44th Quadrennial Democrat Convention

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 05:56 PM

It's on...the Boston (D) Party!

I'll be watching the convention quite a bit, because I'm a political junkie and I like watching the pep rally for the other team more, I think, then I do watching my own side get its rah! rah! on.

Tonight is a biggie. Former President James "Jimmy" Carter and marginalized Democrat maniac Al Gore will speak. And then in primetime, current Dem superstar Hillary Rodham Clinton will introduce her husband Bill, aka "The Kid from Hope." You might have seen the last two on their book tour.

Anyone wants to join me, OK. Bring your funny hat, your lapel pin, and a noise- and/or boilermaker, as suits your needs. [Fun drinking game: hoist your wrist and do a Ted Kennedy every time a speaker says the words "strong at home and respected abroad"].

Dr Dave · July-26th-2004, 07:04 PM

It's the "Democratic Convention" not the "Democrat" Convention, Monte. Have a little courtesy. "Democrat Party" was a coinage of George H. W. Bush, whose command of the English language looks good only in comparison to his son's.

crawjo · July-26th-2004, 08:08 PM

I liked that earlier in the day C-SPAN showed Walter Mondale's speech at the '84 convention. Kind of like watching a plane taking off that you know is going to crash and burn.

bluenoter · July-26th-2004, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Anyone wants to join me, OK. Bring your funny hat, your lapel pin, and a noise- and/or boilermaker, as suits your needs.

I'm fixin' to join you via PBS, Monte. Unfortunately, the boilermaker went back to Tennessee years ago, and nobody's heard from him since. His other DC friends and I were actually hoping that he was in jail, because at least then we'd know that he was safe.

Sorry. I haven't come across the word "boilermaker" in a long time.

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crawjo

I liked that earlier in the day C-SPAN showed Walter Mondale's speech at the '84 convention. Kind of like watching a plane taking off that you know is going to crash and burn.

I listened to that in the car, crawjo. Huh-larious. My favorite part was where Fritz spoke of how a second Mondale-Ferraro inauguration, going into a second term, would take place in January 1989. Thus Fritz was able to envision what he foresaw as desirable in "the coming decade," meaning the 90s: "I want to be able to ask our children what their dreams are, and not hear about a nuclear nightmare." He then went on to bang his shoe on the podium asking why Reagan had failed at nuclear disarmament and why he hadn't tried to negotiate with the Soviets, why, why, WHY, WHY?! WHY!!

Rich, given that a few short years later, the tenuous position of the Communist tyrants would retro-actively be declared "inevitable" by the foreign policy mavens.

But one thing struck me: early on in this 2004 convention, a Democrat moneyman got the podium and he could have been reading Mondale's 1984 speech verbatim. Deficits destroying our childrens' future, &c.

Again, rich.

Dave: I don't think the usage began with either of the Bushes, but "Democrat" is perfectly acceptable to me. Sorry it doesn't knock your socks off.

Rita: if you and I get together on election night, I'll reacquaint you with the boilermaker. Either you or I will need a mess of them, I guess.

Gordon B · July-26th-2004, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Dave

It's the "Democratic Convention" not the "Democrat" Convention, Monte. Have a little courtesy. "Democrat Party" was a coinage of George H. W. Bush, whose command of the English language looks good only in comparison to his son's.

Did you make this up? I"m sure I had already heard the term "Democrat Party" when Prescott Bush was the only elected member of the family but if you can present a source for your dubious claim, I'll strike my remarks.

crawjo · July-26th-2004, 09:50 PM

Yeah, that was eerie. Parts of Al Gore's speech sounded like they were plagiarized from Mondale's, actually. I actually kind of liked Mondale's speech...I mean, when I was listening to it, I tried to put myself back in 1984. Of course, a lot of what Mondale said was proven wrong, but I thought it was a nice speech, all the same. Mondale seemed very modest, almost lacking in confidence a little bit.

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crawjo

Mondale seemed very modest, almost lacking in confidence a little bit.

Yup. Mondale's swell. He made my 2002, when he had to give yet another concession speech because the voters rejected his attempt to succeed Paul Wellstone as Minnesota Senator. It was like the 80s all over again. You can't buy that.

Speaking of reruns and oldies, I'm digging the Demcrat house band. They are playing some fierce 70s covers. Yeah, they really don't need to sing lyrics like "I...ah aieeee...am John Kerry people" to Sly Stone tunes, but whatever.

1970s! Yeah, the Democrats are feeling powerful.

willy · July-26th-2004, 10:27 PM

Speaking of the Democrat love fest, I read somewhere that Al Jazeera has a booth there. The DNC made them remove their Al Jazeera sign and replace it with something else. Also, the DNC is telling Democrats to not allow Al Jazeera to interview them.

Can anyone confirm that Al Jazeera is there?

Captain Hate · July-26th-2004, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willy

The DNC made them remove their Al Jazeera sign and replace it with something else.

NPR?

Captain Hate · July-26th-2004, 10:36 PM

Our buddy Alex isn't with us anymore; but here's a gift from him to all you Kerrybots: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3189

Tanager · July-26th-2004, 11:02 PM

Love him or hate him, Bill Clinton is one fucking kickass speaker. Once again, I'd like to send a big fuck you to Al Gore.

Uli · July-26th-2004, 11:09 PM

Amen, Tan.

Send Kerry!

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tanager

Bill Clinton is one fucking kickass speaker.

He is. He rocked. Every time the guy opens his mouth, he makes you think "He should be President!" And then he gets in office and screws around and less than accomplishing nothing, doesn't even really attempt anything real. That's the Clinton tragedy. Tragedy? Probably not for me. I wouldn't like it if that much charisma was hooked up with that much smarts and an actual progressive agenda. As it happened, the Boy from Hope frittered away his eight years, accomplishing only welfare reform and the bombing of Serbia. I wish he was a Republican, though. We could send his ass to charm the thongs off of al Qaeda.

Willy: you are correct about al Jazeera at the Dem convention. They are there but cannot display their banner or interview anyone. [Free speech! yuk yuk yuk]. They are, therefore, the second least popular media outfit after Fox.

Uli · July-26th-2004, 11:17 PM

Well, Monte, he managed to balance a budget well out of line from the previous Republican big spenders, among other things.

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uli

Well, Monte, he managed to balance a budget well out of line from the previous Republican big spender.

Oh come on. Look at the economic cards he was handed by a revolution in information technology. I am no reflexive foe of the former President--I know his strengths, I know his weaknesses, and best of all I know his accomplishments (because they were pretty conservative). But genius management of the government economy is simply not something that Bill Clinton either attempted or accomplished. He found the tax rolls swollen with the dot.com bubble and loved it. So did I, until March 2000.

moneyp · July-26th-2004, 11:24 PM

Quote:

Our buddy Alex isn't with us anymore; but here's a gift from him to all you Kerrybots: http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3189

Captain, if I agree with you that the ABB/Kerry crowd is just spitting in the wind, is it fair to say that you're just spitting for the other side?

Uli · July-26th-2004, 11:33 PM

Monte, you probably forgot, that Clinton beat the previous Bush with "It's the Economy, Stupid!"

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 11:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uli

Monte, you probably forgot, that Clinton beat the previous Bush with "It's the Economy, Stupid!"

Which contradicts my previous statement not a bit. But if Kerry is teaching us anything this go-round, then it is "It's not the economy, stupid. It's what we say about the economy." Which is stupid. But could work.

cookie · July-26th-2004, 11:41 PM

I watched on C-Span. What I love about C-Span is that they just show it. Talking heads are kept to a minimum.

I heard Carter on the radio. "America cannot lead if our leaders mislead..." or something like that.

Al Gore: he was tough. I felt like he cared again.

The gentleman who served with Kerry: enjoyed his story and delivery.

Hillary: Hillary looks better than she ever has in her life. I'm proud to have her as a senator. She has worked very hard for us. "A serious man for a serious job in serious time." Right on (btw: while I'm a Hillary fan, I'm not sold on the idea that her running for president would neccessarily be a good idea).

Bill: I was so glad to see him there. I'd vote for him again if he could run. I thought he did an admirable job pointing out how the Republican's protected "his" tax cut at the expense of programs for the poor and middle class. I thought he did a good job in articulating the basic difference between the Democratic and Republican approaches.

And Patti LaBelle kicked ass on "A Change Is Gonna Come." My God! That woman sings like a house on fire. Wow.

Monte Smith · July-26th-2004, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cookie

I thought he did an admirable job pointing out how the Republican's protected "his" tax cut at the expense of programs for the poor and middle class.

If Kerry gets in, I hope he raises Bill Clinton's taxes and not yours or mine, cookie. But, uh, I'm not going to hold my breath.

crawjo · July-26th-2004, 11:54 PM

My reaction:

Decent speeches by Al Gore and Jimmy Carter. The women Senators thing was really lame, and when they brought out the children to sing a song, that's when I said "Oh great, now they're bringing out the children" and turned the tv off for awhile. I'm sure the Republicans will do some similarly stupid thing. Anyway, because of that I missed Hillary's speech, but caught Clinton's speech.

There was some bullshitting going on in that speech of course, but as a speech I thought it was superb. Funny, articulate...Clinton would destroy Bush in an election. It was one of the best speeches I've ever seen Clinton give. I especially liked the part where he acknowledged that he was a draft dodger, but Kerry wasn't. Very effective.

Monte Smith · July-27th-2004, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crawjo

...when they brought out the children to sing a song, that's when I said "Oh great, now they're bringing out the children" and turned the tv off for awhile. I'm sure the Republicans will do some similarly stupid thing.

Aw! You missed the baseball-playing retards! Evidently, there are differently-abled kids enjoying the national pastime in Boston ONLY because John Kerry is there to make a difference.

Exploitation anyone?

But you are right: the Republican convention will feature similar maudlin tales.

Monte Smith · July-27th-2004, 12:29 AM

I'm watching Carter declaim on the reruns. The man proves himself with every word a better candidate for Swedish awards than an American President. But I guess the excitement of the day is over, pity.

Tomorrow, we have the promise of a speech by Maya Angelou. I wonder what she'll wear. If her effort gains by half the achievement of the doggerel she laid at Clinton's inauguration, I shall be in stitches.

A Rock, A Tree, A River.

bluenoter · July-27th-2004, 12:52 AM

As it turned out, I missed it all. I don't have cable or satellite, but maybe I'll catch a replay on C-SPAN tomorrow (unless I can find one on a broadcast station tonight).

Re election night--interesting thought, Monte! But on that night, of all nights, I think I'll need to be with "my own," if I don't end up screaming at the TV screen (one way or the other) all by myself.

walto · July-27th-2004, 07:25 AM

Bill still gives much better speech than Hillary. Hers was one of those modular, field-tested laundry list things. His hung together more and had some funny lines about how nice the Repubs are too him now that he's rich. Still, no Cuomos.

Dr Dave · July-27th-2004, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Dave: I don't think the usage began with either of the Bushes, but "Democrat" is perfectly acceptable to me. Sorry it doesn't knock your socks off.

An admittedly cursory search of the Internet did not reveal the origin of the term "Democrat Party," but it did make it abundantly clear that it is used only by Republicans. It's a term of insult, a refusal to say the party's proper name.

So, yeah, I'm sure it's perfectly acceptable to you.

Chris D · July-27th-2004, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willy

Speaking of the Democrat love fest, I read somewhere that Al Jazeera has a booth there. The DNC made them remove their Al Jazeera sign and replace it with something else. Also, the DNC is telling Democrats to not allow Al Jazeera to interview them.

Can anyone confirm that Al Jazeera is there?

They're there, and they'll be at the Plutocratic Convention as well, from what I understand.

July-27th-2004, 09:58 AM

...and they are related to ABC.

lynn · July-27th-2004, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monte Smith

Aw! You missed the baseball-playing retards!

I guess you are not a suscriber to compationate conservatism.

It is interesting to switch between CNN and FOX. I understand that they were whining in the RNC war room that there just wasn't enough democratic anger for them to spin off of. They must be twisting in their shorts.