Wednesday, July 30, 2008

CNN says "What Happened to Hillary?"


With all the media reports this week of Gov. Tom Kaine and V.P. selection, I have been disappointed that Hillary has been counted out by the press as a top choice. I believe that she would bring a great deal to the ticket and make an incredible Vice President.

In an article on CNN.com, Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger comments "From what we can gather, she's not really on the short list". She continues that "The reason Hillary Clinton is out is because she's not on message for Barack Obama, her campaign is not about change, she represents Washington."

A link to the full article is below. It mentions a few key things including:
  • Hillary will hit the campaign trail for Obama in Nevada, Ohio and Florida

  • Sources say that she will be campaigning alot in the Fall
  • Obama campaign feels they don't need Clinton to bring in older women, voters in rural America and battleground states
  • Hillary is fully engaged in talks with the Obama campaign

Link to the article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/30/hillary.clinton/

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Gov. Richardson to help with Clinton campaign debt

Described this primary season as Judas by James Carville, Gov. Bill Richardson is helping with Hillary's debt by hosting two fundraisers in New Mexico. Hillary will be at both.

Carville commented to the New York Times back in April about Richardson "It was "an act of betrayal," said Carville. "Mr. Richardson’s endorsement came right around the anniversary of the day when Judas sold out for 30 pieces of silver, so I think the timing is appropriate, if ironic”.

MSNBC reports about the fundraisers on their website here:


I actually thought for a moment that I could hop on over to New Mexico for the fundraiser. But I am crazy busy and the convention is going to cost a great deal of money. No last minute travel for me!




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Hillary to speak at second night of convention


New York Daily News reports that Hillary will be speaking on the second day of the convention. The article notes that Aug. 26 is the anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote in 1920.

Click here for the article.
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Monday, July 28, 2008

Obama's speech to be at 50 yard line.




The Denver Post is reporting that Sen. Obama will be accepting the nomination from the 50 yard line of Invesco Field. Close to 6,000 seats will be on the football field next to the stage.

Here is the link to the article: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_10008650
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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Wisconsin Clinton delegate ousted


The Wisconsin Democratic Party voted to remove a Clinton delegate who mentioned in a newspaper interview that she would be voting for McCain.
The Wisconsin party did the right thing. As delegates, we do sign a pledge to support the party's nominee. Beyond that, I believe that McShame is completely wrong for our country. As a Clinton delegate, I assure you that I will be working hard for McCain's defeat. Like Hillary, I am supporting Barack Obama.
It is likely that the Clinton delegate has been replaced with another Clinton delegate.

Here are some articles regarding the removal of the delegate:
Milwaukee paper

AP



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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Obama racks up 2,200 first time donors who supported Clinton

With the financial reports just in, the Washington Post blog is reporting that "More than 2,200 Clinton donors became first-time Obama donors, giving him $1.8 million". Click here to read the full story. Sphere: Related Content

What are the Clinton's doing these days?



Here are some recent stories I thought I would share about the Clinton's.


Hillary in Boston campaigning for Sen. Obama.
On Monday, Hillary campaigned for Sen. Obama at the meeting of 10,000 members of the National Association of Letter Carriers. They had earlier supported her campaign. Hillary said "The best way to stand up for everyone who feels invisible is to make sure we have a Democratic president taking the oath of office on January 20, 2009". Click here for the article


Bill Clinton says he is ready to campaign for Obama
ABC News Blog reports that Bill Clinton discussed campaigning for Obama by commenting "I just told him that whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready," Clinton told a room full of reporters, following a news conference at his foundation's Manhattan headquarters about new agreements that will lower the price of malaria medication. "It's basically on their timetable. He's got a lot of things to do between now and the convention of which this is simply one. So, I'll do whatever I'm asked to do, whenever I can do it." Check out the full story by clicking here.


And Hillary is working hard for the State of New York!
She is working on making sure the new owners of Anheuser-Busch, InBev, won't be moving jobs away from New York factories. Read by clicking here.
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George Michael says Obama should pick Clinton for VP!


“Wake Me Up Before You Go Go.”


George Michael came to Dallas last month and it seems like everyone I know went to his concert. I didn't make the show at the American Airlines Center. However, I do have to admit that I owned a Wham! casette at one point. If you could only see my 80's hair!

The Reuters blog reports that "George Michael has tip for Obama- team up with Clinton. Check out the story by clicking here .
And you wonder.... what ever happened to Andrew Ridgeley (the other half of WHAM!)? He now lives in Cornwall, United Kingdom, in a restored 15th-century property with his wife Keren Woodward of the pop group Bananarama


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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Denver homeless citizens to head to the movies during the convention


A couple of the local stations in Denver are reporting that the homeless citizens of Denver will be getting movie passes, tickets to local attractions and bus fare during the convention. Oh course, Fox News is poking fun of it.

This is much more humane than rounding people up and sending them somewhere. Denver's mayor has made it clear that they will not hide the homeless during the convention. On the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless website, I found a great story "Denver won't hide homeless". I encourage you to take a moment to read it. Click here for the article.

Before the 1994 World Cup in Dallas, there were efforts to hide the homeless. I have heard stories that the homeless "shantytowns" were cleared out under the highways. Apparently, there was a law suit and an article from the Dallas Morning News reported "A class-action suit after the World Cup contended the city's ban on sleeping in public was unconstitutional and punished people for being homeless. Although a federal judge agreed, an appeals court decision allowed the city to enforce the ban. "
I tried to find information on the situation to post but there were just tidbits here and there but the most interesting thing is that when I googled "homeless world cup", I actually learned that there is a homeless soccer tournament called the Homeless World Cup. Who knew!! Click here for the USA Today article on the Homeless World Cup. Interesting stuff.
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Convention News: Food, A delegate's Story and Protesters

More convention food news


Strict guidelines for caterers at the Democratic National Convention have miffed a member of the Denver City Council. The convention committee contends that these are just guidelines and considers them “Lean ‘N Green”. The cool thing about this article is that I learned a new term "carbon footprint". The article explains "... one caterer was told not to serve pineapple, because of its “carbon footprint” (it burns up a lot of fuel to transport pineapples from Hawaii to Denver)." Check out the article by clicking here.







Nice article on a delegate and how she was elected


I like it when good hard working activists get selected to go the convention. It is discouraging sometimes when party blow-hards get selected and the grassroots folks are passed over. Good to hear that this woman was selected by others because "she was organized, focused and persistent, and will make a good delegate." Click here for article.



Time Magazine discusses protesters and their better timing for legal fights

To be honest, I really don't get protestors at the Democratic National Convention. They should focus on the republican convention. There are a zillion reasons the republicans should be protested! Click here for the article regarding their legal fight, location and other notes. Sphere: Related Content

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Hillary tells teachers to vote for Sen. Obama at the American Federation of Teachers Convention


Hillary told attendees of the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) to support Sen. Obama in the Fall. The AFT is holding their national convention in Chicago. (picture taken of Hillary at last year's AFT convention).


I did a Google image search on my dad, Bill Strater, and found this image! My dad (his 78th birthday today) is a lifetime member of the AFT. I remember when he went to the national convention many years ago when it was held in San Francisco. This year's AFT convention consists of 3,000 delegates and they will vote on a recommendation to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president. This was the organization's 80th convention. The AFT is a affiliate of the AFL-CIO.

I have talked to my dad a couple times since my election as a delegate. As a former history and government teacher, he is pleased that I am going to the convention.


My parents were teachers and my dad coached baseball and taught high school for several decades. I learned that hard work can help you live the American Dream. We had a great home and access to high-quality health care. My parents paid for my sisters and me to go to college, and were fortunate enough to retire comfortably. Unfortunately, the American Dream of working hard, providing for your family and enjoying a comfortable retirement has faded away for most people. Wages have not increased, and health care and college tuition are no longer affordable. People are losing their homes, retirement is out of reach and filling up your gas tank is a financial burden.


I believe and trust that both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton will fight so hard to make the American dream possible again.








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Thursday, July 10, 2008

Collection of interesting political tidbits


This week I have been a little lighter on content. It has been a crazy yet fast week. I have pulled together some articles across the county that you might find interesting:


GOP Convention Planners Want Bush Out of the Picture from the US News and World Report


Who's who on the Democratic Platform Committee is discussed by RealClearPolitics.com in the article "DNC Platform Cmte Released" click here


This one made me really cranky.... "Obama seeks info on Dodd in vice president search" as reported by Newsweek. click here


This might sound really odd but I'm not much a blog reader but a friend today turned me on to Newsweek's The Stumper Blog by Andrew Romano. Very good stuff. Their daily round up of articles to read is outstanding! Click here for his blog.
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Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Obama says "Senator Clinton still has some debt. And I could have had some debt if I hadn’t won so I know the drill”

Obama and Hillary are appearing together this week. Caroline Kennedy is also with them in NYC. Obama gave a 30 minute speech at a Clinton debt retirement party.

Maria Gavrilovic at CBS News From the Road Blog reports that Obama completed his speech then dashed back on stage to say "Senator Clinton still has some debt. And I could have had some debt if I hadn’t won so I know the drill”. Click here to read the CBS News From the Road Blog.

On another website, Susan Estrich (former presidential campaign manager for Dukakis) has a great opinion piece on Hillary's debt and Obama. I can certainly understand how hard it is to raise money to pay off debt... it's not very glamorous. Also, I can't imagine asking after a hard primary. To be honest, I was completely unaware of the tradition that Estrich mentions that "it's an old tradition in politics for the winner to help the losers retire their debt." Take a moment to read her op ed piece by clicking here. Sphere: Related Content

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Media tour gives first look at convention hall and nomination speech rain or shine


Media gets a tour of the Pepsi Center


The Denver Fox station reports that "local, national and international media gathered Tuesday to discuss logistics for the Democratic National Convention". For more details on the tour, click here for the story.

Previously the tour was cancelled. Press has questions about protest location, access to delegates, etc.


Outdoor nomination speech will take place rain or shine!


Planners say that there is just a 28% chance of rain. The speech will not be moved indoors if there is rain. For more information, click here for the Denver Business Journal article.








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New York Times coverage: Democrats Weigh Putting Her (Sen. Clinton) Name in Nomination


The article mentions "Under party rules, Sen. Clinton's huge delegate count gives her the right to put her name into nomination."

However, something will be negotiated. An evening at the convention devoted to Clinton with the Obama campaign deciding the format, speakers, etc
Here is the full article:
Clinton's Convention Role Being Negotiated
Democrats Weigh Putting Her Name Into Nomination
By JUNE KRONHOLZJuly 8, 2008; Page A4

Hillary Clinton won a hefty 1,600 convention delegates in six months of primaries. A big question now is whether to let them vote at the Democratic convention.

High on the list of matters that Sen. Clinton and likely Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama are negotiating as her campaign closes down is whether and how her name is put into nomination at the August convention in Denver, said party activists in both camps.
A full roll-call vote that reminds everyone how close she came to being the nominee could reveal party rifts going into the fall campaign, they said. But keeping her name off the roll call could anger her supporters.
It is a "bone of contention" in the negotiations between the Clinton and Obama camps, said Democratic consultant Donna Brazile.
The Obama campaign said Monday that the Illinois senator would accept the nomination at the 76,000-seat stadium where the Denver Broncos football team plays so that thousands of nondelegates could attend. But the campaign hasn't settled other key questions about the convention, including whether Sen. Clinton's name will be put into nomination, said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.
Sen. Clinton's campaign office didn't answer emails seeking comment.
Under party rules, Sen. Clinton's huge delegate count gives her the right to put her name into nomination. "But do you do it?" asked Ms. Brazile. "Politically, does it heighten tensions?"
Neither party has had to face this problem in decades. Minor candidates typically get a few votes at the conventions. But no party has had a roll call with two candidates since the 1976 Republican convention, when then-President Gerald Ford beat Ronald Reagan by 57 votes.
Republicans have their own awkward convention problem: What to do about President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney? As the party's senior officeholders, they are entitled to a spot at the September meeting in St. Paul, Minn., but they are deeply unpopular with voters.
Sen. Obama could resolve the issue of Sen. Clinton's delegates by naming her as his running mate, in which case she would have her own roll call as the party's vice presidential candidate. Barring that, political observers said the Clinton and Obama camps may be mulling a handful of other options.
Sen. Clinton could decline to have her name put forward, and Sen. Obama then could be nominated by acclamation. Party rules require a roll call, but the party's rules committee could adopt any agreement the two campaigns reach, said political consultant Tad Devine, who helped script the roll-call votes for Walter Mondale in 1984 and Michael Dukakis in 1988.
Dropping the roll call would require a vote by the delegates, and would need choreographing to prevent any protests by disappointed Clinton delegates. But an unanimous nomination of Sen. Obama would send the message that he had unified the party, while allowing Sen. Clinton to ingratiate herself with his campaign.
The problem is "there's a strong feeling" that Sen. Clinton's delegates need the chance to vote for her, Mr. Devine said. Many are still angry with a party decision that they feel deprived her of delegates from Michigan and Florida. "You don't want a situation where anybody feels they've been cheated," he said.
A second option would be for Sen. Clinton to be nominated, complete with laudatory speeches and happy floor demonstrations. By prearrangement, Sen. Clinton then would take her name out of consideration and endorse Sen. Obama's nomination.
"There's nothing symbolically wrong to putting her name in," followed by a scripted withdrawal, said Ms. Brazile. But the spectacle of a rapturous welcome for Sen. Clinton would be irresistible to television and could embarrass Sen. Obama.
The two camps also could agree to hold a "friendly" roll call, with the states tossing verbal bouquets to Sen. Clinton before voting for Sen. Obama. But unless lots of delegates switch their votes to Sen. Obama, a roll call would remind voters that Sen. Clinton won the primaries in such swing states as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Mexico and Florida, which could determine the outcome of the November election.
An off-message delegation chairman or two could take a swipe at Sen. Obama when delivering a state's votes. Or the networks could decide not to cover a roll call, calculating that it would gobble up the evening's entire allotted hour of air time.
Sen. Obama would then be deprived of TV images of cheering delegates and a unified convention. "They need a roll call that looks good for Obama," said Mr. Devine. "That's what conventions are all about."
The worst scenario would be that Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama can't reach agreement and the convention splits its support. Political experts said that is unlikely, because it would hurt both.
Sen. Obama could avert that danger by offering to showcase Sen. Clinton with a prime-time speech, a biographical film, and appearances by her husband and daughter in place of a nomination. The two camps are still deciding when she will speak and how former President Bill Clinton will be worked into the schedule, activists in both campaigns said.
If Sen. Clinton speaks on Monday, she could set the tone for the convention but then would fade to the sidelines for the rest of the week, both sides agree. Tuesday is closer to the excitement surrounding Sen. Obama's expected nomination, but she might have to compete for TV time with the convention's keynoter.
Sen. Obama's campaign will have final say over how long Sen. Clinton speaks, what she says, who introduces her, how long her supporters can cheer and dozens of other details. Still, a showcase has its perils.
Democrats devoted an entire evening to the Rev. Jesse Jackson as part of a negotiated agreement in 1988 to keep him off the roll call, said Mr. Devine. The event upstaged the low-key Mr. Dukakis, who went on to lose the election to George H. W. Bush in a landslide.





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Howard Wolfson to join Fox News


I still can't get over the story that Fox News altered photos of guests they did not like. The story came out last week and you can read it by clicking here.


The washingtonpost.com's Politics Blog has announced that Howard Wolfson will be joining Fox as a commentary. Check out the full story by clicking here. I like Howard. He did a good job.


Remember Susan Estrich? She was the campaign manager for the Dukakis-Bensten presidential race. She is also at Fox News.


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Sunday, July 6, 2008

Clinton and Obama to appear together three times next week


The Washington Post blog, The Trail, reports Clinton and Obama are appearing together "Putting their money where their mouths are, Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton will appear together three times over two days next week, raising money for each other and further advancing the Democratic cause of unity"


Click here for the full article.
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Change of acceptance speech location considered


ABC News reports that "Democrats familiar with convention planning tell ABC News that Obama may seek out a bigger venue from which he will deliver his acceptance speech."


The AP reports that "Barack Obama's campaign is considering having him accept the Democratic presidential nomination at Invesco Field at Mile High instead of the Pepsi Center, the chosen site for the Democratic National Convention, two people with knowledge of convention planning said Thursday." Click here for full article






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Rumors that convention planning is a mess and Obama's campaign trying to clean it up.

DenConWatch blog is reporting that the convention planning is a fiasco and the Obama campaign is trying to salvage what they can.

The blog hightlights a New York Times article that comments "Only in the last month has the Obama campaign been able to take over management of the convention planning with the candidate claiming the nomination, and his aides are increasingly frustrated, as the event nears, at organizers who they believe spent too freely, planned too slowly and underestimated actual costs."

Link to DenConWatch article

Link to New York Times article Sphere: Related Content

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Hillary back to work in NY!

The AP reports that Hillary is back to work in New York making visits in up state New York.

Clinton on first upstate NY swing since campaign
By WILLIAM KATES
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) —

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a clear message to her constituents Wednesday: I love New York.

Nearly a month after her historic run for the presidency came to a disappointing end, Clinton returned to upstate New York and focused on local concerns — weather-beaten apples, green power and her state's downtrodden economy.
Along the way, crowds greeted her with standing ovations and chants of "Hillary! Hillary!"
"We find her inspiring," said Sister Joan Sauro of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Syracuse, who was carrying a 2000 Clinton for Senate campaign poster that Clinton had just signed. "What they say about her grace and grit is true. I'm heartbroken that she pulled out of the race ... but that means we in New York have her back."

Clinton had been a frequent visitor to upstate New York before the demands of her presidential run, and she was a regular at the New York State Fair in Syracuse every August. Her most recent trip upstate was in March to attend Gov. David Paterson's inauguration in Albany.
"It's wonderful. It is so wonderful. It was the only part of campaigning that was kind of challenging. I really missed New York. I missed actually, physically being in the state and having a chance to see my friends and see a lot of what I care about around the state. So I'm back doing work that I love, and I feel very good about what we are going to be able to accomplish," Clinton said.

As many as 500 people gathered in Hanover Square in downtown Syracuse to see Clinton, who suspended her campaign last month after Sen. Barack Obama secured enough delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.

"Looking around the square, it feels like a family reunion, I see so many familiar faces," Clinton said to a standing ovation.

During her two-hour visit in Syracuse, Clinton met with Mayor Matt Driscoll, representatives of several green businesses and alternative energy firms and officials from the region's colleges and universities, who gave her a briefing and demonstrated some of the technologies being researched and developed in the area.

Clinton was joined after the meeting by Paterson and both talked about their commitment to spurring the growth of alternative energy and green jobs.
Later Wednesday she visited a fruit farm outside Newark in Ontario County and chatted with a dozen fruit growers who were badly hit by last month's hail storms. She talked about getting a federal disaster declaration for the 23 New York counties that suffered damage.

In the Finger Lakes community of Geneva, a loud, enthusiastic crowd of at least 200 people at a fruit store renewed the "Hillary!" chants and thanked her for the presidential run.
Patricia Richer-Petrie, a 37-year-old unemployed teacher from nearby Potter in Yates County, carried a placard reading: "Dems Unite! We love Hillary. Obama '08."
Some in the crowd weren't so quick to urge unity.
"I wouldn't vote for Obama unless Hillary's on the ticket," said Andrea Stone, 57, a piano tuner from Sodus.

Clinton was to finish her upstate swing in Buffalo, joining Schumer for the ceremonial opening of the Erie Canal Harbor, a waterfront redevelopment project, and then a tour of Buffalo's Artspace, a redevelopment project that provides affordable housing and work space for artists and their families as well as commercial space for arts organizations and arts-related businesses.
Associated Press writer Ben Dobbin contributed to this report from Newark and Geneva. Sphere: Related Content

Ohhh the press! Cutting the convention short?

Yesterday I was going to post about a L.A. Times story regarding the Obama campaign's push to shorten the convention to three days.

Evidently there is a post convention bounce in the polls after the convention and they wanted an extra day before the RNC convention. Click here to read the L.A. Times story.

I thought the article was fishy. That story was not reported anywhere else. The Denver Post is reporting that the rumor has been cut short. They also report that the L.A. Times post had no sources. Click here for story.

I am disappointed in the L.A. Times for posting a a story like that with no sources and no quotes. Just like the Bill Clinton "Obama can kiss my ass" story. No evidence. No quotes. No sources. Sphere: Related Content

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Ickes' message to Clinton national delegates


I like Harold Ickes. I was proud of Ickes' opposition to the allocation of Michigan delegates at the DNC Rules Committee meeting this past May and how he stood up against the committee's action by arguing "This motion will hijack -- hijack -- remove four delegates won by Hillary Clinton," Ickes said in opposing the Michigan motion. "This body of 30 individuals has decided that they're going to substitute their judgment for 600,000 [Michigan] voters.

Ickes has been a senior strategist for Senator Clinton's presidential nomination. He served as Deputy Chief of Staff for President Clinton. His father was FDR's Secretary of the Interior for 14 years and was responsible for implementing most of the New Deal
Below is a blast email sent today that national delegates for Hillary received from Ickes. Hillary's campaign continues to communicate with delegates after she suspended the campaign.


Email from Harold Ickes

As Senator Clinton continues to focus her energy to bringing the Democratic message of opportunity and prosperity to every corner of America, she intends to stay connected to each of you in the weeks and months leading into the convention and long after that.

The effort, commitment and sacrifice each of you make every day so that your communities continue to be centers where families can flourish is important to Senator Clinton and to that end, she wants you to stay in touch with her.

Please don't hesitate to contact us by phoning (number removed) or by email (address removed).

Together, we can and we will make America better.

Sincerely,

Harold Ickes
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