Democratic National Committee

Substantive discussion on housing policy (or most any other type of policy) is not material that makes its way into speeches at national political conventions. Indeed, at the Democratic convention this week, speaker after speaker at the convention referenced the foreclosure crisis or other housing issues, but rarely did they do any more than give the subject brief mention.

But hidden away in the weeklong liquor-soaked political and media festivals is, surprisingly, a somewhat lengthy discussion of policy. Both the Democrats and Republicans use the conventions to approve their party platforms for the next four years, each of which devote attention to a huge array of issues, offering the outline of a policy agenda for the party.  read more »

The $52 million the Obama campaign raised in June is a good deal more than John McCain's $22 million, and much better than the $30 million number reported earlier in the week, which an Obama bundler had advised me was very low.

But the relevant bar is really whether it’s enough to fund the 50-state, mega-scale campaign Obama is running, and enough, compared with what McCain has, to make up for the loss of public financing.

At least in the opinion of one Democratic consultant I spoke to today, it is.

The consultant, speaking on background, said the total amount of money at Obama's disposal, when combined with the D.  read more »

After Michelle Obama delivered a measured speech to gay and lesbian leaders at a Manhattan fund-raiser last night, Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean abandoned his prepared remarks in favor of some more pointed observations.

“ I frankly don’t believe the John McCain of 2000 would even consider voting for the John McCain of 2008, I really don’t,” said Dean.

“Saddest of all," Dean added, "John McCain was against torture until he supported the president’s veto of the Democrats anti-water-boarding bill. This is a guy who appears not to have principles. And if you don’t have principles when you are president, you shouldn’t be president.  read more »

Not everyone in the crowd at the Waldorf Astoria last night, where Michelle Obama addressed gay activists at a fund-raiser for the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council of the Democratic National Committee, was bowled over by her talk of “robust civil unions,” even as she received a generally warm response for the rest of her speech.

Obama, who followed New York first lady Michelle Paterson and took the stage to the theme song “Michelle, My Belle,” mostly spoke about how her husband would continue to hold onto his principles through the campaign. She made no explicit mention of his calculated decision to absorb a big editorial hit by opting out of the public financing system, except to say how happy she was about the large number of small donors the campaign had attracted.  read more »

Howard Dean was supposed to be finished back in January 2004, when his once-overpowering presidential campaign collapsed in the cornfields of Iowa – and when he let out a scream that made him as much laughingstock as loser.

Sure, the conventional wisdom went, he’d still have a loud voice in the national political dialogue. Even in defeat, Dean retained the passionate loyalty of much of the Democratic grass roots, the activists who’d grown irate with the timidity the acquiescence of their party’s Washington establishment to so much of the Bush agenda. But, as the ’04 primary results showed, the grass roots alone wasn’t enough to beat the establishment.  read more »

A little bit like the DNC's "McCain Versus McCain," here's a new Web ad from the Republican campaign using Barack Obama's statements about public financing against him.

 

Like some of McCain's previous spots, this one is also trippy.

Superdelegates are generally seen as seasoned elected officials or as the kind of party apparatchiks whose natural habitat is the figurative smoke-filled room.

Not everyone fits the stereotype. Among those who will help decide the Democratic contest is a 51-year-old office administrator and piano teacher in Dublin, Ireland, who has not lived in the U.S. for more than two decades and follows the race in large part through coverage in the Irish and British media.
Liv Gibbons, a native of Los Angeles, will cast her vote at her party’s convention in Denver for Barack Obama.  read more »

Does Harold Ickes complicate Hillary Clinton’s appeals to Puerto Rican superdelegates?

Francisco Domenech, a superdelegate supporting Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico, thinks that Ickes, her point-man on the wrangling of superdelegates, may find himself having to explain his work on behalf of one side of the flammable issue of Puerto Rico's national status.

Domenech, who supports statehood for Puerto Rico, pointed out that the three remaining undecided superdelegates in Puerto Rico are all proponents of maintaining commonwealth status. Ickes, who became a lobbyist after working at President Bill Clinton's deputy chief of staff, was an adviser to former Governor Pedro Rossello in the battle for statehood.  read more »

In an interview taped yesterday for Inside City Hall, Howard Dean expressed opposition to a brokered convention if the Democratic primary contests fail to produce a candidate with enough delegates to win the nomination.

Dean told Dominic Carter he thinks there will be a nominee by March or April, and if not, "we're going to have to get the candidates together and make some kind of an arrangement."

Transcript after the jump.  read more »

For all the stuffy ladies’ lunches, and high-dollar dinners featuring this or that Presidentia  read more »

... for the Dems in 2008. Should we really be that surprised?

Full release after the jump.  read more »

- Matthew Schuerman

First, it was after the election. Then, it was "early December." Now, with the revelation that a Denver union will not go along with the no-strike pledge, Howard Dean is saying that he will not make a decision on the location of the 2008 Democratic National Convention until after the holidays.

Why does this sound like a way to give New York's rival a chance to clean up its house before it receives any visitors?

- Matthew Schuerman

While Mayor Bloomberg downplays the importance of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Sen. Chuck Schumer tells the Daily News editorial board he is "going to make a push" to get it for New York. - Matthew Schuerman

While many Democratic activists and fund-raisers are in an almost celebratory mood at the prospect o  read more »

LAURIE: I just returned from a preview of the Brides Against Breast Cancer (or BABC) Wedding Gown Sale, in which new and used bridal gowns have been donated, with the proceeds from their sale going to benefit Making Memories. I was invited to the preview because the publicist for the event had read my whining a few weeks ago on this very site about having to buy a second dress after realizing that the first one was more appropriate for a Third World honeymoon than the actual wedding event.

Here is what I liked about the event, which runs today until 8 PM and tomorrow from 9 AM to 6 PM at 15 East 27th street in Manhattan:

-There were just as many size 14s as size zeros, and the gowns were separated by size. -The prices on many gowns were a fraction of their (obviously inflated) retail value. -I was not the heaviest girl in the wide-open communal dressing room. -The volunteer who said to me, "I've seen way more thongs and tattoos in the last hour than ever in my life.". -There was no middle-aged saleslady slinging a tape measure around anyone.

(Aside: At the risk of sounding like a hugely insensitive bitch, I will admit, pace Barbara Ehrenreich, to having had mixed feelings about the way breast-cancer fundraising has attracted the lion's share of public sentiment, not to mention all that extra money from the beauty and fashion industries. Breast cancer charities have their own Kitchen Aid mixer, for god's sake.

But of course it occurs to me that just because the breast cancer people have been so successful in their public saturation campaign doesn't mean that the MS people, the cleft palate people or the Democratic National Committee can't take a lesson and step up their own game.)

Take it from the world's least enthusiastic shopper: if you are a bride-to-be looking for a dress and you've decided to give the summer share a rest, check out this sale. At the very least you'll get to see everyone else's stretch marks and weird body hair.

John Spencer's campaign has come up with the most inriguing conspiracy theory of the weekend: that K.T. McFarland, self-proclaimed Reagan Republican, is actually a tool of the left.

The evidence -- a list of McFarland donors who have given money in the past to HIllary Clinton and other Democrats -- has prompted the Spencer folks to ask darkly whether McFarland's entire candidacy isn't just "another Clinton dirty trick."

Given Clinton's nearly 2-1 advantage over Spencer in a prospective match-up, I'm having a little trouble finding the motive for such a fiendish plot.

But judge for yourself: read the full release after the jump.  read more »

-- Josh Benson

Contra DNC chairman Howard Dean, New York State Democratic Party chairman Denny Farrell seems to think the war in Iraq is winnable, a sharp-eyed Eve Kessler notes:

Denny, on Cheney's speech at Fort Drum today: "...Americans are also looking for leadership and a plan for how we're going to win this war -- and on that count, the Vice President's call to just stay the course was sorely disappointing."  read more »

Dean, on WOAI radio in San Antonio Monday: "The idea that we are going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong."

At the end of this afternoon's press conference, Freddy parted ways with Howard Dean, who'd just endorsed him as "the education candidate." Freddy hopped into a black sedan; Howard descended the stairs at 86th and Broadway to catch a downtown 1 train.

After a brief scuffle with a disagreeable MetroCard machine and a cranky turnstile, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee made it out to the platform just as the train's doors bing-bong'ed shut. The next train was full of rush hour commuters, most too exhausted to notice him. "This is my corporate jet!" Dean jibed, responding to a barb from Bloomberg earlier today.

So what came out of the actual presser? Freddy and Howard tried to maintain a tight focus on education, taking shots along the way at Mike's limitless campaign fund and his support for Bush. But everyone else wanted to talk about the flap over Freddy's blog. Finally, an exasperated Dean intervened: "What is this obsession with blogs? Does anybody care about education in this city?"

Piping up from behind, Senator Schneiderman joked: "You started it!"

Freddy was asked if he feels slighted by the Working Families Party, which will endorse him but won't bestow the coveted ballot line. "An endorsement by the Working Families Party is an endorsement," he insisted. "And as you all know, the Bloomberg forces very heavily contested this, so I'm very proud to have the endorsement of the Working Families Party."

Finally, Freddy and Howard wandered to Broadway where, along with a beaming Scott Stringer, they greeted straphangers coming out of the subway station.

"Weclome home West Siders!" Stringer hollered. His constituents looked bewildered as they surfaced into the media fray. "We've been waiting for you," he yelled. "This is the welcoming committee!"

From the edge of the crowd, an intrepid Columbia J-School student managed to shout a question: "Freddy, what do you say to Democrats for Bloomberg?"  read more »

Before the candidate could speak, Dean fired back. "What Democrats for Bloomberg?"

Here's an idea that feels hard to resist: Both political parties hold their 2008 conventions in New Orleans, and announce their plans to do so jointly, right now.

"This would be a powerful vote of confidence for the city's future. It would also indicate a serious bipartisan commitment to disaster recovery for the New Orleans/Gulf Coast region, both substantively and symbolically," writes Ron Faucheaux, a political consultant and writer with roots in Louisiana, in an email he's circulating.  read more »

Anyway, while Mike is bidding for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, civil libertarians and cops alike might breathe a sigh of relief if we let that one go.

Chuck talks about terrorism, judges, and the Democrats' message. Mike Bloomberg calls his almost-rival Howard Dean -- to ask for the 2008 Democratic National Convention (third item). And Harry Siegel takes a look at the Democratic field, compares this year to 1997, then wonders if 1989 comes next.  read more »

Josh Benson, who can't seem to help himself, reports that the Rev. hasn't stopped trying to get Marjorie Harris a position on the Democratic National Committee. Sharpton's push to make her a vice-chairwoman failed last year, but he recently met with DNC Chairman Howard Dean as part of his push get her appointed an at-large member of the committee.  read more »

Gothamist has a nice interview with Terry Edmonds, the former Clinton and Kerry speechwriter who has, apparently, moved to New York.

We remember Edmonds as the most modest guy in the world at the Democratic National Convention, where we shared a cab to Fenway with him without, at first, having any idea who he was. (We wrote the account up here, third item from the bottom.)

""I'm a ghost, I don't exist," he told us at the time. "That's my credo."

We wondered whether he had a business card.  read more »

"I don't have any, " he apologized. "Because I don't exist."

So a relatively big name just emerged among the cast of thousands scrapping to replace the term-limited members of the City Council.

Inez Dickens, Charlie Rangel's right-hand, and a Democratic National Committee member, will be seeking the seat now held by Bill Perkins, who's running for Borough President.  read more »

Our source on this tells us that Dickens is likely to clear the field, and that the whole Harlem establishment is swinging behind her. She's expected to have the support of Rangel, State Chair Denny Farrell . And the whole cast of younger Harlem operatives -- including Bloomberg and Miller aides -- will be lending a hand.

The New York Post's Vince Morris, weirdly the reporter who seemed to get more face-time with Hillary than any other, is going to work as the new spokesman for D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams.

Our favorite encounter with Vince, who looks unmistakably like a Red-state member of Congress, came at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, where a prominent national Democrat walked up to Vince, apparently mistook him for a Congressman, and started telling him the kinds of stories you don't tell reporters.  read more »

With Vince gone, perhaps Hillary will have a chance to spend more time with Deb Orin.

We admire the persistence of Donnie Fowler's campaign for Democratic National Committee Chairman, which just sent us yet another press release. (No, not about pod-casting. That was last month.) But wait. We thought this was over. After all, the ref -- that's Adam Nagourney -- blew the final whistle yesterday, one which we chimed in on.  read more »

The race for chairman of the Democratic National Committee has been compared to many things: a high-stakes poker tournament, the first primary of the 2008 elections, a glorified campaign for student body president.

But our favorite comparison comes from a friend who described the race as a latter-day version of The Breakfast Club. You know, the John Hughes flick about the five high school kids who get stuck in detention together one Saturday morning and spend the day torturing each other (until, of course, they discover that they all really have a lot in common).  read more »

Here is the cast for the re-make:

Howard Dean - Judd Nelson (The Rebel) Donnie Fowler Jr. - Emilio Estevez (The Jock) Simon Rosenberg - Anthony Michael Hall (The Brain) Tim Roemer - Molly Ringwald (The Prom Queen) David Leland - Ally Sheedy (The Basket Case, who showed up for detention because she didn't have anything better to do...) Martin Frost --The Principal (Our friend actually neglected to assign Mr. Frost, who just dropped out of the race, a role in the film, so we took the liberty of doing it ourselves. But we think it works pretty well and can almost hear Mr. Frost telling Mr. Dean, "Don't mess with the bull, young man. You'll get the horns.") Having spent the last few days shadowing these guys at the Roosevelt Hotel, we think that this scenario makes good and solid sense. But we just have one question for our friend: Does this mean that Tim Roemer will give Howard Dean his earring? We're on the edge of our seats.

Hillary Clinton isn't the only Democratic candidate dousing P.R. fires sparked by the indictment Friday of her former campaign finance director, David Rosen. Donnie Fowler, the candidate for D.N.C. chairman, has literally erased his ties to the fallen fund-raiser.

On Dec. 22nd, Mr. Fowler's P.R. team posted a press release on its website announcing the members of the Fowler finance team:  read more »

"Today, Donnie Fowler, candidate for Democratic National Committee Chairman, announced the leadership of his National Finance Team. ... Joining the Fowler Campaign as National Finance Directors are former Kerry Eastern Finance Director Stephanie Berger and former Wesley Clark presidential campaign Mid-Atlantic Finance Director Rachel Hirschberg. Former Clark campaign Midwestern Finance Director David Rosen will also serve on the committee." [Ital. added] But now that tell-tale last line is missing from the press release. Gone! It seems that shortly after the bad news of Mr. Rosen's indictment hit the wires, one of Mr. Fowler's campaign elves went back to the old press release and removed Mr. Rosen's name. Deleted him. Erased him. Expunged all evidence of him. Poof! No more Mr. Rosen, no more P.R. problem. ... And critics say this Fowler guy is an amateur!

As Democrats continue to ponder the wreckage of Campaign 2004, Harold Ickes Jr., a confidant of Bill  read more »

There's no one more panicky than a New York Democrat.  read more »

It was March 2-Super Tuesday-and John Kerry was in the process of nailing down the Democratic nomina  read more »

As an activist, Al Sharpton has never had trouble competing for media attention.As a Presidential ca  read more »

If you need further evidence that the game of political fund-raising has changed irrevocably, consid  read more »

When the haze of sentimentality dissipates, and the people who always mocked or ignored Paul Wellsto  read more »

In search of a lift for the city's sinking economy and morale, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is staging an  read more »

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has tapped Rudy Giuliani to lead City Hall's efforts to lure the Republican  read more »

Maybe Michael Bloomberg canbuy City Hall.  read more »

This much we know: Al Gore will be around the Democratic Presidential campaign through November, and  read more »

The helicopters made mechanical thunder in the overcast sky as they descended in pairs to the East H  read more »

Those of us of the economic-populist persuasion generally prefer our champions to be bellicose of ma  read more »