Buck Naked Politics

They think we're stupid

Candidate forums and debates can be interesting experiences. For example, take the forum hosted by the Women for Wise Growth on October 1st attended by nearly 120 residents of Oak Hammock in Gainesville.

The main attraction was the incumbent (Rep.Cliff Stearns) v. the challenger (Tim Cunha) for Florida's 6th Congressional District. Of course, Rep. Stearns was not there since he needed to be in Washington DC. So, he sent one of his former staff, now a campaign aide, Mary Johnson Miller, in his stead.

Tim Cunha's positions were thoroughly addressed in the post by Deb on Sept 26th.

What was remarkable was the talking points Miller had on behalf of the 20 year Republican incumbent, Stearns. After the event I realized I had dropped the ball by not taking notes. Still, here are the most, um, curious of Miller's comments:

Our Co-Blogging Obama Delegate: Change

Walking into the Pepsi Center on that first day - which means walking into an arena of 20,000 cheering, clapping, determined people - was an impressive experience. Imagine the visceral sense of community of being in one room with 20,000 who share your mission to put an end to eight years of incompetence, to redirect our country's political course so it works for all of us, to get our friends and neighbors at home to take on that responsibility and become a part of making history.

Now imagine that number being more than 80,000, the intensity compounded four-fold.

The final night of the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field was a celebration. It was a declaration. It was the beginning of our country remembering our individual duty to participate in the political process, not sit on the sidelines as passive (and angry) observers.

Our Co-Blogging Obama Delegate: 2004 & 2008

When the Democratic National Convention (here) was held in August of 2004 I was with my family on a vacation in New Zealand. The only opportunity I had to watch any of the convention coverage on TV was while riding the ferry from Picton to Wellington. Sitting in a tiny room with two other people watching the final day of the convention and Kerry's acceptance speech I could not help from muttering comments under my breath (ok, so some of it was out loud). A very proper looking, gray haired British lady sitting on my left couldn't avoid hearing my remarks and began a conversation with me.  We discovered we were of like political mind and, like me, she was a political activist in her community on New Zealand's north island.

Like the other Kiwis (that's what New Zealanders informally call themselves) I met on that trip, she hoped -and expected- America would elect Kerry. We bonded...

Our Co-Blogging Florida Obama Delegate: After the Acclamation (Day 4)

It's done and Hillary displayed the political brilliance she is credited for and aptly deserves. As a result HRC has garnered the respect of even those who cannot bring themselves to say anything nice about her (and you know who you are). Those still depressed that HRC is not the nominee must remember that she is not going away; She will continue to be a powerful force in the Senate and Democratic Party.

Yesterday's convention experience was exhilarating on so many levels including the close encounters with The Famous. Florida's coveted place on the floor - within spittin' distance of the podium- meant the notable and influential passed right by us throughout the night.

Dave Barry, Chevy Chase, Matthew Modine, George Stupidopolus -er, Stephanopoulos (I still haven't forgiven him and Chuckelhead Gibson for their inane "moderating" of that April debate between BO and HRC) - Andrea Mitchell, Joe Scarborough, Spike Lee, and Tim Daly. And those were just the ones I was able to see amongst the crush of people jockeying for position in competition with the camerman and videographers....

From Our Co-blogging Obama Delegate: "Wish you were here!"

Circumstances today allowed me to bring my laptop with me to the convention floor and just as I began a post on more mundane observations, they introduced Melissa Etheridge....

Our Co-blogging Obama Delegate: Convention Day 2: Can I keep up this pace?

Yes, I know, this is actually Wednesday which is Day 3 of the Convention and I haven't blogged about Day 2 yet. Yesterday gave me no time to get to the computer. Due to a transportation snafu (and a late night party) I did not get back to the hotel until after 1:30am.

By the way, if you catch a glimpse of me on TV and it looks like I'm not watching whoever is speaking at the podium, that is because I'm looking at the big screen behind us. Often I cannot see over the heads of the people in front of me -especially if they're waving rally signs. The large projection screens behind the delegations show the same perspective as a TV viewer might get.

Our days are very full and have a clear rhythm: breakfast meeting, caucus meetings, convention business meeting....PARTY. And there is far more to do than just that: there are literally dozens of ancillary luncheon meetings, forums and socials. I have had no time to participate in any of those..or maybe since this is my first convention I just don't know how to juggle my time and apparate from one venue to the next and back again.

But rather than provide boring detail (well, boring to anyone other than political junkies) of what goes on in these meetings, I will take Mike B's suggestion and describe what it is like to be on the floor of the convention. Tomorrow's post will include a bit more detail about being on the floor which is, to some, the most coveted real estate at the Democratic National Convention.

A Florida Obama Delegate---Live--from the Convention! Democratic Party PARTY

Day 1 - August 25th (Happy Birthday to my sister Nancy!)

It's been a long but exhilarating day with so much to share  (so please pardon another 8+ minute post!) and so little energy left to share it. From the average-citizen-goes-to-the-convention perspective it's easy to say today was a mix of new experiences and familiar stuff.  Best I can do is break it down into three sections: the Delegate Breakfast at the Red Lion Hotel; Caucus meetings at the Colorado Convention Center; and convention business at the Pepsi Center.

Even the familiar took on a new flavor, like navigating around a large city, dealing with security, seeing live & in-person political notables and media celebrities. And keeping in touch with family: my daughter sent me a text message during convention business saying she had just seen me on C-SPAN.

And I've read the GOP has set up a war room at our convention. That explains the McCain supporters I saw protesting outside the convention center today...all four of them.

A Florida Obama Delegate---Live!---from the Convention: Green Frontier Fest in Denver

Since the official start to the convention is not until Monday morning, we took today (Sunday) to attend one of the public events held in downtown Denver. It was called the Green Frontier Fest -- sponsored by the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee - and was held at the Denver Performing Arts Complex Sculpture Park.

Under clear blue skies, warm temps and dry mountain air (hey, I'm from Florida so am glad to escape the humidity!) we wandered around the grassy park-like area and perused the vendors selling organic cotton t-shirts, and visiting displays on solar power, wind power,  plug-in hybrids, and all things recyclable. This wasn't a typical hippie-fest; it was a sound and genuine opportunity to learn many new ways to reduce our consumption of energy while maintaining our quality of life.

Our Liveblogging Florida Obama Delegate Reports on Her First Day in Denver

Got the text message before getting on the plane to Denver this morning: Biden's the guy!

While en route to Denver on Frontier Airlines I watched Fox News TV on one of those cute little video screens in the back of the seat in front of me. Yes, I paid several dollars for the service but wanted to hear how the Media Mouthpiece of the Conservative Movement spins this. No worries, I had an airsick bag close at hand.

Since early this morning the right wing machine has been tying itself in knots trying to diminish Biden, discredit Obama and scare the American public into believing Armageddon is inevitable if the Democrats win the White House.

We can let them have their fun because  they won't be able to take any wind out of our sails cuz we're fired up & ready to go!

Fay, Gators and the Convention

After the last several days of gray, rainy, dreary weather-thanks to Tropical Storm Fay - I am looking forward to being out west. It is most definitely swampy here, but its not as bad as the news might make you think..like I'm not having to fend off snakes and alligators.  Still, the low humidity and dry Denver climate is beginning to sound pretty good.
I have all my Obama t-shirts and buttons packed including a couple from the University of Florida's Gators for Obama group.
If all goes well I'll be in Denver tomorrow afternoon...

WMD Liveblogs the Democratic Convention! PreConvention Planning (with Video!)

by WMD | If you think about it, the coordination required by each state party for its delegation with the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) is an immense undertaking. Each state party needs to coordinate on behalf of its delegation with the DNCC and the convention officials in Denver.

Conventional experience

Unless you've been living in a cave you are at least somewhat aware that the Democratic National Convention will begin later this month (less than 13 days, but whose counting?). This is big stuff for us political junkies and even more so for me personally since I am a delegate to the convention pledged for Sen. Barack Obama.
With the public's enthusiasm level so high -at least for the Democrats - it seems only fair to find a way to allow others to vicariously enjoy this historic event. I've decided to do a video blog on my experience as a delegate. I will post something two or three more time between now and the Aug. 25th start of the convention, and then daily while at the convention.
This first post is short and gives a simplified answer the question I'm most frequently asked, "How does someone get to be a delegate?"

Obama: Because I Remember (Candidates' Positives, Part II)

by Woman of Mass Discussion |   "Face it, Mom, this country is always going to be at war because that is what we're about," my son informed me at his ripe old age of 17. 

A chill went down my spine, not because I was worried that he may be right. He's not, but more on that in  a moment. The chill was the realization that at that moment in time, my first born was in what is called his formative years. His views, opinions and preferences are in the process of being set for life.

And at that same moment in time the dominant political, and to a large extent social, influences in our country were characterized by the poisonous ethos of neo-conservative politics that mandates American political & economic world hegemony via war. The culture (or politics) of fear was taking root in my son.

That chill remained as I realized that everything I remember learning about America during my formative years - that we were the strongest, most loved and respected country on earth - was in the process of being erased from American's collective memory.

That was three years ago.

Tasers, Truth and Lessons Learned

Unrestrained ego can be an unfortunate character trait. Such was the case for Andrew Meyer, the journalism student tasered by University of Florida police (UPD) at Monday's speech by Senator John Kerry.

This was not a case of his freedom of speech being denied. This was a case of a young man pissed off because he had the misfortune of being at the end of the line waiting to ask a question when time ran out.

This was not a case of UPD acting inappropriately. This was a case of a hot headed college student who refused to follow the rules of civility despite the reasonable and repeated requests for him to do so.

The sad thing is that everyone is talking about how this 21 year old student got tasered, not about all the important, insightful and profound issues Senator Kerry discussed with the audience.

I don't want to take sides but I am concerned that the truth be told. The way the media is portraying this incident is off the mark. I want to provide a critical perspective of the truth and can do so since I was there and was sitting three feet away from where the entire incident erupted.

What liberal media? Part II

Posted by WMD | My most recent post, What liberal media? regarding the scant coverage the press has given GOP presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, elicited a series of responses from readers about the "liberal media". Wish I had a nickel for every time I heard someone refer to the media as liberal.

The term implies a decidedly left-leaning agenda by news organizations, those who report the news and the slant on the news stories they report.  It further implies support for the ideals, agendas and viewpoints of the non-corporate and non-establishment population. This would include women, minorities, the working class and the otherwise economically disadvantaged.

Media watchdog group, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting conducts studies of media bias and censorship. Their mission is

"to invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity in the press and by scrutinizing media practices that marginalize public interest, minority and dissenting viewpoints."

Here is a sampling of their studies:

What liberal media?

Posted by WMD | The Sunday August 5th Republican debate on ABC provided viewers with an opportunity to vote online for the candidate they liked best. Once again Texas Representative Ron Paul came out well ahead the other so-called front runners. At last count that online poll had Paul with 34,015 votes out of 53,435 cast so far. Second place (5,838) went collectively to voters waiting for Fred Thompson or Newt Gingrich to enter the race and those saying they intend to vote Democratic. Romney was a distant third at 4,245 votes.

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In case you missed the other debates their online polls has similar results:

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- California on May 3rd by MSNBC

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- South Carolina on May 15^th by Fox News

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- New Hampshire on June 5^th by CNN

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In each of these the preference expressed by viewers was clearly on the side of Ron Paul. If we really had a "liberal media" wouldn't you expect them to be shining the spotlight on the dark-horse underdog who is upsetting the Rudy McRomney apple cart? But that’s not how the media is reporting it.

My health insurance blues

Posted by WMD | The health inusrance industry is likely to trip over itself in attempts to discredit the claims made in Michael Moore's film "SiCKO", so CNN has provided a link to "fact check" Moore's statistics. It includes a short video of Larry King interviewing Moore. Hey, he actually comes off as rational and intelligent!

Rubbing salt into the wound, Moore has posted on his website the text of an internal memo from Capital Blue Cross VP of Corporate Communications, Barclay Fitzpatrick. It's that executive's reaction to and p.r. talking points for thier employees to use in response to Moore's film. Moore generously shares that executive's email address.

Its an opportunity I cannot resist so have emailed  Mr. Fitzpatrick with my own health insurance company story that you can read on the next page.

Christians to Take Dominion

Posted by WMD | Christian Reconstructionism is a form of fundamentalism that argues for a re-writing of American history, dismantling secular democracy and constructing an America governed by "biblical law." (TruthOut)

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The film “Jesus Camp” shows they plan to achieve this through the indoctrination of children. They have momentum and like-minded conservatives on the Supreme Court intend to move America closer to what progressives fear is a theocracy.

Despite the GOP slowly backing away from Bush they continue their strong alliance with this fundamentalist voting block. Three of the Republican candidates for president, Brownback, Huckabee and Tancredo, proudly admit they do not believe in evolution (CNN). They don't belive in science?

Meanwhile three others, McCain, Giuliani and Romney are cozying up with extreme right-wing by speaking at Pat Robertson’s bastion of fundamentalist ideology (and less an institution of higher education) Regents University (thinkprogress1). If that’s not enough to convince you of the bond they are solidifying with fundamentalists, note that recently Republicans spent an hour of taxpayer’s money on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives memorializing the late Jerry Falwell (thinkprogress2).

And when was the last time you heard any Republican calling for strengthening the dividing line between church and state?

Religion and faith serve important social needs but I'm sure a burqa will not be a good look for me.