It may take me several days to sort through the very strong emotions and reactions I have about the experience last night. So don't expect my full readout here. I just can't quite get my head around it.
I was so thrilled to be a witness to history. And this was historic, there is no doubt about that in my mind. I was so moved, and so proud to be American.
Please check back because as I mull this all over, I will definitely share some thoughts and definitely some really amazing pictures.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Georgia getting the love
We hear that john lewis has prime time slot and therefore georgia has AWESOME seats. We are between delaware and illinois if you can believe it.
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The Vote
One of the main things I learned in the last 24 hours is that you cannot sleep and blog at the same time. Wow, we are all getting really tired – it’s been a long week and the emotional pinnacle is yet to come.
Some of you may have read my twitter last night when I tired to put this into 140 characters. Well, forget it – here’s what happened.
I’ll post later about the speeches, but the most exciting moments were right after gavel down. To set a bit of background, at 1:15 local, Hillary had a highly private meeting at which she released her delegates. She told them that she intended to vote for Barack Obama, and they were free to do whatever they needed to do. Apparently she then said something very strong, along the lines of, “make no mistake – no matter what those of you in this room decide, we WILL be nominating Barack Obama for president at the end of the day.”
So, there was still some drama. I had seen New Jersey Governor and Hillary backer John Corzine speak on CNN and he said that the New Jersey Hillary delegates had a morning meeting and voted unanimously to all support Obama. So the New Jersey delegation was going to give every vote to Obama. The outcome has been clear all along, but the question still hanging in the air was, would there be enough Hillary votes to put a blemish on the nomination of Obama?
So – the roll call vote was about to begin. There were some slightly lackluster nomination speeches. When my phone rang. It was Gregg, our delegation page, and he told me they needed me to come vote! I couldn’t believe it! This was of course my official role as an alternate, but I had never imagined that I would actually get to cast my vote for Barack Obama. Gregg said, “you need to be walking RIGHT NOW.” So, of course, I RAN. I flew down the stairs and met Will Fawkes at the top of the portal where the Georgia delegation was sitting. He gave me a floor credential and I ran down the steps to the Georgia section. Gregg and Jane Kidd, our State Party Chair, were waiting for me. They told me I was voting for Tommy Irvin, our state’s Commissioner of Agriculture! For some reason, he was delayed and could not get there to vote. He had originally been a Clinton delegate, but had told Gregg and Jane that he intended to wait and vote on the floor in case Hillary released the delegates, in which case he would vote for Obama. So there I was, to make history. Somewhat disappointingly, our delegation whip, Senator Gloria Butler, had already checked the Obama box, but I wrote out my signature, thereby making it official. One more for Senator Barack Obama!!! The floor was chaos as every state got all their votes and tallies organized.
I lingered for just a few moments to soak in the history and snap a few photos, and then went back to my seat to watch and listen as we learned how the other 5000 delegates voted.
I got back in plenty of time to see Nancy Pelosi introduce the DNC Secretary, Alice Germond, who took over the podium to run the vote. Ms. Pelosi stayed on stage, along with a gal who tallied the votes on a laptop as each state was called.
The process worked like this: the secretary called each state in alphabetical order, announced how many votes they had, and asked how they would cast them. Each state then responded with a clever statement that included some state history or state point of pride, joke, etc. Alabama was the first state to vote. Though they were first, they pretty much set the trend. In most states there was a very small handful of Hillary votes with the vast majority going to Obama. After the first few went that way, I started to breath a big sigh of relief. Clearly, a few people were determined to cast their votes for Hillary, but by a huge margin, her delegates seemed to be following her lead. Arkansas was very interesting. In their introduction speech, they mentioned that they had been the state which gave Hillary Clinton her largest margin of victory in any primary. And then they proceeded to cast all of their votes unanimously for Barack Obama. Huge cheers from the crowd!
When we got to California, they got up and simply said, “we will pass.” I was not sure what that meant, but my friend Page who was on Boston four years ago explained that many big states would pass because everyone wants to be the one to put the nominee over the top with enough votes to claim the nomination.
So then we got to Georgia. I should have mentioned that each state’s spokesperson was usually a political star from the state – Jane Kidd, our party chair, and Shirley Franklin, our mayor, gave our presentation. They were very cute but I honestly can’t remember what they said. But Georgia cast 82 votes for Obama (one of them mine!!) and 18 for Clinton. I found myself wondering which 18 Hillary delegates had held out.
When we got to Illinois, they also passed.
Kentucky was, I think, the closest state. Obama still got a majority, but it was close to even. No cheers for Kentucky. But they did have a cute line about turning the Bluegrass Blue.
New Hampshire and New Jersey were both notable since they both voted unanimously for Obama. New Hampshire being the state where she made her comeback, and New Jersey being the state next door to her home state.
OK, where am I going with this, you may be wondering….
Well, I wasn’t keeping a tally, but someone was. We got to New Mexico. They gave their introduction, which was great, and then said, “but today, we are pleased to yield to the land of Lincoln. We yield to the great state of Illinois!”
Murmur – murmur – murmur in the crowd. We all realized that he must be on the very verge of locking it down. New Mexico only had 38 total votes, so it had to be really close. And they were going to let his home state put him over! How cool! How poetic!
So the Secretary recognized Illinois again. The cameras and attention shifted back to Illinois, and they stood up and said, yes, we are the proud land of Lincoln and the proud home of Senator Obama….but WE yield to the great state of New York!
More murmuring!!! Illinois was going to let New York put him over the top! And who was New York’s spokesperson? Yes, all the dominos starting falling into place and what was going to happen dawned on all of us nearly simultaneously to the camera shots of Senator Clinton making her way to the microphone stand in the New York delegation. And when she spoke, it was to make a motion to suspend the roll call vote and move to accept by acclamation the nomination of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
It was so incredible. Ms. Germond yielded the stage back to Nancy Pelosi, who looked like she was about to levitate off the stage with joy and excitement. She asked for a second to the motion and then we voted, in one loud strong voice, we said AYE! The gavel went down, and the cheers went up. The band struck up a song, and all the delegates were dancing in the aisles. Page turned to me and said, “and that’s how we make history.”
(Cross-posted at bluetrueblog.com)
Some of you may have read my twitter last night when I tired to put this into 140 characters. Well, forget it – here’s what happened.
I’ll post later about the speeches, but the most exciting moments were right after gavel down. To set a bit of background, at 1:15 local, Hillary had a highly private meeting at which she released her delegates. She told them that she intended to vote for Barack Obama, and they were free to do whatever they needed to do. Apparently she then said something very strong, along the lines of, “make no mistake – no matter what those of you in this room decide, we WILL be nominating Barack Obama for president at the end of the day.”
So, there was still some drama. I had seen New Jersey Governor and Hillary backer John Corzine speak on CNN and he said that the New Jersey Hillary delegates had a morning meeting and voted unanimously to all support Obama. So the New Jersey delegation was going to give every vote to Obama. The outcome has been clear all along, but the question still hanging in the air was, would there be enough Hillary votes to put a blemish on the nomination of Obama?
So – the roll call vote was about to begin. There were some slightly lackluster nomination speeches. When my phone rang. It was Gregg, our delegation page, and he told me they needed me to come vote! I couldn’t believe it! This was of course my official role as an alternate, but I had never imagined that I would actually get to cast my vote for Barack Obama. Gregg said, “you need to be walking RIGHT NOW.” So, of course, I RAN. I flew down the stairs and met Will Fawkes at the top of the portal where the Georgia delegation was sitting. He gave me a floor credential and I ran down the steps to the Georgia section. Gregg and Jane Kidd, our State Party Chair, were waiting for me. They told me I was voting for Tommy Irvin, our state’s Commissioner of Agriculture! For some reason, he was delayed and could not get there to vote. He had originally been a Clinton delegate, but had told Gregg and Jane that he intended to wait and vote on the floor in case Hillary released the delegates, in which case he would vote for Obama. So there I was, to make history. Somewhat disappointingly, our delegation whip, Senator Gloria Butler, had already checked the Obama box, but I wrote out my signature, thereby making it official. One more for Senator Barack Obama!!! The floor was chaos as every state got all their votes and tallies organized.
I lingered for just a few moments to soak in the history and snap a few photos, and then went back to my seat to watch and listen as we learned how the other 5000 delegates voted.I got back in plenty of time to see Nancy Pelosi introduce the DNC Secretary, Alice Germond, who took over the podium to run the vote. Ms. Pelosi stayed on stage, along with a gal who tallied the votes on a laptop as each state was called.
The process worked like this: the secretary called each state in alphabetical order, announced how many votes they had, and asked how they would cast them. Each state then responded with a clever statement that included some state history or state point of pride, joke, etc. Alabama was the first state to vote. Though they were first, they pretty much set the trend. In most states there was a very small handful of Hillary votes with the vast majority going to Obama. After the first few went that way, I started to breath a big sigh of relief. Clearly, a few people were determined to cast their votes for Hillary, but by a huge margin, her delegates seemed to be following her lead. Arkansas was very interesting. In their introduction speech, they mentioned that they had been the state which gave Hillary Clinton her largest margin of victory in any primary. And then they proceeded to cast all of their votes unanimously for Barack Obama. Huge cheers from the crowd!
When we got to California, they got up and simply said, “we will pass.” I was not sure what that meant, but my friend Page who was on Boston four years ago explained that many big states would pass because everyone wants to be the one to put the nominee over the top with enough votes to claim the nomination.
So then we got to Georgia. I should have mentioned that each state’s spokesperson was usually a political star from the state – Jane Kidd, our party chair, and Shirley Franklin, our mayor, gave our presentation. They were very cute but I honestly can’t remember what they said. But Georgia cast 82 votes for Obama (one of them mine!!) and 18 for Clinton. I found myself wondering which 18 Hillary delegates had held out.
When we got to Illinois, they also passed.
Kentucky was, I think, the closest state. Obama still got a majority, but it was close to even. No cheers for Kentucky. But they did have a cute line about turning the Bluegrass Blue.
New Hampshire and New Jersey were both notable since they both voted unanimously for Obama. New Hampshire being the state where she made her comeback, and New Jersey being the state next door to her home state.
OK, where am I going with this, you may be wondering….
Well, I wasn’t keeping a tally, but someone was. We got to New Mexico. They gave their introduction, which was great, and then said, “but today, we are pleased to yield to the land of Lincoln. We yield to the great state of Illinois!”
Murmur – murmur – murmur in the crowd. We all realized that he must be on the very verge of locking it down. New Mexico only had 38 total votes, so it had to be really close. And they were going to let his home state put him over! How cool! How poetic!
So the Secretary recognized Illinois again. The cameras and attention shifted back to Illinois, and they stood up and said, yes, we are the proud land of Lincoln and the proud home of Senator Obama….but WE yield to the great state of New York!More murmuring!!! Illinois was going to let New York put him over the top! And who was New York’s spokesperson? Yes, all the dominos starting falling into place and what was going to happen dawned on all of us nearly simultaneously to the camera shots of Senator Clinton making her way to the microphone stand in the New York delegation. And when she spoke, it was to make a motion to suspend the roll call vote and move to accept by acclamation the nomination of Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic Party presidential nominee.
It was so incredible. Ms. Germond yielded the stage back to Nancy Pelosi, who looked like she was about to levitate off the stage with joy and excitement. She asked for a second to the motion and then we voted, in one loud strong voice, we said AYE! The gavel went down, and the cheers went up. The band struck up a song, and all the delegates were dancing in the aisles. Page turned to me and said, “and that’s how we make history.”(Cross-posted at bluetrueblog.com)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Top 5 Speeches from Tuesday Night
So, what else happened last night?
Here are my awards for the top five speeches (my comments already rendered on the Hillary speech, I took her out of the running since hers was arguably in a different plane than the rest of the speeches last night):
Number 5: Dennis Kucinich “Wake Up America:” the first really rambunctious speech of the day. A much needed “wake up” for the delegates, and vintage Kucinich. “Wake up America!” he told us over and over. And the cheers grew every time. “Contractors want war…the drug companies have taken over the drug pricing…etc”
"They can tap our phones, but they can’t tap our creative spirit, they can open our mail, but they can’t open up economic opportunities."
Then he said – we don’t need to go from right to left, we need to go from down to UP! “Up with workers, up with wages! Up with healthcare for all, Up with education for all!”
Great rhetoric! Well-delivered! Bravo, Dennis.
Number 4: Ed Rendell
This was the energy speech of the night. First he laid out the terrible record of Bush and McCain on the environment:
And if you look past the speeches to his record, it’s clear: John McCain has
never believed in renewable energy and he won’t make it part of America’s
future. For all his talk, here’s the truth: John McCain voted against
establishing a national renewable energy standard. He voted against tax
incentives for renewable energy companies. And for all his talk of drilling, he
refused to endorse a bipartisan effort to expand domestic oil production because
that bipartisan proposal would end tax breaks for big oil.
It’s
clear: the only thing green in John McCain’s energy plan is the billions of
dollars he’s promising in tax cuts for oil companies. And the only thing he’ll
recycle is the same failed Bush approach to energy policy. We can’t afford more
of the same. We need a strategy that puts America on a path to end the age of
oil once and for all.
Then he goes on to describe Obama’s energy plan, drawing a sharp distinction between Obama’s plan and the Bush/McCain record:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden are committed to producing enough homegrown fuel to
replace every drop of the oil we import from the Middle East and Venezuela in
just 10 years. An Obama administration will invest $4 billion to keep America in
the car-making business and give you a tax cut so you can buy a fuel-efficient
car or truck. And it will commit to getting 1 million 150-mile-per-gallon cars
on our roads within six years, and make sure they are built right here in
America.
It will require that within four years, at least 10
percent of our nation’s electricity comes from alternative energy, and by 2025
we hit 25 percent. It will move immediately to make the renewable energy tax
credit permanent and double the amount of energy that comes from renewable
sources over the next four years.
It will invest $150 billion over
the next decade to grow our energy supply and put 5 million Americans to work
building solar and wind farms, clean coal gasification and geothermal plants,
the kind of jobs that can’t be outsourced to India or China. It will bring
everyone to the table-business, government and the American people-to reduce our
demand for electricity 15 percent by the end of next decade. That’s the kind of
change we need.
Of course he had more jokes and more stories but bottom line – here’s the specifics that the pundits keep clamoring for. Obama/Biden understand the full impact of the energy situation on our national security and they have a plan to address the crisis. Bush/McCain do not understand and will not address this critical issue.
Number 3: Deval Patrick
I thought this was a dynamite speech. I am told that the arrival of Bill Clinton interrupted the experience for the delegates on the floor, so here was one example of the nosebleed seats being an advantage.
He started by telling his own personal story of growing up in poverty in Chicago – about how he and his mother and sister shared a room and set of bunkbeds. They rotated through on a nightly basis – top bunk, bottom bunk, floor – so that every third night, one of them slept on the floor. And he contrasted his own childhood experience with that of his own daughter who has her own room in a beautiful house in a safe neighborhood:
One generation and the circumstances of my life and family were profoundly
transformed. And though that story is still not told as often as we’d like, it’s
told more often in this country than any other place on earth. That is the
American story. It is who we are. It is also what we stand for as
Democrats: the simple notion that through hard work, tenacity, preparation and
faith each of us has a chance at the American story.
He went on to say that the American dream is in jeopardy these days, but if we work together, we can restore the promise of our beloved country. He describes it as improving our “vision:”
When I was growing up on the South Side of Chicago in the ‘50s and ‘60s,
everything was broken. Playgrounds, schools, families and lives—all broken. But
we had a community. Those were days when every child was under the jurisdiction
of every single adult on the block. So if you messed up in front of Ms. Jones’
stoop, she would straighten you out as if you were hers and then call home, so
you would get it twice. What those adults were trying to get across to us was
that they had a stake in us. They wanted us to understand that membership in a
community is seeing the stake that each of us has in our neighbor’s dreams and
struggles, as well as our own.
Barack Obama has challenged us to rebuild our
national community. To focus not on the things that tear us apart, but on those
that bring us together; not on the right or the left, but right and wrong; not
on yesterday, but tomorrow. These are the possibilities Barack Obama asks us to
reach for. This is the kind of leadership he offers to bring to the
presidency—not because government can solve every problem in everybody’s life;
but because “government,” as Barney Frank likes to say, is simply the name we
give to the things we choose to do together.
Great, great, great.
Number 2: Brian Schweitzer
This was also an energy speech, but in this one, the delivery was more important than the content. On a night when we were running behind instead of ahead of schedule, there was very little time for the band to play between speeches. The crowd was not as loose, and many times it was a bit hard to hear. So here comes Governor Schweitzer totally SELLING IT. He was great. You just have to watch the video if you missed it last night.
Here was the laugh line from the speech:
Even leaders in the oil industry know that Senator McCain has it wrong. We
simply can’t drill our way to energy independence, even if you drilled in
all of John McCain’s backyards, including the ones he can’t even
remember.
Good times.
And the Number 1 Speech of last night: The US Senate Women
I give the honors for “best speech of the night” to the platoon of eight Democratic Women Senators. They were amazing! Every single one of them absolutely nailed it. They each had a short, pithy theme focusing on domestic policy and they drove it home. After hit or miss speeches from the men all night, it was so fun to see each and every one of the women absolutely sparkle.
The link gives their remarks individually, but they were presented as a package deal – and what a dynamite package they were.
For all the depressed Hillary supporters who think she was the one and only chance to put a woman in the White House, I got eight people who said strongly last night, “Don’t you fret – we got this one.”
Bravo to:
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski
US Senator, Maryland
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
US Senator, California
The Honorable Mary Landrieu
US Senator, Louisiana
The Honorable Blanche Lambert Lincoln
US Senator, Arkansas
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
US Senator, Michigan
The Honorable Maria Cantwell
US Senator, Washington
The Honorable Claire McCaskill
US Senator, Missouri
The Honorable Amy Klobuchar
US Senator, Minnesota
So there you have it! I am VERY late to shower and get down to the Pepsi Center to see this roll call vote happen. Expect twitter updates all night long.
(Cross Posted to trueblueblog.com)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Look! It WAS Mitt Romney
Oooh, I feel violated. He was in our special place.
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/08/mitt-romney-sighting.html
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/08/mitt-romney-sighting.html
My Honest Thoughts
Leaving the Pepsi Center in the crush of humanity; making my way to the shuttle bus, and all the way back to Stapleton, I heard snippets of conversations like, “she nailed it,” “I cried the whole time,” “I knew she would be great….” So first of all let me say I am aware of being in a very small minority. Also, because I am SICK AND TIRED of grating pundits who seem to sit back and do their best to find fault with every move of the campaign and every decision about the convention, I am hesitant to say anything remotely critical about a historic moment which was so clearly loaded with meaning for so many. But (there was going to be a but) I was honestly disappointed.I was extremely impressed with the speech that Hillary made on the Saturday after the last primary. I thought that was one of the finest pieces of rhetoric I have ever heard. Delicately and gracefully done. I was all about unity that afternoon. Tonight seemed like just a reprise of that moment and months later, I was hoping that she and her supporters could have come a little farther.
Truth be told, I just don’t get it. There is something that resonates deeply with her ardent supporters that just doesn’t ring in me. So I am baffled by the ferocity of the whole thing. And the similarity of her motivations to the motivations of everyone who took the stage tonight leaves me puzzled about why she and only she seems to fill the bill. To me, there was an edge of “I and only I understand these problems and will fight for these values” where Obama (and many others who I consider great leaders) always seems to hold up the vision as “our” vision and “our” values and “our” fight. That part of her style is off-putting to me. There is not some invisible club of hurt and downtrodden people whom no one but Hillary is capable of understanding and representing. And I don’t think she would have had to work so hard to pull people back together if she hadn’t worked so hard to drive the wedge. Sigh, but now I digress.
At any rate, I am sincerely glad that many people seemed to find joy and power in her words. I hope that they find peace and can eventually move on and find their sense of purpose again.
I need to go to bed, but I will check back in tomorrow morning on some of the other highlights of the night.
(Cross posted to bluetrueblog.com)
Lunch with laura seydel
Just grabbing lunch with Laura Turner Seydel and listening to President Jimmy Carter...
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Pre-game Celebrity Sighting
OK, so some people saw Denzel Washington and Ben Affleck….but I saw the cast of The Daily Show and the staff of The Young Turks on Air America!That's me and Larry Wilmore, the Daily Show's "Black Correspondent."
And that's Cenk Uygur and JR, the producer of The Young Turks.
I also snapped this pic of Aasif Mandvi interviewing a concessionnaire....
Unconventional Women Forum
Here was proof that anyone can come to convention and be a part of the action. This event was on the public calendar, although I also received an invitation. The marketing was fantastic – they sent a refrigerator magnet with a great iconic picture of a 1950’s wife in an apron with perfect hair and makeup holding up a pie, and the slogan is “claim your slice!”
The program was made up of three two-hour sessions. I purchased tickets (sold on a sliding scale – you decide how much to donate from $1 to $100,000) to two sessions. Each session was made up of multiple panel discussions of interesting and inspiring women having conversations about women in politics.
I came in halfway through a panel about the White House Project. Marie Wilson was on this panel, who I have seen before and she’s GREAT. Also, there were two young elected officials whose names I missed since I was late. They were discussing the White House Project including their training, their fundraising, and told their individual stories.
After that, there was a panel with Ellen Malcolm, founder of EMILY’s List, and Barbara Lee. They were also amazing and talked about the nuts and bolts and realities of women running for office.
The highlight for me was a conversation with Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar, facilitated by Donna Brazile. These women had FASCINATING and inspiring stories about their experiences in politics. The forum was open and casual, and I got such a great sense of their personalities, priorities, and experiences. I liked them so much! Though I heard them both later on at the Convention, the forum was a much better way to get introduced. The best were their stories about people assuming they were assistants to “the Senator” such as when they were picking out office furniture for their senate offices. One person told Senator McCaskill that “her boss” would need to come down and sign for it before she could pick out the furniture! She also talked about being the first woman ever in the Missouri state house to have a baby while in office. As it turns, out that baby, her son, introduced her at the Convention last night. Senator McCaskill also talked about how far we have to go still and advised everyone in the audience to read Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent in the Lily Ledbetter case (dissent starts on page 28). If I have time, I plan to read it today before the convention because Lily Ledbetter is speaking tonight and I want to brush up. Senator Klobuchar talked a lot about her legislative priorities and accomplishments – she is very focused on consumer rights and consumer safety and is trying to rebuild the consumer protections that our government regulations used to provide to American families.
The general thrust of the entire event was that we don’t have enough women in politics. Not only do we need more women in elected office, but we need all women to engage in the political process – to stay informed on issues and use their votes.
Great event!
The program was made up of three two-hour sessions. I purchased tickets (sold on a sliding scale – you decide how much to donate from $1 to $100,000) to two sessions. Each session was made up of multiple panel discussions of interesting and inspiring women having conversations about women in politics.
I came in halfway through a panel about the White House Project. Marie Wilson was on this panel, who I have seen before and she’s GREAT. Also, there were two young elected officials whose names I missed since I was late. They were discussing the White House Project including their training, their fundraising, and told their individual stories.
After that, there was a panel with Ellen Malcolm, founder of EMILY’s List, and Barbara Lee. They were also amazing and talked about the nuts and bolts and realities of women running for office.
The highlight for me was a conversation with Claire McCaskill and Amy Klobuchar, facilitated by Donna Brazile. These women had FASCINATING and inspiring stories about their experiences in politics. The forum was open and casual, and I got such a great sense of their personalities, priorities, and experiences. I liked them so much! Though I heard them both later on at the Convention, the forum was a much better way to get introduced. The best were their stories about people assuming they were assistants to “the Senator” such as when they were picking out office furniture for their senate offices. One person told Senator McCaskill that “her boss” would need to come down and sign for it before she could pick out the furniture! She also talked about being the first woman ever in the Missouri state house to have a baby while in office. As it turns, out that baby, her son, introduced her at the Convention last night. Senator McCaskill also talked about how far we have to go still and advised everyone in the audience to read Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent in the Lily Ledbetter case (dissent starts on page 28). If I have time, I plan to read it today before the convention because Lily Ledbetter is speaking tonight and I want to brush up. Senator Klobuchar talked a lot about her legislative priorities and accomplishments – she is very focused on consumer rights and consumer safety and is trying to rebuild the consumer protections that our government regulations used to provide to American families.
The general thrust of the entire event was that we don’t have enough women in politics. Not only do we need more women in elected office, but we need all women to engage in the political process – to stay informed on issues and use their votes.
Great event!
(Cross-posted at bluetrueblog.com)
Pics from the Sunday Night Reception
So, to catch up a little bit…I promised pics from the first night’s reception. Here they are! Like I said…lots of people, lots of drinks, buffets, crazy hats, etc. Check that crazy pink headdress! That's one of the cajun musicians. In the pic above, me, Jane, the Hackney family, and Ben Myers from the 6th District.....
Enjoying granola parfait with andy young
Listening to roy barnes tell it like it is over biscuits and gravy. And granola parfait for the civil rights icons.
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Monday, August 25, 2008
An Incredible First Night
WOW. Where to even start. I was having trouble with my utterz going to the email address earlier so I didn’t get to update the blog with my morning adventures. I’ll try to fill in those blanks later because it was extremely cool to get to see Donna Brazile, Amy Klobuchar, Claire McCaskill, and a bunch of other UnCONVENTIONAL Women today in a really nice open forum.
But I have to turn attention to this evening. I thought it would be incredible to be here, but I wasn’t expecting to have my very socks knocked off on the very first night. I was inspired, I was proud, I was so filled with patriotism and optimism.
The first really TRULY amazing thing was the Kennedy tribute and then Kennedy’s speech. To see his life of service put into context, and to remember the pain and the sacrifice that he and his family have gone through while fighting for the American dream on the front lines – it makes all the Ted Kennedy detractors seem small. His powerful, passionate devotion to the cause of winning health care for all Americans – undimmed by the day to day losses and backsliding – well, it puts me to shame. The small aggravations and minor frustrations of my own small service to my country and community are really nothing at all. We should all be so resolute and visionary.
But Michelle Obama was the highlight of the night. She was stunning, graceful, poised, eloquent. She had the entire convention hall in tears – happy tears – as she described “our country as it should be.” Which is the unifying vision of the beloved community that we all know as both the fount of our devotion and goal of all of our efforts. I loved the video piece narrated by her mother. It set up her speech so effectively by talking about her relationship with her family, particularly her father, and the compassion that she learned from him.
She had us riveted from the word go. The thing that stood out to me most was how important her relationships are to her – with her father, her mother, her brother, with Barack, and with those beautiful girls. She defines herself in terms of those relationships rather than in terms of her education or career. It’s incredibly endearing. And the way she described her husband and what motivates him – what he is able to achieve and where he wants to lead this country. It’s amazing.
I just had to turn off CNN as they have four Republican stuffed shirts “spinning” the night and talking about what a miss it was overall. (What I find funniest is how they all just LOVE Hillary Clinton now.) I thought more than once how it was so great to be in the hall tonight witnessing it live – being truly in the moment and truly swept away by the beauty and promise of the whole thing – rather than having to watch it through the filter of some horrid pundit whose comments are always completely superfluous and trite. I hope that whatever the rest of America saw was as stirring as what we saw here in Denver.
But I have to turn attention to this evening. I thought it would be incredible to be here, but I wasn’t expecting to have my very socks knocked off on the very first night. I was inspired, I was proud, I was so filled with patriotism and optimism.
The first really TRULY amazing thing was the Kennedy tribute and then Kennedy’s speech. To see his life of service put into context, and to remember the pain and the sacrifice that he and his family have gone through while fighting for the American dream on the front lines – it makes all the Ted Kennedy detractors seem small. His powerful, passionate devotion to the cause of winning health care for all Americans – undimmed by the day to day losses and backsliding – well, it puts me to shame. The small aggravations and minor frustrations of my own small service to my country and community are really nothing at all. We should all be so resolute and visionary.
But Michelle Obama was the highlight of the night. She was stunning, graceful, poised, eloquent. She had the entire convention hall in tears – happy tears – as she described “our country as it should be.” Which is the unifying vision of the beloved community that we all know as both the fount of our devotion and goal of all of our efforts. I loved the video piece narrated by her mother. It set up her speech so effectively by talking about her relationship with her family, particularly her father, and the compassion that she learned from him.
She had us riveted from the word go. The thing that stood out to me most was how important her relationships are to her – with her father, her mother, her brother, with Barack, and with those beautiful girls. She defines herself in terms of those relationships rather than in terms of her education or career. It’s incredibly endearing. And the way she described her husband and what motivates him – what he is able to achieve and where he wants to lead this country. It’s amazing.
I just had to turn off CNN as they have four Republican stuffed shirts “spinning” the night and talking about what a miss it was overall. (What I find funniest is how they all just LOVE Hillary Clinton now.) I thought more than once how it was so great to be in the hall tonight witnessing it live – being truly in the moment and truly swept away by the beauty and promise of the whole thing – rather than having to watch it through the filter of some horrid pundit whose comments are always completely superfluous and trite. I hope that whatever the rest of America saw was as stirring as what we saw here in Denver.
(cross posted at bluetrueblog.com)
Will this work now?
Trying to send a pic of forum this am but it hasn't gone thru all day...it was so cool! Donna brazile interviewed claire mccaskill and amy klobuchar. Awesome. Also saw marie wilson, ellen malcolm, barbara lee. Et al.
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Barely controlled chaos
We are raffling off guest credentials - this has taken about 20 minutes...
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First delegation breakfast
Sharing a ballroom this morning with alabama. Heath shuler just spoke to us, SEC football references abound. Leslie small and me having anti-SEC moment, both being unc fans. Now we are listening to a briefing about obama's energy plan. Breakfast was great.
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Sunday, August 24, 2008
So, it's a Convention
This is when the "convention" kind of feels like a convention. I was just in a massive ballroom with hundreds of people milling about eating food off of a buffet. Kind of like....a convention! I will put up some pics tomorrow. You'll see. Ball room. People. Buffet.
But this was pretty cool because it was just Democrats as far as the eye could see. Democrats everywhere! Even a lot that I knew. We saw the Unity Express riders (Angela, Nikema, Leslie, Bernita). We saw Richard Ray, Jane Kidd and her children, Mary Long, various assorted state legislators, Jan Hackney and her son and husband. Also ran into Jelani Cobb, and Jerry Freeman. However, the V-VIPs (Very Very Important People) were apparently at some private much more exclusive function. Nary a sign of a Sunday morning talking head to be seen anywhere. There was also no media. But there were masses and masses of people so this was where the vast bulk of the delegates were tonight.
The theme was "Friends of New Orleans" so we had crawfish, red beans and rice, jambalaya, etc etc. And fun cajun music. And a cameo by Randy Newman. Did I mention the open bar?
Howard Dean spoke briefly to welcome us to Denver. Of course, Jane and I had just left to get another drink so we missed his comments, but I heard he screamed to get the crowd riled up. Kidding. Another delegate got some great pics so I will try to get those to post tomorrow.
So far, so very like a convention. I guess we'll start making history tomorrow!
Delegation breakfast is at 7:45 sharp and I'm feeling the altitude so it's off to bed for me to dream of a better future.
But this was pretty cool because it was just Democrats as far as the eye could see. Democrats everywhere! Even a lot that I knew. We saw the Unity Express riders (Angela, Nikema, Leslie, Bernita). We saw Richard Ray, Jane Kidd and her children, Mary Long, various assorted state legislators, Jan Hackney and her son and husband. Also ran into Jelani Cobb, and Jerry Freeman. However, the V-VIPs (Very Very Important People) were apparently at some private much more exclusive function. Nary a sign of a Sunday morning talking head to be seen anywhere. There was also no media. But there were masses and masses of people so this was where the vast bulk of the delegates were tonight.
The theme was "Friends of New Orleans" so we had crawfish, red beans and rice, jambalaya, etc etc. And fun cajun music. And a cameo by Randy Newman. Did I mention the open bar?
Howard Dean spoke briefly to welcome us to Denver. Of course, Jane and I had just left to get another drink so we missed his comments, but I heard he screamed to get the crowd riled up. Kidding. Another delegate got some great pics so I will try to get those to post tomorrow.
So far, so very like a convention. I guess we'll start making history tomorrow!
Delegation breakfast is at 7:45 sharp and I'm feeling the altitude so it's off to bed for me to dream of a better future.
First pol sighting
Chuck Schumer (that's not spelled right) in the denver airport. I was rushing to bathroom so didn't stop to chat, but he's my first celebrity!
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Going to Airport in 20 Minutes
Just talked to my friend Gregg, who was one of the Five For Five and made it into the delegation with a heroic lobbying effort to become one of three "pages." He is on my flight out to Denver which leaves in a few short hours.
I am all packed. I am taking all my most obnoxious t-shirts that I can't wear anywhere else. They will at least make an appearance at the morning delegation breakfasts. I have opted for suits during the day - we'll see how much I regret that. But I'll look good for Georgia!
Today when we arrive, we have to jet to our hotel, then to a welcome reception for all delegations, then I am hoping to make it to a kickoff party sponsored by the Young Democrats of America. It's all going to be very rushed tonight, but I will try to give you a sense of the excitement as we get this party started. Between the shuttles and the cabs, I wonder if it will be more getting around than being around. We'll see! I am so excited. Here we go.
When I write again, it will be from Denver...
I am all packed. I am taking all my most obnoxious t-shirts that I can't wear anywhere else. They will at least make an appearance at the morning delegation breakfasts. I have opted for suits during the day - we'll see how much I regret that. But I'll look good for Georgia!
Today when we arrive, we have to jet to our hotel, then to a welcome reception for all delegations, then I am hoping to make it to a kickoff party sponsored by the Young Democrats of America. It's all going to be very rushed tonight, but I will try to give you a sense of the excitement as we get this party started. Between the shuttles and the cabs, I wonder if it will be more getting around than being around. We'll see! I am so excited. Here we go.
When I write again, it will be from Denver...
Heading for Denver!
(This is a note I sent to a group of friends on Friday. Copied here to set the stage for the rest of the week...)
Wow, I know it's been a long time since you've heard from the Obama-spam-machine. The combination of RELIEF that we got out of the primaries and a tough summer work schedule that has seen a lot of travel and more than usual overtime has conspired to keep my away from my keyboard-soapbox.
But I thought you would all like to know that I AM going to the Convention!
I believe that most of you heard the tragic story of the congressional district delegate election. I was the fourth vote-getter out of 45 women who ran for three spots. Seriously – like fourth in the Olympics. Just off the podium.
For some multi-media coverage of the day, check out my friend Shelby's post to MTV's political blog. Click the "watch video" link below his mug.
Also, here's one of my friends and slate-mates who was elected that day giving his thoughts to our local NPR station (couldn't you just listen to his voice all day?):
Tough day for me, but, I think, a victory all in all for our much maligned process. Kudos to my good friends (including Page Gleason, Will Curry, Melanie Goux, Sam Westmoreland, Cynthia and Clarence Williams, and everyone else) at the Fulton County Democratic Party who ran a historically large caucus nearly flawlessly.
The next step for me was to move on the State level – to try to get elected by our Georgia State Committee to serve as an At-Large Delegate.
This process usually involves lobbying the 400 member committee made up of party activists from all over the state. As soon as I brushed back the tears after my devastating loss, I started planning my next campaign. On my daily evening runs in the neighborhood, I came up with many creative ideas for how to woo the diverse and dispersed members of the State Committee. But I never put any of these plans into motion because almost as soon as I started to plan, the rumors started about "slashing the lists." In my congressional district alone, there were 42 women who did not get spots. Not to mention the men. Not to mention all the other congressional districts. Not to mention the folks who didn't even run at the district level but planned to run at the state level. Suddenly there were visions of hundreds of candidates flooding the committee members with calls, letters, emails, flowers! And a marathon meeting at which every candidate would give a speech and the committee would vote. A conservative estimate of 200 candidates each giving a three minute speech – wow! Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
So, the party and both campaigns took advantage of a slightly obscure rule in the by-laws which stated that the campaign has the right to scratch anyone from the list for any reason. Ostensibly, this rule is to make sure that folks who are actually supporting another candidate don't make their way onto the ballot. As you might imagine, this was something of a concern this year. But in practice, what they did was to "scratch" the list down to the exact number of slots that were available, in effect choosing the people they wanted to serve.
How did I make this list?? It's a little bit miraculous. A bit of knowing who the decision makers were and lobbying them as much as I could. A bit of credit for a lot of hard work and sacrifice over many years for the party. A bit of having come so close at the congressional district level. A bit of good people going to bat for me. And a whole lot of luck.
So, I am officially an At-Large Alternate Delegate from the great state of Georgia.
And off I go to Denver.
I am partnering with Jerry Freeman, a friend and co-alternate (fyi, we're sort of like jury alternates – get to go, sit in the box, do the whole thing, but don't get to vote unless someone flakes out) to do a Denver blog. I will also be cross-posting to the Young Democrats of Atlanta blog. I will send out information about how to follow our posts as soon as I have it. (Note: obviously since I sent this out, change of plans. Follow everything here at emilyschunior.blogspot.com.)
If you want to reach me while I am in Denver, feel free to email me – I will check at least once a day. Or text or call my mobile: (404) 202-8430. Policy priorities? Send them along. Message for Barack? Send it. Message for Hillary? Don't you worry. I'll be delivering that.
I am expecting great things. The bar is high. But I truly believe Obama is the leader of a generation and I know he can do it. Thursday should be amazing.
Best to all,
Emily
Wow, I know it's been a long time since you've heard from the Obama-spam-machine. The combination of RELIEF that we got out of the primaries and a tough summer work schedule that has seen a lot of travel and more than usual overtime has conspired to keep my away from my keyboard-soapbox.
But I thought you would all like to know that I AM going to the Convention!
I believe that most of you heard the tragic story of the congressional district delegate election. I was the fourth vote-getter out of 45 women who ran for three spots. Seriously – like fourth in the Olympics. Just off the podium.
For some multi-media coverage of the day, check out my friend Shelby's post to MTV's political blog. Click the "watch video" link below his mug.
Also, here's one of my friends and slate-mates who was elected that day giving his thoughts to our local NPR station (couldn't you just listen to his voice all day?):
Tough day for me, but, I think, a victory all in all for our much maligned process. Kudos to my good friends (including Page Gleason, Will Curry, Melanie Goux, Sam Westmoreland, Cynthia and Clarence Williams, and everyone else) at the Fulton County Democratic Party who ran a historically large caucus nearly flawlessly.
The next step for me was to move on the State level – to try to get elected by our Georgia State Committee to serve as an At-Large Delegate.
This process usually involves lobbying the 400 member committee made up of party activists from all over the state. As soon as I brushed back the tears after my devastating loss, I started planning my next campaign. On my daily evening runs in the neighborhood, I came up with many creative ideas for how to woo the diverse and dispersed members of the State Committee. But I never put any of these plans into motion because almost as soon as I started to plan, the rumors started about "slashing the lists." In my congressional district alone, there were 42 women who did not get spots. Not to mention the men. Not to mention all the other congressional districts. Not to mention the folks who didn't even run at the district level but planned to run at the state level. Suddenly there were visions of hundreds of candidates flooding the committee members with calls, letters, emails, flowers! And a marathon meeting at which every candidate would give a speech and the committee would vote. A conservative estimate of 200 candidates each giving a three minute speech – wow! Yeah, that wasn't going to happen.
So, the party and both campaigns took advantage of a slightly obscure rule in the by-laws which stated that the campaign has the right to scratch anyone from the list for any reason. Ostensibly, this rule is to make sure that folks who are actually supporting another candidate don't make their way onto the ballot. As you might imagine, this was something of a concern this year. But in practice, what they did was to "scratch" the list down to the exact number of slots that were available, in effect choosing the people they wanted to serve.
How did I make this list?? It's a little bit miraculous. A bit of knowing who the decision makers were and lobbying them as much as I could. A bit of credit for a lot of hard work and sacrifice over many years for the party. A bit of having come so close at the congressional district level. A bit of good people going to bat for me. And a whole lot of luck.
So, I am officially an At-Large Alternate Delegate from the great state of Georgia.
And off I go to Denver.
I am partnering with Jerry Freeman, a friend and co-alternate (fyi, we're sort of like jury alternates – get to go, sit in the box, do the whole thing, but don't get to vote unless someone flakes out) to do a Denver blog. I will also be cross-posting to the Young Democrats of Atlanta blog. I will send out information about how to follow our posts as soon as I have it. (Note: obviously since I sent this out, change of plans. Follow everything here at emilyschunior.blogspot.com.)
If you want to reach me while I am in Denver, feel free to email me – I will check at least once a day. Or text or call my mobile: (404) 202-8430. Policy priorities? Send them along. Message for Barack? Send it. Message for Hillary? Don't you worry. I'll be delivering that.
I am expecting great things. The bar is high. But I truly believe Obama is the leader of a generation and I know he can do it. Thursday should be amazing.
Best to all,
Emily
Saturday, August 23, 2008
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