I'm not the least bit surprised Gov. Dean is supporting Perkins in this runoff. When Giles was talking to me last week (video below) about small donors, bringing people back to the Democratic party and reducing special interest influence, I couldn't help but think of Howard Dean and his famous exhortation (above) for progressive Democrats to get involved and take our country back for the people who built it!
We needed to take our party back first, truth be told. And we've made real progress on that at the federal level, but Alabama is behind the curve. We have in this runoff a clear choice between a progressive candidate (Giles Perkins) and a business as usual candidate (James Anderson). Vote accordingly, and remember that you can vote with your pocketbook as often as you like.
"I think the way he way we build trust in the Democratic party, and more importantly the way we build trust in government, is by getting more people involved with the process, and involved also means giving $10, $25, $50.
And the party ought to be about building that donor base and giving them a reason to support our candidates and giving them candidates they can trust and identify with. But right now for years, we've relied on a handful of big donors and that's not the future. The future is getting people invested in our progressive Democratic politics in Alabama and getting them to help us win.
... We need to inform the voters, who are also going to become these small donors, that there are candidates out there that they can care about. There are candidates that are going to speak the truth and fight for the things that are important. And if that happens I think the model will build itself. And you won't feel this detachment for candidates because the're funded by the big interests and they never take them on and we'll see a sea change. I think that's coming in Alabama in the next couple of years.
... You've got to put ethics first, and if we start solving that - if we're saying we don't lie, we don't cheat and we don't steal - then they're going to trust us, they're going to invest in us, and we're going to be able to take on some other fights."
We've seen and heard the so-called "Dean Scream" too many times since the Iowa Presidential Caucuses 6 years ago this month. Many people have tried to put the truth out about what a fraud the media perpetrated on Howard Dean and, more importantly, the people of this country. Well, there is no better evidence of this than the above clip.
I've owned a DVD of the film for years, but discovered just recently that a clip from the documentary is up on YouTube. The scene captured is a pretty damning indictment of the role of the media in this country in the creation and perpuation of a lie.
Why tort reform isn't on the bill, and why Comparative Effectiveness will reform tort by setting a national standard of care.
Policy vs. Politics in the press. Why private health care is no better solution that all-private schools.
The privacy issues about the chipped cards. Dean: "there really is no answer". [there ought to be, Dr. Dean. Don't put that info on the cards!]
On why should we trust government to run health care? They do bring up how much more expensive having the private contractors were when they were invited into the Iraq War.
Canada again...so why do they live longer?
Best Moment: Randall Terry hauled out by police :)
Watch, listen and learn. Dr. Dean explains the public option for dummies, and the difference between politics and policy. The gop is playing politics with our lives.
(We often forget about American citizens who live abroad. Thanks for the timely reminder. - promoted by mooncat)
Not all of those who turned out to hear the Obama address in Berlin are German citizens. The links below may give a little more perspective to the Obama overseas tour. Current media pundits and wannabe anchors are framing the Obama visit as (slight) pandering to Europeans. However, there are a considerable number of American voterswho live abroad and who are also eligible voters in the coming election.
"At 6.5 million, that would make a conglomeration of the U.S. citizens living abroad the 13th most populous state just ahead of Massachusetts, but the Democrats living abroad will get just 22 delegates," - International Herald Tribune
Democrats Abroad click on "country groups" to get some perspective.
Don't know why American media don't talk more about the existence of these organizations? (snark)
Click here to watch an ealier speech given by Howard Dean to Democrats Abroad Australia
Left in Alabama is on the road this week in Austin, Texas to bring you all the news that’s fit to print from the Netroots Nation convention. We arrived a bit early, hoping to see a few of the sights and enjoy that big Texas ambiance before the convention kicks off this morning. I have to congratulate everyone involved, especially the Texas netroots, on the selection of Austin for this event. It’s a beautiful city, many dining and drinking establishments are within easy walk of the convention center, and – big surprise in the heart of beef country – the restaurants are vegetarian friendly.
We had lunch at Threadgill’s – not the original building where Janis Joplin performed before anyone ever heard of her, but a slightly newer one. I’m an experienced, discriminating consumer of onion rings and I do believe theirs are the best in the world, My three vegetable plate also carried fried okra, coleslaw and cornbread. All good, and I promise I’ll go back to healthy eating next week, if my arteries survive that long.
This sticker, seen on the bumper of a fairly old, brave car, perfectly illustrates why Austin is a great place to have a liberal/progressive convention. Considering we're deep in the heart of a red state (Austin is the capitol, you know, where W got his political start) you don’t see a lot of Bush stickers on vehicles -- not nearly as many as back home in Alabama. Austin is pretty open-minded, and Texas has a thriving netroots community working to blue up the rest of the state, too.
"I feel very confident saying we're the most prominent state-level blogosphere in America," said [Vince] Leibowitz, a founding member of the bloggers' group the Texas Progressive Alliance.
They’ll be sharing some tips and techniques with the rest of us in the next few days. You can see the agenda here.
Today I'm planning to attend the ground game workshop, the Blogs United and state level blogger caucuses, Register to Win and maybe the rural caucus. Tonight's keynote features DNC Chairman Howard Dean and we've been told that General Wes Clark will also speak tonight.
Gov. Dean will be kicking off a National Voter Registration Drive today as well, with a big rally outside the convention center at noon.
The Democratic National Committee announced today that Governor Howard Dean will lead a national grassroots voterregistration effort. The cross country bus tour, "Register for Change," will build on the overwhelming enthusiasm and voter turnout seen during the primaries as Democrats mobilize and organize voters for the fall election. The bio-diesel bus, flagged in red, white and blue with the Register for Change message, is 45' long, 13'4" high and 8.5' wide and will also serve as a mobile campaign office. The bus tour also builds on the success of the DNC's 50-state strategy and Senator Obama's commitment to running a 50 state campaign, and the belief that if Democrats show up and ask for people's votes, we can win everywhere. Throughout the tour Governor Dean will engage local leaders and grassroots activists in the effort to register new voters and talk about Barack Obama's strong message of change.
Starting Thursday, you can register to vote, find more information on how to register others to vote and follow the bus tour state-by-state at registerforchange.com.
Upcoming:A Conversation with Don Siegelman will be tomorrow morning at 10:30. Look for liveblogging of that session here and you can listen live at AirAmerica.
This will be the third straight year that DNC Chairman Howard Dean has made time in his busy schedule to connect with the growing progressive online community -- the netroots -- at the premier leftwing blogger convention. Via email:
We are thrilled to announce that Gov. Howard Dean will kick off the 2008 Netroots Nation convention as Thursday's evening keynote speaker.
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee and governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 addressed the Netroots community at the 2006 and 2007 conventions. This year, we're especially proud to recognize his efforts to create an active, effective movement by organizing in every precinct and in every state.
Dean has been one of the most influential forces in the progressive movement. As chairman of the DNC, he has worked to make Democrats competitive in every race, district and state, while integrating national and state party operations and standing up for Democrats' core values.
His belief that every citizen matters, from California to Connecticut, from Alaska to Mississippi, echoes our belief that the voices of all Americans deserve to be heard.
Netroots Nation is July 17-20 in Austin, TX. So if you haven't registered, now's the time!
I'll be in Austin for Netroots Nation. Who else is planning to be there? Last year there were 6 of us from Alabama -- we ought to have at least a dozen this year.
Barack Obama did two great things for the Democratic Party today. He kept Howard Dean as head of the DNC and he pledged that the DNC will no longer take money from PACs and federal lobbyists.
"Senator Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party at the grass-roots level and looks forward to working with him as the chairman of the Democratic Party as we go forward," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
Barack Obama, today at a town hall meeting in Bristol, Virginia.
Throughout my career, in Illinois and the United States Senate, I've worked to reduce the power of special interests and the power of lobbyists. I've sent a strong signal in this campaign by refusing to take contributions from federal registered lobbyists and from PACs.
And today, today as the Democratic nominee for president, I am announcing that going forward, the Democratic National Committee will uphold the same standard — we will not take a dime from Washington lobbyists or special interest PACs.
We are going to change how Washington works. They will not fund my party. They will not run our White House and they will not drown out the voice of the American people when I'm President of the United States of America.
I couldn't be happier that Obama has asked Howard Dean to stay and pulled up the welcome mat for special interest money. Obama has run a 50 state primary campaign and today's development signals that the party will continue Dean's "election by election, state by state, precinct by precinct, door by door, vote by vote" strategy to "take this country back for the people who built it." And we're not doing it with money from federal lobbyists and PACs. This is not the DLC's Democratic Party -- and this grassroots Democrat is thrilled to death to hear it.
Doc's Political Parlor will represent Alabama as a member of the Democratic Convention's "State Blogger Corps." Although Democrats included bloggers in the press pool for the 2004 Convention, I don't think any Alabama blogs were included. Republicans haven't decided how many independent bloggers they will credential for their convention, but there is no chance they will include one from every state and territory as the DNCC did. This credentialing is a real victory for independent and citizen driven media. State bloggers will have floor and hall credentials and will be seated with their state delegations -- no wifi connection though.
The DNCC previously announced an expansion of the credentialed blogger pool from past Conventions and the addition of a state blogger credentialing program. As part of the new DemConvention State Blogger Corps, designed for bloggers covering state and local politics, bloggers will receive unparalleled access to state delegations and the floor of the Convention hall. In a truly unprecedented move, the DNCC will seat these bloggers with their respective delegations during the historic four-day event, providing even greater access for local coverage and perspective. Highlights from these blogs will also be featured on www.DemConvention.com in the lead up to and during the Convention.
Appropriately, DNC Chairman Howard Dean, architect of the 50 State Strategy, notified the blogs selected this morning by online video message.
Congratulations to Danny and his team at the Political Parlor -- they will undoubtedly provide great, insightful convention blogging for Alabama. As for those of us who didn't make the State Blogger Corps, we're still hoping for credential love from the DNCC as part of the general blogger pool.
Thanks to Crooks and Liars I have an overview of what the Talking TeeVee Pundit Heads were "discussing" today. Of course it was All Reverend Wright All The Time, UNfair and UNbalanced. I mean who cares about the war, or our troops, or gas prices, or the economy, or health care when we've got Reverend Wright to bash and smear?
Rangel: It’s disgraceful that he has to make any explanation for anything. The intrusion of the media and Republicans into the sacred relationship that worshipers have with their spiritual leaders I think is going to come back to haunt us. To think that we have to go into the lives and the beliefs of Rabbis and Priests and ministers and Imams is absolutely ridiculous. We’ve got a war on. We’ve got an economy that’s splintered. I think the media should be more responsible and start dealing with those issues. I don’t think many people care what reverend Wright thinks and I don’t see why any candidate should have to explain what ..
Dean! Dean! He's our man, if he can't do it nobody can! Howard Dean blast Chris"Faux News" Wallace and calls them out for race baiting. I love Howard Dean. He is not afraid to tell it like it IS!
Wallace: Governor, are you suggesting that bringing up Jeremiah Wright is “race-baiting” and hate and divisive?
Dean:Yeah, I am suggesting that kind of stuff.I think when you start bringing up candidates that have nothing to do with the issues…uh when you start bringing up things that have nothing to do with the candidate, nothing to do with the issues, that’s race-baiting. And that’s exactly what it is.Just like Willie Horton was race-baiting so many years ago.I think we’re going to take…we’re going to turn the page on this stuff.I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of difference between the Republicans and the Democrats on issues, but the biggest issue of all is we don’t use this kind of stuff.We never have used this kind of stuff and we’re not going to start now.America is more important than the Republican party and that’s the lesson the voters are about to teach the Republicans.
*Snicker
Chris "Tweety" Matthews says who cares what the American people think, we, I mean the GOP are going to make Wright an issue. I guess the media is making Wright an issue so McSame and the GOP won't have to, you know, like fighting them over there so we won't have to fight them over here.
Matthews:Can a brilliant politician – Barack included, perhaps, perhaps – turn this around? Can he show that he’s different?So different from the Rev. Wright that he should be elected President?
*Guilt by association?
Bob Schieffer of Face the Nation is finally seeing the light, sort of:
But the $64,000 question that Schieffer refuses to address is how much responsibility should the establishment media take upon itself for unconditionally and unquestioningly putting out White House talking points with no context or independent fact finding. Where is the onus on the Fourth Estate?
*Where indeed?
Despite what the "Liberal" media would have folks people, Reverend Wright has support and supporters.
Like the so-called liberal ministers in Alabama who chastised Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he sat imprisoned in a Birmingham Jail, these news pundits charge Rev. Wright, and by extension the black church, with "mixing politics with religion" and misleading "ignorant black people" into an adversarial relationship with "their government." And like those so-called "liberal" white preachers in Alabama who attacked Dr. King, several have even quoted various biblical texts as evidence that Rev. Wright, and Trinity United Church of Christ are not following Christian biblical principles.
*It's the media.
You won't see anyone from the PCUSA on TeeVee but thank God for the Blogosphere.
“Without strong theology, preaching becomes entertainment, and there is a tendency to make church life center around the preacher.”
*You think?
"...if by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people -- their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties -- someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a 'Liberal,' then I'm proud to say I'm a 'Liberal.'" --- JFK, NY Liberal Party Nomination, 9/14/1960
It's reached the point in Florida and Michigan where neither remaining candidate in the Democratic Party Marathon is even trying to sound reasonable, much less presidential. Hillary Clinton is arguing the unsupportable position that the original primaries should count, as originally formatted, even though they were held in opposition to party rules and with the understanding by all candidates that they would not count.
Obabma is arguing an equally unsupportable position that, because the political powers in the two states (and in Florida, this means the Republican-controlled legislature) broke the rules, the people of two of the largest and most critical states should be disenfranchised with regard to the party nominee.
DNC Chairman Howard Dean will attend a luncheon in Birmingham and a cocktail reception in Montgomery on March 11. Both events are fundraisers, with proceeds going to the DNC to support the State Partnership Program and the 50 State Strategy. These programs have increased the full time staff of the Alabama Democratic Party and have been a big plus for Alabama Democrats.
This is probably Gov. Deans last year as Chairman of the DNC and it's a perfect time to show how much his efforts are appreciated -- especially in a "red" state like Alabama!
During my blog surf today I came accross a post that I feel compelled to share over at jackandjillpolitics.com The title is Spread this message and this video for Obama and for us.
Excerpt:
I'm sharing a video made by one of the most impressive thinkers of our time who got behind Obama early and helped craft what is hands down the most innovative technology platform proposed by any presidential candidate.
His name is Lawrence Lessig. He's huge in the world of innovation and copyright and has made his new issue that of government corruption. He is worth listening to, for he is so down with the struggle, and the readers of this blog know something about struggle.
I don't have the technical expertise to include the direct video link on this post,. If you click on the link above it will take you directly to the video.It's awesome. I hope you enjoy it at much as I did.
Here's the embedded video. It's about 20 minutes. -- Mooncat
They couldn't find a ballroom in Chicago big enough for the YearlyKos crowd gathered to hear DNC Chairman Howard Dean's openng keynote last night. The (huge) room was packed and many -- like several hundred -- had to stand.
Howard Dean had a request for all of us: "Please call your representative today and ask them to get the voting machine bill passed now. The bill is stalled. We need secure voting for the 2008 election, 2010 is too late." The bill in question is H811. Here is an editorial on the subject from a Mississippi paper.
If the next presidential election were held today, one quarter of all registered voters would be forced to vote on paperless voting machines. These machines, known as DREs (for direct record electronic), record votes directly to computer memory and provide no other way to verify or retrieve that information.
[snip]
A federal bill, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act of 2007 (HR 811), would correct the problem in time for the 2008 presidential election. It calls for voter verified paper ballots and mandatory audits of voting machines.
So, please call your Congressmen today and urge them to act on HR811 now.
Jo Bonner (R, AL-01) Washington office (202) 225-4931
Terry Everett (R, AL-02) Washington office (202) 225-2901
Mike Rogers (R, AL-03) Washington office (202) 225-3261
Bud Cramer (D, AL-05) Washington office (202) 225-4801
Spencer Bachus (R, AL-06) Washington office (202) 225-4921
Artur Davis (D, AL-07) Washington office (202) 225-2665
So, please call or email them today and ask them to vote yes on HR 811 to restore confidence in our voting systems and the integrity of American elections.
Some quotes from Gov. Dean's speech last night:
"We believe there is something more important than our party -- that is our country."
"We can do better than this and we will do better than this."
"Democracy is a value of the Democratic party."
"Look who they (Republican party) have running for president. Doesn't that look like something out of the 1950's?"
Dean got a great response from the YearlyKos crowd, including several standing ovations. Senator Dick Durbin (D, IL) also addressed the crowd, although Senate business kept him in Washington. He looked great on the big screens.
The lowpoint of the evening was the announcement that Senator Hillary Clinton would not be attending her candidate breakout session following the Presidential Forum on Saturday. The crowd was very disappointed. Dodd, Edwards, Kucinich, Obama and Richardson will meet with their supporters in person after the forum, as planned.
Updated to include the statement from John Edwards.
When I was in my doctor's waiting room this morning, filling out forms and waiting, Bush was on the tube, defending his Iraq policy. Both TVs (big waiting room) were tuned to FOX, naturally. This is Alabama, after all. I should have asked if they would change the channel, but I just felt too rotten to bother.
This is W, responding to a question from Helen Thomas about how this mess in Iraq started:
THE PRESIDENT: Actually, I was hoping to solve the Iraqi issue diplomatically. ...
I had deleberately chosen a seat with no view of the screen, but I'm sure his pants burst into flame as he said that.
After wimping out myself, I'm glad that DNC Chairman Howard Dean made a quick response to the decider in chief. Short version: Bush has lost the war on terror, Iraq is in a civil war and the Democrats will end the war in Iraq.
"The choice is clear between the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates. Every single one of the Republicans - except for one who is a libertarian - has made it clear that they stand by the President's stay the course strategy in Iraq. Every single one of the Democratic candidates has made it clear they will get us out of Iraq responsibly.
"I want to talk about Iraq for a moment, and respond to what the President said earlier today about the interim report on the surge - a report Democrats forced him to have to make public.
"He refused once again to acknowledge the truth that is staring all of us in the face, stubbornly picking only the facts he wants to see and to hear. It seems he would rather keep our already overextended troops in the middle of a civil war instead of acknowledging what a majority of Americans already know: the surge is not working. Even senior military leaders have acknowledged the need for a political solution in Iraq.
"It's time for President Bush to recognize that this is not about saving political face and he cannot continue to ignore the will of the American people. This is about keeping America safe, saving American lives, and responsibly bringing our troops home. It's also about refocusing our efforts on fighting the war on terror, fighting the terrorists where they are - now resurging on the Afghan-Pakistani border.
"Here's what the President didn't tell you: Six months into the Republican surge, nearly 600 brave Americans have been killed and we have spent $60 billion in Iraq. Despite these extraordinary costs, Iraqis have met none of their political and economic benchmarks they set for themselves, the surge has failed to make Iraq more secure, and the war will continue to cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade. The disastrous failures of the Republican Iraq policy have given Al Qaeda time to reorganize and rebuild. And six years after 9/11, Osama bin Laden is still on the loose.
"We do not need to wait until September to acknowledge the truth that there has been no progress on the most critical benchmarks and that we need to transition the mission and get our troops out of Iraq in a thoughtful way.
"Our brave troops cannot solve Iraq's political problems. It is past time for the change of course in Iraq that Democrats have been pushing for and a Democratic president will bring - which includes a far more robust diplomatic effort to address the political problems as the Iraq Study Group recommended.
"The parallels between the mistakes being made today in Iraq and the behavior of our government during Vietnam are striking. Troops are sent abroad to fight by an Administration that refused to listen to the advice of military leaders. The Administration decides it is ok to conceal information from the Congress and the American people. Promises like 'stay the course' 'Peace is at Hand' or 'the insurgency is in its last throes' are made by an increasingly desperate Administration.
"A majority of the American people don't believe the President is telling the truth, while the Administration and its supporters question the patriotism and courage of those who disagree with them. And the victims continue to be brave American troops who are the targets of an insurgency because of failed political leadership and a lack of foresight and planning.
"The Democrats are standing up to President Bush on Iraq, and now even some Republicans in Congress are starting to change their rhetoric. But today when the House votes and next week when the Senate votes -- what really matters is not what they say, but whether or not Congressional Republicans will have the backbone, spine and courage - which they so far have failed to - and join Democrats and vote to bring our troops home.
"So far too few Republicans have joined us. Republicans will pay a price in 2008 for continuing to obstruct the will of the American people. The majority of the American people overwhelmingly want to end the war in Iraq. A majority of Americans believe that Democrats will end the war in Iraq, and they are right.
"In 2008, the best way to ensure that we end the war in Iraq will be to elect a Democratic president. We are going to do everything we can to do that."
I hope the Democrats will get us out of Iraq, and I don't want to wait until 2009 for a Democratic president to do it. Can't we just impeach now? At least "Fourth Branch" Dick Cheney.
Presidential candidate John Edwards was quick to release the following statement regarding the Bush press conference.
"The president's remarks today defending his Iraq policy without regard to actual facts border on the delusional. The president claimed that the same people attacking U.S. troops today are the ones who perpetrated 9/11. It must be nice to live in a world where your actions have no consequences. There was no group called Al Qaeda in Iraq before the president's disastrous mismanagement of the war gave them a foothold, a fact the president flagrantly ignores. After being discredited again and again, the president is still trying to link Iraq and 9/11 - a rationale for the war that virtually everyone except Dick Cheney has now recognized was false.
"The president needs to stop pretending and start taking responsibility for the results of his failed strategy: There are more terrorists. Al Qaeda is resurgent and restored to full strength. And that's according to the Bush Administration.
"We need a real strategy against terrorism, like the one I have offered. We need to take Al Qaeda in Iraq as seriously as we take terrorism anywhere. As president, I will apply the full extent of our security apparatus to protect our vital interests, to take measures to root out terrorist cells, and to strike swiftly and strongly against those who would do us harm. I will also launch a sweeping effort to eliminate the conditions that generate instability, radicalism, and violence toward the U.S. and our allies."
Delusional; disastrous mismanagement; flagrantly ignores. That's speaking the truth. Hit him with it again, John!
Last Thursday I had breakfast with DNC Chairman Howard Dean in Birmingham. Actually, I don’t think Gov. Dean ate a bite, but the other 160 of us enjoyed pastries, juice and coffee or tea. We also enjoyed hearing the Chairman’s take on the state of the Democratic Party and the direction he thinks it is moving.
Click “There's more” to see my notes, with Dean’s words in quotation marks. WARNING for those of you with dial-up connections, there are several photos.
Good news first: The breakfast and lunch events with DNC Chairman Howard Dean (see Upcoming Events at the right) scheduled for Thursday in Birmingham are going ahead as planned at 7:30 am and noon.
The fundraiser luncheon for John Edwards Thursday in Montgomery is also going ahead as planned.
The bad news is that Edwards will not address a joint session of the Alabama Legislature Thursday morning at 10 as originally planned. This is due to the dysfunctional behavior of the state Senate -- apparently they couldn't decide if they would be in session or not. Edwards was the first Democratic candidate scheduled to address the Legislature and it was to be his only public appearance this trip. As a consolation prize, here is a snippet of what he said today in a defense policy speech to the Council on Foreign Relations.
"We need a post-Bush, post-9/11, post-Iraq military that is mission focused on protecting Americans from 21st century threats, not misused for discredited ideological purposes," Edwards said. "By framing this as a war, we have walked right into the trap the terrorists have set — that we are engaged in some kind of clash of civilizations and a war on Islam."
He also called the war on terror a "bumper sticker" slogan used to justify everything from Abu Ghraib to the Iraq invasion. Strong stuff. Hope he'll make another trip soon.
Gov. Howard Dean will match wits with Stephen Colbert on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report tonight at 10:30 pm. The Dean segment will air at about 10:45. The show will be re-run tomorrow at 9:30 am, 1:30 pm and 7:30 pm. All times are Central Standard.
A recent study by Pew Research shows that viewers of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have the highest knowledge of national and international affairs. Predictably, Fox viewers have the lowest. We watch the Daily Show and the Colbert Report more than network news, but less than cable news like MSNBC & CNN. How about you? Click "Discuss" to take the poll.
For some reason (maybe the Feb. 5, 2008 presidential primary) a lot of prominent Democrats are putting in appearances here. Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama spoke in Selma on March 4th to commemorate the 1965 civil rights march. Retired General Wesley Clark made several stops here in January and former President Bill Clinton spoke at the Alabama Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner last month. Whatever the reason, it's a positive development that gives Alabamians a chance to see and hear party leaders up close and personal. We still don't have the level of kitchen table politics that Iowa and New Hampshire have, but this is miles better than 1999 and 2003. Check out these opportunities:
US Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. will Keynote the ADC Annual Convention Luncheon in Montgomery on Saturday, May 12, 2007, at 12:30 p.m. "Taking Back Alabama: Some Democratic Strategies for Success," is the theme of the convention.
Senator Hillary Clinton will be in the Mobile area on May 19th for a luncheon fundraiser at the home of Pat and Robert Edington. This is a small, high dollar ($4600 suggested donation) affair and there is no word yet whether Sen. Clinton will make any public appearances this trip.
DNC Chairman Governor Howard Dean will attend a luncheon fundraiser (only $1000) in Birmingham on May 24th.
I hear that Bill Richardson's supporters are trying to get the Governor to make one or more Alabama appearances this summer. Hope he does a breakfast or something -- we can't all afford 4 figure lunches.
T.H.E. Social Work Agency Adoption home studies & care management services in the North Alabama area.
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We had lunch at 
This sticker, seen on the bumper of a fairly old, brave car, perfectly illustrates why Austin is a great place to have a liberal/progressive convention. Considering we're deep in the heart of a red state (Austin is the capitol, you know, where W got his political start) you don’t see a lot of Bush stickers on vehicles -- not nearly as many as back home in Alabama. Austin is pretty open-minded, and 
Some quotes from Gov. Dean's speech last night:
