Just got back from the Democratic State Convention in California....

[Ardent15]

....and wow, I've never seen such a great number of awesome people in one place! Got to meet several candidates for higher office, including Gavin Newsom, and spoke with California Democratic Party Chair John Burton in the elevator of the JW Mariott hotel.

Got to see Pelosi, Boxer, and Ariana Huffington speak. Huffington was great. She said that on compromise and bipartisanship, "you can't leap across a chasm in two leaps."

Also, I got to see Marcy Winograd mount a strong opposition to Blue Dog DINO Jane Harman on the Convention floor. That was very cool to see.

And I got to see Jerry Brown speak again. I truly believe he is the man for the job, and not Meg "Election-Buyer" Whitman.

All in all, it was a great weekend. :)

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. Very cool!

Can you enlarge on the opposition mounted by Marcy Winograd? I strongly support her.

I LOVE Jerry Brown!

[Ardent15]

3. Thanks! They got 500 signatures...

...of the 300 needed for bringing the question of endorsement for Harman onto the convention floor.

There were hundreds of Winograd supporters there. But I don't think all the votes were counted properly, and so Harman got the endorsement of the state party. :(

I met Marcy and her supporters several times over the weekend. They are the real deal. :)

[wtmusic]

2. I'm working with Russ Warner to steal CA-26 from the hypocrite David Dreier

and I think we've got a shot.

Did you happen to see Russ there?

[Ardent15]

4. I believe he was there, but I didn't meet him myself.

nt

[David__77]

7. Hypocrite cause he's gay?

Just curious if that was what you meant.

[wtmusic]

8. Why yes, as a matter of fact.

A gay man who's supported a host of anti-gay legislation:

"Dreier clearly meets that standard, for his voting record is strewn with anti-gay positions. To cite just a few: He opposed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would have banned discrimination against gay people in hiring; voted for the gay-bashing Defense of Marriage Act; voted for banning adoption by gay and lesbian couples in the District of Columbia (3,000 miles away from Dreier’s district); voted to allow federally funded charities to discriminate against gays in employment, even where local laws prohibit such bias; and voted against the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Dreier is not just a political homophobe but a heartless AIDS-phobe as well, voting against the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program designed to give shelter to the impoverished sick, and against funding for the federal ADAP program that furnishes the poor with the AIDS meds they need to stay alive."

http://www.laweekly.com/2004-09-23/news/the-outing

[jaysunb]

5. Thank you for coming

now let's get busy registering new voters and creating a GOTV strategy !

BTW, the Taco Truck Slam was awesome, huh ? :rofl:

[harry_pothead]

6. Wish I could have gone this year, but LA is too far.

[asdjrocky]

9. It's great that you got to go!

Next time more detail, and some pictures!