Well, I didn't quite expect this to be my first diary, but I guess there had to be a first.
I am in Denver for the DNCC as a volunteer. Yes, I'm one of those insane people who drove here by myself from St. Louis...just to volunteer. I'll be at the convention center during the days as a caucus attendent...and nights...well that's the problem.
I have no contacts, no one I know, and no idea of what kind of after-parties / receptions / etc I can get into. So...for those in the know...please let me in on some things going on here. Thanks in advance!
This is more of an announcement than a diary. For Kossacks going to the convention in Denver, a party for like minded progressives and political junkies will be held at Denver City Park pavilion on the west end of the lake. The party is being put together by local and state Democratic organizations.
Flip...
I often think long and deep before deciding about posting a diary about gay issues alone. I even gave more thought to this diary.
What would you say if I mentioned someone who did/said:
Gay people are a security risk.
Gay people are not good role models for our children
The heterosexual lifestyle was "morally superior"
Reduced AIDS funding
Prohibited federal funding to a program that showed the gay "lifestyle as normal"
Who is this person? Jesse Helms? George Bush? John McCain?
No. No. And No.
Sam Nunn.
The point of this diary is that we as GLBT and our friends need to educate people who attack us. If education does not work, we need to attack back. I do not care if these people have a "D" or an "R" next to their name. My "fear" is that all too often we forgive our friends and overlook statements by others in their party that we would be deeply offended by if said by others. We cannot stand idly by. Hateful words are hateful words no matter their source.
When we as American citizens are called upon to work for and support not only our chosen Party, but the candidate that our Party has selected for the General Election, then that is what we must do, to do other wise is to commit a serious wrong. The Constitution grants us certain rights and common sense requires that we should exercise those rights.
As our forefathers before us and the succeeding generations since have accepted the truth that all men/women are created equal; that by the very citizenship granted by this the Government of the United States of America, they must participate in the political system that these same forefathers had designed, to fail to do so will allow a government that will gather onto itself powers other than those granted by the governed.
I have a modest proposal for dealing with Party idiots and apostates:
Eat their babies.
No, just kidding. This isn't a Jonathan Swift-style recommendation. It's too late for that: the children have grown to adulthood and now stand at the gates of the "fourth estate" spouting the talking-points of the opposition.
Ye gads! What to do?
If you're thinking of picking up the 'phone and chewing off their ear, or dashing off a fevered email of righteous indignations, allow me to offer this suggestions:
Meet Bob Kelleher, the Republican nominee against Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) this year.
He is an 85-year-old attorney with some downright unconventional views. He believes the American system of representative government should be replaced by a parliamentary system. He calls for socialized medicine, advocates nationalizing the country’s oil and gas industries and believes taxes should be raised significantly to eradicate poverty.
It’s not the standard GOP platform, but nevertheless Kelleher defeated four other candidates in the primary to claim the Republican nomination.
Last night on ABC News Charlie Gibson sat down with Senator John McCain and asked him point blank "are you the underdog?"
John McCain responded by saying that he is the underdog and that in fact he is surprised that the polls are as close as they are considering where the Republican "brand" is currently. I completely agree with Senator McCain on this point - why aren't the Democrats winning by 15% right now? We have maybe the least popular President in the history of the country running the show with an imbalanced and receding economy, a disastrous war without end, one scandal after another in the White House....
Yet a Senator who voted with that very same President 95% of the time is running virtually dead even with Barack Obama at this point in time. How is that possible? Or should I just throw up my arms and say 'hey, we elected George W Bush twice... nothing we do makes any real sense'?
I'm curious to hear what others think about this -
Last night on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, the show took some time out to address the part of Hillary Clinton's speech where she went after the media and naysayers who declared her campaign over when the math didn't work for her. Jon goes back and looks at the pundits who had been trumpeting her as the inevitable victor and presumptive Democratic nominee long before the primary process was fully underway.
Its pretty amazing to look back on it now and see how Hillary Clinton was being portrayed - only to realize she would eventually lose to a Freshman Senator who is an African American... a guy who raised over $200 million to defeat her.
Also, I've added a clip of The Daily Show's take on Sen. Barack Obama's victory speech and John McCain's crappy speech. Enjoy:
Here is the Barack Obama's speech on what is truly an historic political evening. If you had said years ago that a freshman Senator was going to raise $200 million dollars and defeat Hillary Clinton in the primaries I would have said you were crazy. If you had added that he was an African American named Barack Hussein Obama I would have asked whether you were sober.
But now - on this night it is finally official. Barack Obama will be the nominee for the Democratic party and quite possibly the next President of the United States. Here is his victory speech given (ironically) at the same location the Republicans are to hold their convention.
Seems there is something to celebrate around here! I am quickly losing track of what it is, but it has something to do with having changed the world beyond recognition.
In memorium to the passing of the Traditional Ways of Washington I would like to hold a moment of silence..
OK! That's enough!
Pile on, bring the Intertoobs to its (their?) knees, pass the virtual booze around, run naked through the streets, sing, cry, fire your guns into the air!
Thanks for the tunes, Leigh! Keep that bopping while I write a diary and post some more music to go with this madhouse.
How to Win the White House: An Open Letter to the Democrats
Dear Chairman Dean:
I was recently examining some charts on http://uselectionatlas.org/... an incredible database of election history, and realized something crucial. I have known for years about the embarrassingly low turnout in elections, but I had not realized how much this could be used to the Democrats’ advantage.It is a rule of thumb in American politics that the higher the turnout, the more likely the democrats are to win. This comes from one undisputed fact: There are many more Democrats than Republicans, but many Democrats do not vote.
I keep reading and seeing in the media about how Clinton's party tonight in NY is going to be a celebration of her.....and it truly is....but what no one is saying means more to the American public than they are reporting...
My diary, possibly the last that will deal with the events of this primary season, will be used to address my feelings in regards to how all of this has been played out. Some of what I say will sound fair, some may not. I want to preface it all by saying this is simply my opinion and no disparagement is intended by any of what I say here, nor does it apply to all Hillary supporters. Most of what I will say here will apply to a select few, the extreme, so if you're a Hillary supporter and feel that this doesn't fairly depict you, you're probably not one of the few, the extreme that I'm addressing here.
With that said, I'll begin by saying, I'm sick of the pettiness. ALL of it!
This morning on MSNBC Andrea Mitchell broke the story. Those inside the campaign who are closest to Hillary Clinton now acknowledge that the race is over and that they are simply going through the motions.
This may not come as a shock to anyone who was following the math, but the fact that the Clinton camp is admitting they are finished is a dramatic departure from their seemingly un-ending optimism.
Check out the announcement below and weigh in with your opinions:
Obama has won in many swing states; but in West Virginia and Kentucky, white voters were given permission to not vote for Obama and give Hillary R. Clinton a big win, based on whites voting against Obama not as much for Hillary.
