Blogging from the DNC in Denver

[AmericanGranny]

Blogging from the DNC in Denver

SATURDAY:/ AUGUST 23^RD  Hello to all my Café Mom Friends.  First of all as many of you know I have an Award Winning Book, America's Conscience: Facing Threats to Democracy, the Middle Class and Our World. I am going to Denver to promote the book at the DNC convention. 

I have tried to get a room in Denver for weeks but they are completely sold out.  I have decided to park my car at the Crown Plaza Hotel downtown, sleep in my SUV and get a health club membership at the Colorado Club a block away.  Before I go to bed I see an offering for a room a few blocks from down town Denver.  I send an email responding to Craigslist. 

SUNDAY:  /AUGUST 24^TH On the drive to Denver, I get a call from the Craiglist Ad.  The nicest people on this planet offer me a room in their beautiful home for the duration of the convention.  They are a young progressive, professional, couple with one cat.  They have a comfy guest room with a bath and my hosts are incredibly smart, kind and compassionate.  They were planning on going away on a vacation, but decided to stay for the convention and provide "housing" for someone interesting.  There is a GOD!  I don't have to camp out in my car.

I freshen up and go over to the Crown Plaza where I meet several New Mexico Delegates.  Ana Canales hands me two tickets to the big party at the Convention Center.  Wow...what a GREAT party!  Bands, seafood, and a theme dedicated to helping New Orleans.  I meet lots of great people!  Everything is so positive except for...I hate to even blog about it, but I guess you want to know right?  Before the event in front of the Convention Center there are three semi trucks with dead aborted baby photos plastered on them...I didn't see them... but several people are talking about how hateful these demonstrators are.  Afterwards I do see a couple of idiots with a megaphone and a banner of an aborted baby and a negative sign about Obama.  What sickos!  We surround the idiots and start chanting Obama, Obama.  They seem to get a rise from the attention.   (So who wants to organize several bus loads of photos of DEAD Iraqis and Americans and place signs on these buses that say "Republican Manufactured Oil Wars?" On the way home I stop by the PDA and they agree to take 10 books to sell at their tables.  I meet the famous or infamous Medea Benjamin of Code Pink.  I speak with her briefly, she is dead tired and she is tiny...I thought I was short.

MONDAY:  August 25^th My day starts off shaky...I have a flat tire and have to wait for AAA for over an hour.  I'm late to the NM, VA, Washington DC breakfast, but I get there in time to sell a few books and have breakfast.  I wander over to the Convention Center.  I sell a total of 11 books, stop by the BIG TENT.  It's home to YouTube, Daily Kos, Goggle and other Progressive Bloggers.  I talk to the Producer of DemocracyNow (Amy Goodman's program) and I give a copy of my book to Elizabeth who is hosting a seminar on Progressive Book Club...

http://www.progressivebookclub.com/pbc2/home.pbc    Yeow...I hit the jackpot!  I'm approved to sign books at the Coors Field tomorrow afternoon.  I watch Michele Obama from my new home.  Jacob and Dawn (my hosts) go to see Michelle Obama live at the Convention Center.  I'm too tired  I watch it on TV and notice the media bias...I hate MSM....I have to get up early tomorrow for three events.  Book signing at the Crown Plaza Breakfast, Dems Women's Caucus 10-1 and Coors Field 2:00 -4:00 pm.  Tomorrow I want to focus on getting tickets to Jon Stewart's Daily Show.

TIME LIFE Coordinator DNC Women's Caucus DNC

Tuesday:  August 26^th I'm off early again today.  I run into Donna Brazil (CNN Commentator) and she is as nice as you can imagine...we chat in the lobby for a while and she takes a copy of my book and promises to send me a copy of her book.  I love it...no picture though, because she is very casual in shorts and a levi shirt.   I decide not to spend too much time at the Crown Plaza.  Lots of Hillary people are there and they are attempting to get themselves "psyched up" for Obama...but they need their role call to put closure on their hard work and efforts...I guess I'm not old enough to be a feminists of that generation...they appear to be in their mid-sixties and really, really believed it was Hillary's turn to be president.  I head over to the convention center and set up my table for book signings outside of the Four Season Ball Room.  I see my dear friend Martha Burke, Author of Your Money and Your Life:  Why 2008 is the Most Important Election of YOUR Life Time.  I wish I could go in and hear the speakers, but I stay with my table.  I sell a dozen books, meet some GREAT people and have fun.  I pack up and head over to the Coors Field....rats, I take one wrong turn and end up on the highway to Boulder.  Good God, my life is crazy.  I finally get to the session entitled "My Rural America."  It is an incredible event with many dignitaries who are giving tips on how to win conservative farmers and agricultural types.  Since, many of my clients fit the prototype; it is a good seminar for me to attend.  I set up a book table in the back and enjoy the presenters.  A couple of fans from Oklahoma come over and greet me.  One of them is the publisher of a small newspaper.  She says she wants permission to quote me in an article she is doing and reminds me that the Women Impacting Public Policy luncheon is TOMORROW not Thursday.  I have a table there to sign books.  Home tonight...I'll watch Hillary and then if I have any energy, I may go to a party or two tonight.  More tomorrow...hugs and thank you all for your comments.

WIPP Luncheon at the Hyatt Pinnacle Club

WEDNESDAY:  August 27^th 

Last night I stayed home with my host, Dawn.  Together, we watched Hillary Clinton deliver the most incredible speech.  I particularly like the image she created when she talked about Harriet Tubman running for freedom with the sound of dogs barking and lights in close pursuit.  That is an important image for Democrats to keep in their minds.  Our future is dependent upon party unity and enthusiasm for change.  We must change course and I hope Americans get that message loud and clear and vote FOR their economic interests instead of voting against them!

Bernadette and Susan Turnbull Vice Chair DNC

You are not going to believe it…but I walk outside today to find….another flat tire.  It’s the same damn tire that was flat on Monday.  I call the tire dealer that fixed it and they come out…one hour plus later, I’m finally on my way.

Exciting NEWS, I get a call from my agent Ryan Johnson…notifying me that I may be called upon by MSNBC or CBS to comment on what is going on at the DNC.  Keep your fingers crossed!

I attend the Women Impacting Public Policy Luncheon hosted by AT&T and meet several prestigious business women from all over the country.  The Vice Chair of the DNC, Susan Turnbull and a long time friend of the Obama’s Valerie speak to the group.  Their stories are impactful.  The Lobbyist for WIPP reminds all the business women of the many, many laws that have been sunset or changed under Bush/Cheney regime and how difficult it is to do business in an anti-small business climate that has been established under Republican rule. I sell a few books, but  end up giving away more to the organizers, sponsors and important politicians attending.

Katie Bethell of Mom's Rising and Bernadette

I pack up and go once more to the BIG TENT, home to the progressive bloggers.  By a miracle….I get in (only people with tickets or special passes are allowed--- A big THANK YOU to the Sierra Club who escorts me in!)  I get my photo taken with several progressive bloggers including the most famous blogger… Marcos  Moulitsa of the Daily Kos.  I spend three hours in the big tent.  I will post pictures when I get home.  The BIG TENT is the coolest place! Lines and lines of tables with high speed internet, overstuffed couches  and big screen TVs everywhere broadcasting into the Big Tent from the Democratic Convention floor.  The beer and wine flow freely.  Lots of pizza and food is brought in periodically.  Everyone is friendly and interested as I visit with several of them and give away copies of my books. 

Bloggers at the BIG TENT

On my way back to my car, I witness a civilian protest.  I get photos of the protest.  It was really creepy.  About 200 kids on bicycles ride down the street in mass chanting more bikes- less cars, more bikes- less oil, more bikes- less wars.  The police force in Denver is WEIRD…seriously.  I get the feeling that they are ITCHING FOR A FIGHT.  They are all dressed in their macho riot gear, equipped with tear gas, guns, bats, head gear, etc.  The police line up to BLOCK the road and don’t let the kids pass.  They say the kids are blocking traffic, but it’s the police acting like JERKS!  One kid walks up and spits on the ground.  He is sprayed with tear gas and wrestled to the ground by four officers.  I decide it is time for me to walk away and I notice the kids start to disperse. 

 

 

I listen to John Kerry’s speech on the way home. Wow…pretty powerful.  I missed Governor Richardson’s speech, which is something I may be asked to comment on tomorrow.  Perhaps, it is on YouTube.

Every night I think I might go out…but then exhaustion kicks in…too old to party! 

Thursday, August 28, 2008: I get an early start to the Civic Center where the second day of the Women’s Caucus will be held.  After setting up my book table outside of the ballroom the Secret Service stops by to inform me that Michelle Obama will be speaking this morning.  I hear Barbara Boxer, and once again Susan Turnbull and of course Valerie, Michelle Obama’s long time friend. 

There’s a bit of excitement when three women pull off their jackets to reveal tee shirts that say, “I Regret Having My Abortion.”  They start yelling and being disruptive, so they are escorted out by the police.  Everyone is glad they didn’t do it when Michelle Obama was speaking.  I wonder to myself, why they don’t get counseling or adopt a child.  I tell you if it was my issue, I would do something positive about it instead of engaging in silly pranks.

Michelle Obama arrives and she is smart, articulate and funny.  I get photos of her from the front row.  It’s a great morning and I meet lots of Democrats from all over the country and a few from New Mexico stop by to say hello and or to  get a copy of the book.

I run into Jennifer from Tom Udall’s campaign. Tom is running for Senator to take Pete Domenici’s slot.  Domenici was the Republican Senator from NM who held onto his seat for 36 years!  Can you believe 36 years?  I think we NEED term limits.  Anyway, Jennifer gets me a ticket for the Obama event tonight. 

CaféMom, RanaAurora’s (Christy) Dad, Dallas calls and we confirm a meeting.  Dallas is with the Denver Post and wants to pick up a couple of copies of the book and discuss my motivation for writing it.  We meet for lunch and I meet a Café Mom Dad.   Photos to be posted later!

Dallas of the Denver Post.com and Bernadette

After lunch I head to my homebase in Denver and then I drive back downtown, park my car, catch the bus and then a train to Inveso Field.  I meet people and make friends along the way.  Since, it is late 4:30ish, the lines move quickly and it is an easy and enjoyable hike into the field. 

There is an indescribable electricity and excitement in the air… Here's the speech:

"The American Promise"
Democratic National Convention
August 28, 2008
Denver, Colorado

As prepared for delivery

----

To Chairman Dean and my great friend Dick Durbin; and to all my fellow citizens of this great nation;

With profound gratitude and great humility, I accept your nomination for the presidency of the United States.
.
Let me express my thanks to the historic slate of candidates who accompanied me on this journey, and especially the one who traveled the farthest - a champion for working Americans and an inspiration to my daughters and to yours -- Hillary Rodham Clinton. To President Clinton, who last night made the case for change as only he can make it; to Ted Kennedy, who embodies the spirit of service; and to the next Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden, I thank you. I am grateful to finish this journey with one of the finest statesmen of our time, a man at ease with everyone from world leaders to the conductors on the Amtrak train he still takes home every night.

To the love of my life, our next First Lady, Michelle Obama, and to Sasha and Malia - I love you so much, and I'm so proud of all of you.

 

 

Four years ago, I stood before you and told you my story - of the brief union between a young man from Kenya and a young woman from Kansas who weren't well-off or well-known, but shared a belief that in America, their son could achieve whatever he put his mind to.

It is that promise that has always set this country apart - that through hard work and sacrifice, each of us can pursue our individual dreams but still come together as one American family, to ensure that the next generation can pursue their dreams as well.

That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors -- found the courage to keep it alive.

We meet at one of those defining moments - a moment when our nation is at war, our economy is in turmoil, and the American promise has been threatened once more.

Tonight, more Americans are out of work and more are working harder for less. More of you have lost your homes and even more are watching your home values plummet. More of you have cars you can't afford to drive, credit card bills you can't afford to pay, and tuition that's beyond your reach.

These challenges are not all of government's making. But the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush.

America, we are better than these last eight years. We are a better country than this.

This country is more decent than one where a woman in Ohio, on the brink of retirement, finds herself one illness away from disaster after a lifetime of hard work.

This country is more generous than one where a man in Indiana has to pack up the equipment he's worked on for twenty years and watch it shipped off to China, and then chokes up as he explains how he felt like a failure when he went home to tell his family the news.

We are more compassionate than a government that lets veterans sleep on our streets and families slide into poverty; that sits on its hands while a major American city drowns before our eyes.

Tonight, I say to the American people, to Democrats and Republicans and Independents across this great land - enough! This moment - this election - is our chance to keep, in the 21st century, the American promise alive. Because next week, in Minnesota, the same party that brought you two terms of George Bush and Dick Cheney will ask this country for a third. And we are here because we love this country too much to let the next four years look like the last eight. On November 4th, we must stand up and say: "Eight is enough."

Now let there be no doubt. The Republican nominee, John McCain, has worn the uniform of our country with bravery and distinction, and for that we owe him our gratitude and respect. And next week, we'll also hear about those occasions when he's broken with his party as evidence that he can deliver the change that we need.

But the record's clear: John McCain has voted with George Bush ninety percent of the time. Senator McCain likes to talk about judgment, but really, what does it say about your judgment when you think George Bush has been right more than ninety percent of the time? I don't know about you, but I'm not ready to take a ten percent chance on change.

The truth is, on issue after issue that would make a difference in your lives - on health care and education and the economy - Senator McCain has been anything but independent. He said that our economy has made "great progress" under this President. He said that the fundamentals of the economy are strong. And when one of his chief advisors - the man who wrote his economic plan - was talking about the anxiety Americans are feeling, he said that we were just suffering from a "mental recession," and that we've become, and I quote, "a nation of whiners."

A nation of whiners? Tell that to the proud auto workers at a Michigan plant who, after they found out it was closing, kept showing up every day and working as hard as ever, because they knew there were people who counted on the brakes that they made. Tell that to the military families who shoulder their burdens silently as they watch their loved ones leave for their third or fourth or fifth tour of duty. These are not whiners. They work hard and give back and keep going without complaint. These are the Americans that I know.

Now, I don't believe that Senator McCain doesn't care what's going on in the lives of Americans. I just think he doesn't know. Why else would he define middle-class as someone making under five million dollars a year? How else could he propose hundreds of billions in tax breaks for big corporations and oil companies but not one penny of tax relief to more than one hundred million Americans? How else could he offer a health care plan that would actually tax people's benefits, or an education plan that would do nothing to help families pay for college, or a plan that would privatize Social Security and gamble your retirement?

It's not because John McCain doesn't care. It's because John McCain doesn't get it.

For over two decades, he's subscribed to that old, discredited Republican philosophy - give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else. In Washington, they call this the Ownership Society, but what it really means is - you're on your own. Out of work? Tough luck. No health care? The market will fix it. Born into poverty? Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps - even if you don't have boots. You're on your own.

Well it's time for them to own their failure. It's time for us to change America.

You see, we Democrats have a very different measure of what constitutes progress in this country.

We measure progress by how many people can find a job that pays the mortgage; whether you can put a little extra money away at the end of each month so you can someday watch your child receive her college diploma. We measure progress in the 23 million new jobs that were created when Bill Clinton was President - when the average American family saw its income go up $7,500 instead of down $2,000 like it has under George Bush.

We measure the strength of our economy not by the number of billionaires we have or the profits of the Fortune 500, but by whether someone with a good idea can take a risk and start a new business, or whether the waitress who lives on tips can take a day off to look after a sick kid without losing her job - an economy that honors the dignity of work.

The fundamentals we use to measure economic strength are whether we are living up to that fundamental promise that has made this country great - a promise that is the only reason I am standing here tonight.

Because in the faces of those young veterans who come back from Iraq and Afghanistan, I see my grandfather, who signed up after Pearl Harbor, marched in Patton's Army, and was rewarded by a grateful nation with the chance to go to college on the GI Bill.

In the face of that young student who sleeps just three hours before working the night shift,<

[EstrellaStar]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 12:30 AM

Wow How Exciting! It seems you are really in the heart of it all.Great on selling those books too.

 

[eammarx]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 12:43 AM

WOW! Amazing!! :)

[jennyoh]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 2:16 AM

keep updating! i loved reading this!

[RanaAurora]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 5:19 AM

Awesome!  I'm glad you're enjoying yourself!  I should tell my dad to keep an eye out for you.  He's been down and around as a journalist outside the convention, and he'll be inside Invesco Field on Thursday.

[PamR]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 7:52 AM I'm so jealous!! Love hearing about what's going on - thanks~

[Raintree]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 8:04 AM

Keep updating, and enjoy my old hometown!

[rgh3angel]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 9:21 AM

Kudos on the book sale!

I'm so glad you found a great place to hole up for the week instead of your car.. been there done that it's not fun lol

Michelle Obama ROCKED, I was so proud to be a democrat and a woman while watching her speak!

I watched MSNBC all night and Chris Matthews was annyoning me (as usual) for a while until Pat Buchanan made that stupid comment about Michelle Obama not mentioning Christianity enough (whatever Pat.. as Gene Robinson pointed out she had quite a few God Bless' in there!!!) Chris' comments to him that there is no God clause in the constitution was spot on and I was glad to here him say it. Redeemed himself a wee bit.

Anyway, I'm babbling on your blog sorry LOL

Glad you're having fun and I can't wait to hear more... if you run into Rachel Maddow please tell her I am completely head over heels in love with her LOL (seriously, she's got to be the smartest, sharpest, best face on television and she's a woman to boot! WOOHOO!)

 

 

[SRiveroC]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 9:52 AM

Good stuff! Keep updating us :)

[adulation]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 11:35 AM

how exciting to be in denver right now.! 

[Jeangenie]

Aug. 26, 2008 at 12:58 PM It's so exciting hearing from you while you're there. And the good karma is flowing for you, congrats! As your stay continues, please update us, I love hearing about all of this.