Iowa Bloggers Report In
This is Denise (from Illinois), Dean blogger extraordinaire.
She's the one who provided the excellent reportage from
Gov. Dean's speech at DemFest yesterday.
You can read convention reports from Iowa bloggers below. Click.
1) Darrell Lewis
2) Christina Butts
See some photos here.
And this report came in from Darrell, too!
Hello bloggers……..I just got to Boston in the last hour after a GREAT DemocracyFest weekend….
and I am on one of those DEAN highs…….what a way to start the big convention.
I got to
Pittsfield last Thursday evening and got everything set up in a local
campground and got an early start Friday morning. Joined in the
planning meeting with Jessica and all the hotel folks and other
organizers. Don't know that I added a lot but was there to give moral
support.
All
through the weekend I made and sold buttons and t-shirts and the
profits went to DemFest to help reduce their expenses. Adding that to
what we made on the the bloggers' breakfast resulted in a check to
DemFest in the area of $1,500…thanks to all of you who supported our
efforts to raise some bucks to help out. Alta Price's son, Alex,
helped all weekend in our booth selling buttons and shirts….I would
have been totally lost without his help. Thanks, Alex!!!
Blogger's
Breakfast was, of course, a blast for me just like last year's….and
again I was so busy doing the “organizing thing”…I didn't get to
spend much time chatting or even listening to everyone introduce
themselves. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves…I did, and that's what
counts.
DEAN WAS
AWESOME today…I had a chance to give him the sweatshirt that was
signed on the front at the original bloggers' breakfast in Des Moines
and on the back at BB 2.0 today. Our 250 bloggers names signed to
it…he seemed to really like.
Well,
more later…and boy do I have some stories to tell……..here's just
one hint….guess which two bloggers knocked on my tent door (so to
speak) at around 1:30am waking me up to sit around the bonfire (which
by then was mostly red hot coals) to have a few beers….here's a hint
one – of them has the initials CG and was a speaker at DemFest and the
other always has a video camera in her hands….but then again maybe I
can't tell that whole story here…LOL.
The answer is, Yes, I did get up and sit with them around the hot coals and have a libation.
Here's more from Denise – the Q&A Session with Howard yesterday after his speech at DemFest.
Q. How do we get a more progressive media to hear us and our message?
A. “We
don't depend on the press. The internet and our one-on-one
communications are the best ways. I don't worry anymore what the press
has to say. They're like the Senate – always the last to know. If
you're doing something right, it will become known.”
Q. What is Kerry doing about the voter fraud issues?
A.
“Kerry is aware and has a private team of lawyers on this. They are
keeping an eye on Florida.” He gave kudos to California and Ohio for
not allowing any touch screen voting in these states.
Q. What can we do about the Nader factor?
A. Nader
has “done a lot for this country, but he is in deep, deep trouble. He's
behaving worse than any Democrat did in the primaries.” He mentioned
the GOP group “Oregon Family Council” that is helping to get him on the
ballot there, as well as groups in Michigan and Arizona.
“Ralph NEVER compromises. We need to call out Nader for what he is.”
He urged
us to “send people to swing states, like the people in Southern
California who sent folks to AZ and New Mexico, and in Northern
California who are sending people to Nevada and Oregon.”
Again, he urged us, almost pleaded with us, to work hard for local candidates. “That is the key to winning back our country.”
Q. What role do you see yourself playing after Nov. 2?
A.
Whatever John Kerry wants me to do. If he gives me a position, great;
if not, then I'll keep on with DFA. You're doing important work here.”
[I suppose, then, that we should consider this fair warning that Howard may abandon DFA after the election.]
Q. Should John Kerry take public financing?
A. “I
talk to John at least once a week, either in person or by phone. I've
been giving him private advice on this matter, so I really can't
divulge anything that is private between him and me.”
Q. When
Kerry wins, it will be because our army put him there. Will we be able
to influence his agenda? It doesn't seem like he is speaking out on the
issues that are important to us.
A.
“Actually, Kerry's message IS getting out. I was just with him in
Oregon and it's the local press that is doing most of the coverage that
you think is not being put out there. We know we can't rely on Fox
being fair and balanced (at this point he plugged “Oufoxed”, calling it
“phenomenal!”)
“There
are about 100 reporters following John around and in the national press
they can't write about the same thing 30 days in a row. You need to go
on the Net and find out all of the good things he is saying locally.
The national press just isn't going to cover it every day.”
Q. Should we do DemocracyFest every year, and will you come?
A. “Yes,
we definitely should continue to do events like these. Maybe the next
one should be in Crawford, TX”, he joked, “but in December. It's too
hot there in the summer. We need to bring in all of the other
progressive groups out there and work with them.”
He
closed with his traditional YOU HAVE THE POWER!! He spent about a half
hour signing autographs and posing for photos. We also presented the
quilt to him and Listener will be bringing it to the Burlington HQ for
him to pick up when he returns from the convention, where he is now in
Boston.
I'm sure
I speak for everyone that we are so grateful that Howard took the time
to come to our gathering. He really emphasized how important the work
we are doing truly is – and he urged us to get everyone we know
involved. We truly do make a difference.
Here's a sampling of delegates' blogs. I'm not going to highlight the links here – too time consuming. Just copy and paste into a second browser window.
http://www.musselmanforamerica.com
http://www.cateread.com
http://www.democraticgirl.com
http://virtuallythere2004.org
http://kcdems.blogspot.com
Thanks to DeanRulz for posting these links.
Blog For Iowa 
I left out one very, VERY important item….Alta Prices son, Alex, helped all weekend in our booth selling buttons and shirts….I would have been totally lost without his help. Thanks Alex!!!
LikeLike