Liveblogging the Democratic National Convention

I'm pleased and honored to announce, pending following the official release from the Florida Progressive Coalition (FPC), that I will be a member of the FPC blogger team in Denver for the Democratic National Convention, August 25-28, 2008. The FPC was selected to represent Florida in the first-ever State Blogger Pool, through which we will be credentialed as media and be seated on the convention floor with Florida's delegates.

Although I will be representing the FPC, you will find extensive coverage of the Convention right here at Blast Off!, including as much liveblogging as my fingers and my laptop can handle. In addition, Blast Off! remains under consideration for the DNC's General Blogger Pool, which will be determined soon.

I just want to express my deep thanks and appreciation to FPC chair and Grand Poobah Kenneth Quinnell and the entire Coalition for including this particular DFH and this sucky blog on your team. Kenny, you're right: we're going to have the best coverage of the DNC available anywhere. Count on it.

UPDATE (3:39 pm 5/14/08): For convenience, here is the complete list of blogs chosen in the State Blogger Pool:

ALABAMA- Doc's Political Parlor - http://www.politicalparlor.net
ALASKA - Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis - http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com
ARIZONA - Ted Prezelski - Rum, Romanism and Rebellion - http://www.rumromanismrebellion.net
ARKANSAS- Under The Dome.com - http://www.underthedome.com
CALIFORNIA - Calitics- http://Calitics.com
COLORADO -SquareState.net - http://squarestate.net
CONNECTICUT -My Left Nutmeg - http://myleftnutmeg.com
DELAWARE - TommyWonk - http://tommywonk.blogspot.com/
DEMOCRATS ABROAD - Democrats Abroad Argentina - http://www.yanquimike.com.ar
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA- DCist.com - http://dcist.com
FLORIDA - Florida Progressive Coalition - http://flaprogressives.org
GEORGIA- Tondee's Tavern - http://www.tondeestavern.com
GUAM - No Rest for the Awake - Minagahet Chamorro - http://minagahet.blogspot.com
HAWAII - iLind.net: Ian Lind Online - http://www.ilind.net
IDAHO - 43rdStateBlues.com - http://www.43rdstateblues.com
ILLINOIS- Prairie State Blue - http://www.PrairieStateBlue.com
INDIANA- Blue Indiana - http://www.blueindiana.net
IOWA - The Iowa Independent - http://iowaindependent.com
KANSAS - EverydayCitizen.com - http://everydaycitizen.com
KENTUCKY - BlueGrassRoots - http://www.bluegrassroots.org
LOUISIANA - Daily Kingfish - http://www.dailykingfish.com
MAINE - Turn Maine Blue - http://www.turnmaineblue.com
MARYLAND - The Center for Emerging Media - http://www.centerforemergingmedia.com
MASSACHUSETTS - Blue Mass. Group - http://www.bluemassgroup.com
MICHIGAN - Blogging For Michigan - http://bloggingformichigan.com
MINNESOTA - Minnesota Monitor - http://minnesotamonitor.com
MISSISSIPPI - The Natchez Blog - http://natchezms.blogspot.com
MISSOURI - Fired Up! LLC - http://www.firedupmissouri.com
MONTANA - Left in the West - http://www.leftinthewest.com
NEBRASKA - New Nebraska Network - http://www.NewNebraska.net
NEVADA - Las Vegas Gleaner - http://www.lasvegasgleaner.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE - Blue Hampshire - http://www.bluehampshire.com
NEW JERSEY - PolitickerNJ.com - http://www.politickernj.com
NEW MEXICO - Democracy for New Mexico - http://www.DemocracyForNewMexico.com
NEW YORK - Room 8 - http://www.r8ny.com
NORTH CAROLINA - BlueNC.com - http://bluenc.com
NORTH DAKOTA - NorthDecoder.com - http://www.northdecoder.com
OHIO - Ohio Daily Blog - http://www.ohiodailyblog.com
OKLAHOMA - DemoOkie - http://www.DemoOkie.com
OREGON - BlueOregon (blog) - http://www.blueoregon.com
PENNSYLVANIA - Keystone Politics - http://www.keystonepolitics.com
PUERTO RICO - Jusiper - http://jusiper.blogspot.com
RHODE ISLAND - Rhode Island's Future - http://www.rifuture.org
SOUTH CAROLINA - CracktheBell.com - http://www.crackthebell.com
SOUTH DAKOTA - Badlands Blue - http://www.badlandsblue.com
TENNESSEE - KnoxViews/TennViews - http://www.knoxviews.com
TEXAS - Burnt Orange Report - http://www.BurntOrangeReport.com
UTAH - The Utah Amicus - http://utahamicus.com
VERMONT - Green Mountain Daily - http://greenmountaindaily.com
VIRGINIA - Raising Kaine - http://www.raisingkaine.com
VIRGIN ISLANDS - Democratic Party of the US Virgin Islands - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/democratvi
WASHINGTON - HorsesAss.org - http://www.horsesass.org
WEST VIRGINIA - West Virginia Blue - http://www.wvablue.com
WISCONSIN - Uppity Wisconsin - http://www.uppitywis.org
WYOMING - Hummingbirdminds blog - http://hummingbirdminds.blogspot.com

Big announcement later today

I don't want to steal any thunder from my friends and colleagues at the Florida Progressive Coalition, so I'm waiting for them to make the announcement. But big things are afoot there and here ... so stay tuned.

UPDATE (3:16 pm 5/14/08): See above.

Florida's delegates will have rooms in Denver; votes may be another story

DNC chair Howard Dean gave Floridians some hope today when he said that hotel rooms have been reserved in Denver for delegates from the state.

But it doesn't bring the situation any closer to resolution. Dean noted he would be working with the state's congressional delegation and the rival presidential campaigns "to find a fair solution."

"It is our intention to do everything we can and we believe we will absolutely seat the delegation from Florida at the convention," Dean said. "That is in everyone's best interest. All of us are committed to see that it happens."

He suggested any solution is still from from certain.

"There's a lot of work to be done," Dean said. "It is critical that in the process of seating a Florida delegation that both campaigns are comfortable with the compromises that have to be worked out."

Rep. Alcee Hastings, a Miramar Democrat who backs Hillary Clinton, said he's hopeful the candidates can reach a compromise: "Without them, an agreement is not possible," he said.

Rep. Ron Klein, a Boca Raton Democrat and an uncommitted superdelegate, said he was pleased with the meeting, which came after weeks of angst over the fate of Florida's delegates.

"I think the commitment is there now to make sure that Florida's delegates are counted," Klein said. He said the delegation sought the meeting with Dean because of the "concern based on cable news network discussions that Florida's delegates weren't going to be counted.

"We've pretty much had assurances all along, but this was an opportunity to bring full circle with the DNC the opportunity to say that Florida was going to be counted," Klein said. But he noted, "It's up to the two candidates to ultimately make a deal."

So they have rooms. Great. The question remains: who will the delegates be? In other words, how will they be allocated?

I was a strong proponent of a revote, so my opinion won't mean squat, since that option appears to be dead in the water. Still, I don't think the idea of a 50/50 split is fair ... then again, I don't think using the January 29 results is fair because so many stayed home thinking their votes might not count.

Good thing I can just sit here and sling poo at the decisionmakers rather than have to make the decisions.

Biggus caucus

Hey, remember that "meaningless" primary in which we Floridians voted a week ago Tuesday? And remember how I said it would count for seating delegates (which would help Hillary Clinton, who won a large majority of votes here)? Well, I'm probably still right ... but there is some hint of change taking place for both Florida and Michigan.

Evidently the DNC, whose asinine rule got us into this mess in the first place (yes, I know the Legislature did it, but no rule, no mess), is pushing America's Wang™ and Michigan (America's Mitten™?) to hold caucuses in order to seat the delegates ... which would make our efforts on January 29 truly meaningless.

DNC member Debbie Dingell of Michigan said it's unclear whether either state would hold caucuses since they've already held primaries, Michigan on Jan. 15 and Florida on Jan. 29. She said the committee is asking the states to consider such a plan.

Florida Democratic Party spokesman Mark Bubriski said the party has no intention of holding another election.

"We've said all along that we're going forward with our delegate selection program using the vote on Jan. 29," he said. "We've got more delegate applications than ever."

Michigan Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said the committee isn't saying anything it hasn't said before to Michigan and Florida.

"Everybody involved, the candidates, the DNC and we, need to remain open-minded. So if someone comes up with a creative way that meets everyone's interests, we can do that" and get the delegates seated, he said.

As big a mancrush as I admittedly have on DNC chair Howard Dean, even I have to admit that this is getting ridiculous. If there's a way for the DNC to fuck things up even worse than they already have, this might be it.

And the bigger problem is that regardless of what ultimately happens, the discussion itself could fracture the Democratic Party even further. The dispute, if one exists, will pit the pro-primary folks, who support Clinton, against the pro-caucus people, largely Obama partisans whose favored candidate likely would do well in caucuses.

I'm still uncommitted on which candidate I support at this time, but at present, I believe we've made our bed and we ought to lie in it. The votes have been cast and the delegates have been selected. As I've said all along, it's going to be up to the eventual nominee to determine whether delegates from Florida and Michigan are credentialed and seated in Denver, and no nominee would refuse to seat them. So, ultimately, I think it's a moot point.

At any rate, the issue threatens to exacerbate a bad situation. I'm all for fighting Republicans and the Bush crime syndicate, but can we please stop eating our own first?

Florida primary controversy: No swerving yet

The massive game of "Political Chicken" surrounding Florida's decision to schedule its primary on January 29, 2008 is heating up. Three Democratic candidates -- Bill Richardson, Chris Dodd, and Joe Biden -- declared yesterday that they'll obey the Democratic National Committee and avoid campaigning in Florida unless and until the state complies with the DNC's demand to move the primary back to at least February 5.

And the rhetoric between the state and the DNC is getting hotter, too.

"I don't see how anybody who believes he or she should be president of the United States of America could get tricked into signing a pact to ignore tens of millions of diverse Americans by a selfish, four-state alliance of party insiders," said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Karen Thurman.

The leading Democratic contenders -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards -- said they were reviewing the request from the four states, whose early contests can make or break a presidential campaign. While the absence of longer-shots Richardson, Biden and Dodd could weaken their standing in Florida, they already lack the poll numbers and fundraising prowess to wage competitive campaigns in the fourth-largest state.

The agreement still allows candidates to raise money in Florida, one of the most generous donors to national campaigns. The candidates who agreed to the boycott said the pact was necessary to try to restore order to a pell-mell primary calendar in which the jockeying among states could thrust Iowa's vote into 2007.

"This process is completely out of control, and only an agreement by the candidates can restore sanity," Richardson said in a statement.

Florida Republicans are also facing sanctions for busting the primary calendar, but the punishment is not as harsh. They could lose half of their delegates to the 2008 convention. Florida Democrats could lose all of their delegates.

A reminder: the January 29 date was a massive set-up by a Republican state legislature and Republican governor to (here's a surprise) fuck up the Democrats and lead to exactly the scenario we're seeing now.

And Florida's not the only state that may face a boycott.

The move upended painstaking efforts by the national Democratic party to ensure that candidates could be tested in smaller states over coffee klatches and barbecues. Iowa and New Hampshire have held the first caucus and primary for decades. The DNC added South Carolina and Nevada to the front lines so that states with racially and ethnically diverse populations would also have an early voice.

"It's a matter of showing respect for the calendar, which took a lot of work for every state," said Iowa Democratic Party spokeswoman Carrie Giddens. "It's way of ensuring finality and predictability to the nominating calendar and the participants."

The candidate boycott also would cover Michigan, which voted Thursday to move up its primary to Jan. 15. The Univisión presidential debate slated for Sept. 9 at the University of Miami is not subject to the boycott because it falls within the 30 days the DNC gave the state to reschedule its vote. All eight Democratic candidates are slated to attend the Spanish-language forum, which could mark the swan song of the primary campaign -- five months before Florida votes.

And so the battle rages on. What is already an ugly situation is growing worse by the day, and neither side seems willing to blink.

I still don't see why the January 29 date is so unpalatable, since that's still after three of the four early states vote and it's the same day as South Carolina. But, says the DNC, rules are rules ... and so the Democrats may rule themselves right into a huge campaign quagmire in the next few weeks ...