneys." - Barney Smith, former Republican and former RCA worker whose job was sent overseas...
"This is our time. This is our moment to change the course of history." - Mark Udall, Colorado Congressman and candidate for U.S. Senate...
"For every American who is trying to do the right thing, for all those people in government who are honoring their pledge to uphold the law and honor the Constitution, no longer will you hear the eight most dreaded words in the English language: "The Vice President's office is on the phone." " - Senator and Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee Joe Biden...
"If every criminal has the right to see a lawyer, every family should have the right to see a doctor." - John Melcher, former U.S. Senator from Montana, at a meeting of the Senior Caucus (This was a major talking point among the health care reform crowd; I heard it from other speakers at various meetings, but Melcher was the first I heard, so he gets credit. )
"Barack Obama had the good judgment to know that we should not risk the lives of our brave soldiers in the wrong war." - Illinois Senator Richard Durbin...
"That's a thousand dollar hat on a 10-cent head." - Populist and Texan Jim Hightower to the Rural Caucus, discussing pictures of George W. Bush wearing a cowboy hat while clearing brush on his Texas ranch, the one that has not cattle.
"Card laid, card played - keep your word." - Representative Mike Honda (D-CA), speaking at the Veterans' Caucus about the plight of Filipino WW2 veterans who were screwed out of their benefits by Congress immediately after the war (but it's a valid sentiment in other areas, too)...
"Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time?" - Senator Barack Obama...
"These are extraordinary times. This is an extraordinary election. The American people are ready. I'm ready. Barack is ready. This is his time. This is our time. This is America's time." - Senator Joe Biden...
"It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it." - Senator Barack Obama...
"We honor McCain's service; we ask him to honor ours." - Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers, speaking at the Veterans' Caucus...
"McCain has been AWOL on Veterans' issues." - Colonel Richard Klass, USAF (Ret.)
"...we don't need four more years . . . of the last eight years." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own." - Senator Barack Obama, referring to the Republicans' 'trickle-down' theory of economics [which I call 'tinkle-down' economics]...
"Obama will be a great president, but he can't do this alone. He needs your help." - Congressman John Dingell...
"All the governors need a partner in the White House, and Barack Obama will be that partner." - Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio...
"I will eliminate capital gains taxes for the small businesses and the start-ups that will create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow. - Senator Barack Obama...
"No way. No how. No McCain." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"It was the classiest thing that I've heard in 32 years of coming to these conventions." - DNC Chairman Howard Dean, referring to Sen. Hillary Clinton's speech on convention Tuesday.
"McCain may pay hundreds of dollars for his shoes, but we will pay for his flip flops." - New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson...
"I will cut taxes - cut taxes - for 95% of all working families." - Senator Barack Obama...
"Barack Obama will lead us away from division and fear of the last eight years back to unity and hope. If, like me, you still believe America must always be a place called Hope, then join Hillary, Chelsea and me in making Senator Barack Obama the next President of the United States." - former President Bill Clinton...
"The forces of the status quo are desperately afraid of the change that Barack Obama represents." - Al Gore, former Vice President, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and Oscar winner...
"Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be our President." - Senator Hillary Clinton...
"Thank you, God Bless you, and God Bless the United States of America." - Senator Barack Obama...
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Short Attention Span Musing
Finally back from Denver, and as much as I had a blast, I'm happy to be home. :)
It's hard to be snarky when you're surrounded by so much positive energy, and there is so much to be snarky about. :))
...Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as the Rep VP candidate is a good move because it balances things. I mean, McCain needs the 3 electoral votes from Palin's Alaska to even up things because Joe Biden brings 3 electoral votes from Delaware, right?
...Seriously, it's not a bad move (the Palin selection) because it shores up McCain's support among the hard-line social conservatives - she supports teaching creationism in public schools, ardently opposes a woman's right to control her reproductive decisions, is ethically flexible, and is good-looking to boot.
In short, she's a conservative's wet dream.
...On the other hand, it's not such a great move either, because it only shores up McCain's support among the base, and it's not likely they were going to vote for a black Democrat no matter who McCain selected as a running mate.
In short, with this choice, McCain has written off moderate and independent voters.
...Actually, the biggest beneficiary of Palin's selection as the VP candidate may be Sen. Ted Stevens - he won his primary, but with an indictment and trial looming over him, he's going to need all the help he can get in November's general election, where he faces Democratic nominee Mark Begich. An elevated turnout of low-efficacy Reps (aka - "the ones who don't pay much attention to minor things like corruption on the part of their elected officials") is about the only thing that can help Stevens keep his job.
...In "Republicans behaving badly" news, Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has the scoop on how LD18 Republican House candidates Cecil Ash and Ron Middlebrook took Clean Elections $5s from Russell Pearce's favorite neo-Nazi, JT Ready.
Given that Middlebrook is just Pearce without a rug, is this any surprise?
Anyway, while there are no guarantees, the Reps' ongoing self-immolation in LD18 can only help Democratic House candidate Tammie Pursley and Senate candidate Judah Nativio.
...The cynic in me wonders if there if there will be some snickering at the Republican convention (starting Monday) over the fact that thousands of workers needed behind the scenes to make it all happen will have to work on Labor Day, the one holiday on the calendar to honor working Americans?
OK, I have no doubt that there will be some snickering over it. Maybe even some outright glee.
Later!
It's hard to be snarky when you're surrounded by so much positive energy, and there is so much to be snarky about. :))
...Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I think John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as the Rep VP candidate is a good move because it balances things. I mean, McCain needs the 3 electoral votes from Palin's Alaska to even up things because Joe Biden brings 3 electoral votes from Delaware, right?
...Seriously, it's not a bad move (the Palin selection) because it shores up McCain's support among the hard-line social conservatives - she supports teaching creationism in public schools, ardently opposes a woman's right to control her reproductive decisions, is ethically flexible, and is good-looking to boot.
In short, she's a conservative's wet dream.
...On the other hand, it's not such a great move either, because it only shores up McCain's support among the base, and it's not likely they were going to vote for a black Democrat no matter who McCain selected as a running mate.
In short, with this choice, McCain has written off moderate and independent voters.
...Actually, the biggest beneficiary of Palin's selection as the VP candidate may be Sen. Ted Stevens - he won his primary, but with an indictment and trial looming over him, he's going to need all the help he can get in November's general election, where he faces Democratic nominee Mark Begich. An elevated turnout of low-efficacy Reps (aka - "the ones who don't pay much attention to minor things like corruption on the part of their elected officials") is about the only thing that can help Stevens keep his job.
...In "Republicans behaving badly" news, Stephen Lemons of the Phoenix New Times has the scoop on how LD18 Republican House candidates Cecil Ash and Ron Middlebrook took Clean Elections $5s from Russell Pearce's favorite neo-Nazi, JT Ready.
Given that Middlebrook is just Pearce without a rug, is this any surprise?
Anyway, while there are no guarantees, the Reps' ongoing self-immolation in LD18 can only help Democratic House candidate Tammie Pursley and Senate candidate Judah Nativio.
...The cynic in me wonders if there if there will be some snickering at the Republican convention (starting Monday) over the fact that thousands of workers needed behind the scenes to make it all happen will have to work on Labor Day, the one holiday on the calendar to honor working Americans?
OK, I have no doubt that there will be some snickering over it. Maybe even some outright glee.
Later!
Friday, August 29, 2008
More pics and observations from Denver
This is Sandy and Kathy. Met them in line outside Invesco Field (aka - Mile High). They volunteered all week for the convention and were excited to be going to Barack Obama's acceptance speech. Sandy thinks that it is likely that Colorado will go for Obama in November. Where Berny Morson of the Rocky Mountain News believes that rural CO is strongly Republican and will vote for McCain, Sandy believes that the depressed rural areas will vote for Obama. Something about blaming Bush for the economy and the fact that McCain is entirely too Bush-like.
________________________________________
One of Thursday's early speakers, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, had a pointed comment that was both artful in its simplicity and painful in its accuracy -
"John McCain is not a maverick. John McCain is a 'yes' man."
________________________________________
What can I say? I like Sheryl Crow.
Of course, so did everyone else.
_________________________________________
Staying on the musical theme, most observers (not just me) felt that Michael McDonald wasn't the best choice as the final musical guest. Both Crow and Stevie Wonder did a good job with their performances and did much more to energize the crowd.
McDonald? Not so much.
Most people seemed to feel that McDonald's performance was decent in and of itself, but entirely too yawn-inducing for the environment at the acceptance speech.
_________________________________________
Among the speakers, the Coloradans received strong cheers, and of course the ovation for Barack Obama blew the doors off the place, but the speaker receiving the most cheers was New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. His address won him more fans too. More than one person told me afterwards they could see why I liked him early on during the primary season.
_________________________________________
Had a chance to speak to Marshawn and Ken, the two people seated next to me in the nosebleeds. Actually, I mostly spoke to Marshawn; Ken was friendly, but spent most of the evening with his eyes locked on to a pair of binoculars.
She's a teacher who was a big fan of Hillary Clinton until she had a chance to see Obama speak two years ago. After that, she started following his campaign, eventually caucusing for him in CO. She was totally thrilled when she had the opportunity to see the acceptance speech live.
She and Ken are from Parker (CO) and much like Sandy above, believe that Obama will win CO.
(Sorry, no pics - the angle was too tight to get a good shot in the cramped confines of the stadium.)
_________________________________________
More tomorrow when I arrive home...
Dateline: Ohio - Dispatches from the war on the middle class
While I've been busy traipsing around Denver getting sunburned and meeting all sorts of interesting people, Jerry Gettinger, President of NJDC Arizona, has been observing, thinking, and writing. Here's his latest piece...
Notes: It is unedited, except for paragraph structure, and the headline is mine.
I have just returned from a trip to Cleveland, Ohio.
It concerned personal business, so I had some time to drive around the city and its suburbs. My family and I had lived in Shaker Heights in the late 70's through the early 80's so I was in a position to compare the look of the city from then to now. It was sad.
The Cleveland area has the distinction of being number one in the nation in the number of foreclosures. That's no accident. The city was especially suited to be where it is. What I saw was houses boarded-up and neighborhoods that were well-kept, having been transformed into slums. This was city of neighborhoods where the lawns were mowed and the houses were a source of pride. All that is gone.
During the apex of our country being the major manufacturing nation in the world, many eastern Europeans came to work in the steel mills and factories and make Cleveland their home.
These were hard-working people. The unions came and saw to it that they were provided a living wage, good benefits and a secure retirement. In turn, the workers bought houses, secured mortgages and worked the 25 to 30 years to pay off the loan. It was a comfortable retirement. There was the pension from the mills, medical benefits and social security. And while no became rich, neither did anyone become poor. The important aspect was that the house became debt-free and thus the retirement was secure. Pensions. medical, and a fully-paid house. Then came the loan sharks.
They promised that the homeowner could receive money for a vacation, a new car or perhaps a college education for their child. These were simple people and uneducated in the way of finance. Yes, they could have the money and in the few years the house would become more valuable and they didn't have to worry. It didn't work out that way.
The house didn't become more valuable and when it came time to begin making payments there wasn't enough money. So people who once had a secure and comfortable retirement began losing their homes. Not just a few, but many.
For the last 7 years I have heard that the best regulation is the least regulation. Well, don't tell that to the person who just lost his home. There was no one around to see to it that the sharks stayed away and the little guy was protected. I don't want to hear about less regulation. From Wall Street to the homeowner in Cleveland, there was no one around to watch the store. The business channel talks about the number of foreclosures, but not about the families that have been displaced.
Just as we went to war with too few troops, the Government ran the economy with too few watchdogs. The result in both cases was the same. Many casualties and no one to take responsibility.
I don't want to hear about the problem of too much regulation. Our financial system is in shambles. Those who had the responsibility of overseeing the economy just were not there. They had been sent home and told they were not needed. Now it's too late.
Not just to lock the barn after horse has been taken, there is no barn. It will take at least a generation to recover and, if were do avoid financial Armageddon, then let's hope that a lesson has been learned. Simply put, there has to be a referee to see to it that the game is played fairly. Or else? Well just look at "or else" as it is now.
One additional fact: the decline in home values and the number of foreclosures have just about wiped out the middle class. That part of our society has to be rebuilt.
Jerry Gettinger
Notes: It is unedited, except for paragraph structure, and the headline is mine.
I have just returned from a trip to Cleveland, Ohio.
It concerned personal business, so I had some time to drive around the city and its suburbs. My family and I had lived in Shaker Heights in the late 70's through the early 80's so I was in a position to compare the look of the city from then to now. It was sad.
The Cleveland area has the distinction of being number one in the nation in the number of foreclosures. That's no accident. The city was especially suited to be where it is. What I saw was houses boarded-up and neighborhoods that were well-kept, having been transformed into slums. This was city of neighborhoods where the lawns were mowed and the houses were a source of pride. All that is gone.
During the apex of our country being the major manufacturing nation in the world, many eastern Europeans came to work in the steel mills and factories and make Cleveland their home.
These were hard-working people. The unions came and saw to it that they were provided a living wage, good benefits and a secure retirement. In turn, the workers bought houses, secured mortgages and worked the 25 to 30 years to pay off the loan. It was a comfortable retirement. There was the pension from the mills, medical benefits and social security. And while no became rich, neither did anyone become poor. The important aspect was that the house became debt-free and thus the retirement was secure. Pensions. medical, and a fully-paid house. Then came the loan sharks.
They promised that the homeowner could receive money for a vacation, a new car or perhaps a college education for their child. These were simple people and uneducated in the way of finance. Yes, they could have the money and in the few years the house would become more valuable and they didn't have to worry. It didn't work out that way.
The house didn't become more valuable and when it came time to begin making payments there wasn't enough money. So people who once had a secure and comfortable retirement began losing their homes. Not just a few, but many.
For the last 7 years I have heard that the best regulation is the least regulation. Well, don't tell that to the person who just lost his home. There was no one around to see to it that the sharks stayed away and the little guy was protected. I don't want to hear about less regulation. From Wall Street to the homeowner in Cleveland, there was no one around to watch the store. The business channel talks about the number of foreclosures, but not about the families that have been displaced.
Just as we went to war with too few troops, the Government ran the economy with too few watchdogs. The result in both cases was the same. Many casualties and no one to take responsibility.
I don't want to hear about the problem of too much regulation. Our financial system is in shambles. Those who had the responsibility of overseeing the economy just were not there. They had been sent home and told they were not needed. Now it's too late.
Not just to lock the barn after horse has been taken, there is no barn. It will take at least a generation to recover and, if were do avoid financial Armageddon, then let's hope that a lesson has been learned. Simply put, there has to be a referee to see to it that the game is played fairly. Or else? Well just look at "or else" as it is now.
One additional fact: the decline in home values and the number of foreclosures have just about wiped out the middle class. That part of our society has to be rebuilt.
Jerry Gettinger
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wow.
That's all I have to say tonight, but here are a few pics (sorry about the quality, but A) I'm not a photographer, and 2) I was in the nosebleeds, as in "any higher and you have to notify Denver Air Traffic Control :) ...
Bill Richardson (he kicked ass)
Al Gore (Did pretty well himself)
And some guy who also had a pretty good night, too. :)
A report and more pics tomorrow from the trip home (a Motel 6 in Gallup to be precise)....
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wednesday - Health Care Forum with HRC
On Wednesday, Families USA and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) hosted a forum on Health Care and the 2008 Election in the Seawell Ballroom of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. While the crowd wasn't quite as large as the one at Tuesday's meeting of the Women's Caucus, but the list of speakers may have been even more high-wattage (by political standards; by the standards of normal folks, Eva Longoria is a brighter star than even the big star of the forum - see the pic below.)
While some of the speakers were the expected officials from the sponsors,like Andy Stern, President of the SEIU, and L. Toni Lewis, SEIU Executive Board member and President of the SEIU's Committee on Interns and Residents, there was also an assortment of elected officials and normal people on hand to call for health care reform and to compare Barack Obama's positions and votes on health care to those of John McCain.
Guess which one comes up short in that comparison. :))
Anyway, back to the list of eminent officials. Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) was one of the early speakers, talking about efforts to make health care more accessible and why that hasn't been accomplished yet.
Also lending his presence was the man who is currently the longest-serving member of the House, Congressman John Dingell (D-MI). He focused on highlighting the records of George W. Bush and John McCain on health care for all Americans (hint: they have horrible records) and urging everyone present to help elect Democrats across the board.
"Obama will be a great president, but he can't do this alone - he needs your help" by giving him stronger majorities in both the House and Senate (especially getting 60 votes in the Senate!)
One of the lower profile guests, but one who was one of the highlights of the forum, was the brief talk by Pauline Beck, the home health care worker that hosted Barack Obama as he spent a day in her shoes. (SF Chronicle coverage here) She spoke highly of Sen. Obama, both of his work ethic and his compassion. While before meeting Obama she was a Hillary Clinton supporter
Note: She spoke at the convention; her remarks as prepared for delivery are here.
Another low profile but effective speaker was 13-year old Graeme Frost. Last year, he delivered the Democrats' weekly radio address on SCHIP and how it benefitted him when he and his sister were severely injured in a car accident. At the time, he urged President Bush to sign a just-passed renewal of SCHIP.
He vetoed it.
However, that wasn't good enough for the Republicans - they "Swift Boated" him and his family. (A refutation of the Reps' smears is here, courtesy Time Magazine.)
Anyway, Graeme earned a standing ovation from the nearly 1000 attendees when he closed his talk with "the only hope for SCHIP [renewal and improvement] is if Senators Obama and Biden are elected to the White House."
Other, higher-profile, speakers included Governors Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS), Ed Rendell (D-PA), Deval Patrick (D-MA), and Ted Strickland (D-OH).
Former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle spoke passionately about the four steps necessary to successfully implement national health care reform - first, understand the nature of the problem, including the issues with access, cost, and quality; second, destroy the myths and lies that suffuse the discussion of health care reform (starting with "we do *not* have the best health care system in the world"); third, build a framework of transparency, with an apolitical decision-making board; and finally, get focused and go on offense - instead of defending health care reform, make opponents "explain why the status quo is good enough"
After that was a brief period of stalling while the organizers awaited their marquee guest, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Finally, traffic cleared long enough for the Senator to make it over to the forum (and believe me, the traffic was lousy in downtown Denver on Wednesday).
She strongly and eloquently advocated for health care for all Americans, "no exceptions, no excuses."
She talked of technological improvements and modernization (healthcare information card, involving all stakeholders, not just the big insurers, and simply "making the case" for healthcare reform.
She reminded the audience that "[w]e have let the perfect be the enemy of the good for too long" and not to let petty objections derail efforts to produce a workable plan.
She closed the forum with a simple yet passionate unity message -
"Let's elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden!"
Other highlights from Wednesday -
- Clinton's incredible Tuesday night speech was the talk of the Colorado Convention Center on Wednesday, but after people finished raving about her speech, they immediately referred to the crowd pleasing address of Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT), given just prior to HRC's, and said simply, "WOW."
- Perhaps I'm the only one who thinks this, but it seems to me that Wednesday's huge ovation at the Pepsi Center when President Bill Clinton was introduced was the delegates' way of saying "Come back to the light, Bill, we still love you" and his speech was his way of doing just that. There may still be some disaffected HRC supporters who will go over to McCain rather than vote for Obama, but they'll be few in number and doing so in spite of HRC's (and Bill's!) wishes.
- Democrats in the Plains states have two eloquent rising stars in Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Both spoke to the Rural Caucus on how Heartland issues are national issues (trade, education, healthcare) and on the importance of increasing Democratic turnout in rural areas. Herseth-Sandlin mentioned that she was inspired/mentored by Tom Daschle, while Klobuchar showed why the former prosecutor was mentioned by the New York Times as one of the seventeen women most likely to become President.
Note: with all due respect to Sen. Klobuchar, I'm kinda partial to one of the other women mentioned in the article, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. :)
- After the healthcare forum, I was interviewed by Melissa Blasius of Phoenix's Channel 12 News (apparently, I was the only attendee from Arizona, or the only one who would admit to it). My answers were a little weak (OK, they were almost goofy), so I hope the footage isn't used.
It was still cool though. :))
Later!
While some of the speakers were the expected officials from the sponsors,like Andy Stern, President of the SEIU, and L. Toni Lewis, SEIU Executive Board member and President of the SEIU's Committee on Interns and Residents, there was also an assortment of elected officials and normal people on hand to call for health care reform and to compare Barack Obama's positions and votes on health care to those of John McCain.
Guess which one comes up short in that comparison. :))
Anyway, back to the list of eminent officials. Congresswoman Hilda Solis (D-CA) was one of the early speakers, talking about efforts to make health care more accessible and why that hasn't been accomplished yet.
"Why can't we get it done? Because we have lobbyists in the White House" writing health care laws and policy.
Also lending his presence was the man who is currently the longest-serving member of the House, Congressman John Dingell (D-MI). He focused on highlighting the records of George W. Bush and John McCain on health care for all Americans (hint: they have horrible records) and urging everyone present to help elect Democrats across the board.
"Obama will be a great president, but he can't do this alone - he needs your help" by giving him stronger majorities in both the House and Senate (especially getting 60 votes in the Senate!)
One of the lower profile guests, but one who was one of the highlights of the forum, was the brief talk by Pauline Beck, the home health care worker that hosted Barack Obama as he spent a day in her shoes. (SF Chronicle coverage here) She spoke highly of Sen. Obama, both of his work ethic and his compassion. While before meeting Obama she was a Hillary Clinton supporter
Note: She spoke at the convention; her remarks as prepared for delivery are here.
Another low profile but effective speaker was 13-year old Graeme Frost. Last year, he delivered the Democrats' weekly radio address on SCHIP and how it benefitted him when he and his sister were severely injured in a car accident. At the time, he urged President Bush to sign a just-passed renewal of SCHIP.
He vetoed it.
However, that wasn't good enough for the Republicans - they "Swift Boated" him and his family. (A refutation of the Reps' smears is here, courtesy Time Magazine.)
Anyway, Graeme earned a standing ovation from the nearly 1000 attendees when he closed his talk with "the only hope for SCHIP [renewal and improvement] is if Senators Obama and Biden are elected to the White House."
Other, higher-profile, speakers included Governors Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS), Ed Rendell (D-PA), Deval Patrick (D-MA), and Ted Strickland (D-OH).
Former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle spoke passionately about the four steps necessary to successfully implement national health care reform - first, understand the nature of the problem, including the issues with access, cost, and quality; second, destroy the myths and lies that suffuse the discussion of health care reform (starting with "we do *not* have the best health care system in the world"); third, build a framework of transparency, with an apolitical decision-making board; and finally, get focused and go on offense - instead of defending health care reform, make opponents "explain why the status quo is good enough"
After that was a brief period of stalling while the organizers awaited their marquee guest, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Finally, traffic cleared long enough for the Senator to make it over to the forum (and believe me, the traffic was lousy in downtown Denver on Wednesday).
She strongly and eloquently advocated for health care for all Americans, "no exceptions, no excuses."
She talked of technological improvements and modernization (healthcare information card, involving all stakeholders, not just the big insurers, and simply "making the case" for healthcare reform.
She reminded the audience that "[w]e have let the perfect be the enemy of the good for too long" and not to let petty objections derail efforts to produce a workable plan.
She closed the forum with a simple yet passionate unity message -
"Let's elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden!"
Other highlights from Wednesday -
- Clinton's incredible Tuesday night speech was the talk of the Colorado Convention Center on Wednesday, but after people finished raving about her speech, they immediately referred to the crowd pleasing address of Gov. Brian Schweitzer (D-MT), given just prior to HRC's, and said simply, "WOW."
- Perhaps I'm the only one who thinks this, but it seems to me that Wednesday's huge ovation at the Pepsi Center when President Bill Clinton was introduced was the delegates' way of saying "Come back to the light, Bill, we still love you" and his speech was his way of doing just that. There may still be some disaffected HRC supporters who will go over to McCain rather than vote for Obama, but they'll be few in number and doing so in spite of HRC's (and Bill's!) wishes.
- Democrats in the Plains states have two eloquent rising stars in Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin of South Dakota and Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. Both spoke to the Rural Caucus on how Heartland issues are national issues (trade, education, healthcare) and on the importance of increasing Democratic turnout in rural areas. Herseth-Sandlin mentioned that she was inspired/mentored by Tom Daschle, while Klobuchar showed why the former prosecutor was mentioned by the New York Times as one of the seventeen women most likely to become President.
Note: with all due respect to Sen. Klobuchar, I'm kinda partial to one of the other women mentioned in the article, Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. :)
- After the healthcare forum, I was interviewed by Melissa Blasius of Phoenix's Channel 12 News (apparently, I was the only attendee from Arizona, or the only one who would admit to it). My answers were a little weak (OK, they were almost goofy), so I hope the footage isn't used.
It was still cool though. :))
Later!
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
More caucuses and an arrest...
...and *no*, I wasn't the one who was busted. :)
The day started early with breakfast with the Arizona delegation (thanks Lauren!).
It was a pretty low-key morning, with Sam Rosen, the father of Sarah Rosen, paying tribute to his daughter. Sarah is the former ADP Communications Director who died in a car accident in 2005. He has established a fund in her name to help pay Democratic Party interns. (PolitickerAZ coverage here)
Governor Janet Napolitano spoke very briefly, mostly to comment about Monday night's Convention activities ("great night") and Michelle Obama's speech ("talk about hitting it out of the park") before heading off to speak to other states' delegations about the West. (more PolitickerAZ coverage here)
Congressman Raul Grijalva also spoke, and in comments that foreshadowed most of Tuesday's speeches on the Convention floor, sent delivered some zingers directly at John McCain.
- "Arizona has a tradition of being the only state where moms can't tell their sons that they can grow up to be President. Let's keep that tradition going."
- Referring to John McCain's poor record in AZ, and AZ's poor record in areas such as education and the environment during McCain's watch, jibed that "we don't want to see that record repeated" across the rest of the nation.
After breakfast was a quick trip downtown via light rail (certain folks in Scottsdale just got indigestion at reading that :)) ).
The first stop at the Colorado Convention Center was the Women's Caucus.
OK, that sentence doesn't really cover it, not by a long shot.
Let's try this one -
The first stop at the Colorado Convention Center was at the jam-packed, energized, and LOUD Four Seasons Ballroom for the Women's Caucus.
Not great, but definitely better... :)
The throngs at the Caucus (2000 +!) were treated to a long list of "superstar" speakers that included Andrea Wong, CEO of Lifetime Television, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Donna Brazile, longtime Democratic activist (her resume is too long to list specifics), actress and activist Rosario Dawson, DNC Vice-Chair Lottie Shackleford, Ellen Malcolm, founder and president of Emily's list and more. There was even a quick guest appearance by actress Eva Longoria.
And that was just in the first 50 minutes or so, before I had to run off to another caucus.
This caucus had the best speakers of the day, especially Malcolm and Brazile, but for me, the highlight was that the giveaways at this caucus were the best so far. Normally, caucus swag is limited to pins, bumper stickers, and rally signs.
The Women's Caucus gave away tambourines, magazines and posters. I didn't bother with the magazine (can read those anywhere), but I kept the tambourine and posters. The tambourine will make a great giveaway at the next LD17 meeting, and the posters will look good on the walls of the coordinated campaign offices in Tempe and Scottsdale.
After the Women's Caucus was the Faith Council, where a group of incredible orators spoke about how many of the issues that concern people of faith also concern Democrats. Both communities are find common ground in working for the common good on issues such as poverty, education, a living wage, the environment and even immigration.
As Bishop Wilfredo Dejesus of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference said, "We must stand by all of God's children, even the undocumented ones in our country." (Wow - I'm not even in AZ and I get to write something that will tick off Russell Pearce and the rest of the nativists. I call that a good day. :)) )
As good as the speakers at the Faith Council were (preachers of whatever faith get lots of practice working an audience, don't they? ), the crowd was, to put it tactfully, a little stodgy, especially when compared to the Women's Caucus.
However, things livened up quickly at the Veterans and Military Families Caucus.
Near the very beginning of the proceedings, an anti-abortion protester jumped and proclaimed that he was a Marine and that a vote for Obama was a vote for killing unborn babies. He continued shouting his rant, even when the audience of more than two hundred people instantaneously started a chant of "Obama! Obama!" until security arrived to lead him away.
Note: I didn't take any pics as he was wasn't resisting arrest and the police weren't using excessive force, and I believe it is generally a bad idea to give extremists of any stripe free publicity.
The meeting was set up mostly as an interactive forum, with a few speakers such as Rep. Mike Honda discussing the issue of Filipino veterans of WWII getting screwed out of veterans benefits and Cecil Roberts of the United Mine Workers talking about his service in Vietnam and the close relationship between unions and veterans.
He had the best line of the day regarding John McCain's abysmal record on veterans' issue -
"We honor McCain's service; now we ask him to honor ours."
The actual "forum" part of the forum discussed Senator Obama's qualifications to be commander-in-chief. Major General Scott Gration USAF (Ret.) and Colonel Dick Klass USAF (Ret.) spoke eloquently (not a word normally associated with military folks, eh?? LOL) about Obama's compassion, courage, ability to relate to military personnel and, above all, judgement to lead.
At that point, around 2:15 p.m., I started crashing and headed out. I have to give the delegates and party officials a little respect here - most of their days are 16 hours or longer (at breakfast, Maria Weeg, the Executive Director of the ADP, talked about getting three hours sleep) and they are still fully energized by the time the Convention hits prime time at 8 or so at night.
Anyway, it's after midnight as I finish typing this, so it's off to bed for me. Another early start tomorrow, though not as early as the delegates.
Later!
The day started early with breakfast with the Arizona delegation (thanks Lauren!).
It was a pretty low-key morning, with Sam Rosen, the father of Sarah Rosen, paying tribute to his daughter. Sarah is the former ADP Communications Director who died in a car accident in 2005. He has established a fund in her name to help pay Democratic Party interns. (PolitickerAZ coverage here)
Governor Janet Napolitano spoke very briefly, mostly to comment about Monday night's Convention activities ("great night") and Michelle Obama's speech ("talk about hitting it out of the park") before heading off to speak to other states' delegations about the West. (more PolitickerAZ coverage here)
Congressman Raul Grijalva also spoke, and in comments that foreshadowed most of Tuesday's speeches on the Convention floor, sent delivered some zingers directly at John McCain.
- "Arizona has a tradition of being the only state where moms can't tell their sons that they can grow up to be President. Let's keep that tradition going."
- Referring to John McCain's poor record in AZ, and AZ's poor record in areas such as education and the environment during McCain's watch, jibed that "we don't want to see that record repeated" across the rest of the nation.
After breakfast was a quick trip downtown via light rail (certain folks in Scottsdale just got indigestion at reading that :)) ).
The first stop at the Colorado Convention Center was the Women's Caucus.
OK, that sentence doesn't really cover it, not by a long shot.
Let's try this one -
The first stop at the Colorado Convention Center was at the jam-packed, energized, and LOUD Four Seasons Ballroom for the Women's Caucus.
Not great, but definitely better... :)
The throngs at the Caucus (2000 +!) were treated to a long list of "superstar" speakers that included Andrea Wong, CEO of Lifetime Television, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Donna Brazile, longtime Democratic activist (her resume is too long to list specifics), actress and activist Rosario Dawson, DNC Vice-Chair Lottie Shackleford, Ellen Malcolm, founder and president of Emily's list and more. There was even a quick guest appearance by actress Eva Longoria.
And that was just in the first 50 minutes or so, before I had to run off to another caucus.
This caucus had the best speakers of the day, especially Malcolm and Brazile, but for me, the highlight was that the giveaways at this caucus were the best so far. Normally, caucus swag is limited to pins, bumper stickers, and rally signs.
The Women's Caucus gave away tambourines, magazines and posters. I didn't bother with the magazine (can read those anywhere), but I kept the tambourine and posters. The tambourine will make a great giveaway at the next LD17 meeting, and the posters will look good on the walls of the coordinated campaign offices in Tempe and Scottsdale.
After the Women's Caucus was the Faith Council, where a group of incredible orators spoke about how many of the issues that concern people of faith also concern Democrats. Both communities are find common ground in working for the common good on issues such as poverty, education, a living wage, the environment and even immigration.
As Bishop Wilfredo Dejesus of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference said, "We must stand by all of God's children, even the undocumented ones in our country." (Wow - I'm not even in AZ and I get to write something that will tick off Russell Pearce and the rest of the nativists. I call that a good day. :)) )
As good as the speakers at the Faith Council were (preachers of whatever faith get lots of practice working an audience, don't they? ), the crowd was, to put it tactfully, a little stodgy, especially when compared to the Women's Caucus.
However, things livened up quickly at the Veterans and Military Families Caucus.
Near the very beginning of the proceedings, an anti-abortion protester jumped and proclaimed that he was a Marine and that a vote for Obama was a vote for killing unborn babies. He continued shouting his rant, even when the audience of more than two hundred people instantaneously started a chant of "Obama! Obama!" until security arrived to lead him away.
Note: I didn't take any pics as he was wasn't resisting arrest and the police weren't using excessive force, and I believe it is generally a bad idea to give extremists of any stripe free publicity.
The meeting was set up mostly as an interactive forum, with a few speakers such as Rep. Mike Honda discussing the issue of Filipino veterans of WWII getting screwed out of veterans benefits and Cecil Roberts of the United Mine Workers talking about his service in Vietnam and the close relationship between unions and veterans.
He had the best line of the day regarding John McCain's abysmal record on veterans' issue -
"We honor McCain's service; now we ask him to honor ours."
The actual "forum" part of the forum discussed Senator Obama's qualifications to be commander-in-chief. Major General Scott Gration USAF (Ret.) and Colonel Dick Klass USAF (Ret.) spoke eloquently (not a word normally associated with military folks, eh?? LOL) about Obama's compassion, courage, ability to relate to military personnel and, above all, judgement to lead.
At that point, around 2:15 p.m., I started crashing and headed out. I have to give the delegates and party officials a little respect here - most of their days are 16 hours or longer (at breakfast, Maria Weeg, the Executive Director of the ADP, talked about getting three hours sleep) and they are still fully energized by the time the Convention hits prime time at 8 or so at night.
Anyway, it's after midnight as I finish typing this, so it's off to bed for me. Another early start tomorrow, though not as early as the delegates.
Later!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Cruising Caucuses and breaking news of a possible assassination plot
Breaking news from the Denver Post -
There is a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon; more details as they become available.
Spent the day sitting in on caucus meetings.
First up was the First Americans Caucus, a gathering of Native American Democratic leaders from across the country. This year marked the largest group of participants yet in one of these caucus meetings, which coincides with the growing influence of Indian voters. As DNC Chairman Howard Dean said in his address to the caucus "[t]here are five U.S. Senators who would not be where they are today without Indian Country votes."
Caucus chair Frank Lemere, co-chair Kalyn Free, and the rest of the speakers tended to focus on the need to remember that "all politics is local." In other words, while Indian Country voters are exercising a growing influence nationally, they need to find and elect candidates who can help turn back efforts in various states and localities to undermine tribal sovereignty.
While the "tribal sovereignty" concern was different from what grassroots activists deal with, the need to focus on local races such as school boards, city councils, and the like was not. I was struck by how many of the concerns of Indian voters (ensuring a quality education for their children, health care that's accessible and affordable, clean energy and more) are the same concerns that most Americans have.
While at the meeting, I had the opportunity to speak to Christopher Deschene, an Obama delegate and a candidate for AZ State House in LD2. He's a graduate of the Naval Academy (eventually rising to the rank of major in the USMCR), and has both a law degree and a masters in engineering from ASU. He's currently a practicing attorney. He wants to bring strong leadership and a voice for rural Arizona to the lege. He is also very concerned about the coming budget battle over next year's deficit.
Chris Deschene
Second on the agenda was the Senior Caucus. Led by former Montana Senator John Melcher, the speakers stressed the differences between Barack Obama and John McCain. Mostly the discussion centered on Senator Obama's strong support of both and Social Security and Medicare, and of Senior Americans in general, and McCain's strong and consistent efforts to undermine SS, Medicare, and the economic and health security of those same Senior Americans.
Former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, currently the Chair and CEO of The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, spoke passionately, rousing the crowd before summing up simply "Barack Obama will save Social Security."
The third and final caucus meeting that I attended on Monday (there were many more that I couldn't make it to) was the Rural Caucus; actually, the Rural Council of the Democratic National Committee. The meeting got off to a slow start due to some technical difficulties.
The mic on the podium didn't want to work, in many ways mirroring some of the difficulties facing Democrats as they try to communicate their message to Rural Americans.
So naturally they dealt with it the same way in the caucus meeting that they do in the town councils and community meetings in rural areas.
They shouted until the mic was fixed. :)
Guest speakers included Jim Hightower, populist and contemporary of Molly Ivins, and Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America. They were both excellent speakers, though they chose different tacks to put forth their messages.
Hightower used folksy but blunt humor, like his line "the water won't clear up 'til we get the hogs out of the creek" describing efforts to clean up the messes made by the Republicans, or how "John McCain's idea of a farm program is 'Hee-Haw'. "
Roberts was more of a crowd energizer, speaking like life-long union organizer that he is. He spoke with a firey and heartfelt passion, occasionally shouting and pounding his foot on the podium.
If he had been born in another place and time, he'd have been a tent revivalist, and a good one at that.
While they took different approaches to their addresses to the caucus, everything the speakers said led back to the same point - Barack Obama has a plan to protect and nurture Rural America; John McCain only intends to corporatize it (at best!).
It was a bit of a long day (though not as long as a delegate's day :) ; time to finish watching the main show on CSPAN and get ready for tomorrow.
Later!
Federal authorities have scheduled a press conference for Tuesday afternoon amid reports that a fortunate traffic stop by Aurora Police may have disrupted an assassination attempt against Barack Obama.
KUSA-TV is reporting that two men have been arrested on weapons charges after the traffic stop early Sunday.
The first man, identified by the station as Tharin Gartrell, 28, was charged with suspicion of being a felon in possession of a weapon after police found two rifles, a high-powered scope and methamphetamine in his car after the traffic stop.
There is a press conference scheduled for Tuesday afternoon; more details as they become available.
Spent the day sitting in on caucus meetings.
First up was the First Americans Caucus, a gathering of Native American Democratic leaders from across the country. This year marked the largest group of participants yet in one of these caucus meetings, which coincides with the growing influence of Indian voters. As DNC Chairman Howard Dean said in his address to the caucus "[t]here are five U.S. Senators who would not be where they are today without Indian Country votes."
Caucus chair Frank Lemere, co-chair Kalyn Free, and the rest of the speakers tended to focus on the need to remember that "all politics is local." In other words, while Indian Country voters are exercising a growing influence nationally, they need to find and elect candidates who can help turn back efforts in various states and localities to undermine tribal sovereignty.
While the "tribal sovereignty" concern was different from what grassroots activists deal with, the need to focus on local races such as school boards, city councils, and the like was not. I was struck by how many of the concerns of Indian voters (ensuring a quality education for their children, health care that's accessible and affordable, clean energy and more) are the same concerns that most Americans have.
While at the meeting, I had the opportunity to speak to Christopher Deschene, an Obama delegate and a candidate for AZ State House in LD2. He's a graduate of the Naval Academy (eventually rising to the rank of major in the USMCR), and has both a law degree and a masters in engineering from ASU. He's currently a practicing attorney. He wants to bring strong leadership and a voice for rural Arizona to the lege. He is also very concerned about the coming budget battle over next year's deficit.
Chris Deschene
Second on the agenda was the Senior Caucus. Led by former Montana Senator John Melcher, the speakers stressed the differences between Barack Obama and John McCain. Mostly the discussion centered on Senator Obama's strong support of both and Social Security and Medicare, and of Senior Americans in general, and McCain's strong and consistent efforts to undermine SS, Medicare, and the economic and health security of those same Senior Americans.
Former Congresswoman Barbara Kennelly, currently the Chair and CEO of The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, spoke passionately, rousing the crowd before summing up simply "Barack Obama will save Social Security."
The third and final caucus meeting that I attended on Monday (there were many more that I couldn't make it to) was the Rural Caucus; actually, the Rural Council of the Democratic National Committee. The meeting got off to a slow start due to some technical difficulties.
The mic on the podium didn't want to work, in many ways mirroring some of the difficulties facing Democrats as they try to communicate their message to Rural Americans.
So naturally they dealt with it the same way in the caucus meeting that they do in the town councils and community meetings in rural areas.
They shouted until the mic was fixed. :)
Guest speakers included Jim Hightower, populist and contemporary of Molly Ivins, and Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America. They were both excellent speakers, though they chose different tacks to put forth their messages.
Hightower used folksy but blunt humor, like his line "the water won't clear up 'til we get the hogs out of the creek" describing efforts to clean up the messes made by the Republicans, or how "John McCain's idea of a farm program is 'Hee-Haw'. "
Roberts was more of a crowd energizer, speaking like life-long union organizer that he is. He spoke with a firey and heartfelt passion, occasionally shouting and pounding his foot on the podium.
If he had been born in another place and time, he'd have been a tent revivalist, and a good one at that.
While they took different approaches to their addresses to the caucus, everything the speakers said led back to the same point - Barack Obama has a plan to protect and nurture Rural America; John McCain only intends to corporatize it (at best!).
It was a bit of a long day (though not as long as a delegate's day :) ; time to finish watching the main show on CSPAN and get ready for tomorrow.
Later!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Florida and Michigan delegates seated! Oh wait...
...that isn't exactly breaking news.
What actually took place Sunday was that the Convention's Credentials Committee passed the resolution making that official.
While the meeting generated a lot more interest than Saturday's meeting of the Rules Committee (lots more press coverage on Sunday; Saturday was pretty much CSPAN and a few intrepid bloggers), it was so scripted it was totally boring.
And I missed the three AZ representatives to the committee. :(
However, that disappointment was compensated for by the increase in people-watching opportunities (*much* better than Saturday's non-existent crowds).
There were the anti-abortion protesters, the "Jesus is my God and is the only God and you'd better get straight with him or you're gonna buuurrrn" protester, and the "keep church and state separate" protesters outside the Colorado Convention Center, and the anti-war protesters all over the place that seemed to be going somewhere in particular, but I'm not sure where.
There were cops everywhere - normal looking street cops, the talk into sleeve mic types that were probably federal (FBI or Secret Service), riot cops mounted on an SUV, ready to deploy, SWAT teams, and even multiple police helicopters hovering over downtown.
Traffic was already a mess - the main road, Speer (normally one of the main arteries in and out of the area), was already blocked off inbound, and many of the side streets were heavily restricted with Jersey barriers ready to move into place to completely close them down.
And it was only Sunday, and the Convention hadn't even started yet. Wait until Monday. :))
The day ended on a positive note though, with a family dinner at Pagliacci's, long a Denver dining landmark. The best Italian cuisine west of the Mississippi, great service, and atmosphere like I haven't seen since my Nonna's kitchen. :)
Give them a read for more of an insider's perspective.
A few of the pics from today's travels -
The God guy.
There was only one of him, but he had a good PA system. So he rates his own pic. :)
The "Keep Church and State Separate" folks, next to the God guy (Love that irony!).
And the anti-abortion types (loud and obnoxious, but welcome to free speech.)
What actually took place Sunday was that the Convention's Credentials Committee passed the resolution making that official.
While the meeting generated a lot more interest than Saturday's meeting of the Rules Committee (lots more press coverage on Sunday; Saturday was pretty much CSPAN and a few intrepid bloggers), it was so scripted it was totally boring.
And I missed the three AZ representatives to the committee. :(
However, that disappointment was compensated for by the increase in people-watching opportunities (*much* better than Saturday's non-existent crowds).
There were the anti-abortion protesters, the "Jesus is my God and is the only God and you'd better get straight with him or you're gonna buuurrrn" protester, and the "keep church and state separate" protesters outside the Colorado Convention Center, and the anti-war protesters all over the place that seemed to be going somewhere in particular, but I'm not sure where.
There were cops everywhere - normal looking street cops, the talk into sleeve mic types that were probably federal (FBI or Secret Service), riot cops mounted on an SUV, ready to deploy, SWAT teams, and even multiple police helicopters hovering over downtown.
Traffic was already a mess - the main road, Speer (normally one of the main arteries in and out of the area), was already blocked off inbound, and many of the side streets were heavily restricted with Jersey barriers ready to move into place to completely close them down.
And it was only Sunday, and the Convention hadn't even started yet. Wait until Monday. :))
The day ended on a positive note though, with a family dinner at Pagliacci's, long a Denver dining landmark. The best Italian cuisine west of the Mississippi, great service, and atmosphere like I haven't seen since my Nonna's kitchen. :)
Donna at Democratic Diva is doing a good job of chronicling her adventures as a delegate; the highly deserving Tedski at R-Cubed is handling the officially sanctioned blogger duties for AZ; and Michael Bryan at Blog for Arizona is hosting three delegates as guest bloggers - Paul Eckerstrom, Patricia Canady, and John Adams (the retired general, not the former President).
Give them a read for more of an insider's perspective.
A few of the pics from today's travels -
The God guy.
There was only one of him, but he had a good PA system. So he rates his own pic. :)The "Keep Church and State Separate" folks, next to the God guy (Love that irony!).
And the anti-abortion types (loud and obnoxious, but welcome to free speech.)
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Democratic Convention Officers Named
On Saturday, the Rules Committee of the of the Democratic Convention met in the Colorado Convention Center. There, in a bit more than an hour, they officially nominated and approved the Convention officers for this year's convention in Denver as well as approved establishing a commission to examine the problems with the caucuses and primaries this year.
After being introduced by DNC Chairman Howard Dean, the Convention CEO, the Reverend Leah Daughtry, and former Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar, Sunita Leeds, and former Governor David Walters, the three co-chairs of the Rules Committee, each spoke briefly.
Even if she hadn't been introduced as "Reverend," Daughtry quickly made her preaching background clear, rousing the crowd of representatives from each state with "it's an exciting year for Democrats" and how, in less than a week, "our party will have made history" with the nomination of Sen. Barack Obama.
Walters took a moment to stress the importance of the Rules Committee and rules in general, reminding onlookers that "rules are foreign to the current administration" and that "Bush cares about the rules of the land as much as he cares about the rules of grammar."
Oakar, in what is sure to be the first of many tributes this week, asked for a moment of silent prayer for Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones on her passing last week.
Leeds expressed gratitude (and that of grassroots Democratic activists everywhere) for Chairman Dean's 50 State Strategy and for the current strength of the Democratic Party.
Anyway, the officers named Saturday include (the entire list and more is at the above link) -
Permanent Chair - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Co-Chairs - Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, and State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of Texas
Vice Chairs - Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington, Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH, and Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
On Sunday, the Convention's Credentials Committee is scheduled to meet. I don't expect much action there, but at least there is a *slight* potential for some. (Writers, even amateur ones, find vast amounts of subject matter by observing conflict :) )
I missed the opportunity at Saturday's meeting to speak with Nathan Gomez, an Arizona representative to the Rules Committee. However, at Sunday's Credentials Committee meeting there are supposed to be three Arizonans there, Sharon Covey, Adelita Grijalva, and David Waid. There should be a chance to check in with at least one of them to see how the week is shaping up for them.
I have a couple of pictures, but they're pretty boring - shots of an empty room, shots of a filling room, and distant shots of a couple of the speakers. Nothing with Arizona ties (boring or otherwise), so I'm not going to waste blog space by uploading them.
Later!
After being introduced by DNC Chairman Howard Dean, the Convention CEO, the Reverend Leah Daughtry, and former Congresswoman Mary Rose Oakar, Sunita Leeds, and former Governor David Walters, the three co-chairs of the Rules Committee, each spoke briefly.
Even if she hadn't been introduced as "Reverend," Daughtry quickly made her preaching background clear, rousing the crowd of representatives from each state with "it's an exciting year for Democrats" and how, in less than a week, "our party will have made history" with the nomination of Sen. Barack Obama.
Walters took a moment to stress the importance of the Rules Committee and rules in general, reminding onlookers that "rules are foreign to the current administration" and that "Bush cares about the rules of the land as much as he cares about the rules of grammar."
Oakar, in what is sure to be the first of many tributes this week, asked for a moment of silent prayer for Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones on her passing last week.
Leeds expressed gratitude (and that of grassroots Democratic activists everywhere) for Chairman Dean's 50 State Strategy and for the current strength of the Democratic Party.
Anyway, the officers named Saturday include (the entire list and more is at the above link) -
Permanent Chair - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Co-Chairs - Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Mayor Shirley Franklin of Atlanta, and State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of Texas
Vice Chairs - Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington, Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida, Mayor Michael Coleman of Columbus, OH, and Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
On Sunday, the Convention's Credentials Committee is scheduled to meet. I don't expect much action there, but at least there is a *slight* potential for some. (Writers, even amateur ones, find vast amounts of subject matter by observing conflict :) )
I missed the opportunity at Saturday's meeting to speak with Nathan Gomez, an Arizona representative to the Rules Committee. However, at Sunday's Credentials Committee meeting there are supposed to be three Arizonans there, Sharon Covey, Adelita Grijalva, and David Waid. There should be a chance to check in with at least one of them to see how the week is shaping up for them.
I have a couple of pictures, but they're pretty boring - shots of an empty room, shots of a filling room, and distant shots of a couple of the speakers. Nothing with Arizona ties (boring or otherwise), so I'm not going to waste blog space by uploading them.
Later!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Congrats to Doug Mings, new Executive Director of MCDP!
First he was named as LD Chair of the Year earlier this month, and now Doug Mings has been named as Executive Director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party.
From PolitickerAZ -
The new job is a well-deserved compliment to Doug, who has guided the LD17 Democrats while they've turned around what had been a solid Republican registration advantage. In addition, LD17 is one of the most active LDs in the state, where 75 - 80 people attend the monthly meetings (there are some LDs where even a dozen folks is a good month).
Whoooo hooooo!
From PolitickerAZ -
Doug Mings, Chairman of the Legislative District 17 Democrats, is replacing Todd Landfried as executive director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, according to Mark Manoil, who chairs the Maricopa Dems.
The new job is a well-deserved compliment to Doug, who has guided the LD17 Democrats while they've turned around what had been a solid Republican registration advantage. In addition, LD17 is one of the most active LDs in the state, where 75 - 80 people attend the monthly meetings (there are some LDs where even a dozen folks is a good month).
Whoooo hooooo!
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