Cuban Americans from Miami-Dade in Denver

Arthur Costa, Amb. Luis Lauredo, Hector Caraballo and Millie Herrera were among Florida's delegates to the Denver convention.

Link for slide show of photos from Denver convention

Click here to see 10 images from Denver, in the Big Tent for bloggers, on the convention floor and at Invesco field for Barack Obama's speech.

Miami Herald is catching up with Annette Taddeo

Annette Taddeo's appeal as a candidate is so strong that when the big media finally listen to her, they see the logic -- she is a winner, and she's running against an incumbent with a long history on the wrong side of a ton of issues.



Here's a link to a solid report in the Miami Herald from Taddeo's appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. The same line has been appearing for months in this blog and in Eye on Ileana, the watch blog dedicated to the defeat of Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the incumbent in FL-18. Thank you, Miami Herald political reporters, for catching on. Here's a link to one of my posts on this race, this one in early July.



I am one of a large crowd of Taddeo supporters who go out and canvass and phone-bank for her. My home is in FL-18, but you don't have to be a resident to help her. Check out her website, Annette2008.com, and sign up. This is the way Annette Taddeo will win, and so will we.

Two very bad months coming for John McCain

This doctor and former governor of Vermont came on the stage just now
and said: "My name is Howard Dean, I'm the chair of the DNC, and I know how many
houses I have."

On the train en route to Invesco Field I met an Obama advance man from a western state, and he said that John McCain was about to start "the worst two months of his life."

Howard Dean just confirmed that.

Sent from my iPhone

Tuesday progressive panels in Big Tent at Denver

There’s a tremendous amount of progressive stuff going on around the convention in Denver and much is pointed at the bloggers. The Big Tent, where the bloggers are concentrated, has an upstairs hall where panels lay plans and speculate hopefully about the new world around the corner in an Obama administration.

Here are some notes from Tuesday afternoon’s panels under the rubric of Take Back America (check out ourfuture.org).

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, beat the drum hard for universal health care, pointing out it was the main complaint she heard canvassing voters in the ultimately successful drive to put a Democrat in the Illinois seat held by former Speaker Dennis Hastert. The result, she said disproved the old nostrum that politicians didn’t care about the issue because “no politician ever has lost for being against universal health care.”

“Sixty people a day die for lack of health insurance,” she said.

Barack Obama must be backed by a movement of people demanding universal health care to make it happen, she said.

U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee of California said the modest progress in Congress on the Iraq war issue is entirely due to relentless pressure from the progressive community, which must strive to become the mainstream of the Democratic Party.

Eli Pariser, executive director of MoveOn, outlined three main tasks for MoveOn, which was well represented in the audience:

• Keep telling the story of the Iraq war, how it started and why it may be ending, never giving up on the judgment that it was “fundamentally wrong.”
• Elect Obama.
• After victory in November, keep pushing.
  
• In a Q-A session afterward, I had the first question, asking him to explain why he hadn’t mentioned Afghanistan in the context of this country’s foreign problems. Pariser said Afghanistan simply didn’t have a broad mandate from MoveOn members, and it was something to keep under consideration.
  
  Asked about media reform, Pariser said this was a huge concern among MoveOn members, who object to the increasing concentration of media ownership and are passionate about net neutrality.
  
  Former U.S. Rep. David Bonior made a strong plea for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which makes it easier to form unions.
  
  Arianna Huffington, co-founder of Huffington Post, declared that the American public is shifting in its political views. “This is a progressive country now,” she said.
  
  Talking about building progressive infrastructure, she said new media had several important tasks, among them:
• “Define the new center.”
• “Build communities around it.”
• Media should have a light side as well as serious analysis and comment, to attract those who want to follow celebrities and to help people live without stress.
  
  Her big mission: “Relentlessly pursue the truth about John McCain.”
  

Florida bloggers covering Denver convention

You already can see some of the Florida bloggers’ coverage of the Democratic National Convention. Go to the Florida Progressive Coalition Blog and there’s a video of how it was to drive toward Denver with Tropical Storm Fay on the outside of the car and a George Carlin tape rolling inside. Ba-dum!

And you can order text-message reports by texting quinnelk to 58888.

In six days we’ll know how this venture has worked out, but in the meantime, there’s a Florida flavor to what the NY Times reported Saturday as “The year of the political blogger has arrived.”

Florida has a half-dozen full members of the Convention Bloggers Team, plus three other members of the Florida Progressive Coalition who are attending and will pitch in wherever they can to provide blogging, photos, video, Internet radio, Twitter and other stuff I may be forgetting. I’m one of the latter group and am still in South Florida while most of the others are en route or begging for airplanes finally to take off after that pesky tropical storm disrupted flight plans. I plan to fly to Denver Tuesday and hit the last few days with all the energy possible.

The idea is to provide more coverage on the FPC blog of the Florida delegation than the public could see on Sunshine State media outlets of the mainstream variety.

And that is the very same reason (take away the Florida aspect) why hundreds of bloggers from around the country are in the media throng in Denver – to provide alternate, and possible better, coverage of a political event.

And win new readers.

In addition to the NY Times, DailyKos also worked on this angle Saturday with a front-page piece reporting on the NY Times article as well as making Kossak observations about the Times’ placement of the article in its Fashion & Style pages rather than in a more serious place. Click over to the Times link above and see the dazzling larger photo that illustrates the article.

Kos comments:

And as an aside, it's hard to imagine anything more hilarious than Phillip Anderson of The Albany Project--aka DailyKos's own lipris--posing with a brew, a dog, a Mac, and a baseball cap in his usual (how shall we say this?) casual apparel under a blazing Fashion & Style masthead.

Funny thing is, if the traditional media doesn't get its expense act together and learn how to cut costs and compete in the new media environment, the guy in the baseball cap--and all of us he represents--is going to have the last laugh.

That’s the main drift of the Kos piece: that mainstream media costs are stratospheric, and we skinny folks lugging laptops and $100 Flip video cameras will beat them into their gold-plated dust.

The Florida Progressive Coalition team probably will announce its modest budget when the dust settles. Suffice to say that much was raised with $25 donations.

As an example of what we’re doing, there’s the live-blogging on Blast Off the other day when Hillary Clinton was at FAU to cajole her supporters into backing Obama. Blogger Sinfonian admits that the “quality sucks” but he’s exactly right in saying that “the money shot is the last sentence.”

Which said:

“Anyone who supported me has much more in common with Senator Obama than with Senator McCain.”

Sinfonian’s report has several minutes of context – unlike the mainstreams who’d only report the sound bite – and the public has a chance to make up its own mind. Horray for comprehensive reporting. I am a camera. Let it roll for a while and people will take a few minutes and watch.

Anyone who'd like to support the blogging team is welcome to donate. One way is to go to https://www.paypal.com/ and donate through the Florida Progressive Coalition account (quinnelk@gmail.com),

You can write a check to Florida Progressive Coalition and send it to:
Kenneth Quinnell
3328 Whirlaway Trail
Tallahassee, FL 32309

Some “Green” convention: Obama delegate is forced into a Hummer

Jim Jackson is an Obama delegate from St. Petersburg, Florida, who arrived in Denver a little early to spend time with relatives and found the rental car situation down to the bottom of the barrel – a Hummer!

“If you see an Obama delegate riding around town in a big red Hummer, yes it is me,” Jackson said in an email Friday morning. “So much for a green convention.”

He said he’d been trying to replace it – in vain. “Want to trade? anything?”

“Unless there is a sudden influx of cars I am stuck with this environmental disaster for the duration.”

Does anyone have a transit pass for Jim Jackson?

UPDATE: To reinforce the green aspect of the convention, the Florida Democratic Party mentioned in a news release Friday that:

The delegation was also recently certified as a “Green Delegation” as part of the DNCC’s "Green Delegate Challenge." Through the purchase of carbon offsets, our delegations travel to/from and time in Denver will be carbon neutral, in an effort to help curb global warming and promote environmentally sustainability.

Denver convention news

http://www.demconvention.com/ is the link to what could become your way to stay up on news from the Denver convention. I'm going to set up a new box in the right-hand column for links to the Denver National Nominating Convention.

Another bite at the apple

If you missed your chance to become a Florida delegate to the August convention in Denver, you have about ... four hours to make up for it. Barack Obama is exercising his right to review the delegation the state will send out west, and folks who have been down with the "O" but who weren't selected as delegates can apply to run during this second chance period, which ends Thursday (that's today) at 5 p.m. The details from the party are as follows:

The application period for Democrats interested in running for one of Florida's 16 at-large pledged delegates, 10 pledged PLEO delegates and 2 at-large pledged alternates for Senator Barack Obama has been extended to maximize participation at this summer's national convention.

To qualify, interested Democrats must have been registered voters in Florida as of December 31, 2007 (the closing date for voting in the January 29 primary).

Last month's DNC Rules & Bylaws Committee decision to reinstate the Florida delegation offered Presidential candidates the opportunity to extend the delegate selection process, but today's announcement doesn't affect the dozens of delegates elected at district level meetings held across the state of Florida.

The Obama campaign has opted to extend the PLEO, at-large and at-large alternate delegate selection process, but the current district-level delegates pledged to Obama will remain. Delegates pledged to other candidates are not affected by this. Also, Democrats who applied previously for PLEO and At-Large slots do not need to re-apply to be considered.

Click here for the app.

Caucus video

With any luck should be added to the title.

Caucus results emerging: South Florida chooses delegates for Denver

Maryanne Patlak rushes to meet a caucus-goer in her successful drive to be elected delegate to Denver.

Time to celebrate for some local Democrats! Caucus-goers elected them on Saturday to attend the National Convention in Denver.

Congressional District 17: A long-familiar name is on the list for Denver: Eufaula Frazier, who will be one of the oldest delegates at 80-plus. She’s pledged for Sen. Hillary Clinton. Also elected for Clinton are Eddie Lewis and Henry Sturrup. Delegates chosen to back Sen. Barack Obama are Elizabeth Collins, Mae Rene Christian, Rev. Preston Marshall (county party chaplain) and Rev. Josh Brown; Edith Owens is an alternate for Obama.

District 18: State Committeewoman Cindy Lerner (she’s a former member of the state House of Representatives) and former Democratic Party Chairman Jimmy Morales will be in Denver as Hillary Clinton delegates. Maryanne Patlak is elected as the Barack Obama delegate.

District 21: For Clinton, Karen Aronowitz, Adam Schwartz and Clifford Young. For Obama, Charlotte Klieman, secretary of the Miami-Dade Democratic Executive Committee.

District 25: For Obama, Dean Gregory Stewart. For Clinton, Barbara Schwartz, Hector Caraballo and Emilio Vazquez.

More results will be posted here as they become known.

The results at this point are preliminary and unofficial. They must be transmitted to the Florida Democratic Party and certified.

Your blogger attended the District 18 caucus, held at the Palmetto Golf Course clubhouse on SW 152nd Street near US 1. There was a campaign atmosphere outside on the driveway as candidates competed with trays of doughnuts and jugs of coffee to entice voters, while inside it was all business as party volunteers signed people in and helped them fill out the long ballots and vote.

District 18 also includes Monroe County, and the results included a separate caucus held in Key Largo for Keys Democrats.

Remember: the delegates for Denver were elected in congressional districts, and their number was apportioned according to the vote for their candidate in that district in the Jan. 29 primary.

The state party said in a statement issued Friday that it remains committed to fulfilling the plan for selecting delegates and said it was “in full compliance with all DNC rules expect for the rule on timing of the first determining step (the Jan. 29 primary date…)

“While some have suggested that the Florida Democratic Party hold an alternative process to allocate (not select) delegates, no funding exists for anything that could meet the principles of openness, fairness, and allowing maximum participation, including that of our military serving overseas, elderly, disabled or any other Democrat.

“As the nominating process continues until June, we are urging Democrats to participate in the caucuses and recognize that our delegation will in all likelihood be restored by the eventual nominee. We look forward to strongly supporting the eventual Democratic nominee, no matter who it is. The incredible enthusiasm as evidenced by our record-breaking primary turnout and huge involvement in the delegate selection process bodes extremely well for Democratic prospects come this November.”

Congratulations to all the elected delegates, and thank you to the others for raising their candidacies. And special thanks to the dozens of volunteers who helped run the caucuses.

Become a delegate: You WILL be counted

Now it's becoming clear, despite all the Republican misleading. Florida's Jan. 29 primary will have a strong effect on choosing the Democratic nominee for president, and that person will see that Florida's delegates will be welcome at the national convention.

With that in mind, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party wishes to remind that it is time to apply to become a delegate to the Aug. 25-28 convention in Denver. Here are the guidelines:

• Deadline to apply is Noon Jan. 29, the date of the primary.
• Download application forms from the Miami-Dade Democratic Party web site http://www.miamidadedemocrats.com/ or the Florida Democratic Party web site http://www.fladems.com/
• Complete and notarize the loyalty oath, submit the forms to the party.
• Registered Democrats are eligible.
• Delegates will be elected at caucuses in each congressional district on Saturday March 1.
• Florida has a total of 210 delegates and 31 alternates.
  Forms can be mailed to the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, 1200 NW 78th Ave. Suite 214, Doral FL 33126. Call 305 477-4994 with questions.

The mixed results from the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary have awakened even the political reporters at the Miami Herald, whose analysis in Wednesday's paper predicts that Florida will be a "battleground few expected." Well, they didn't expect it. They were telling people their votes wouldn't count. The Florida Democratic Party, meanwhile, beseeched people to vote on Jan. 29 - on the referendum questions, as well as on the presidential primary. But many Floridians did not heed that message and fell for the argument that Florida's delegates would not be seated at the National Convention in Denver because the primary date was too early.

True, it is earlier than permitted. However, here is reality: Once the nominee is known, which may be soon after the nationwide primaries of Feb. 5, that person becomes head of the party with authority to waive rules and seat contested delegations. Voila, Florida's delegates will have full voting powers. Can anyone imagine that a candidate for president would snub Florida?