Democratic Convention or Freak Show?

NOTE: Please see action alert at end of post.

We’ve all been hearing rumors about the DNC having trouble raising money to fund the Convention in Denver this August. Today the New York Times revealed that some rather nutty decisions made either by Howard Dean or his chief of staff, the Rev. Leah D. Daughtry, have compounded the money shortage. Daughtry previously served in the Clinton Administration as Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management in the Department of Labor.

Some of the Democratic missteps started almost immediately after planning for the event began. The Democratic National Campaign Committee turned down a chance to get cheap office space and decided to rent top-quality offices in downtown Denver at $100,000 a month, only to need less than half the space, which it then filled with rental furniture at $50,000 a month. And in a costly misstep, the Denver host committee, early on, told corporate donors that their contributions were not tax-deductible, rather than to encourage donations by saying that the tax-exempt application was pending and expected to be approved.

Overly ambitious environmental goals — to turn the event into a “green” convention — have backfired as only three states have agreed to participate in the program. Negotiations over where to locate demonstrators remain unsettled with members of the national news media concerned over proposals to locate the demonstrators — with their loud gatherings — next to the media tent.

And then there is the food: A 28-page contract requested that caterers provide food in “at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple and white.” Garnishes could not be counted toward the colors. No fried foods would be allowed. Organic and locally grown foods were mandated, and each plate had to be 50 percent fruits and vegetables. As a result, caterers are shying away.

The Obama campaign is frustrated about the situation and very critical of the poor planning and waste of money, which could force them to cover the shortfall themselves so as not to have to compete with the DNC for donors.

Meanwhile, Obama is considering delivering his acceptance speech in the 75,000 capacity Mile High Stadium (AKA Invesco Field) instead of in the Pepsi Center, where the Convention will be held. I’m sorry, but is that really necessary? Could this guy’s ego be any more inflated? Does anyone else get a really creepy feeling imagining him speaking to his screaming followers at a mass rally?

Arthur Silber is creeped out. And amazingly, he is even thinking about voting for McCain rather than risk the danger of a charismatic candidate with glazed-eyed followers who seemingly are willing to blindly follow him no matter how far he moves to the right or how many times he flip flops. In his latest essay, Silber refers to the presumtuous nominee as “Field Marshall Obama.” Please go read Silber’s last few posts. The man is brilliant, and he is saying what a lot of us have been thinking.

ACTION ALERT: Riverdaughter has been talking to Murphy about the possibility of running aerial ads in vacation areas.  Murphy likes the idea, and Pumapac is currently looking into the possibility of buying three hours worth of ads for the East Coast.  She would like to know what people in Texas and California about running aerial ads there.

If you are interested in contributing or have ideas about what should be in the ads, please go over to Pumapac and let Murphy know.

ACTION UPDATE: Please consider donating to The Denver Group to support “rapid media buys” to call attention to Obama’s and the DNC’s efforts to keep Hillary’s name from being put in nomination at the Convention.

The Denver Group has had an amazingly successful 4th of July from a fundraising perspective. We’ve met our first “match”. We are incredibly grateful to each and every person who has contributed so far.

Now, it has come to our attention that certain key decisions about the structure and conduct of the Democratic Party’s convention are currently being negotiated by lawyers for Senator Obama and Senator Clinton, and we believe those decisions will be finalized on or about July 15.

To begin to ensure a convention that is not merely symbolic, we would like to to weigh in now. The best way The Denver Group can have an impact is by running its first advertisement by the beginning of next week. This means gathering the funds necessary ready to buy the most advantageous ad placement possible.