Tag Archives: 2008 Democratic National Convention

Redistricting — Colorado

Colorado, to a certain extent, resembles Oregon.  Like Oregon, the census estimates show that all of the districts will need to shrink and shift to make room for the new district.   The good news for Democrats is that the least growth is in the Third District (Western Colorado) and the biggest growth is in the First District (Denver).  The potential bad news is the change to the rules in Colorado.

Since the last redistricting cycle, Colorado has taken the responsibility for drawing district lines away from the legislature and assigned it to a new nonpartisan commission.  In short, that means that the new map may not resemble the old map.

Under the new rules, the commission will be composed of twelve people — four Democrats, four Republicans, and four nonpartisan members.  The process for choosing these people also limit the influence of the political parties on the members.  The new rules required the commission to justify any deviation from absolute equality.  It also requires the commission to consider geographic and ethnic communities of interests.  The rules also direct the commission to maximize the number of competitive districts.  Currently, none of the districts are that competitive.  There are two solid Democratic districts (one of which is ubersolid) and two solid Republican districts.  Two of the districts are safe/lean Democratic districts and one safe/lean Republican districts. Continue Reading...

Posted in Elections, House of Representatives | Also tagged , , Comments Off on Redistricting — Colorado

Convention update

A month ago I, and pretty much everyone outside of Trump and his circle, were pretty sure there was no way either party could hold on in-person convention. Now, I’m not so sure. I mean they could put 100 people in a walled off TV studio on the floor of the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, and Trump could give his speech, and the networks would have to cover it as the official convention speech – even if all the other convention activities were virtual.  And if it’s clear the GOP will hold some sort of in-person convention, will Biden feel he has to do the same?

Here’s a summary of how we got here over the last few weeks:

  • On May 12, the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee passed the changes necessary to support a virtual convention. Nothing from the GOP, yet, but they could make similar changes anytime they wanted to.
  • Yahoo News floated the following options:

The roll-call vote could potentially take place with one representative from each state entering the hall to announce their vote, one DNC member told Yahoo News. Another DNC member floated the idea of having each state’s representative join the broadcast by teleconference from a symbolic location in their state, such as a capitol building. Continue Reading...

Posted in 2020 Convention, 2020DNC, Charlotte, Milwaukee | Also tagged Comments Off on Convention update

Houston, Miami Beach and Milwaukee remain for 2020 Democratic National Convention

Lot’s of news on the 2020 convention host city front this week. Let’s recap:

In May, CNN reported that eight cities had originally bid for the 2020 convention:

The DNC sent requests for proposals to a host of cities and received responses from eight: Atlanta; Birmingham, Alabama; Denver; Houston; Miami Beach; Milwaukee; New York; and San Francisco. Continue Reading...

Posted in DNC | Also tagged Comments Off on Houston, Miami Beach and Milwaukee remain for 2020 Democratic National Convention

Reflections on the Last Day of DNC 2016

First and foremost, to Matt and Oreo – wow! our third convention together. How things have changed. For those of you new to DCW, while Matt started DCW in 2005, we really took off in 2008 when we were THE place for Superdelegate information. Before anyone else even thought about them (except the Obama campaign) we were covering Superdelegate by Superdelegate, naming names when the MSM was only giving rough numbers. Heady times.

Back then, bloggers were in our heyday. The DNC ran a contest for which bloggers, a few national and one from each state, would attend. At Denver there were special places for bloggers. There were many fewer bloggers in 2012, but still. This year, there was “Specialty Media” which included the very few bloggers, plus local outlets, some foreign press, and other outlets that are related to a “special interest” area. There was a “Specialty Media” area, where they didn’t really want pictures taken, which had tables set up with paper signs at each: “ADA” “Jewish” “Women” “LGBT” and like that. There were also comfy chairs arranged around power strips. But no specialized WiFi as there had been previously. I plan to write about what has happened to bloggers, and it’s a sad comment on media and society, which I hope will be rectified. But that’s for another day.

I spent a lot of time yesterday doing two things; first, attending a panel discussion hosted by the Roosevelt Institute, on which economic message will win Hillary Clinton the election, and which will cost her the election. The panel included Joseph Stiglitz, who I would have crawled over hot coals to hear. They handed out a lot of information which I am still synthesizing, and will post over the weekend. Continue Reading...

Posted in DemsinPhilly, Elections, Politics | Also tagged Comments Off on Reflections on the Last Day of DNC 2016

DNCC Announces Opening Night Program for Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced the program for the opening day of the Democratic National Convention being held in Philadelphia from July 25 to July 28. Additional speakers will continue to be announced throughout the convention. In Philadelphia, Democrats are preparing to lay out the clear stakes in this election – a choice between building walls and tearing people down or an optimistic unifying vision where everyone has a role to play in building our future.

Monday will focus on putting the future of American families front and center and how we’re stronger together when we build an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top and when everyone has a chance to live up to their God-given potential.

The program is listed below: Continue Reading...

Posted in Bernie Sanders, Delegates, DNC, Hillary Clinton, Music, Philadelphia, PHLDNC2016 | Also tagged Comments Off on DNCC Announces Opening Night Program for Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia

Meet the #DNCC Protesters: Hugh Brownstone

Hugh Brownstone2In the interest of full disclosure, I met Hugh when he ran to be a Bernie Sanders delegate earlier this year.

Hugh Brownstone will be attending the protests around the convention. Hugh is a screenwriter and blogger. He lives in Willistown, Chester County, with his fiancé, her son and a dog. He is the father of two grown daughters, one living in Denver, and the other living in Seattle.

DocJess: You ran to be a delegate, what was that like? Continue Reading...

Posted in Delegates, DNC, PHLDNC2016 | Comments Off on Meet the #DNCC Protesters: Hugh Brownstone

Meet the #DNC Delegates: Chuck Pennacchio

CHUCK PENNACCHIOIn the interest of full disclosure, Chuck and I have worked on a number of issues together over the past decade, and met through Healthcare4AllPA.

Chuck Pennacchio is an elected delegate for Bernie Sanders from the 8th CD, having received the most votes in the April 26 primary. He is a lifelong political activist, educator, and filmmaker. He lives in Plumsteadville, Bucks County, with his wife and two children.

DocJess: When did you decide to support Bernie? Continue Reading...

Posted in Delegates, DNC | Comments Off on Meet the #DNC Delegates: Chuck Pennacchio

Cruz cruising in Colorado; Sanders looks to Wyoming

A busy few days in delegate land:

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz effectively won Colorado on Friday, as he claimed a majority of the state’s 37 national delegates.

The Texas senator dominated the seven early delegate contests at the congressional district level, a clean sweep that earned him 17 bound national delegates and an additional four unpledged delegates who declared support for his campaign. –Denver Post Continue Reading...

Posted in Delegate Count, Delegates, Primary and Caucus Results | Comments Off on Cruz cruising in Colorado; Sanders looks to Wyoming

Common Questions about #DNCPHL2016

dnc2016I get questions everyday about the upcoming convention. If I’ve missed your question, please put it in the comments.

Where and when is the convention?
The Democratic Convention will be held in Philadelphia from 25 – 28 July. There will probably be interesting goings-on on the 23rd and 24th in Philadelphia for those people who choose to come in early.

Which convention goes first and why?
The SOP is that the incumbent party goes second. Continue Reading...

Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged 3 Comments

Comparing 2008 to 2016

It normally rings true: plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. Or – the more things change, the more they stay the same.  But the world change in the past 8 years is huge. First, about the blog, then on to the campaign.

If you’re a long-term reader, you know that Matt started DCW in 2005, Oreo joined in 2007, I in 2008. Since then, we’ve had writers and commenters come and go. Currently, our SCOTUS and legal work is accomplished by TMess.

Back in 2008, we were the go-to source for all things Super Delegate related, and had some interesting scoops on the Denver convention. Matt, Tom and I worked what seemed like 10 hours a day, in addition to our day jobs, our families, and the campaigns on which we worked. I’m not convinced any of the three of us slept a full 4 hours out of any given 24.  Continue Reading...

Posted in Elections | Comments Off on Comparing 2008 to 2016