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William D. Randall's Blog (of no particular interest to no one in particular)
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"We Have Just Begun to Fight...." Winston Churchill "Audentes Fortuna Juvat" - "Fortune Favors the Bold"
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Wednesday, April 20, 2005
We Interrupt This Program..... I figured now would be a good as time as any to finally post something as it has been a busy weekend for me. Last weekend I (along with my brother) was a delegate to the California Democratic Party's statewide convention in Los Angeles. It was the craziest 72 hours I have had in a long time, but I really needed it. Friday was somewhat slow; my first official duty was to register and to pick up my delegate badge and my agenda for the weekend. I wasn't too excited about anything on the agenda, except for a few things. Dean's speech on Saturday night, the Hospitality suites on both Friday and Saturday, and some of the floor town halls (mainly just to hear the speeches of Nancy Pelosi and Barbara Boxer). The next meeting was a new delegate orientation. It really needed to be longer and more comprehensive. I would have included a brief video on the history of the Democratic Party in CA and a better discussion of the responsibilities of delegates. Starting with the first day of the convention, all of the delegates are now official members of the state central committee for a 2-year term, ending with the nominating convention. This convention was more of a procedural one as the only business we were really faced with was the election of a new Northern vice-chair and the passage of numerous resolutions pertaining to the proposed special election and the party's position on the Iraq war. However, I'll discuss that more when I get to Sunday. I decided to skip the caucus meetings, as there was not a caucus that represented my interests. I don't think the party is quite ready for an atheist twins caucus, but it was my running joke throughout the weekend. Friday night was the whole reason for showing up. The hospitality suites were hopping as L.A. Councilwoman Janice Hahn was hosting a dance party, and State Senator Joe Dunn hosted his Irish Bash with green beer and Corn beef sandwiches. The best part of being a democrat however is that we believe in welfare, the welfare of ourselves and others, and what better way to give back then by giving away FREE green beer. Other Suites had similar affairs, with the Teacher's association hosting a dessert and coffee bar. Now I'm not saying conventions are about the parties (really they are) but after being a staff member for two national conventions, a volunteer at a previous Dems state convention in Anaheim, and now finely being a delegate in this one, I have realized that only a very small number of persons attend to do business. Many would like to get rid of the formalities as soon as possible and resume drinking. Saturday was more of the same, except this time the floor sessions kicked off. For the first time the state party decided to experiment with a town hall format that allowed for more interaction between the delegates and the speakers. Much like other concepts, the town hall format was great in theory, but bad in practice. It must have been due to the speaker setup but half the time I was straining to hear the speakers, so I decided to spend more time in the exhibit hall instead. The only statewide elected official who I have numerous contacts with is State Senator Joe Dunn, who announced his candidacy for State Treasurer. I spent some time helping around their booth, and talking to the president of the Orange County Young Democrats, Tim who is a member of their campaign staff and a fellow co-worker of mine with OCVF. Sat Night was the election for the California Young Democrats. I decided to skip part of the election (16 hours in L.A. will make anyone hungry) so I could catch some Dinner at the Original Pantry in Downtown. I figured I might as well beat the crowds. While it was a little pricey, the food was good. Just as I returned for the convention, the vote for president was just ending with our guy losing by 2 votes. (Only if the O.C. could organize more YD clubs could we have tipped the vote). The election would continue to last until about 10 pm. Finished with my duties there; I decided to catch the tail end of Howard Dean's speech. It was everything that the New Democratic message should be, "we fight to protect you, not to tell you what to do and how to do it." I also really appreciate his argument about framing the message in a way that we can win, by setting the message before it is defined by the other guys. And of course no Saturday night would be complete without some parties. Again free beer would flow (not just from one suite) and delegates would be able to hob nob with top elected officials. Throughout the entire weekend, I was able to meet with the entire slate of constitutional officers and a couple well-known candidates as well, such as fmr Gov. Jerry Brown (More in politico mode and less in discussion of specifics mode). Sunday was the only day were I actually had to do anything. Since there were so many new delegates, the process of voting on and submitting referendums was tedious to say the least. The Patrick Henry Democrats submitted two measures, one pertaining to Iraq and one pertaining to the nomination of the Bolte and Negroponte. If the public were to have seen the original drafts, I would personally have used the phrase "left-wing nutjobs." The modified measures were a lot more palatable, and I had no hesitation in voting for them. However when an objection was raised to the measure, I was appalled by the lack of decorum showed to the speaker. They started yelling and booing him in an effort to drown him out. The measure passed, but the chair did recognize him for the courage to voice his opinions. I also was in support of the Steroid measure, but I think the measure as amended may open up some major loopholes. My only major gripe about the entire session is that there was too much complaining about Arnold and not enough discussion about solutions. I only wished the L.A. Times decided to run their article about Prop 13 on Friday instead of Sunday, as it was an intelligent discussion about one of the biggest mistakes in the I.R.R. process and how we should go about correcting it. Of course, I don't really see Arnold proposing any true structural solutions as well, except for how to structure a photo op. Oh...Did I mention I finally was accepted to a Law School. I'll unveil "my final answer" in a future post.....WDR
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