Jefferson-Jackson Dinner 2009: liveblogging, page 1

Interestingly, the pastor giving the invocation tonight said, "Only in America can the son of a black man and a white woman grow up to become president of America." Um, well, yeah, that's true.

"Isn't it nice we have a president that we can be proud of?" -- Sen. Nelson

Next, Sen. Nelson introduces the chair of the Florida Democratic Party, Karen Thurman. She just recognized "the next government CFO Alex Sink." I don't think that's what she meant to say, though.

"Last year, we worked to unite our party and focus our efforts on electing Barack Obama. Look what we accomplished: we delivered Florida's 27 electoral votes to Obama/Biden, we defeated two incumbent GOP members of Congress, and now we're focusing on local elections."

We have our first mention of "George W. Bush." No booing. At least not audibly. Thurman goes on to say we are working to "drain the swamp of Republican corruption." I think she's lost her audience, though. The talking in the room is pretty distracting, actually.

(Incidentally, forget about pictures from this event. I'm situated just way too far back. Sorry.)

Speaking of Republican corruption ...

You can dress up a Republican like a moderate if you like, but at the end of the day, you've still got a Republican.

Exhibit A: Gov. Charlie Crist. Many consider him more moderate than his predecessor, Jeb! Bush, but it turns out he's just as likely to be corrupt as any other Florida Republican.

You know how Florida's in a fiscal crisis, pretty much like the rest of the country? It apparently doesn't matter to Crist, who charged $430,000 to the taxpayers' tab for his European vacation:

The business development trip to London, Paris, St. Petersburg and Madrid was supposed to cost taxpayers $255,000. The actual tab was far higher — in excess of $430,000, the Sun Sentinel found in a detailed review of the July trip's costs.

Taxpayers paid for more than two dozen people to accompany Crist, including a photographer, a spokeswoman, four aides, two agency heads and nine bodyguards. The bodyguards alone spent more than $148,000 on meals, hotels, transportation and incidentals, including nearly $630 in dry cleaning.

Their boss, Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey, went along to sign a crime-solving agreement with British police, billing taxpayers $5,135 for less than 12 hours of official duties over four days. Bailey stayed an extra week at his own expense and brought his wife. His spokeswoman said he was on call around the clock and complied with state travel and vacation policies.

Heckuva job, Charlie. But the kicker is that his own expenses were paid by private businesses ... i.e., lobbyists.

Crist, a Republican who calls himself the people's governor, chose to lessen the burden on taxpayers by having businesses pay his expenses.

But that kind of arrangement can pose conflicts, said Nova Southeastern University law professor Bob Jarvis, a public policy expert.

"It looks like you're buying influence and access to the governor, or to any elected official, when any part of the trip is paid for by outside interests," Jarvis said. "If the trip is important enough to do, then it should be built into the government budget."

This is, in short, ludicrous. Gov. Crist styles himself a populist and fiscally responsible, but he's really nothing more than a prima donna.

And he ought to pay for the privilege of being pampered:

"This news comes at the same time you are calling on Floridians to make sacrifices and ordering government agencies to cut spending," former congresswoman Karen L. Thurman, Florida Democratic Party chair, wrote in a letter to Crist. "With tours of Buckingham Palace and visits to the Eiffel Tower on your agenda, it was clear at the time that your trip served as a taxpayer-financed vacation. While some positive results may come from the trip, the lavish accommodations and first class travel were beyond excessive."

Crist's office did not comment on the repayment demand.

As of June 30, the governor's net worth was $457,262, according to financial records filed with the state Ethics Commission. A Democratic Party spokesman said that if Crist cannot pay the tab, the Republican Party should.

Damn skippy they should. Hell, I don't really care who pays, as long as it's not Florida taxpayers. Shame on Charlie Crist ... what's next, taxpayers paying for his wedding?

Actually, his soon-to-be bride is a millionaire. Let her pick up the tab for the vacation -- after all, she took the trip, too.

Better food, better speakers

For the third straight morning (of four), I'm starting my day in Denver at the Florida delegation breakfast. The food yesterday ... well, it sucked (is sausage gravy supposed to taste like it was made in an ashtray?) ... but today it's much better.

And the speakers? First-rate today, folks, led by a Special Guest, Gov. Brian Schweitzer of Montana. Speaking right now is my personal hero of Florida politics, former governor and U.S. senator Bob Graham. And it was good to see and hear my friend state, Sen. Dave Aronberg of Greenacres, who arrived yesterday in time to see Hillary Clinton's speech.

Last night we told Florida Democratic Party (and former congressperson) Karen Thurman about the fact that America's Wang™ has the largest blogger contingent of any state* -- there are nine of us -- and she asked me to remind her so she could mention it today at the breakfast. I did my part. It's her turn now ... :)

UPDATE (11:15 am 8/27/08): Moments ago, Leon County DEC chair Rick Minor was invited to the podium, at which time he proposed to his girlfriend, NOW lobbyist and FSU doctoral student Jessica Lowe. Brought the house down, it did. I'm sure if I weren't a two-time loser myself, I would have been all sentimental and shit. (Kidding, Rick and Jessica! Congrats!)

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* No, I didn't say "America's Wang™" to her. But I still might.

Jefferson-Jackson Day: Dinnertime

Well, it's time to blog again. As usual, there are technical difficulties and it appears I'm the only blogger with Internet access. We tried to hook up a router through my laptop to use my aircard, but no go. Tech support here sucks. (just kidding, Curt!)

We opened with two videos: one from TheRealMcCain.com and one a musical rendition of Yes, We Can (featuring a bunch of celebrities, most of whom I'm too old to recognize -- heh). Now we have the invocation and the presentation of the colors, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem. (See, Republicans -- you don't own patriotism, you assholes.) Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) just walked in right in front of me. I didn't confront him like I did last year, though ...

Mitch Caesar, Broward County Democratic chair, is speaking now. He just asked for a remembrance for Tim Russert. "This election will not be about Internet rumors ... this election will not even be about Joe Lieberman whispering in his candidate's ear what the real answer is ... we will no longer be a red state and be a blue state in 2008 -- now and forever!"

Caesar introduces "a person who's done a fabulous, tireless, and wonderful job ... our [Florida Democratic Party] chair Karen Thurman." Thurman: we have already begun canvassing, walking precincts ... this is only the beginning. Now is our time ... it wasn't always this tough. I was fortunate to be in Washington during the good years. (For some reason, a huge influx of people just came into the banquet hall, and there's a great amount of talking and milling around ... how weird.) It is time to elect a president who can look a struggling working family in the eye and say honestly, "I'm fighting for you." We need to elect a leader who can lead this country in a new direction -- we need to elect Barack Obama!

More Thurman: throughout this campaign, don't forget that we are all in this together. Brave Americans are fighting for us in distant lands every day. Regardless of how you feel about the war, the soldiers deserve our respect. This flag [Thurman shows a folded flag] flew over Camp Victory in Iraq two weeks ago, and she is giving it to state Senate candidate Fred Taylor, a veteran, on behalf of all veterans.

Next up is Florida's highest ranking Democrat, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. She said, "didn't we have a great woman candidate for president?" Scattered applause. She has been "glued to the TV" over the last couple of days watching the Russert coverage, and she remembers the white board he held in 2000 when he said the election comes down to three words: "Florida, Florida, Florida." Sink: "I need help in Tallahassee ...

Steny Hoyer's coming to town

The Florida Democratic Party, despite all the signs that point to the desirability of a more progressive position, refuses to budge from its "centrist" (read: stupid, DLC-influenced) perspective.

First, we have the bizarre instance of "moderate" (read: wolf in sheep's clothing) Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Barely) suing the national Democratic Party over the primary date fiasco.

Then, just when I've finished trying to figure that little tactic out comes this e-mail a few minutes ago from Florida Democratic Party chairperson Karen Thurman:

Dear [Sinfonian],

I'm proud to announce that my old friend, Steny Hoyer, the Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, will deliver the keynote address at the Florida Democratic Party's 2007 State Convention Victory '08 dinner.

The Convention opens in just three weeks so purchase your tickets to the dinner today!

Congressman Hoyer, the second highest-ranking Democrat in the House, has built a reputation as a skilled legislator and a strong consensus builder. In the past few months, he helped score major victories for the American people, including the first raise of the federal minimum wage in over a decade, a 50% cut to student loan rates to make college more affordable, and the toughest Congressional ethics regulations in history. His current priorities include fighting to bring new accountability to the war in Iraq and overturning the President's veto of children's health insurance.

Ugh. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) (right) is one of the least progressive Democrats in Congress. He's been bending over backwards (no, Larry Craig, not literally) to appease Republicans in the old "can't we all just get along?" style, the style that demonstrably doesn't work. Okay, I call it "appeasement" and Thurman calls it "consensus build[ing]." Either way, it's a travesty.

Why, just today, Atrios taunted Hoyer for being forced to back down from announcing new FISA rules -- you remember, the law that allows the Bush crime syndicate to eavesdrop on your conversations and all that -- that didn't include critical safeguards against overreaching surveillance. At a time when the Florida Democratic Party should be reaching out to progressives and embracing us for representing the majority of the party, as they did in June by bringing bloggers into the "inner sanctum," they instead insult us by bringing Hoyer in, presumably to talk a good game ... but he backs down every time to Republicans when push comes to shove. All talk, no action, that's Steny.

I was considering changing my plans to attend the Party's convention, since I'd originally planned to be out of the state that weekend. But, if Hoyer's there, I assure you, I will not be there.

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 ...

The primary controversy heats up

Florida is at risk of going from America's Wang™ to America's Black Sheep in short order.

The national Democratic Party has threatened to refuse Florida its 210 delegates to next summer's national convention of the state goes ahead with plans to hold its presidential primary on January 29, 2008, a week ahead of the party's February 5 threshold for all states other than Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

If not, the state's 4 million Democrats could be left with no say in the selection of the party's presidential nominee next year. However, a candidate with enough delegates to win the nomination could ask that Florida's delegates be seated at the convention in the interest of party unity.

"It's going to be a difficult discussion," Thurman said of the meetings she plans to have in the coming days with fellow Democrats in Florida.

On the eve of Saturday's committee meeting, Bill Nelson, the state's senior U.S. senator, had threatened legal action if the DNC imposed sanctions against Florida over the 2008 presidential primary.

But DNC officials Saturday cited legal precedents allowing a political party to establish its rules. "We set our rules," said longtime DNC member Donna Brazile.

You might be asking yourself, "How could something like this happen?" You probably won't be surprised at the answer:

In her testimony to the rules committee Saturday, Thurman said the Republican-controlled Florida Legislature ignored Democratic Party rules in pushing through the law that moved the state's primary into the pre-Feb. 5 window.

She repeatedly insisted that Florida Democrats undertook "provable, positive steps" at every stage of the legislative process to prevent GOP leaders in Tallahassee from moving the primary to Jan. 29.

What we have here is a failure to communicate ...

The problem for me is that I can see both sides, and I'm not really sure where my opinion falls. On the one hand, I acknowledge the party's interest in allowing a geographically-diverse cross-section of smaller states take the lead, in order to give lesser-known and -financed candidates a better shot. However, as a Floridian, I agree with Thurman and others that a move of the primary off of the January 29 date could deal a serious if not fatal blow to the down-ticket items on the ballot, especially the highly controversial taxation proposal.

Moreover, I'd say to the party, what difference does a week really make? Iowa, Nevada, and New Hampshire all are scheduled before January 29 (the 14th, 19th, and 22nd, respectively), and South Carolina is set for the same day. Is it really so heinous to allow Florida to move up? And what about Michigan, where party officials are pushing for a January 15 date?

The Republicans who control Florida's legislature knew exactly what they were doing when they proposed the January 29 date for primaries. They knew it would piss off the Democratic Party and create dissension in the ranks just when the Democrats need to be most organized. So, here we are, facing another situation where the Republicans have out-strategized us. And now we have to deal with the consequences.

I'd just tell -- okay, beg -- Karen Thurman and Florida Democrats to work out a compromise. It's not worth risking 2008, not to mention the inevitable media maelstrom if Florida can't participate fully in the convention, just to have our primary on January 29. But ultimately, I hope the national party recognizes that they can give up a week's ground in the interest of keeping a naturally fractious process as stable as possible ... and in turn, managing to appease a powerful and critical swing state.

UPDATE (1:28 pm 8/26/07): You know, the Republicans are facing the same kind of sanction (Google cache only; not available anymore on the Orlando Sentinel's website) from their national party. Wonder why we never hear about that? Hmmm ....

(h/t V for Virginia)

So much for Crist's fiscal responsibility

The list of Floridians who have unclaimed property and money being held by the state includes Gov. Charlie Crist and quite a few other prominent names:

Crist isn't the only high profile person that's got unclaimed property in the state's hands. There's former Gov. Jeb[!] Bush, actors Wesley Snipes and Burt Reynolds, Miami Heat star Alonzo Mourning, Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts, football Hall of Famer Joe Namath, Florida Panthers captain Olli Jokinen and wrestler Hulk Hogan.

There's also the state chairmen of both major political parties -- Republican Jim Greer and Democrat Karen Thurman.

Tennis star Pete Sampras is owed $15 from the Orlando Expressway Authority. Former New York Yankees and Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden, who was released from prison last fall, never claimed a refund from a Pinellas County court.

In all, there are 7 million unclaimed accounts owed to 4 million Floridians. They can be telephone company refunds, uncashed paychecks, the contents of safe deposit boxes that have gone untouched, the balance of a bank account someone forgot about and more.

[...]

While some amounts are small, there are some large accounts, like a Sarasota man who had $300,000 returned, mostly from stocks and dividends.

Thurman didn't know about at least three unclaimed accounts in her name until she received a phone call Thursday afternoon.

"If it's a half million dollars, I'm out of here," she joked. "Absolutely, I'm going to check these out. But more importantly, I think everybody should be checking this out."

Her counterpart at the Republican Party of Florida was equally surprised.

"Being notified of an unclaimed refund is like finding a new shining penny on a sunny day," Greer said.

You can see for yourself if Florida has some of your stuff, by going to www.fltreasurehunt.org.

Good luck!

Pelosi!

After the conclusion of tonight's dinner, I'll post the full text of the Speaker's speech. So, in these threads (until my battery dies), I'll give you less speech and more the intangibles ... crowd reaction, descriptive stuff, etc.

Thurman introduces Pelosi. "2 years ago in this very room the press wrote us off. But tonight we celebrate you and your success. This is your party." We made Sen. Harry Reid majority leader and re-elected every member of our congressional delegation plus added two Dems from Repub districts [Mahoney & Klein].

You won the Hispanic vote for the first time in 30 years!

Joining us tonight is a symbol of our success: Pelosi. All I can think of is Boehner's reaction when he gave her the gavel, said Thurman to laughter and applause.

20 years ago today, Pelosi was sworn into Congress, says Thurman. (Really?) And she's spending the anniversary with us!

Congressional speeches

Rep. Corrine Brown spoke first and introduced "a leader in the Senate," Bill Nelson.

Nelson then introduced "the real winner in the 13th District, Christine Jennings."

Nelson is emceeing this section. Each member of Congress is getting a minute or so to speak ... standard stuff, you know.

Greetings from the three congresscritters (my word, not Nelson's) who couldn't be here tonight: Klein (who is raising money for the Democrats in New York tonight), Hastings, and Meek.

Next, Rep. Tim Mahoney thanked everyone for their support, without which he says he couldn't have won.

Fellow freshman Rep. Kathy Castor spoke next and gave a real rah-rah speech! :)

Next, my congressional crush, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz! (As I said to my fellow bloggers, "She wants me; she just hasn't met me yet" ;) ) Another energetic and enthusiastic performance. She thanked Sen. Nelson for "retiring Katherine Harris for the good of our state and our country."

Sen. Nelson hearkened back to 2000 and the work done then by Rep. Robert Wexler, whom he introduced. Rep. Wexler: "we'll bring the troops home under Speaker Pelosi's leadership. Thank you [Dems] for being loyal, patriotic Americans!"

Sen. Nelson alluded to the "Big Tent" and then introduced Rep. Allen Boyd, "a Democrat who consistently wins in a Republican district with 60% of the vote.". Rep. Boyd: "I bring you greetings from the Blue Dogs." Tepid applause.

Pelosi up next ... Chairperson Thurman will intro.

Florida bloggers and netroots unite!

Just came from the luncheon provided for the netroots and bloggers by the Florida Democratic Party at their Jefferson-Jackson Weekend, where I met folks like Ken Quinnell of the Florida Progressive Coalition, the husband-and-wife team that are Tampa Bay Democrat, Ray Seaman of FLA Politics, and gatordem of Florida Kossacks and others. We also were greeted by party chairperson Karen Thurman.

Most of the luncheon was devoted to a discussion of the upcoming state party convention in October, which will take place at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resort in Lake Buena Vista. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend, as I'll be at my 20-year college reunion, but it nevertheless was a useful discussion today. There certainly is a need for a better understanding by the party on how best to use the netroots and the blogosphere, and it's a very good sign, for example, that we have been given special blogger credentials to hear Speaker Pelosi and others at tonight's dinner. (Regrettably, the banquet room doesn't have wireless Internet access, so my plans to live-blog probably will have to be curtailed. I'll try to figure something out ...)

We also talked about the need for bloggers to interact more directly, and to that end, I'm going to work on a piece I've been meaning to add to Blast Off!, namely, a separate blogroll for Florida progressive blogs. Stay tuned. Done!

I don't believe I'll have much of a chance to actually meet Speaker Pelosi, but I hope I'll have easier access to Sen. Nelson, who also is speaking tonight. Perhaps I can ask him why he voted to support torture ...

More to come ...

UPDATE (6:38 pm 6/11/07): Thanks to Ron Mills at Change in Tallahassee for the picture.