July 27, 2004

A preemptive strike! The Democratic National Convention. Go there, and say no more. For now.
posted by Jerry Garcia 20 years ago
  • If you have an opinion about the Democratic Presidential nominee please express it here.
  • [this is a good idea]
  • I really dug Bill Clinton's speech last night.
  • And for personal accounts and plenty of blogging goodness, Convention Bloggers.
  • OK, and i crazy but was tipper gore NOT wearing a bra, and wearing a flimsy white T-shirt and having an attack of the giant nipples? i was howling last night as she waved to the crowd. but no one else i can find saw it. PLEASE tell me i'm not seeing imaginary tipper nips.
  • Have you heard my band, The Imaginary Tipper Nips?
  • I missed Al, and most of Jimmy but I heard they rocked. Following some non-professional-political speakers, it was good to hear Hillary stop at the right points to let the crowd clap. Bill kicked. Damn I got all misty for a President that could string more than two sentences together and convincingly project that they knew what the hell was behind their comments. NPR ran an interview with Teresa Heinz-Kerry this morning and it sucked. Not because of Teresa but the interviewer drives me f'ing apeshit with bizarro questions and incomprehensible followups. Goddamn I couldn't wait to get here just to rant about that one. :) Tavis Smiley is running some great interviews from the convention too. Check him out at npr.org.
  • No offense, but the nominating conventions (both sides) are the most boring television non-events of the year. Especially since the candidates are already basically selected, which totally invalidates the entire premise of *holding* a convention. So, what you are watching (or in my case, actively not watching) is a giant, hideously expensive pep rally. With Tipper nips. Wake up, people! There is so much excellent tv being broadcast. I mean, on Cinemax ALONE there are sufficient nips to make one forget immediately about that perky censor's matronly charms.
  • I didn't see the C-Dogg's speech... did he really walk out onto the stage to the sound of "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow?" Will he give that tired shit a rest? (the transcript is up at the convention's website. It was a pretty good speech)
  • (written elsewhere) ---------- On a different note: I watched Bill Clinton's valedictory speech at the 2000 convention. I didn't really care for Clinton as a president, but I am always deeply impressed when I see him speak... he may have been one of the finest political orators of the 20th century. For all his faults it was nice having a president who could speak extemporaneously, largely wrote his own speeches and had a natural rapport with an audience. That being said, he does have a tendency to become a little mawkish, to reach for the cheap shot and the easy rhetoric. To wholeheartedly embrace the cheese. He's at his best when he resists this temptation. So I was watching him, excited about seeing the performance of a master political speaker at the top of his game. And then he got to the end of the speech, which started off brilliantly constructed:
    "My fellow Americans, the future of our country is now in your hands. You must think hard, feel deeply and choose wisely. And remember, whenever you think about me, keep putting people first..."
    "Yeah, Bill... good stuff."
    "... keep building those bridges..."
    "Uh-huh. Uh-huh."
    "... and don't. stop. thinking about tomorrow!"
    "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" And of course, they started playing that horrible, horrible song as he left the stage. That son of a bitch.
  • here's the official convention site, for some reason the videos of the speeches aren't working. bah. must find film of tip's nips to prove my sanity!
  • They shut down Boston!! The seat of Liberty! For a PEP RALLY!! *howls maddeningly into the abyss*
  • C'mon when was the last time you spent more than 30 seconds listening to a political speech? I thought it was fun. Carter rules (now)! I know it sucks when major parts get shut down for something you're not big on, but we'll get to the GOP shindig when we get to it. and now, for something completely predictable: MonkeyFilter: To wholeheartedly embrace the cheese. Oh, and reading the speech can't be nearly the same as watching it as it happens - you have to have the "build up" of the previous speakers and the intro by Hillary (yeah the song is old, but whatever, everybody seemed to like it). I'm still convinced that people who talk about the issues regardless of which side you sit won't matter as much as the people who don't vote or are undecided. We need to get out the word to vote (more votes = more democratic votes). Prime Time TV can't help but get the word out.
  • I'm an equal opportunity pep rally decrier, Pete my friend. The GOP pep rally is sure to be just as useless and wasteful, doubly so from the party purports to be fiscally responsible... *edges dangerously close to abyss-howling again at the apparently antiquated and quaint concept of Republican fiscal responsibility*
  • Our favorite blogger attempts to be funny, I think.
  • Jimmy Carter, "You can't be a war president one day and claim to be a peace president the next" Bill Clinton, "Strength and wisdom are not conflicting values - they go hand in hand."
  • Noteworthy quote (from coulter) #1: ...it's no fun riding around in those dinky little hybrid cars. My pretty-girl allies stick out like a sore thumb amongst the corn-fed, no make-up, natural fiber, no-bra needing, sandal-wearing, hirsute, somewhat fragrant hippie chick pie wagons they call "women" at the Democratic National Convention. So, helping to reduce pollution is bad, then? And women democrats are ugly hippies with small boobs? Noteworty quote #2 (when talking about the "support our troops, bring them home" thing): I love public school teachers punishing any mention of God and banning Christmas songs so much -- I think they should go home. Because, you know, teachers have so much control over that kind of thing. As far as the DNC, I totally missed it. I didn't even know it was last night. Shame on me!
  • Wow, I never realized how much I despise Ann Coulter until I read that article. Remind me again why people say Michael Moore is the left's version of Ann Coulter? That woman spews so much hate-filled bile you would think she was incapable of being happy about anything.
  • I mean, if anything, Ted Rall would be the Left's Ann Coulter.
  • Just for the record, Ms. Coulter's columns should be read for entertainment purposes only, not viewed as some sort of window into the soul of the Right, ok?
  • Sidedish, you're not crazy... you must let your voice be heard, no matter how deep the shame runs. (Yeah, I saw 'em too.)
  • Someone should tell Security Mom that, Fes. "She states the facts."
  • Ewww. Way to fart in the thread with the Scam Blowholter link, shawnj. Back to the sane commentators: "Since most Americans are not that far to the right, they have to portray us Democrats as unacceptable, lacking in strength and values. In other words, they need a divided America." Werd up, Bubba. from the party purports to be fiscally responsible... Yeah Fes, you and I both know the score on *that* one. Oy vey!
  • So when is Coulter gonna make enough money selling her Hate Speech to get a decent Republican boob job? I still marvel at Clinton's bad taste in women, but I really gotta wonder WHAT Bill Maher saw in her (and, for equal time, Ariana Hutch)???
  • THANK YOU Mfpb, whew. it's been so embarrassing running around the office saying, "did you see tipper gore's nipples last night??" lots of blank stares i'm getting
  • Hey Fes- They haven't exactly shut Boston down, just a part of it. And even the parts with the bigwigs in it are accessible if you have reason to go there, the police details and secret service-ites have been a minimal disturbance. (I think they took my picture today, but for where I was I would have too.) The horrible news leading up to this scared so many people that they have all taken their August vacations a little early. It's like a ghost town here, I haven't seen it so empty since the few days after 9/11. I hear Portland, ME is crowded, though. I was so nervous about the traffic horror I changed the start time at my little company. We started working from 4am to 12pm, but that has proved unnecessary, so tomorrow it's back to the normal 5:30am. I wish they'd have this thing here every year.
  • I'd tell Ann Coulter to bite me if I didn't think she'd give me rabies...
  • wow.... you win some, you lose some.
  • Over at the metafilter there's a movement to refer to Coulter, henceforth, as "Pie Wagon." I like it.
  • Okay, now I really wanna hear Triumph interview Pie Wagon.
  • Fes: The last time you had an traditional, fiscally conservative president who could be the Republican you hanker after was Clinton. And before that, Eisenhower.
  • Barack Obama for president?
  • Barack Obama for president? I'm all for that.
  • If you have an opinion about the Democratic Presidential nominee please express it here. So this thread is our equivalent of the free speech zone in Boston?
  • baby's aformentioned MeFi thread (i'll stick with 'heinous bitch', thanks)
  • I thought both Clinton's and Carter's speech were very inspiring. The quotes above mark the best of what I heard - true leadership that has been sadly lacking in this administration. pete_best, I heard the NPR interview you're talking about, and while I totally agree that the interviewer's questions were completely vapid, I was rather impressed with Teresa Heinz-Kerry's ability to rise above the ridiculousness of the interview. Pumpkin spice cookies indeed. I was sad hearing Howard Dean's speech this evening. It sounded like he's been coached into speaking in an almost Kerry-esque cadence. I really missed the fiery, off-the-cuff tone of his former speeches. And last but not least, Pie Wagon is utterly beneath contempt. Her vaunted opinions of other women reveal much more about her than they do about any of the other women at the Democratic National Convention. I happened to ran for delegate this year, along with lots of my friends - and I'm here to tell you DNC liberal chicks are hot! /pettyfilter
  • National No Name Calling Day September 21, 2004 Courtesy of Ilana Wexler. She's cute as a button.
  • Barack Obama for president? Sadly, not anytime soon... four to eight years at the earliest, right? But given the insincerity, indifference, and/or the immediacy with which the media had written off the campaigns of Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton, I would guess that it might be a very long time before we see a black White House. However, Harold Ford Jr. would get my vote for Secretary of Keeping it Real. He said some interesting things... none of which I can remember offhand because I was really baked at the time. Though, it wasn't at 'the' convention, it was some other shit on C-SPAN2, yesterday. I remember being really impressed by him, though. I imagine he connects very well with other young voters. (Is anyone here from Tennessee?) At any rate, I imagine Illinois is going to be a slam dunk this November for Obama. [Way OT, but... fucking shit, Mefi's Asparagirl: what a total fucking idiot dipshit moron. Sorry if that sounded like a personal attack. I don't know how or why they put up with her. I certainly couldn't.]
  • I'd like to encourage everyone who hasn't heard Barack Obama's speech to give it a listen. A Dean/Obama ticket would be a dream come true in my world....
  • Barack Obama for president? Man did he rock the house down or what? That was my first exposure to him but hell, given enough time I'd say it looks pretty darned good. Anyone (Monsignor homunculus perhaps?) know where I can get video of the speeches? I missed Ted Kennedy and would like to check it out.
  • C-Spans website might have them? I know you can get Obamas at www.obamablog.com
  • The main link of this post, Cspan's site, is carrying a lot of the footage including Obama. Seemed kinda laggy to me though, but I'm at work on a slow computer so YMMV.
  • It's pretty much assumed here in Illinois that he'll walk away with the Senator's seat, especially after (a) Ryan's unearthed penchant for public intercourse with a known Borg, and (b) the Republicans' apparent total lack of any remotely electable bench (to wit: Ditka and the Nuge). And I disagree with Wedge's assertions vis a vis Moseley-Brown and Sharpton: Obama is a whole different stripe of politician, very much palatable to otherwise antipathic white voters. The guys a pragmatist, has a great American lifestory, is a compromiser and a sophisticated, highly effective fundraiser. I could see him as the first African American president.
  • Dear Americans, Hi there. If you ever elect Barack Obama president, I faithfully promise - on behalf of every condescending pseudo-intellectual in Old Europe - to take back the nasty unfair things we said about you. Even the stuff about you all being fat. Dude rocked. lots of love, Mr. F. Boy
  • Well, now he's doomed. *wonders idly if the singer from April Wine is a Republican*
  • Whether or not white voters, en masse, would've found Carol Moseley-Braun and Rev. Sharpton 'palatable' is debatable... but more importantly, it's beside the point: the media decided the race almost before it even began... "Will it be Kerry, Edwards, or Dean?" Then they assassinated Dean, and started asking, "Will it be Kerry or Edwards?" This lazy, horse-race approach to electoral campaign coverage results in a self-perpetuating blandness of white affluence. Regardless... the voters should be deciding palatability, not the media.
  • Also, I thought the 9/11 tribute thing was lame. Really lame. When the Republicans do it in New York, I will also denounce it as lame. I can't think of a more insultingly disingenuous way to (dis)honor someone's memory.
  • a representative republic is a funny thing, innit. I would go on a rant about media, but I choose not to at this time. Ideally, there'd be no big money. Ideally, we'd choose from experience and ideas. A 9/11 tribute is doomed to fail? For the most part that's probably true. Why is that? (don't say "the media" or I'll tap dance on your shoes.)
  • Apparently Jerry Falwell may give the opening invocation at the Republican Convention. I wonder if he still blames feminists, gays, and pagans for 9/11. I find this hard to believe. The Republicans wouldn't do something this stupid.
  • pete- 1) reeks of opportunism, like bush's tv ad w/ 911 footage. 2) closure? "finally, honey, we can get on with our lives, now that the DNC has once again honored our family/friends that died three years ago, even though there have been at least a bazillion other tributes, commemorations, memorial services, candlelight vigils, etc..." 3) context? wrong time + wrong place + touchy subject = inappropriate 4) as means to deflect criticism, ie, "no, we don't hate america... see?" 5) to show that the GOP doesn't have a monopoly on patriotic grief when they, *once again*, honor the fallen victims of 911, the brave firefighters and police officers, blah blah blah, at their convention in NY. 6) etc.
  • The Republicans wouldn't do something this stupid. I sure hope they do, but then again, it might just work. :-(
  • I find this hard to believe. The Republicans wouldn't do something this stupid. Oh yeah they would. And they'll make it work too. Before you know it, your tax dollars are going directly to Rev. Spewell and they'll be open about it. Faith based initiatives are the key to making Umurukah stronger you know. Aren't you for a strong Umurukah? What, you're going to impeach someone? You expect the wacko Christian right and the soft-headed among us won't keep them in power? Ugh. I am *so* cynical about this whole thing. I need a bath. Mmmaybe beer. *takes beer into bath*
  • I think we're getting off track here. Sidedish, can we have an update on the search for the Tipper nips?
  • Comedy Gold (via the wonderful & marvelous Space Coyote)
  • Also, I thought the 9/11 tribute thing was lame. Really lame. When the Republicans do it in New York, I will also denounce it as lame. I can't think of a more insultingly disingenuous way to (dis)honor someone's memory. posted by Wedge at 02:56AM UTC on July 29 And... we're right on schedule. Lame. Really lame. TOTALLY FUCKING LAME!
  • *ding*
  • i stand corrected; obama is now the president (2nd term!) and so, Fes wins the thread. i *wanted* to believe.