Arizona State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema knows John McCain's record on gay issues

Arizona State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is very cool. I met her today at the Big Tent. She's a lesbian who helped defeat the anti-gay amendment on the ballot in 2006 in Arizona. Siding with the haters, John McCain led the campaign to pass that referendum. McCain and the haters lost. I asked Sinema about McCain's record on LGBT issues -- and she was very, very clear:



The right wingers have placed the anti-gay amendment back on the ballot this year. Yes, the voters spoke in 2006, but that wasn't good enough. It's back. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Convention Night Open Thread

Bill Clinton is speaking now, and up later tonight we'll see Joe Biden. Once again the networks will be picking up coverage at 10PM. Are we all unified yet? Read the rest of this post...

The Big Tent

Good Minneapolis Post story on the blogger area at the convention - that is, the unofficial blogger area that Markos, Google and other set up.

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Is the financial crisis really missing from the conventions?

Bloomberg is ripping both parties today for their lack of specifics on the current financial crisis. I appreciate what Bloomberg is saying but I also agree with Senator Schumer that a convention may not be the place to discuss the specifics of something as detailed as SEC governance. Obama and the rest of the Democrats have hardly shied away from hammering away on the failed policies that led to this crisis, something that Bloomberg ignores in their story. To suggest that "the worst financial crisis since the Depression" merely "occurred on their [GOP] watch" is missing a major point. It didn't just occur on the GOP watch, it was created with deliberate intention on their watch. Phil Gramm anyone?

Either way, Bloomberg has a point in that the next President will be facing expensive problems such as the loss of over $1 trillion thanks to the GOP credit crisis, continuing failures by Detroit who also want a bailout despite a clear record of management incompetence and job cuts in the tens of thousands, the housing bailout and don't forget the ongoing cost of the war in Iraq. And to think we haven't even heard from the airlines come back for their third bailout since Bush arrived.

Each issue on its own is an expensive problem. Combined, we're looking at breaking the bank yet again. If anyone has a clue as to where we're going to find the money to fund all of this, I'm all ears. The ongoing Iraq costs will cause obstacles to the bailout fever gripping Washington as well as any plans for new initiatives for the future such as alternative energy or even education.

We may not be hearing too many specifics this week or next, but we will surely hear much more substance on the credit crisis in the coming weeks. Neither candidate can afford to ignore the issue and voters won't allow the crisis to be ignored. Read the rest of this post...

I don't even know what to make of this

A sign at the local Hooters in Lakewood, Colorado.

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Bill Clinton to blow off Obama's acceptance speech

Really loved the man. But he's damaging his reputation. Read the rest of this post...

Hillary's email to supporters

Hillary Clinton sent the following email to her supporters last night:

Standing on that stage tonight in front of 20,000 Democrats unified behind Senator Obama, I saw a bright future for America. I saw millions of people across the country working as one to elect the next Democratic President. I saw a new President and a new Congress giving a voice to the voiceless. I saw America, the land of endless potential, regaining its role as a leader in the world.

I couldn't be prouder of our party, of our nominee, and of all the work you and I have done together over the course of this campaign on behalf of the American people.

I knew that as I stood in front of that podium, I wasn't alone. I had you, and everyone who has supported me, standing right up there with me. And that means the world to me.

Thank you again for everything you've done. Now let's get to work helping elect Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and all of our great Democratic candidates!

Sincerely,

Hillary

I asked in last night's open thread if Hillary would do her part to unify the party. I think she did that last night, mentioning Obama 12 times in her speech last night. I see emails like this as indicators that Hillary has set the tone that it's time to come together. It's now up to Obama to win over the 1 in 5 Clinton voters pre-convention supporting McCain. Rep. Clyburn has been on MSNBC and CNN this morning saying exactly that - and he's right. Read the rest of this post...

Coming Attractions

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Giuliani: McCain isn't qualified to be president

In an interview with Brian Williams on MSNBC earlier today, former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani disqualified his primary opponent John McCain’s candidacy saying, “this is not the time to have somebody with no executive experience as President of the United States.” Uh, McCain has no executive experience. Though, why do I have a feeling that somehow we're going to hear about McCain's POW experience?

Come on, Rudy - you always get into trouble when you don't stick to a noun, a verb and 9/11.

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It's the Ritz, stupid

I want Barack Obama to be president. And, I'll be honest, there are some things I personally want: An end to the war; action on global warming; better health care coverage; and true LGBT equality. That's basically it. I don't want a job or a federal contract or a room at the Ritz. Because, apparently for many of Hillary's donors, the room at the Ritz matters. This article in today's NY Times actually captures some warped realities from the convention:

The lingering rancor between the sides appears to have intensified at the Democratic convention, with grousing from some Clinton fund-raisers about the way they are being treated by the Obama campaign in terms of hotel rooms, credentials and the like.

And, yes, the Ritz is a factor:

Perceived snubs leading up to the convention have not helped. Only a handful of Clinton donors got rooms at the coveted Ritz-Carlton, where the biggest Obama fund-raisers are staying.

Yes, hotel rooms, credentials and the parties...yes, the endless parties...that's what really, really, really matter out here in Denver. Now, I'm not sure how any of this helps us elect the next President. A lot of the money spent on the multitude of events could surely be better utilized. Then, maybe we could win. Read the rest of this post...

Del Martin, 87, gay activist, first to marry in CA, just died

Sad.

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Eli Pariser of MoveOn

I was in the interminable line from hell to get into the convention last night when I ran into Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn. I've known Eli professionally for a few years now and have always been impressed by both him and MoveOn - we're big MoveOn fans here at AMERICAblog. I took the liberty of asking Eli a few questions about what kind of organizing MoveOn is doing. It's, as always, a short 2 minute interview, just to give you the flavor of the convention.

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ABC's Jake Tapper: "Today's new McCain ad... crosses a new line into dishonesty"

So basically the media is now calling John McCain an outright liar. This is news. It's also the media actually doing their job (which Jake, among a handful of others, actually does routinely). In any case, this is bad. McCain is basically putting out ads (well, they're not even ads, because they're not really running them anywhere - they're just hoping the media will show them for free, and they do) - but McCain is running ads that are just flat out lies. He did it about the BS "Obama blew off the troops in Afghanistan" lie, and he's been doing it ever since. And now John McCain is lying about Iran, with the goal of scaring America's Jewish community - scaring them with a lie. This from a man who doesn't even know where Iran is on a map. John McCain should spend a little less time in his 12 homes, and shopping for $500 shoes, and a little more time studying the real threats facing America at home and abroad. Then again, how long until John McCain reminds us that he spent five years in a POW camp without 12 homes - did we mention that John McCain was a former POW? - so he apparently thinks he's permitted to lie repeatedly about his opponent in a last ditch effort to divert attention from his upcoming 72nd birthday and his failing memory. Read the rest of this post...

"More of the Same" War Room in St. Paul

The last thing John McCain and the Republicans want hung around their necks next week is George Bush. But, that's what the Democratic war room is planning:

The Democrats aren't just in competition with the Republicans in the presidential race, they're going head-to-head on the coolness of their war room.

When the Republicans head to town next week, Democrats will be hot on their heels to staff a "More of the Same" war room. The Republicans have their own war room in Denver this week that they're calling "Not Ready ‘08."

Ah, but Democrats say the comparison ends there.

"Our rapid response program will be bigger, better, closer and more aggressive than anything seen before," said DNC spokesman Damien LaVera.

Bush = McCain = More of the same. It's not that complicated. And, the Republicans really don't want to hear it. Read the rest of this post...

Governor Schweitzer slammed McCain with one of the best lines of the night

This was brilliant. Schweitzer tied McCain's bad energy policy to McCain's gaffe on how many houses he owns:

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Disunity for McCain: GOP platform causing splits in the party

As I noted in the post below, Mitt Romney was at the Democratic convention. He's in town to stir up trouble on behalf of the McCain campaign. That's a big priority for the GOPers this week.

They should be tending to their own people because trouble is brewing for McCain's platform:

While Republican Party delegates today sought to defuse disagreements on hot-button issues with a draft platform aligned with the party's conservative principles, they could not avoid disagreements over such issues as immigration and abortion.

McCain doesn't have control of his own party. Now, that's a new story...if only we had political reporters who covered real news.

And, you know the hard core immigrant bashers are going to get everything they want in the GOP platform. McCain won't say no to them. Read the rest of this post...

Scary sightings at the convention last night

John's celebrity sightings are pretty cool and interesting. I am not seeing movie stars or Anderson Cooper. No, last night, I actually saw the devil himself entering the Pepsi Center. Yes, Karl Rove was 10 feet away from me, skulking his way into the building.

Then, to top it off, a few minutes later, the Mittster slithered by -- as you can see, not a hair out of place. Very disturbing. Romney is in town doing GOP spin about the Democratic convention, which is really just Mitt groveling to become McCain's VP. Read the rest of this post...

Wednesday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

It's day three of the Democratic convention. Hillary was terrific last night. She just nailed the speech. Nailed it. Bill Clinton is on the podium tonight. I was at the Democratic convention in 1988 when his introduction of Dukakis went on and on and on. He's had four conventions since then to hone his skills. I think we can expect vintage Bill Clinton tonight.

The logistics of this convention are pretty tough. Everything seems complicated. One wonders what the Convention's Executive Director Leah Daughtrey has been doing for the past year or so. Having enough access gates to the Pepsi Center really doesn't seem like a huge challenge, does it? And, the blogger room is a joke. We're the only type of media that actively supports the Democratic party, so they stuck us in a locker room. I hate to be complaining about things like this -- it distracts from the work at hand, which is defeating John McCain.

There are 69 days til election days. It's under ten weeks now. Are we ready?

Let's get threading. Read the rest of this post...

Who the f*ck is Charlize Theron?

This is a tale of politics and Hollywood. Of celebrity ego gone wrong. And of some lady named Charlize Theron, who apparently thinks an awful lot of herself. (I'm posting this at 4am Eastern time since Joe will kill me if he knows I posted this LOL)



Chris, Panayioti and I were with former Edwards blog outreach guru Tracy Russo over at the CNN Grill Tonight. Basically, the Grill is CNN's "hang out" at the convention - they rented out a diner and invite guests to come have free food and drinks, wifi, and watch lots of TV coverage of the convention. To CNN's credit, unlike most of the other media, they've really reached out to bloggers at the convention, and graciously offered us credentials to come hang out at their grill.

Anyway, we were at the Grill tonight, having drinks outside on the patio, when Tracy mentioned that Charlize Theron was sitting behind us. I have no idea who this woman is, but apparently she's a big movie star. Okay, whatever. Anyway, about an hour later, Anderson Cooper shows up, starts talking to some very hot guy who I think was sitting with Theron, Theron stands up, and watches Anderson talking to the hot guy. Well, I wasn't going to miss a chance to get a shot of Anderson (and hot guy, who was looking vaguely familiar), so I grabbed my new Flip video toy, shot a couple of seconds of video from like ten feet away (Theron, or whatever her name is, was barely even in my shot because I don't know who she is nor do I care). Anyway, all of a sudden, this polka dot woman, who was sitting at Theron's table, gets up and starts trying to block my view. Yes, apparently I'm now paparazzi (well, okay, I wasn't, but now I'm posting everything I've got because handler-lady ticked me off). Here's a still of my video, with Ms. Handler doing her interception.



I stopped filming with the Flip, got my camera out and took a photo or two of Anderson talking to the apparent movie star. Well, Ms. Handler would have none of that. She comes up to me and starts lecturing me about how rude it is to photograph a movie star sitting outside the CNN media tent at the Democratic convention talking to Anderson Cooper. I was like, uh, this is the Democratic Convention - you're sitting in the CNN celebrity media tent. You've decided to stand up and talk to Anderson Cooper. Now, to give you a flavor of the CNN Grill area where Ms. Movie Star was sitting, here's a quick video I shot of the same area earlier in the day.



Pretty public space, and intended to be. There are cameras everywhere, the cameras have been here all day, filming everyone in the place all day long. That's why the place exists - it's not a cubby hole, a secret hideaway - it's a very cool public place to see and be seen. The place is swarming with reporters because, uh, it's freaking CNN. But you come anyway, and you're deathly afraid that someone will take a photo. Are you high? Ms. Thang replies, exasperatedly, "she's here as a private citizen!"

Yeah, right. No was even interested in taking Theron's photo for a good hour until Anderson walked up. And even then, we were trying to photograph Anderson and hot dark guy, not Charlize Theron, or whoever she is. I don't know who Charlize Theron is, but I don't think I like her very much. Anderson, on the other hand, can do no wrong.

Anyway, here's the quick, like 5 second video, of shot of Anderson and hot guy, with Theron basically just an annoyance in the far left corner, and Miss Thang running to block the view of Theron, while I was filming Anderson.



PS Chris just googled, and it looks like hot dark guy is actor Stuart Townsend, Theron's bf.

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