A day in the life of a delegate

Here’s a typical day:
7:30 am- Wake up and grab a quick coffee in the room.
8:00 am- Attend the NC delegation breakfast at our hotel. Since there are 156 members of our state’s delegation, many of them new to politics, the delegation breakfast is the best opportunity to meet  fellow NC delegates. After state party chair [...]

When the rolled was called in Denver

The convention officially starts around 3 pm, and yesterday was no exception. Delegates walk several blocks to the convention center (don’t get me started about the areas without curbcuts), go through a wall of security, and enter the Pepsi Center. It’s really no different from other sports arenas, right down to the overpriced hot dogs.
The [...]

Eight short years ago….

At the 2000 national convention, an obscure state senator from Illinois decided to come to the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Since he wasn’t an official delegate, he was unable to secure the credentials that allow access to the convention floor. He spent the day much as many thousands of others at the convention do, eating nachos in [...]

Tuesday’s report

It’s now Wednesday about 11 am. Sorry  was unable to report until about Tuesday’s exciting convention activities, but I didn’t get back to our hotel until about 1am last night.
Yesterday’s convention was highlight by so many great speeches- some you probably heard about, and some you didn’t. The emotional highlight was clearly Sen. Clinton’s convention [...]

Monday’s report

It’s 7 am Tuesday in Denver, and most of first time delegates are blurry-eyed with  excitement and lack of sleep. To recap yesterday’s events:

If you made it into the convention center yesterday (and that’s a big “if” given the logistical complications) you were in for a treat. Delegates were immediately struck by the high-tech wizardry, [...]

Dangerous creatures in Denver?

The wild west is known for it’s share of dangerous creatures. There’s the rattlesnakes, mountain lions, even the occasional grizzly.
But in Denver this week, the most dangerous and elusive creature is the Puma.
Pumas are supposedly known for their Hillary buttons, permanent frowns and catchy motto- Party. Unity. My. Ass. Hence the moniker “Puma”.
Frankly, though there is [...]

So much free speech, so little time…

Yesterday, while most of the delegates arrived at our hotel, I took in the sites and sounds of downtown Denver. Mostly sounds. After a tour of the venerable 16th Street pedestrian mall, I checked out protesters near the state capital.
There were hundreds of anticapitalist, antiestablishment, antiwhatever, 17 year old protestors milling about (not the thousands the [...]

In Denver!

After about 6 hours in the air and a 4 hour layover in Dallas, I’ve finally arrived at the surprising nice Doubletree Tech Center, home for the next six days. The NC delegation is sharing the hotel with the Kansas delegation (I feel basketball trash talk coming on).  Most delegates arrive tomorrow, but a few delegates and [...]

Barack Obama: Creating Change, Spreading Germs

Here’s hoping Barack Obama didn’t give me cooties last night.
A last night’s town hall meeting at the State Fairgrounds, I was fortunate enough to sit on the front row to watch the presumptive nominee in total command of the all-important town hall format. About midway through the event, Obama sneezes three times. He explained that [...]

Clothes? check. Tickets? Yep. Funny Hats? Hmm..

It’s funny how conventions are a lot like campaigns. A month ago, my fellow delegates and I didn’t receive a whole lot of information about our role at this year’s Democratic National Convention. Now, a week before the convention, I’m just about buried under. Today alone, I got seven Fed Ex packages with invitations to different delegate [...]