Free Republic

The host committee for the Democratic National Convention set for Denver next month is avoiding paying state and federal taxes on gasoline by gassing up vehicles at a city fuel depot, according to a city councilwoman quoted yesterday on the Web site of the Rocky Mountain News. "There's something there that just doesn't seem right ..." the Denver official, Jeanne Faatz, said at a city meeting yesterday. "I believe this [tax free gas pump] is only for elected officials, government dignitaries," Mayor Hickenlooper said at the session, according to the News. [Snip] Republican National Convention's host committee in [Minneapolis], Teresa...

Citing a lack of interest, the Nevada Republican Party has called off its state convention and will instead pick its delegates to the national convention by private conference call. The state party broke up its original convention in April when supporters of Ron Paul hijacked the proceedings and tried to elect delegates for their candidate to the national GOP convention in September. Party officials tried to reconvene on July 26, but they needed a quorum of 675 and received only 300 RSVPs, according to local reports. “With so many people concerned about the economy, it simply wouldn’t be fair for...

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 If they expected us to retire quietly from the scene, the political elite are in for a surprise. Today I am making some very big announcements. First, from August 31 to September 2 in Minneapolis, we will host a handful of events that will shake the political establishment. Everything will culminate on Tuesday with the official launch of the Campaign for Liberty at the Rally for the Republic. The Campaign for Liberty will be the largest organization for peace, freedom, the Constitution, and sound money in American history. It will launch in grand fashion with lots...

Democrats: It's not easy being greenEco-friendly convention vexes caterers, organizers, spinners Valerie Richardson Sunday, July 20, 2008 DENVER | Throwing the "greenest national political convention to date" is easier said than done, as Democrats are learning the hard way. Amid much fanfare, Democratic National Convention officials have for months promoted their commitment to an environmentally sustainable event. They've hired a first-ever "director of greening," set an ambitious recycling goal of 85 percent, and banished plastic water bottles and plastic foam cups from the premises. With the convention a little more than one month away, however, it's apparent that some Democrats...

DENVER'S HIGH-CLASS HOMELESSLast updated: 5:17 am July 20, 2008 That must be some classy set of street people out in Denver. Officials in most places with vagrancy problems must wrestle with issues like drug abuse and mental illness. Apparently not so in Denver - which next month hosts the Democratic National Convention. The area around the convention center where Democrats will gather is home to many of the city's 5,000 or so vagrants, so city officials have hatched a plan to, er, get them out of the way. For their own good, of course. But rest assured that Denver isn't...

KANYE, WYCLEF BOOKED FOR DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION: Artists scheduled to perform during event beginning Aug. 25 in Denver.(July 18, 2008) Kanye West, Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. have been tapped to perform at the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver to support the presidential nomination of Sen. Barack Obama. According to Billboard, West is rumored to be performing on behalf of Bono's One Campaign, which landed the rapper in conjunction with the RIAA. Jean and N.E.R.D. are expected to headline a party thrown by MTV and Rock the Vote. The convention, which begins Aug. 25 at Invesco Field in Denver, will culminate with...

Dozens of protest groups are planning a full schedule of classes, concerts, marches and other actions during the Democratic National Convention, hoping to capture the world's attention and recruit new activists. Ron Lewis shoots video and transmits it to his Web site, ronlewis.com/live, at an event Thursday by We Are Change Colorado. The organization said it plans to video DNC protests and police, posting clips on YouTube.com for the public to see. They are both energized and organized, and most insist they are not looking for trouble. "We are completely peaceful," said Rob Weiland, a 37-year-old courier from Denver and...

DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO – The National Council of La Raza spends most of its time protecting and advancing the rights of Latinos through advocacy and community work. But as it wraps up its convention downtown, it has found itself defending its name. That's because activists who oppose illegal immigration are saying in e-mails, during street protests and through the media that “La Raza” means “The Race,” and have been calling the organization a hate group. The accusations have prompted soul-searching among NCLR supporters as to what the name actually means and stands for. Most say the situation is the result...

Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama will be using the National Council of La Raza convention, which begins tomorrow in San Diego, as a platform for courting the increasingly significant Latino vote. Convention organizers hope to press the senators for answers on some of the thorniest issues affecting Latinos, among them immigration policies and solutions to the nation's health insurance and mortgage crises. This week, as they prepared to participate in the four-day event at the San Diego Convention Center, some local groups said they were optimistic about what they would hear from the candidates and in convention sessions,...

When Republicans said they were a “big tent” party, city officials in Minneapolis apparently took them literally. With the Republican convention set just across the river in St. Paul for the first week in September, Minneapolis parks officials have hiked their rental prices for large hospitality-style tents from a bargain-basement $50 to a sticker-shocking $10,000 — a 20,000 percent increase, MyFoxTwinCities.com reports. In one city meeting, Minneapolis Parks Superintendent Jon Gurban jokingly referred to the price hikes as a “gold mine” timed to coincide with the presidential nominating event. The board faces a $1 million deficit. “We always like taking...

...The move to Invesco is nothing more than propaganda meant to bolster the perception that Obama’s support is overwhelming. It is an attempt to draw inaccurate comparisons to a great leader of the past while distracting from the lack of substance that exists within his rhetoric. More importantly, however, is the fact that the propaganda aspect of the Invesco move is merely a side-effect of the more narrow purpose for the move. The move to Invesco is ultimately an attempt to distract ...

WASHINGTON: Senator Barack Obama will accept his party's nomination in a Denver football stadium that seats more than 75,000 people, campaign officials said Monday, a late change in plans intended to take advantage of the candidate's ability to draw huge crowds. The Obama campaign's decision to hold the convention's headliner event at Invesco stadium, nearly two miles, or about three kilometers, away from the main convention hall at the Pepsi Center, harked back to the decision by John F. Kennedy to accept the Democratic Party nomination at the Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles in 1960. But the announcement came after...

From Hippie infestation and silly food rules to Howard Dean's spending money like a drunken sailor, the convention is a picture of chaos. Heh.

The Obama campaign announced Monday that he will leave the hall of the Democratic National Convention in Denver and deliver a rock-star-style acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High, quadrupling his live audience. The speech will be on the fourth and final day of the convention, Aug. 28. Adding to the historic resonance of the first African-American to be nominated for president, that’s also the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream Speech.” The move means additional expense for the television networks, where executives are having a conference call Monday to discuss the expense and...

Pepsi Center Getting Makeover For DNCManager: 'Transformation Will Be Enormous' UPDATED: 12:21 pm MDT July 6, 2008 By CHUCK PLUNKETT and ELIZABETH AGUILERA The Denver Post DENVER -- The Pepsi Center hands over the keys to construction teams for the Democratic National Convention Committee at 8 a.m. Monday, and the on-the-ground, multimillion-dollar race to transform the arena into a convention hall by Aug. 25 begins. Standing inside the Pepsi Center not long after Denver won the bid, the facility's general manager, Dave Jolette, waved his hand at the vast space in something like awe, or maybe fear. "The transformation," he...

Power to the street people during DNCThe city says it has no plan to hide the homeless during all the hoopla. Some officials hope they'll be part of the dialogue. By Allison Sherry The Denver Post Article Last Updated: 07/01/2008 06:20:24 AM MDT Denver police Cmdr. Deborah Dilley has a message to the 3,900 homeless people who live in the city: You can stay where you are between Aug. 25 and 28. Responding to rumors that Denver's homeless would be bused to Pueblo or hauled out of the hip Lower Downtown area during the Democratic National Convention, city officials say...

Plan offers $100 to ease DNC drive By Chuck Plunkett The Denver Post Article Last Updated: 06/29/2008 01:01:43 AM MDT Downtown workers can score $100 by cycling, carpooling or taking the bus to work during the month of the Democratic National Convention, Downtown Denver Partnership officials announced Friday. The partnership is using the convention and the prospect of crowds and traffic to encourage residents to "get Downtown UnCONVENTIONALly," and start more-sustainable commuting habits. Downtown workers were polled this spring on a variety of incentives, after the partnership won a $173,000 federal grant to offer the incentives. Officials said they decided...

Remember, when you are a Democrat, you leave your individual rights and preferences at the door. You are now a cog in the great machine. You will comply with approved party policy, or you will be branded a heretic and will become fodder for a Keith Olbermann rant. Per the Party Grand Poobahs, the fun at the Democrat Convention will be supplemented with some proper dietary rules. Warning to Southern delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver this August: it will be a no-fry zone. As part of the effort to make the August 25-28 convention the...

The Greenest Show on Earth: Democrats Gear Up for Denver From Organic Fanny Packs to 'Pure' Trash, Party Planners Face Logistical Nightmare By STEPHANIE SIMON June 25, 2008; Page A1 DENVER -- As the Mile High City gears up to host a Democratic bash for 50,000, organizers are discovering the perils of trying to stage a political spectacle that's also politically correct. Consider the fanny packs.

Elaborate plans are underway to encircle and "shut down" the Republican National Convention at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center in September. The strategies and tactics involved could come straight from a guerrilla warfare manual. Anarchist groups with ominous names -- the RNC Welcoming Committee, Unconventional Action -- have announced a "three-tier strategy" to cut off the Xcel Center. The steps include "blockading" streets and freeways, "immobilizing" delegates' transportation and "blocking" bridges to impede delegates' access to the center. The plan also features a "swarm, seize, stay" strategy. After dividing the city into "sectors," protesters propose to "seize space" through both...

Don't know what to make of this but, at least one site, Clinton Democrats, says it is true. TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION! Howard Dean is working to remove Hillary from first ballot at the convention! I.E he is trying to have her stricken from the record…the annals of history, and diminish the gravity of her historic place in history. Remember, Obama had Alyce Palmur removed from the ballot here in Chicago so he had no one to challenge him….SEE An PATTERN? More . . . Another commenter on this post also mentioned it. Otherwise, why would he be trying to have...

Eight Denver hospitals and city police officers and firefighters are preparing for the worst today — a mass casualty, biological disaster — in anticipation of the Democratic National Convention. The incident — details of which began to surface midmorning — will involve volunteer "victims" who will be treated at area hospitals as though they were contaminated with a biological agent. Just after 9 a.m., the hospitals received a report of an "explosion" at the Pepsi Center, involving pesticides and an unknown number of injuries among 20,000 people in attendance. A few minutes later the hospital received a second report that...

After a decade of political dominance, the Texas GOP is opening its party convention in Houston this week with a troubling prospect: Grumpy Republicans may not turn out to vote this fall. Many of the grass-roots Texas Republicans see presumptive presidential nominee John McCain as not conservative enough. Others still support presidential candidate Ron Paul. Some are unhappy over immigration, high federal spending, a sagging national economy and rising gasoline prices. "A lot of them, and rightly so in many cases, are mad. They're concerned," said Roger Williams, chairman of the Texas GOP's voter turnout efforts this year. "What we've...

WASHINGTON -- New Orleans and its hurricane recovery efforts will get star billing at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. Denver's 2008 Host Committee and Democratic National Committee announced Thursday that instead of the 24 separate parties for state delegations originally planned, they've decided on a single bash with a New Orleans theme. It will be held Aug. 24, one day before the four-day convention that will nominate Barack Obama for president begins. "Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina, we want the nation to know that rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf region is not just a local issue but...

Democratic convention planners and fundraisers are looking to make up for some lost time in Denver, now that Barack Obama has finally claimed the party’s presidential nomination. The Denver host committee needs to raise $40.6 million by June 16 but so far has collected only about $25 million. By contrast, Republicans are already on target to raise $39 million for their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. “Key supporters have continued to support their candidates and not the convention at this point,” said Steven W. Farber, co-chairman of the Denver host committee. Meanwhile, organizers for the Aug. 25-28 convention at Denver’s Pepsi...

SPOKANE — The state Republican Party adopted a platform Saturday that includes a provision aimed at opposing automatic citizenship for babies born in the U.S. to illegal immigrants. The state party approved a similar platform plank at its 2006 convention that proved controversial. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution recognizes citizenship for all persons born in the United States. "Immigration is an issue that a lot of our party activists feel strongly about," state Republican Party Chairman Luke Esser said. "And it's certainly a very defensible position. It's not at all something that's based on race concerns. It's a...

Speaking at the close of the Minnesota Republican Party convention, the former adviser to President Bush painted Democrat Barack Obama as someone 'far out of the mainstream' and he urged the GOP to go after undecided voters. Legendary Republican strategist Karl Rove rallied the party’s troops this afternoon to bring the curtain down on the GOP’s state convention. In a 45-minute speech to convention delegates, he mockingly dismissed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s policy positions and campaign missteps, saying the Illinois senator is someone “far out of the mainstream” who “doesn’t necessarily have the same view of America that you...

Just for fun, tell me who you think would win? Thunderdome. Hillary v. Obama. Two go in; one comes out.Honestly, I think Hillary would win. Yes, Obama is younger, stronger, bigger, and male. But he'd stroll in, hands in his pockets, condescending little smile on his face and say, "Now look, let's not be--"And she'd let out some bloodcurdling screech and with one Kill-Bill-like move, rip his heart out. That's just my call.But maybe I'm wrong, maybe she'd try to play the woman card and find out just exactly how he feels about women in general. I don't know. What...

Ron Paul continued his push for a speaking role at the Republican National Convention with an address Friday to supporters outside the Minnesota state convention. Paul has continued his presidential bid despite Sen. John McCain's status as the presumed nominee. With state GOP leaders refusing to allow him to speak inside the convention hall, Paul told about 400 supporters he was more concerned about spreading his libertarian message than preserving party unity. "The campaign that is going on right now is the campaign for the freedom revolution, which is going to be going on for a very long time," Paul...

Somehow I got on the DCCC mailing list and get stuff from them frequently. Occasionally, it's amusing enough to share with everybody. This one is the funniest I've seen for a long time. Dear (Past Your Eyes), I'll tell you this right out of the box. We're gonna have more fun than Rush Limbaugh in an all-night pharmacy! When we Democrats meet at the Democratic Convention in Denver, it will be a gathering of thousands of activists, just itching for change. And believe me, we're going to put the party back into the Democratic Party. A week later, when the...

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today sued the city and county of Denver seeking disclosure of public records related to the purchase of security-related equipment for the upcoming Democratic National Convention. snipThe city has provided information about some of the equipment purchases by bringing forward contracts and purchase orders for approval by the City Council. Among the items revealed were a nearly $1 million expenditure for wireless security cameras as well as the purchase of a SWAT vehicle. Still, Silverstein argued that the city had shown an "unjustified penchant for secrecy." He said the lack of information has...

Democratic Party of Virginia Dear xxxxxxm Just yesterday, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan accused Dick Cheney of misleading the media and public. Tomorrow - just two days after these allegations hit the air waves - the Republican Party of Virginia will proudly display this architect of the Bush agenda in an attempt to fill their campaign coffers. Vice President Dick Cheney will emerge from his undisclosed location to appear as the keynote speaker at the Commonwealth Gala during the 2008 Virginia Republican State Convention. With the funds raised at that event, he and the Virginia Republicans will try...

The Democratic Party is struggling to raise money for its convention in Denver on Aug. 25-28, with fund-raising by the host committee falling far short of the party’s goals and lagging behind the Republicans’ efforts for their convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul. So far, the Denver host committee is about $15 million short of the $40.6 million it must raise by June 16. With only $25 million raised so far, the committee is scrambling to offer a new round of special deals for corporate underwriters, as well as to devise a backup plan should the fund-raising fall short and plans for...

I’m sipping whiskey for the fourth straight night in Denver, while I and the Libertarians sit in stunned amazement. The Libertarian party (LP) has gone mainstream. They have developed creeping respectability. They may soon risk becoming boring. Not that their convention was boring. Far from it. Being the completely anal retentive ideological purists they are, the seeming invasion from ex-Republicans (Bob Barr) and ex-Democrats (Mike Gravel) made for tense conversations, endless hand wringing, and a lot of late night power drinking as many LP members came to terms with the Gawd awful decision they faced. .... 52% of Republicans and...

The results on the 1st 3 ballots 1st Ballot Total Votes 631 Bob Barr 153 Mary Ruwart 152 Wayne Allen Root 123 Mike Gravel 71 George Phillies 49 Steve Kubby 41 Michael Jingozian 23 (Eliminated) Christine Smith 6 (Eliminated) Write-In's Ron Paul 10 None of the Above 2 2nd Ballot Total votes 630 Bob Barr 188 33% Mary Ruwart 162 Wayne Allen Root 138 Mike Gravel 73 George Phillies 36 Steve Kubby 32 (Eliminated) None of the above 1 3rd Ballot Total Votes 629 Bob Barr 186 Mary Ruwart 186 Wayne Allen Root 146 Mike Gravel 78 George Phillies 31...

DNC Wants Food In Convention ColorsUPDATED: 1:54 pm MDT May 19, 2008 Many caterers are cheering eco-friendly requirements for menus at events hosted by the Denver 2008 Host Committee during the Democratic National Convention, but some see them as a challenge. A request for catering proposals for events sponsored by the Host Committee asks for no fried foods; no individual plastic containers for liquids; reusable, recyclable or compostable plates; and local or organic food -- or both. Another request is for food to be in at least three of the following five colors: red, green, yellow, blue/purple, and white. One...

“We definitely don’t expect to win it on the first ballot,” said Russ Verney, the Barr manager who shepherded Ross Perot’s third-party bids in 1992 and 1996. “The other [Libertarian] candidates have been out there recruiting delegates for over a year. Bob just declared his candidacy last week, so he’s definitely the underdog.” After days of telephone calls soliciting support among LP delegates, Barr’s backers say that when the convention begins Thursday, they will be ready for a tough contest against a crowded field of Libertarian hopefuls, with several rounds of balloting likely. “We’ll be ahead on the first ballot,...

WASHINGTON - What a difference a nomination makes. Now that he's wrapped up the Republican nomination for president, Sen. John McCain has decided to attend the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Cincinnati in July. A year ago when he was just one of a pack of GOP contenders, he turned down the civil rights group's invitation. McCain disclosed his plans in an interview with the African-American publication Essence, which was released Tuesday. Asked how he might reach out to the black community, McCain replied that he would "go to places and venues...

When: Labor Day Weekend August 29-31 2008. Where: Three Kings, Denver, CO. What to Expect: The tribe uniting. The elite inebriates finding each other. The best and the booziest. Ever go to a bar and wish there were some real g-----n boozers on board? Well, there are for three solid days of heavy drinking and full-bore entertainment including: • Bands (TBA) Rest assured they will be of the hard-drinking variety. • Burlesque Scantily-clad women, old-school style. • Soused Seminars Booze-related knowledge you can absorb at your leisure. • Drunkard Dating Game Romantic hangover brunch at a filthy dive bar with...

DENVER – Picking a winner of the presidential contest is front and center at what's being billed as the largest astrologers' convention in years. More than 1,500 astrologers from 45 countries have descended on Denver, site of the Democratic National Convention in August, for the “United Astrology Conference: Rockin' the Universe.” The gathering concludes Tuesday with a panel predicting a presidential winner in November. Key to those picks: Astrological charts for John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. And integral to those charts: The candidates' exact birth times. A hush fell over the convention hall late Thursday when Dallas astrologer...

Senator Joseph Lieberman, a stalwart backer of John McCain who calls himself an "independent Democrat", could face punishment from the Democratic party if he is asked to speak at this summer's Republican convention. Lieberman has said he would appear at McCain's nominating convention if invited by the Republican, fuelling frustration among US liberals already angered by his support for the Iraq war. Democrats revoked his superdelegate status earlier this year. The onetime vice presidential nominee of Al Gore has played a pivotal role in maintaining Democrats' narrow control of the Senate. But party leader Harry Reid today left the door...

SMOKE NAZIS On the March in: Chicago Smoke Nazis in the Chicago area rolled over the right of free association, when they forced attendees to the Chicagoland International Pipe and Tobacciana Show to go outside to smoke. At the Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana Show in St. Charles, IL, attendees have been told that, due to a statewide smoking ban that went into effect in January, they may not light up even though theirs is a private gathering of only willing participants. This, despite the fact that the conventioneers bent over backwards to try to reach an accommodation. There was...

Item: The McCain campaign's handpicked RNC convention czar, Doug Goodyear, resigns after Newsweek reports that his firm, the DCI Group, was working to make the government of Myanmar look good. “Today I offered the convention my resignation so as not to become a distraction in this campaign. I continue to strongly support John McCain for president, and wish him the best of luck in this campaign.”

John McCain's choice to manage the GOP convention this summer is lobbyist Doug Goodyear, whose firm once represented Burma's repressive regime. After John McCain nailed down the Republican nomination in March, his campaign began wrestling with a sensitive personnel issue: who would manage this summer's GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.? The campaign recently tapped Doug Goodyear for the job, a veteran operative and Arizonan who was chosen for his "management experience and expertise," according to McCain press secretary Jill Hazelbaker. But some allies worry that Goodyear's selection could fuel perceptions that McCain—who has portrayed himself as a crusader against...

Now comes news that George McGovern has called for Hillary Clinton to withdraw from the Democrat’s primary race. Pardon me for my raised eyebrow but how much of a fool would someone have to be to take campaign advice from the man who got slaughtered by Richard Nixon? Losing an election by a landslide really shouldn’t qualify someone to dispense political advice unless it’s how to deliver a concession speech without looking bitter. The facts, as they present, make it abundantly clear to anyone not blinded by political emotionalism, anyone not hoodwinked by the bumper-sticker gotcha games of this election...

No puffing allowed at pipe convention The United States' largest gathering of pipe smokers is being held near Chicago but none are lighting up inside the convention center, aficionados lament. Illinois law requires pipe smokers attending the Chicagoland International Pipe & Tobacciana Show to retreat to a tent 15 feet away from the St. Charles convention center if they want to enjoy a puff or two, the Chicago Tribune reported Saturday. How would you like it if you went to a wine tasting and you couldn't taste the wine? asked Al Shinogle, 53, of Denver, who was smoking a hand-carved...

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had a very casual conversation with women in North Carolina, Saturday morning, that offered little news value –- but was insightful to a more personal side to Clinton. One question Clinton was asked raised eyebrows. When asked if she would go all the way to the convention -– she said, “Well, I plan on going through the next contests -– West Virginia, Kentucky and others.” Clinton has previously said she plans to go all the way to the convention if Michigan and Florida are not settled. This may indicate a possible shift in thinking about how...

With four months to go until the Democratic National Convention in Denver Colorado August 24-28, what is now clear is that the two warring camps in the party mean to fight out the nomination to the floor itself and at least the first ballot. This is a full scale civil war in the Democratic Party. Both camps identify four major fronts where the combat will be sophisticated, ruthless and round-the-clock. The first major battlefront is cash. The Obama campaign is clearly dominant, raising a dumbfounding $235 million overall, with $42 million on hand and more each hour. I received four...