Technorati Tags Democratic National Convention, Ted Kennedy

With hindsight being 20/20, I do wish I had blogged–especially when word hit the convention floor that the caucuses of the At-Large Delegate Nominations Committee were meeting behind closed–nay, locked–doors. I did, media pass in hand, along with a reporter from the MSM, follow State Rep. Terri Hodge to where the locked-door meeting was. It had allegedly adjourned although I personally witnessed people leaving the locked-door room after this small group tried to gain access to it. There was something very un-kosher about locked-door meetings of the candidate caucuses of this committee we’ll no doubt hear more about in coming days.

I was also one of the at least 1,000 people crammed into the “well” of the convention center in front of the stage and around the microphones when the battle royal erupted about rejecting the committee’s report. And, for the record, there were a number of Clinton supporters–myself included–down there. Oddly enough, I found myself standing next to former Dallas City Councilman Al Lipscomb. In spite of Mr. Lipscomb’s legal troubles in the last decade, he is still a revered civil rights legend in Dallas. I introduced myself to him, which was interesting, given that for most of my life–even not living in Dallas–Al Lipscomb is always someone I’ve read about in the newspaper or seen on Dallas TV stations.

Additional ‘random thoughts:’ [With lots of tongue in cheek]

• Kirk Watson announcing that someone’s driver’s license had been found and was at the podium was quite possibly one of the funniest moments of the entire convention. Kudos to him, too, for hanging around the podium during “at ease” times to meet & greet and sign autographs. There were good-sized lines for that.
• Nobody–and I mean nobody–says the phrase, “Mr. Chairman, parliamentary inquiry” quite like State Rep. Terri Hodge.
• How was it that the fire alarm was going off for almost 10 minutes before the people in the general session realized it was going off? Were the flashing strobe lights not a clue, or did the delegates just think that “Random Disco Inferno” had been added to the convention schedule? And why did almost no one actually evacuate the convention center who wasn’t in the main hall until the main hall evacuated? Is that hilarious or sad? I don’t know which.
• Walking up the escalators was faster than riding them. Slowest. Escalators. In. The. World.
• There were people wearing Sherrie Matula shirts everywhere.
• The six dollar sandwiches were the most awful food products I’ve ever consumed in my life. In. My. Life.
• A certain blogger was not rebuffed by Chelsea Clinton’s handlers while taking photos, but other bloggers were….not to those bloggers (they know who they are), it was the Clinton tee-shirt.
• I never did find that VIP room with the $10,000 worth of booze people were complaining about after an SDEC meeting some months ago (although I was later told where it was). I wanted to find it because I don’t think I’ve ever seen $10,000 worth of booze outside a liquor store.
• Lyndon LaRouche’s supporters were not as aggressive as they were in 2004 or 2006.
• There were less “random encounters” with VIP’s walking the convention halls than in years past. In ‘04, I seem to remember running into or walking very near the likes of everyone from Dennis Kucinich to Tony Sanchez. This year, the convention center layout was so bizarre there weren’t too many VIP run-ins, or so it seems.
• I had forgotten how tall Molly Beth Malcom was.
• The beach balls were a nice touch. Random, but a nice touch.
• Where did everyone go? On Friday night, there was a mass of people as far as the eye could see from the front of the room. On Saturday, it had decreased by well more than half. I guess those “guest passes” really went down in stock.
• Caucusing in the catacombs. I actually participated in a caucus held in the “catacombs”/service area of the convention center.
• How did a bunch of elderly ladies get press passes? On Friday night sitting in the press area, one minute it is, well, press, and the next minute there are at least a dozen elderly ladies (and a few elderly gentlemen) sitting with us wearing green press credentials. What was up with that? AARP Magazine must have been covering the convention in full force.
• Carolyn Barta is cool. The former op-ed columnist (and editor at large of some variety, if I remember correctly) of the Dallas Morning News was covering the convention for Dallas Blog; she came to the Blogger’s Caucus. I read Carolyn’s work in high school and college and it was great fun to meet her (of course, I also read her at Dallas Blog).
• All of the “rumors” of fights, near fights, and one actual fight I am aware of was unprecedented.
• Half of the convention, at any one moment, was in the bar at the Hilton. Another quarter was outside smoking.
• There was seriously a resolution before the Resolutions Committee to allow the party to “discipline” elected officials for various actions, including taking money and voting for Tom Craddick. Anticipating the floor fight that would have caused, it was tabled.
• The entire Resolutions Committee being called “sons a’ bitches” (and more) by a man who was in the audience supporting an impeachment resolution (twice).
• Whatever came of the remaining 20 challenges to SD and county delegations that were supposed to go before the Credentials Committee? Did the Credentials Fairy magically fix those, because I heard not a word.
• How long did the Blogger’s Caucus last? I left well after midnight and it was still going strong….
• Oh, and, before I forget, “McBlogger is a Douchebag.” I and another blogger (who shall remain nameless) decided that should be blogged somewhere because McBlogger wasn’t in the convention hall being tortured with the rest of us at 8 p.m. on Saturday night as we waited for the Nominations Committee (Secret) Meeting (Behind Locked Doors) That Never Ends to adjourn and return from Narnia through the Magical Wardrobe across the Yellow Brick Road by way of east Nebraska riding very slow and lethargic donkeys. Since she didn’t blog it, I will. Of course, McBlogger had the nerve to call me a “whore” in a text message because I evidently walked passed him somewhere without even noticing he was there, which is the ultimate sin in the Blogosphere. Sorry, McB! I didn’t see you and was probably looking for someone else.
• What ever happened to the “super secret Clinton Delegates Luncheon?” There was a lot of pre-convention buzz about this, but it never materialized, as far as I know. How sad. I really wanted to eat rubber chicken in a hotel ballroom listening to Garry Mauro and Sheila Jackson Lee. I know those bean and cheese burritos under a tent weren’t the extent of what all this was about….or were they? Conspiracy! As soon as I heard rumors of this Wednesday, I texted everyone I knew and now they think I am an idiot. But I read about it in an email forward, so I know it was TRUE.
• “No, you cannot amend the Platform from the floor.” You can’t amend anything from the floor! What do you think this is, a deliberative body? The Texas Legislature? A Women’s Quilting Circle?
• People running for Platform, Resolutions, and Credentials Committees and having not a clue about what those committees really do. “Platform, I wanna be on Platform! I nominate myself to be on Platform!” Did they think the Platform Committee was a bunch of people who get to sit on the physical platform of the convention? Do that many people want to ogle our state representatives from behind? And, in one senate district that shall remain nameless, a longtime Libertarian (gasp!) was elected to Credentials. Ron Paul, having failed to create a “revolution” in the Republican Party, has infiltrated ours! Nooooooooooooooooooo!
• Why did no one at the mics think of attempting to use a “motion to recommit” on the At-Large Nominations Committee Report to send back to the committee? And, failing that, a motion to suspend all necessary rules to make way for a motion to recommit the report….wonder if that would have worked? Any parliamentarians out there want to take a crack at that? I was really hoping someone would get to the mics and make a bunch of bizarre motions just to confuse the poor parliamentarian, who had probably been up there since 11 a.m. “Mr. Chairman, I move that we do now suspend all necessary rules to rescind the ratification of the report that named the officers of the convention.” Or, how about, “Mr. Chairman, I move we reconsider the resolution we passed five hours ago on student loans.”
• Did anyone walk less than 14.5 miles inside the convention center? Just to find a bathroom and elevator?
• By 2:30, the only flavor of potato chips left anywhere in the Austin Convention Center were “Salt and Vinegar.” Kind of like the tears most people wanted to shed because their feet hurt so damned bad from trying to find Ballroom D-9.281, Level IV, Catacomb 9, just past Stairwell 298-C, behind the only elevator in the damned place next to Exhibit Hall 5-C(f)(9)(vii) where the Suburban Caucus Of Lawn Nome Owning Non-GLBT Democrats was held, which was immediately adjacent to a stairwell to take you to the same room one floor down where the Suburban Caucus of Lawn Nome Owning GLBT Democrats was being held, none of which were farther away from anything except the media room and the room where–get this–the caucus for Democrats with Disabilities was held. Irony of ironies that the DwD caucus was held farther away from the “action” than anything else. Seriously, did people think, “hell, those people are in wheelchairs, it’ll be easier for them to get to?”
• I never want to see a red, white, and blue curtain in MY LIFE.
• Why did NO ONE blog about the fact that part of the “set” (i.e. the black curtains) collapsed during the Friday night program?
• Thank God whoever drove Chelsea Clinton into the convention center was sober. Seriously, a caravan of vehicles was parked right on the other side of the stage past the curtain. One too many martinis for some driver and the media area would have been blogging on (or under) a Lincoln Town Car.
• The “I Love Pro Choice Girls/Boys” buttons handed out by Planned Parenthood were the best buttons of the entire convention, although I saw several Democrats giving that booth a disapproving look every time someone yanked up a big bunch of colored condoms to hand out. I was so totally waiting for some nearsighted individual to come over and ask for a handful of LifeSavers.
• Centerpoint Energy had a booth at the TDP convention. Seriously, the people behind the booth totally convinced me that gas hot water heaters are better.
• The Texas Association of Realtors had a sign to the side of the convention stage. I laughed.
• Why was it that every other blogger who took photos of the Jumbotrons had better photos of the Jumbotrons than I did? My Jumbotron photos sucked. Also, does no one realize that nobody looks good on a Jumbotron? Even if you only have one chin, you look like you have nine.

Really, we were trying to upload a video (a process we thought would be much easier and less distracting than it actually was), and ended up missing all but a few paragraphs. We may have also been hypnotized by “the dress” and wandering around the convention center aimlessly…can’t say for sure.

At any rate, the Senator was kind enough to note our difficulty and send us a copy of the address, which was quite good (we heard it, we just couldn’t blog it because of that uploading problem) and is posted below. You can also watch the video here.

Thank you.

Isn’t it a great day to be in Austin, Texas?

And isn’t it a great time to be a Texas Democrat?

Welcome, all of you, to your state capitol–the home of Lady Bird Lake, the Ann Richards Bridge, and this very special 2008 Texas Democratic Convention. Thank you for being here.

But more than that, thank you for what has been a truly extraordinary primary season.

Thank you for your hard work on behalf of smart, compelling, history-making presidential candidates, and the hundreds of state and local Democrats who will run stronger because of your efforts.

Thank you for your energy and inspiration, and for bringing millions of people into the Democratic Party.

Thank you for reminding Texans that we are the party of diversity, responsibility, prosperity, opportunity, and investment.
And thank you for coming together here today – at this vital hour in our history – with so much at stake.

Your unity of purpose is our greatest strength. It, more than anything else, will promote the change that we need.

There are some fundamental reasons we are here together.

Republican leaders in Austin and Washington are damaging our future by refusing to invest in schools, universities, 21st Century energy, health care, and other basic infrastructure that we need right now and will need even more in the future.

The democratically elected Speaker of the House shouldn’t be allowed to claim absolute power.

The Lieutenant Governor has better things to do than push a voter suppression law that wouldn’t solve any real election fraud problems – but that would, as we saw in Indiana, preclude dedicated citizens such as elderly nuns from carrying out their civic duty.

The state would be better off if our Governor would fix his Department of Transportation instead of selling our infrastructure to corporations;

Or invest in new universities and opportunities to go to those universities instead of policies that have sent tuition skyrocketing.

Or make Texas competitive in the 21st Century clean energy market, instead of forcing dirty coal plants into regions that don’t want them.

And, if our President insists on spending hundreds of millions of dollars every month, it should go toward American taxpayers and the daunting challenges we face – not on a war we didn’t have to fight, that was launched under false pretenses, planned with incompetence and unaccountability, and continued without any idea of how to make peace.

But all of that said, there’s one more fundamental thing – maybe the most important thing – that we need to keep in our minds and hearts this weekend, through November, and beyond:

Democrats have come together . . . because we must.

We’ve come together because our differences with each other don’t begin to compare to the ones we have with our political opponents about our values, our priorities, and our future.

We’ve come together to stop years of failed, destructive policies and to at last realize the positive changes we’ve fought for and dreamed of.

And we’ve come together to harness this extraordinary energy, this ember of hope that each and all of you have transformed into a spotlight. And together we will point it toward the change we need, and want, and demand.
In this place, at this moment, let us reject the poison politics of Karl Rove and the past.

Let’s reject the politics of cynicism, selfishness, and division that have enabled the failed leadership in Washington and Austin.

Let’s heave off the contrived labels that divide us.

And let’s rally for change.

This is our time. And this is our cause.

Our cause is open, accountable government. Our cause is education. It’s protection of the air we breathe and the water we drink. It’s celebration of the service of our men and women in the military, honoring them with the equipment they need to fight and the care and opportunity they deserve when they come home.

Our cause is the cause of the people who live their lives, loving their children, working hard, and seeking happiness, freedom and a hopeful future.

Our cause is the worker, the senior, and the family that can’t get health care and Texas’ tragic distinction as the state with the highest percentage of uninsured people in the country.

And it’s that child who lacks access to health care and so is denied a happy, healthy, carefree youth, and a fair chance both to realize life’s full potential, and to savor the basic freedom that comes from just being a kid and feeling good. In Texas more than anywhere else in this country, a child is more likely to start life facing this awful uncertainty, this steeper climb to health and hope.

That kid — every kid — is our cause.

Our cause isn’t an easy one. But the movements that fueled our imagination and changed this country never were.

We pursue our cause with optimism. But not a false optimism.

False optimism belongs to those who ignore the challenges they find inconvenient, or who mindlessly forecast a bright future even as they refuse to invest in it. It is denial, and it’s more of the same, more of what we’ve seen and heard in Washington and Austin for most of a decade.

Real optimism — your optimism — joins hope with action. It connects the reality we have to the one we imagine. It rewards faith that isn’t idle, work that isn’t selfish, and debate that doesn’t destroy.

Real optimism offers opportunity not only to us, but to people we’ll never meet and who have yet to be born. It rejects cynicism that says we can’t do better. And it rewards our devotion to be better stewards, for our world and our neighbors.

The Democratic Party has always had real optimism. It inspired our parents and grandparents – America’s greatest and most optimistic generation – and produced the bountiful inheritance that has been left to us.

And now, my friends, this real optimism has been left to you. You have it. You share it. It brought us together today and will bind us together tomorrow. It fires our cause and inspires our vision. It will lead us to victory in November and beyond. It will change Texas and our nation. And it will create the world that our seniors deserve, our neighbors rightfully demand, and our children expect of us.

Thank you. God bless you, and God bless Texas.

We will also note that Sen. Watson was actually hanging around the podium meeting people, signing autographs (yes, people were asking for his autograph!) and posing for pictures during all of the “at ease” time on Saturday night. That was very nice of him and gave convention goers a nice VIP to meet and greet (since the rest were probably in the hotel bar at the Hilton).

She actually got on bended knee and shook hands with the throngs of Democrats lining the stage. She was totally amazing. [Nate Nance says: "Chelsea Clinton's Hot. Muy Caliente!"]

More to come. (Update: Full text below)

Good evening Texas. I’m here, as your Democratic nominee for the United States Senate and the 21st Century—-Texas— Democratic Party.

I stand here tonight on the shoulders of so many people, especially all of yours.

I’d like to begin by thanking my Maker, my family, my parents, my in-laws, our campaign team and all of our friends, and especially my wife – Houston City Councilmember Melissa Noriega and our children Alex and Ricky.

This past week I’ve had the privilege of training with the best soldiers in Texas, the1-141 Infantry Battalion, the Alamo Battalion.

As you know I’ve been entrusted with the honor of commanding this unit which is the direct descendant of William B. Travis’ company and the battle at the Alamo…

This time…I’m counting on a different outcome.

Several weeks ago, our unit was alerted that they are to be deployed again to the middle-east.

As the commanding officer, in that uniform, I have a sworn duty and obligation to take care of my soldiers so they are trained to perform their mission.

But at the same time when I’m in this uniform, as a citizen, as a citizen soldier, I have a duty and obligation to take care of the people, the families, of Texas.

To paraphrase our first President, George Washington, “When I picked up the sword I did not lay aside the citizen.”

And that is why I’m running for the United States Senate - to change the direction of this state and our country.

You would not believe the amount of accountability and responsibility we place on the shoulders of an 18-year-old private. Isn’t it time, this election, that we, the people of Texas, hold Texas’ junior United States Senator as accountable as we hold that private?

What I know and what I have heard from every corner, as I’ve travelled our great state, is that Texans want change.
And we’re gathered here tonight to offer Texas new leadership.

A few years ago, everyone said Texas would be a Republican state as far into the future as anyone could imagine. You stood up and spoke out for change –more than 2.8 million Democrats voted this past spring and returned to caucus to express their support for a new leader and a new direction for our country.

Leadership is not about telling people what they want to hear, it’s about solving tough problems.

The way of life we once took for granted has become threatened because of the poor leadership of this administration.
We are facing some tough problems as a state and nation, and the politics of special interests must stop. You see, I believe that it is time we had a Senator that worked for Texas families for a change.

Texans are fed up with government that stands aside while hardworking families fall behind.

While my opponent and this administration have been in office, gas prices have skyrocketed, from $1.35 a gallon to $4.00 a gallon.

If we are to continue to be a leader in energy – we’ve got to stand up to special interests and put Texans to work producing the fuels of the future.

We are the nation’s largest producer of natural gas which must be used as a bridge-fuel to lower our emissions, to help our environment and to create “green collar” jobs.

Texas is also the leader in wind energy, and we must continue to expand our investment in renewable energy sources.
This country needs a NASA-like project to make America energy independent. President Kennedy called for such a project when he said “America would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.”

Well Texans responded and made that vision a reality.

NOW it’s time for Texas to lead America to energy independence.

A basic difference between my opponent and me is how differently we see the world and how we view our responsibility to the young and the old.

In my family’s faith, a nation is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable citizen.

Every day Texas families are having to make tough decisions about their healthcare.

When Texas children needed a Senator to represent them, my opponent voted against extending health insurance to your children, the children of hard working families.

Every day seniors struggle to pay for necessary medicine, but my opponent and this administration refuse to allow our government to negotiate for a better price with the drug companies.

In the greatest nation in the world and the greatest state in our nation, quality, affordable healthcare should be available to every single Texan.

When it comes to Senior Citizens, rather than protect Social Security, John Cornyn voted to turn it over to Wall Street firms and let them gamble our retirement on risky investments. Our seniors deserve better from their Texas Senator.

The American Dream is becoming out-of-reach for hardworking families. That dream has been replaced with parents working two and three jobs to make ends meet.

But when it came time to stand for working families, John Cornyn voted seven times against raising the minimum wage - but at the first chance he got he voted himself a pay raise in the United States Senate.

Texas families know that the American Dream begins with education. John Kennedy said “A child mis-educated is a child lost.”

But nearly half of the students of Texas who started 9th grade 4 years ago did not cross the graduation stage this year.
It’s time for change in education.

These lost young people flow in a pipeline to our prisons and as a result we are spending our tax dollars in building new jails rather than building new schools.

We can change direction and restore the American Dream by investing in the intellectual capacity of our greatest resource – our people.

It is time to invest in our schools and in our teachers. As a legislator, I fought for and passed a teacher pay raise. And I will continue to work to increase funding for public education and higher teacher pay.

And fight to make college affordable for everyone once again!
And that includes our veterans.

When our men and women come home, when my soldiers come home from their next deployment, we need to support them with the benefits they deserve for their honorable service to our country.

One of the most important economic policies of the 20th century was the GI Bill. You’ll recall that the original GI Bill is credited with creating the modern middle-class.

That’s why I called on John Cornyn to support the new 21st century G.I. Bill. But, he was one of only 22 who voted against it.

If the GI bill was good enough for the greatest generation, our grandfathers and fathers, then the 21st century GI bill is good enough for the latest generation, our sons and daughters.

America has a moral obligation to our returning troops – and we will meet that obligation when you elect me as your U.S. Senator.

We need a change in leadership that’s willing to take on the tough issues like border security and our broken immigration system.

Mr. Cornyn has been part of the problem and not the solution.

Some politicians like to use this broken system to invoke fear and intolerance - but that’s not who we are as Texans and Americans.

You can’t fix this immigration problem by seizing people’s private property and building a wall. That won’t work. In Mr. Cornyn’s words – building the wall is a “19th century solution to a 21st century problem.” Yet he voted for it, three times. Local and state law enforcement have had to pick up the ball because the federal government has shirked its responsibility to provide the necessary resources for effective border security.

As the Laredo Sector Commander of Operation Jumpstart, the National Guard’s border security campaign, I’ve seen first-hand the need for border security, and I know how important it is to the security of our nation.

I will fight for the security of our nation by insisting that the federal government do its job to secure our borders, and provide the resources needed to state and local law enforcement agencies.

Texas will continue to need workers, but we need a process that recognizes who they are, why they’re here, and what they’re doing.

We need a process that allows folks to come out of the shadows –those who work hard, are willing to learn English, pay their taxes, and play by the rules.

Any bad actors should not be allowed to stay here in this country.

We should not tolerate irresponsible employers who lure workers into this country, using this broken system to drive down wages and then exploit those same workers.

And we must demand that the countries of this hemisphere take responsibility for their own citizens.
So - we need vision, we need leadership, we need real change.

And finally, the number one job of your Senator is to defend the Constitution of the United States in order to ensure the safety and security of the American people, and to assure every American citizen that they will be treated equally under the law.

We need to get our men and women home from Iraq as quickly and as safely as possible. One more drop of American blood is not going to alter the situation of the Iraqi people.

They need to stand up and take responsibility for their own country.
These issues and many more, require leadership that will not pander to special interests but is willing to work hard to represent the state of Texas.

Tomorrow, as a soldier, I return to my unit, the Alamo unit, with all of its history.

Be assured that those men and women of Texas stand ready to protect and defend you with their very lives.

Tonight, as a citizen, and as your nominee for the United States Senate, I ask each of you to rise to another mission.
Ours must be a mission OF UNITY.

This is not about the Clinton family, the Obama family, or even the Noriega family – all of those families will be fine.
Our mission must be on behalf of the families of Texas.

The woman I met in Wood County who did not earn enough to pay for her elderly mother’s health care,

The Republican in Conroe who said Rick “how can I save enough for my kid to go to college?”

And especially on my mind, the families I’ll face as I return to my unit who’ll say “please protect my husband” and “please don’t send daddy again.”

If we leave here divided, we leave them behind.

I will not. We will not. Democrats will not.

We join the voices of our fellow Texans -We have the vision.
We will supply the leadership.

And WE WILL HAVE CHANGE! God Bless you all and God Bless Texas!

“Not only is Rick a person of character and competence, he is a person of great passion. He helped nearly 30,000 Katrina survivors. He will work to secure Social Security. He won’t privatize it, he’ll revitalize it. Rick will fight to make the minimum wage a living wage and he will not only leave no child behind, he will leave no teacher behind. Teachers will get a decent day’s pay for a decent day’s work. Not only is Rick a person and compassion and character and competence, he is a person of great courage. He is a person who has the courage to fight and win a war but also he has the courage to fight to end the war and bring out troops home–safely and soundly. Rick will fight for our troops.”

Chairman Ritchie is announcing housekeeping matters: The presidential preference poll is open for one hour to allow delegates who have not to designate their presidential preference. This announcement was required under the rules. 99 percent of people have already done this.

Now, the credentials committee will begin meeting on Level 3–this one will be a barn-burner.

Chairman Ritchie says “you’ve made history and we’re just getting started.

“IN the two years since our last convention; we built a stronger grassroots organization…we built an interactive voter file used by 2000 Democrats used by presidential campaigns to precinct chairs….we had a run of victories that set the table for 2008. We won two congressional seats that helped Democrats take back a majority in Congress. [Aside from Nate: Nate says that every time the Chair says "we" it reminds him of the Nintendo Wii commercials.]

“We worked with local party leaders to turn Dallas County blue in 2006 and, by the way, Harris County, you’re next.  We just had a party primary with two of the best candidates who have ever run for president in my lifetime. And, because of you, we’ve changed this wonderful party of ours.

“From the campaign for president to campaigns for the courthouse, when we leave this convention united, we’re going to change Texas, one voter at a time and in all 254 counties of this great state. Thank you again for all of your hard work.”

The Chairman is explaining the rules process, etc.

Chelsea Clinton will be speaking later, as will Tom Caine. We’ll bring you coverage of all that–and more–live.

In addition, if you need a log-in to the Caucus Blog to blog, please email me at vince.leibowitz@gmail.com