Democrats Planning A Second Convention
 

Because they failed so miserably in Aug with a crap convention that even
something as simple as the balloon drop was screwed up ( and Kerry thinks
he can run the country but can't get a successful balloon drop to work)
demorats want a second ( Do - Over) mulligan on their convention.


Saturday, September 4, 2004

With a few more things to say, Democrats want a Bush bash
By Yancey Roy
Gannett News Service

NEW YORK, ANY MINUTE NOW -- Stung by four days of nonstop criticism and
skittish about four weeks of sliding poll numbers, Democratic party
officials today announced plans to hold a national nominating convention for
their presidential candidate, Massachusetts senator John Kerry.
This would be, by some counts, the Democrats' second convention of the year,
including their gathering in Boston in late July. But having seen their
modest post-convention bounce disappear under the relentless assault of the
Republican campaign machine, party leaders were eager to have a second crack
at convincing the nation's voters to choose Sen. Kerry this November.

''We think we've got a great story to tell,'' Democratic National Committee
chairman Terry McAuliffe said at a news conference here this morning.
''Holding another convention will give us a chance to share that story with
the American people.''

They forgot something

Accordingly, negotiations are now under way to convene in another location,
most likely in the Midwest, in late September. The roster of speakers beyond
Mr. Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, is
still being worked out, Mr. McAuliffe said. And, while the first
convention's theme was ''Strong-er at Home, Respected in the World,''
Democrats will gather this time under a banner proclaiming, ''Oh, and One
More Thing ...''

''Just because they're the incumbents,'' Mr. McAuliffe declared, referring
to the Bush-Cheney team, ''that doesn't necessarily entitle them to having
the last word. Why can't we have the last word?''

Mr. McAuliffe, according to other party officials, was intent both on
responding to the numerous Republican attacks on Mr. Kerry and on setting
out his own candidate's attributes in much greater -- and more appealing --
detail. Many strategists had noted the Democrats' intensive focus on Mr.
Kerry's service in Vietnam, to the virtual exclusion of other subjects. The
Republicans, for their part, were only too happy to fill in the blanks.

''People think all he did in the Senate was vote against weapons,'' said one
frustrated senior Democrat, who asked not to be identified because he still
has dealings with the Kerry campaign. ''Maybe this time we can talk about
some of his accomplishments, and his ideas for the future.''

''I know this sounds crazy,'' Mr. McAuliffe explained, ''but we thought the
convention was five days. By the time we found out it was only four, it was
too late to go back to the printer.''

''My bad,'' Mr. McAuliffe conceded.

A more deliberate choice, by contrast, was the Democrats' decision to limit
any direct criticism of President Bush during their first convention.
Indeed, the president's name was rarely spoken in Boston. The Republicans
meeting here, it quickly became evident, showed no such reticence in going
after Mr. Kerry.

''In retrospect,'' Mr. McAuliffe said, ''I guess voters have gotten to where
they expect both sides to rip the other guy to shreds. I don't know what we
were thinking.''

The logistics of putting on a convention are no small matter, particularly
on such short notice, but Mr. McAuliffe cited recent technological advances
as making achievable what would once have been impossible.

''Did you see how the Republicans had all those computer-generated flags and
fireworks?'' Mr. McAuliffe asked. ''Well, you can do the same thing with
delegates. And we have this great new software for signs, funny hats,
applause, the whole thing.''

Mr. McAuliffe was equally upbeat about getting media attention for the
Democrats' convention sequel. (''Those guys will go anywhere for free
food.'') He also appealed to the media's sense of civic responsibility:
''They need something to replace the Kobe trial, don't they?''

And if all else fails, Mr. McAuliffe said, he was ready to deploy his
ultimate weapon.

''We're inviting the Bush twins.''

"Evelyn Ruut" wrote in message
...
Because they failed so miserably in Aug with a crap convention that even
something as simple as the balloon drop was screwed up ( and Kerry
thinks
he can run the country but can't get a successful balloon drop to work)
demorats want a second ( Do - Over) mulligan on their convention.

The balloon's were handled by the stage crew which were all Republicans.



Saturday, September 4, 2004

With a few more things to say, Democrats want a Bush bash
By Yancey Roy
Gannett News Service

NEW YORK, ANY MINUTE NOW -- Stung by four days of nonstop criticism and
skittish about four weeks of sliding poll numbers, Democratic party
officials today announced plans to hold a national nominating convention
for
their presidential candidate, Massachusetts senator John Kerry.
This would be, by some counts, the Democrats' second convention of the
year,
including their gathering in Boston in late July. But having seen their
modest post-convention bounce disappear under the relentless assault of
the
Republican campaign machine, party leaders were eager to have a second
crack
at convincing the nation's voters to choose Sen. Kerry this November.

''We think we've got a great story to tell,'' Democratic National
Committee
chairman Terry McAuliffe said at a news conference here this morning.
''Holding another convention will give us a chance to share that story
with
the American people.''

They forgot something

Accordingly, negotiations are now under way to convene in another
location,
most likely in the Midwest, in late September. The roster of speakers
beyond
Mr. Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, is
still being worked out, Mr. McAuliffe said. And, while the first
convention's theme was ''Strong-er at Home, Respected in the World,''
Democrats will gather this time under a banner proclaiming, ''Oh, and One
More Thing ...''

''Just because they're the incumbents,'' Mr. McAuliffe declared, referring
to the Bush-Cheney team, ''that doesn't necessarily entitle them to having
the last word. Why can't we have the last word?''

Mr. McAuliffe, according to other party officials, was intent both on
responding to the numerous Republican attacks on Mr. Kerry and on setting
out his own candidate's attributes in much greater -- and more
appealing --
detail. Many strategists had noted the Democrats' intensive focus on Mr.
Kerry's service in Vietnam, to the virtual exclusion of other subjects.
The
Republicans, for their part, were only too happy to fill in the blanks.

''People think all he did in the Senate was vote against weapons,'' said
one
frustrated senior Democrat, who asked not to be identified because he
still
has dealings with the Kerry campaign. ''Maybe this time we can talk about
some of his accomplishments, and his ideas for the future.''

''I know this sounds crazy,'' Mr. McAuliffe explained, ''but we thought
the
convention was five days. By the time we found out it was only four, it
was
too late to go back to the printer.''

''My bad,'' Mr. McAuliffe conceded.

A more deliberate choice, by contrast, was the Democrats' decision to
limit
any direct criticism of President Bush during their first convention.
Indeed, the president's name was rarely spoken in Boston. The Republicans
meeting here, it quickly became evident, showed no such reticence in going
after Mr. Kerry.

''In retrospect,'' Mr. McAuliffe said, ''I guess voters have gotten to
where
they expect both sides to rip the other guy to shreds. I don't know what
we
were thinking.''

The logistics of putting on a convention are no small matter, particularly
on such short notice, but Mr. McAuliffe cited recent technological
advances
as making achievable what would once have been impossible.

''Did you see how the Republicans had all those computer-generated flags
and
fireworks?'' Mr. McAuliffe asked. ''Well, you can do the same thing with
delegates. And we have this great new software for signs, funny hats,
applause, the whole thing.''

Mr. McAuliffe was equally upbeat about getting media attention for the
Democrats' convention sequel. (''Those guys will go anywhere for free
food.'') He also appealed to the media's sense of civic responsibility:
''They need something to replace the Kobe trial, don't they?''

And if all else fails, Mr. McAuliffe said, he was ready to deploy his
ultimate weapon.

''We're inviting the Bush twins.''

"Hound Dog" wrote in message
...

"Evelyn Ruut" wrote in message
...
Because they failed so miserably in Aug with a crap convention that
even
something as simple as the balloon drop was screwed up ( and Kerry
thinks
he can run the country but can't get a successful balloon drop to work)
demorats want a second ( Do - Over) mulligan on their convention.

The balloon's were handled by the stage crew which were all Republicans.




And the Republican balloon drop didn't go as planned either.

On Mon, 6 Sep 2004 22:49:18 -0700, "Hound Dog"
wrote:


"Evelyn Ruut" wrote in message
...
Because they failed so miserably in Aug with a crap convention that even
something as simple as the balloon drop was screwed up ( and Kerry
thinks
he can run the country but can't get a successful balloon drop to work)
demorats want a second ( Do - Over) mulligan on their convention.

The balloon's were handled by the stage crew which were all Republicans.

A good sign of maturity is taking responsibility for your own actions.
Haven't seen much evidence of maturity from the Democratic party in a
while. :/
(snip)