Two weeks may have passed between the Democratic Convention and today, but that hasn't stopped us from speculating over whatactuallyhappened during that weekend. During these two weeks, everyone seems to have developed a theory on who knew what ahead of time, who was conspiring to silence the progressives, and who was really behind the mysterious quorum call. Two weeks have passed since then, and I'd like to do my part to end all the speculation NOW.
Last Thursday, I hopped on over to OC Drinking Liberally. John Hanna, Co-chair of the Resolutions Committee, also happened to be there. Pretty soon, hekebolos showed up, and we all went to the back room of Memphis to discuss what really happened at the convention. Later on, we also talked about what we can do better next time, but I'll talk about that part of the discussion another time.
Right now, I'm inviting you to follow me after the flip to find out WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO ALL THOSE RESOLUTIONS. I have been collecting information from a few brave individuals for quite some time now, and my meeting with John Hanna on Thursday put an end to my own speculation on all these rumors. So why not join me after the flip, so that you can also toss the speculation and just find out what happened?
On Sunday, April 29, 2007, delegates at the California Democratic Party 2007 Convention in San Diego voted unanimously to oppose the alignment of the Foothill South (241) Toll Road through San Onofre State Beach.
With this vote, the CDP joins with the Democratic Party of Orange County, over a dozen city and county governments, and hundreds of individuals and businesses in opposing the plans to drive a toll road through one of Californias most popular parks and beaches.
The wealthy can go to Hawaii or Europe on their holidays, but camping at a state park is a low cost vacation for middle class Californians. "It's not enough to ensure jobs and healthcare for working Californians -- we deserve access to affordable recreation as well", said Gila Jones, a Democratic delegate from Orange County who has been lobbying her fellow delegates on the issue for months.
So why is this matter so important? Why is it so important to save Trestles? Why should we we care so much about a toll road cutting through this state park?
What else was I about to say regarding the convention last weekend? Oh yes, I remember now!
Have I told you yet that Orange County Young Democrats rocked the hall at the convention last weekend? The new California Young Democrats President happens to be our very own Tim Steed. Other local young activists quickly assumed leadership roles. Basically, our young blue party is looking much more orange these days... And boy am I loving it!
Here's what Martin Wisckol has to say in Total Buzz:
Among the many many things that happened last weekend in San Diego that I haven't yet mentioned here is OC's strong showing at the board elections of the California Young Democrats. Mission Viejo's Tim Steed was elected president of the group, the first time an OC resident has held that post. Two others from Orange County were also elected to the executive board: Lindsay Hopkins was elected vice president of finance and Chris Roa was elected region director.
"The California Young Democrats have been controlled by Los Angeles and the Bay Area forever," said Gila Jones, Total Buzz reader on hand for the convention last weekend. "For us to wrest control is tremendous."
So why is this so tremendous? Let me tell you why after the flip...
OK, so many of you have probably seen this diary by now. And yes, I can understand the frustration of seeing CDP Resolutions Committee Co-chair John Hanna coming here to "talk down at us". However if you look beyond the first comment, you just might find that Hanna is offering some pretty good advice. Hopefully, we're all beyond anger at this point, and we're ready to learn how to be more successful in passing resolutions and holding the Democratic Party to its true values .
Now I know that all of this is frustrating. I know that it sucks when we can't get the party to agree to such no-brainers like net neutrality and deauthorizing the Iraq War. However, there are some important lessons to be learned from our failures.
John Hanna, along with other knowledgable folks in previous comments, hinted at some good secrets to success for next time around, and I'd like to talk more about these after the flip...
Including a strong candidate to take him on next year? Follow me after the flip for more on what I've been hearing about one good candidate who may be ready to knock the socks off of Dirty Gary...
Here's Part 1 of what happened during the Democratic Convention this past weekend, as I kept bumping into all my Orange County friends. I want to give you a sense of what it's like for all of us progressives in OC, and I want to tell you about what we did in San Diego over the weekend. Though there were a few disappointing moments, overall we had a great time doing some great work.
Follow me after the flip for more on what happened on that magical first day of the convention...
I actually feel sorry for the Sunday morning candidates--including Edwards--because the hall isn't nearly as full. I mean, seriously--if you're from some place like Sacramento, wouldn't you want to take the opportunity to have a beautiful sunday afternoon in San Diego?
So would I. And that's exactly what I intend to do. But only after the speeches, and after I vote.
Yesterday, something amazing happened. Barack Obama came to speak at the convention, and I was able to see him up close. And as he actually spoke downstairs, I had a chance to see him speak from the base of the stage... And I saw the magic of Obama right there, as all of us were mesmerized and blown away.
I'd love to share more about my experience with Team Obama in San Diego yesterday, so why not follow me after the flip for more (including more photos)?
The Resolutions Committee has just approved the substitute resolution on impeaching Bush, and it is now one of the 33 resolutions that will be considered for moving to the floor for a full central committee vote. Stay tuned for more as the meeting gets started.
(Keep an eye out today for what happens at the Resolutions Committee today. The future of Trestles may hang in the balance. - promoted by atdleft)
For quite some time, all of us in Orange County have wondered what the state Democratic Party would do regarding the huge controversy over extending the 241 Toll Road to Trestles. Well, yesterday we finally received an answer. The party would try to reach a compromise between the labor groups supporting the 241 extension to Trestles and the environmental groups opposing this. However in the end, Democratic State Central Committee members may very well vote tomorrow to protect San Onofre State Park and Trestles beach from the reach of TCA and a possble 241 extension.
So what happened yesterday in the Resolutions Committee? And how may this affect the ultimate battle over Trestles? Well, follow me after the flip for more on what happened inside the convention center yesterday...
The Resolutions Committee is meeting now, and they have just voted to refer Resolutions 1 through 4 and 8 through 12 to a special task force. Everything from the "All District Strategy" to the Audit Committee resolution will now be studied by a task force of members appointed by CDP Chairman Art Torres.
Chairman Torres promised that "this is not any attempt to sweep this under the rug". He also promised to appoint the authors of these various resolutions to this task force.
The All District Strategy, the 58 County measures, the transparency measures, the measure asking to to support decisions of the state central committee, and the Take Back Red California resolution will NOT be voted upon by the central committee. I guess we'll see if this new task force actually does something about all these concerns. The blue activists in "Red California" will be watching.
