Charlotte rain can’t dampen Democrats enthusiasm
It’s been a raucous day in Charlotte, NC as the Democratic National Convention gets underway. Here are some photos, good ones by Anne, crappy ones by me, that give you a little taste of the scene here.
Walking over to the convention hall, the Time Warner Cable Arena, we ran into a journalist from the PBS Newshour doing an interview hands-free. She has a helmet with a video camera and microphone mounted on top so she had her hands free to do nothing.
Two-thirds of the Eclectateam outside the convention hall:
Here’s the floor of the conventional hall this afternoon as they were getting ready for the Big Show.
Elizabeth Warren, candidate for Senate, warming up for her speech later this week:
Michigan has great seats, right near the stage. Just like they did for the Republicans convention : )
Since we’re not with one of the major networks or news outlets, we’re considered to be “non-affiliated media”. Here’s what our holding pen looks like at the convention center (it’s actually a practice basketball court for the Charlotte Bobcats):
Radio broadcasters on the left, bloggers on the right
Here’s the view from the “non-affiliated media” cheap seats. Pretty awesome, actually:
Because I have a delegate floor pass, I can actually go wherever I want. Anne, however, can only get a floor pass for 20 minutes at a time so she’s been running in to snap photos from the convention floor.
Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid:
President Obama has also faced down another group of naysayers. In addition to the crowd of “couldn’ts” and “shouldn’ts”, the Republican Party has become the party of the “wouldn’ts” and the “won’ts”. They pledged on Day One that they wouldn’t lift a finger to help. And they haven’t.In the depth of the Great Recession, as millions of Americans were struggling to find work, the Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said Republicans’ number one goal was to make Barack Obama a one-term president. They wouldn’t cooperate to create jobs. They wouldn’t try to turn around the economy. They wouldn’t do anything but stand in President Obama’s way.
I’ve had a front-row seat to watch the Tea Party take over the Republican Party. For three and a half years, they wouldn’t govern. they couldn’t lead. And we shouldn’t let them take over the Senate and the White House.
We must stop the Tea Party before the United States Senate falls into the hands of extremists and ideologues who leave no room for reason or compromise, who don’t recognize common ground even when they’re standing on it.
And, if they won’t stand up to Rush Limbaugh or Grover Norquist, what would make anyone think they would stand up for YOU?
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi came out with the Women’s Congressional Caucus and they positively rocked the house:
I’m Nancy Pelosi, but my grandchildren call me Mimi. For me, politics is an extension of my role as a mother and a grandmother. For the Democratic women of the House, our work is not about the next election, but rather the next generation. Working with President Barack Obama, we are committed to reigniting the American dream: the ideal that if you’re willing to work hard, play by the rules and take responsibility, you have the opportunity to climb the ladder of success. The Democratic women of the House are ready to join President Barack Obama to move America forward.
While I was hanging out in the Michigan section, two of my favorite Michigan women sat down behind me. On the left is my dear, dear friend Fran Brennan, Michigan State Director of Working America and on the right my new friend Karla Swift, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO:
In the back of the hall are several mini-stages set up so that the major networks can do their bits live from the convention. Here’s what it actually looks like. If you look close you can see Wolf Blitzer on the left. The woman on the right is getting her hairs did before going live.
That’s probably it for tonight. Be sure to stop by for more convention fun right here at Eclectablog.
