Convention: Day 3

by: IrvingForObama

Thu Aug 28, 2008 at 11:24 AM CDT

Today's delegation breakfast was accompanied by some awesome speakers: Rick Noriega, Paul Begala, Eddie Bernice Johnson, Kirk Watson, and Chris Bell. All the speakers were excellent, but Paul Begala particularly impressed me with his wit, energy and passion when he spoke about uniting the party.

We picked up our credentials and signed in for the roll call vote at the hotel. Many of us got our pictures taken while signing. (There was a little fuss about making sure the votes were legit, and having an observer there, yada yada... But Boyd Richie handled it pretty well.

I didn't have any plans for the morning, but I met an antique store owner on the light rail to downtown. She had a list of things to do, so I joined her. She had a lot of good conspiracy theories to share! She also had a key chain set of 7 keys - a mock of McCain's ambiguous homes.

We ended up watching an independent film called "Trouble at Water". It was a documentary about a lady from the 9th Ward who not only survived Hurricane Katrina, but she filmed her own documentary before, after, and during the disaster.

Quite frankly, I never really thought about the implications of how FEMA/Bush Administration handled New Orleans. You could say, I gained an important perspective that I did not have before...

Now, how do I begin to describe what it feels like to have been at the Pepsi Center tonight? Should I start with the Roll Call Vote and how Arkansas unanimously gave all their votes to Sen. Obama? How N.J. did the same? Or should I talk about how Sen. Clinton brought grown men to tears when she motioned to end the Roll Call?...

Obama, Clinton camps working on hotel roll-call vote

by: RBearSAT

Mon Aug 25, 2008 at 08:45 PM CDT

Petitions apparently are being circulated on the floor of the convention tonight to prevent this move. The Obama camp is denying the move but it appears there may be some truth to the rumor. While it would help show unity I think it would further outrage Clinton supporters as more attempts to diminish the division of the primaries.

Maybe our bloggers on the floor of the convention can provide more insight into this situation.  

What To Do With the Other Clinton

by: RBearSAT

Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 05:29 AM CDT

Remember, even Hillary had a hard time reigning him in during the primary election cycle. In many cases he just was downright nasty at times. Part of it is that Bill keeps wanting to fall back on his legacy as if it is a foundation for the way to run a country.

While I enjoy and like Bill Clinton and what he stands for I'm ready for a new benchmark for government that Obama seems to bring. I'm a member of the Clinton Foundation and really like their focus on AIDS and other issues in the world. Bill is my image of a great former president. But that's about as far as it goes.

So what do you do? You want the Clintons in your camp.  But there's more bad blood between Obama and Bill than Obama and Hillary. Remember Bill called Obama a "fairy tale" along with other things. Obama never really shot back which I was very glad of.

However Bill carries a lot of great star power in Texas, especially south Texas. He could draw many more than even Hillary to an event down here.

Personally I would almost wish Bill had some critical issues abroad to deal with. Then you would never have to "handle" him which can be a real challenge.

McCain reaches out to HRC supporters

by: Mack Simpson

Mon Jun 09, 2008 at 05:57 PM CDT

A few hours after her speech -- which was free of attacks on Obama's fall opponent -- McCain aide Michael Goldfarb wrote on the campaign's official blog that "there is a genuine affection for her here at McCain HQ. During her speech there was no small amount of pleading with the TV: 'Don't do it, you can still win!' "

"Sen. Clinton has really grown on us over here in Crystal City over the past few months," wrote Goldfarb, calling her an "impressive candidate" who "inspired a generation of women" but "fell victim to a vast left-wing conspiracy that resented her generally centrist foreign policy views."

And one of the first posts on the newly launched blog was a video of Abba's "Take a Chance on Me" under the headline, "Take a Chance on McCain." Wrote Goldfarb: "Attention disaffected Hillary supporters, John McCain is a huge Abba fan. Seriously.''

While the article makes the point that 22% of her supporters have been polled as saying they would stay home this fall and another 17% would vote for McCain, it later goes on to report that, despite similar anger from Dean supporters in 2004, only 8% supported Bush over Kerry (still way too high).

The article also kindly points out that the difference between Clinton's positions and McCain's positions on major topics of interest like Iraq, tax cuts, reproductive rights and health care are miles and miles apart.

One last item of note from the article: Joe Lieberman is making his intentions quite clear, announcing that he was, "heading a new grass-roots organization, Citizens for McCain, with a direct appeal to Clinton's disappointed supporters."

You can read the article here: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITI...

Tonight: Unity Pub Crawl - Paint Red River Street Blue!

by: Ian

Thu Jun 05, 2008 at 11:39 AM CDT

8:00pm - midnight
Thursday, June 5

Bull McCabes Irish Bar
714 Red River St
Featuring Hillary Harp Pints and Irish Mules with a Clinton Kick

Club de Ville
900 Red River St
Ron Kirk will speak at 9:30pm
Featuring Obama-rama Ritas and Barack Beers

Poll apalooza, May 2008

by: colin

Sat May 31, 2008 at 09:11 AM CDT

As we all know, national polls are difficult to follow due to the widely-varied methodologies employed by each pollster.

Tables such as this are a fun way to see the often wide spread from one poll to the next.

Andrew Myers and Lauren Spangler at Myers Research/Strategic Services are brilliant pollsters who offer thoughtful input in the drafting stage and incredibly helpful analysis of the results.

They are insanely accurate and I've personally hired them for everything from a Sheriff's race to a Congressional race and worked with them on a handful of state legislative caucuses.

If you need a poll, check them out at http://www.myersandpartners.com/.

Check out the tables after the jump.  I have battleground state polling tables also compiled by Myers Research/Strategic Services if you have a particular state you are interested, I'll be happy to post it.

Latinos for Texas meetup, Tues May 20th, 7pm

by: mariochampion

Sat May 17, 2008 at 08:52 AM CDT

Hey all you SD14 and SD25 Clinton and Obama delegates that want to get in front of some folks: You are more than welcome to come to the LFT meetup on Tuesday. Like at DFT meetup, we'll do a quick 'why vote for me' spiel, among other things.  

Meet your fellow Democrats, and buy them a drink, why don't ya?

Tuesday,May 20, 7pm at El Mercado (1302 S 1st St, Austin 78704) join us for a few margaritas, a taco or two, and great political discussion with friends. This month's agenda includes:

Carlos Barrera. Latinos For Texas PAC will present the soon-to-be next Hispanic Judge to sit on a Travis County Court of Law, Carlos Barrera, with a donation to help him take the bench in County Court #8. LFT PAC will also be taking contributions to futher our mission.

Meet the National Delegate Candidates. There's an army of activists in SD-14 and SD-25, and we all want to do more for the Democrats. Meet those running at the State Convention for the SDEC, committees, national delegate, and even elector, so you can make an informed choice.

Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign. Working on the TCDP Coordinated Campaign is the #1 thing activists can do locally because we aren't just helping to elect down-ballot Democrats, we're also giving our state-wide candidates the margins they need to help put them into office. Meet Kate Murrow, Field Director for Rep. Valinda Bolton

I Call ... Let's See Your Hand

by: matthew_lt

Wed May 07, 2008 at 09:01 PM CDT

Basically, the understanding was that as president you have no power to enact such a holiday but as senator you could at least propose legislation to begin a tax holiday.

So, senators, "I call." Show us your hand and begin some work on legislation that will do what you are saying. I want to see a new bill or amendment that proposes what you have been pandering, I want to see a Gas Tax Holiday. Not just the Gas Tax Holiday but I want to see all kinds of proposed legislation.

Clinton and Obama have talked about education ad nauseam, so ...

Obama, propose some legislation that "will streamline the financial aid process." Clinton, show me the work you have done to "(c)ut the minority dropout rate in half."

Caring for those who have given for our freedom has also been a discussion in this campaign, so ...

Clinton, do some legislative work to "increase funding for the Helmets to Hardhats program." Obama, talk with your legislative aides and see what can be done to "fully fund the VA so it has all the resources it needs."

I Call! Clinton, Obama put your money where your mouth is and find your way to the Capitol Building and into the Senate Chambers and do a little work. Don't get me wrong, I know you need to campaign, but actions can speak so much louder than any speech and doing some leg work is a lot better than pandering.

Hillary Clinton's Hail Mary

by: jelyon

Wed May 07, 2008 at 06:47 PM CDT

By any objective measure -- number of delegates, states won, popular vote -- Barack Obama is ahead. And that lead will widen after our state Democratic convention, and the media finally figures out what BOR has been saying since the primary - Obama won Texas.

It's as if the San Diego Chargers, behind in the fourth quarter of last year's AFC Championship, asserted that even though they were loosing to the Patriots, they were the best team to beat the New York Giants in the Superbowl.

And given the Chargers' inability to score, their strategy would have been to appeal to the league bigwigs and referees on the field to award them the Lamar Hunt trophy - even though the Patriots, by any objective measure, won the game.

Hillary Clinton's campaign got to the red zone last night, but but couldn't punch it in and had to settle for a field goal.

All that's left is some sort of Hail Mary (Ickes' "October Surprise"?) and working the refs. Last week, assuming a big win in Indiana, I was strongly convinced working the refs  just might work.

Now her legacy will determined by how sportsmanlike she is, as Obama runs out the clock.

Challenge to SD 29 Delegation Officially Filed with TDP

by: carmelita

Sun Apr 13, 2008 at 07:16 AM CDT

Mr. Williams opened his remarks by stating that he is first and foremost a Democrat, that he would vote for the Democratic candidate in November, and that this dispute is, largely, a "family" dispute.  As with any family that has disputes, we Democrats are, first and foremost, a family that unites in common purpose.

But he went on to say that as a 50-some odd old black man, he had some serious issues with oppression, and he characterized what went on at the Senate district caucus as "oppression."

He then stated he had filed and intended to pursue, an official challenge to the El Paso delegation with the Texas Democratic party.  He gave Chairman Anchondo and the radio host a copy.  

Link to NewspaperTree story below.