Goldy

Standing in line outside the Pepsi Center, I finally learn the deep, dark truth about politics.  Gosh was I naive.  (And Jesus am I unashamed of my crappy videography.)

As Washington state’s Democrats are congregating in Denver, celebrating the nomination of Barack Obama for President of the United States, Washington state Republicans are back at home marking this historic moment in their own typically Republican fashion:

The head of the Snohomish County Republican Party apologized Tuesday after the organization’s booth at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe sold “$3 bills” depicting Barack Obama wearing Arab headgear and featuring a camel. […] Obama’s face, in the traditional Arab headgear, is pictured above the words “Da man.”

The Arab headgear and the camel on the bill are clearly references to the false rumor spread by some Obama critics that he is a Muslim.

Of course, Snohomish County Republican chairwoman Geri Modrell apologized (that’s the lede after all), telling the Seattle Times that “volunteers are being told very clearly they must not do these sorts of things.”  Wink, wink.  But I guess that pretty much sums up the kind of issue oriented campaign the Republican grassroots want… and will get.

UPDATE:
In the comment thread I’m told the Everett Herald had the story first.  I don’t know, as I haven’t had the time to scan the dailies closely this week, but I did love this tidbit from the Herald:

The serial number, “IBD14UOK” when read aloud, is fractured English: “I be de one for you, OK.”

But, you know, they apologized… so I guess it’s okay.

The Seattle chapter of Drinking Liberally meets tonight (and every Tuesday), 8PM onward at the Montlake Ale House, 2307 24th Avenue E. I won’t be there, but come on by and watch the convention coverage on the big screen; I’ll be sitting underneath the Washington sign on the convention floor.

Not in Seattle? Liberals will also be drinking tonight in the Tri-Cities. A full listing of Washington’s thirteen Drinking Liberally chapters is available here.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean has a lot of fans in the Netroots, and for good reason.  It was Gov. Dean who first embraced the Internet as an effective fundraising and organizing tool (at least, in a major way by a major candidate).  It was Gov. Dean who embraced the 50-State Strategy, and put the full power of the DNC behind it.  And it was Gov. Dean who invited us bloggers to a barbecue this afternoon, where he chowed down on pulled pork, corn on the cob and yes, watermelon, as he talked freely with the local bloggers.

Thank you Gov. Dean, for the free food, and the incredible opportunity to cover the convention.  But the next time you invite a bunch of bloggers into a highly secured area, you might want to make some plans for letting us out.

The Pepsi Center is only three blocks away from the “Big Tent” where the bloggers congregate, but with all the street closures, perimeter check points and security stations, it’s about a half hour trek under the blazing Denver sun.  And once we arrived at the arena, it was another 10 minute walk through the parking lot, to a cordoned off area near the railroad tracks, and under the watchful eye of several snipers atop a closed down Circle K.  I joked to a colleague as we hiked in that I hoped Gov. Dean really wanted to buy us food and booze… as opposed to rounding us bloggers up and packing us onto internment camp bound railroad cars.

It was just a joke.

Until several bloggers attempted to leave, and were turned back by security.

It turns out that the blogger barbecue was just on the other side of the security perimeter, but still walled off from the outside world.  Security personnel told us we weren’t allowed to enter, when really all we wanted to do was exit.  It was a little surreal.

It took about a half hour before staff sorted things out, and we were ushered through a media security tent through a back parking lot, but the whole incident was just indicative of the incredibly tight security surrounding the entire convention.  I talked with Rep. Jim McDermott (we’ll post the video later) and he says he’s never seen security like this at any previous convention… and I guess that’s a good thing.  But it certainly is a bit inconvenient… and at times a touch scary.

If you watched the convention coverage last night, you surely got a better view of Michelle Obama’s speech than I caught on my little camera, so I’m not going to bother posting my recording of the speech here.  But I will show you a snippet of Michelle’s entrance from the perspective of the WA delegation, giving you a sense of the genuine excitement and enthusiasm on the floor.

There is a kinda made for TV quality to the convention, so it’s an entirely different feeling being part of it than watching it.  In fact, I’m so accustomed to experiencing conventions through the tube, I almost feel like I’m missing this one, even when I’m actually there.  Um… especially when I’m actually there.

The prime time speeches are pretty damn exciting, but the rest of the program has the feel of a second rate awards show, but with high production values… kinda like if you took the Science and Technology awards and made them part of the prime time Oscars presentation.

Anyway, more video coming.

Tricked you with the headline, didn’t I?  No, it’s not the hippie-bearded Darryl Holman I was talking about, but actress (and activist) Darryl Hannah who joined us at the Living Liberally event upstairs at the “Big Tent,” the blogger facility a few blocks from the Pepsi Center.

Yeah, that’s right, I could be blogging about tonight’s program at the convention, but instead I’m drinking a beer, watching a couple of standup comics.  Deal with it.

It was a pretty raucous crowd tonight as Michelle Obama took the floor, and once again, if there was any disunity in the house, it was damn hard to see it.  I’ve got some video, but I haven’t even had a chance to view it, let alone edit some clips.

More in the morning, after I’ve had some time to digest the day’s events.

The view from the Washington state delegation section at the Pepsi Center.

Yes, last night, I slept with The Stranger’s Annie Wagner.  And so did Darryl.

I’m not sure if Annie slept much, what with us two old men snoring away (especially Darryl), but that’s the price she pays for begging a spot on our floor last night so that she could be up and alert bright and early this morning at the Washington State Clinton delegate caucus here at the hotel.

Annie and I are now at the delegate caucus, witnessing the fireworks first hand.  You can tell the Clinton delegates are angry and irreconcilable, threatening to be “respectful” and “pragmatic,” and warning that they might even “play by the rules,” or even worse, “honor the decision of the majority of Democrats.”

Okay, there’s still a bit of grieving going on, with the main topic of conversation surrounding whether to vote for Clinton or Obama on the first ballot, and whether Clinton has actually “released” her delegates, and if so, what exactly that means? Most of the folks here want to cast their vote for Clinton… but there’s also a lot of talk about respecting her wishes, even if that means voting for Obama.

There’s also a little push back to the “disunity” theme that has dominated recent media coverage.  As one delegate put it:

“Why is it disunity for us to do our job voting for the candidate we were sent here to vote for?”

I’m not sure it is.  This is, after all, the Democratic Party, which as we know implies a degree of creative chaos.  It takes a lot of passion and effort to get to a national covention as a delegate (as opposed to getting here as a blogger, which apparently only takes a firm grasp of four-letter words), so you’d expect the Clinton delegates to be passionate supporters of their candidate.  But they’re also Democrats, and while I plan to talk with as many delegates one on one as I can, it seems clear that the number one concern of the folks in this room is to get a Democrat into the White House.

So if my colleagues in the press are looking for a good “disunity” story, I don’t think they’ll find one in the WA delegation.  No doubt there are some unhappy folks in the room, but there is also a concerted effort to get everybody in line behind “the second best Democrat.”

UPDATE:
The conversation has moved on to the illicit topic of “credential swapping,” where Paul Berendt is teaching the newbies the fine art of deceit.  As for me, my act of disunity for the day will be to smuggle a piece of fruit into the Pepsi Center, one of the many banned items.

UPDATE, UPDATE:
Well, the caucus goes on, and we’re in the middle of a passionate speech by a delegate clearly fearful that there will be a push for a vote by acclamation, and angry at efforts to get him to change his vote.  As another delegate just put it, there’s nothing to be gained from “forced unity.”  So while I don’t think there is much of a disunity story here, don’t expect anywhere near a unanimous vote from the WA delegation.  But I haven’t heard anybody say they’ll be voting for McCain in November.  (Well… one delegate said it, but it was a slip, and she quickly corrected herself.)

I’m sitting on the airplane listening to Everclear on my iPhone (though isn’t “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom” the official theme song of the Republican convention?), and wondering what the he’ll I’m going to do once I get to Denver? Blog, I guess.

Anyway, expect a lot of short posts this week, some with pix, as I blog directly from my iPhone. Longer posts will have to wait until I have WIFI access, and a little time.

(In the cab now; time to post.)