What's Happening on Day One of the DNC

A rundown of what libertarians should look for on Day One of the DNC.

CHARLOTTE – After two days of great barbecue, oppressive humidity, and interesting concert offerings, the Democratic National Convention finally kicks off in the early evening when DNC Chair and Florida Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz gavels everything to order at 5:00 p.m. 

The Democrats have formal party business to take care of but it's mostly procedural stuff, and there are no dramatic floor fights on the horizon. This is, after all, about promoting President Obama and tearing down Mitt Romney.

The major speakers during the primetime and network televised hour are Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, and First Lady Michelle Obama.

So here's what's happening during Day One of the DNC:

Video Tributes to Jimmy Carter and the Kennedy family

The Republicans, particularly Congressman Paul Ryan, have stepped up the "Barack Obama equals Jimmy Carter" talk in recent days. The Democrats are responding by running a video on how great Carter is.

Massachusetts congressional candidate Joe Kennedy III is parachuting into Charlotte today to present a video tribute to his late uncle, former Senator Ted Kennedy. Kennedy is running for Congressman Barney Frank's open seat and his primary is on Thursday. He is expected to win comfortably.

Roll for Attendance

One of the best parts of any political convention is when they go around the hall to each state to present their delegates. The Charlotte version of this won't be as exciting as the Republican convention, unless some random LaRouchers snuck in the building. I just really like hearing the delegations talk about how awesome their states are. Will the Massachusetts delegation mention they're the home of Romney?

Governor Deval Patrick

In a sense, the race for 2016 has already started. Tonight Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick gets an opportunity to bolster his credentials when he speaks before the convention. Patrick, a close friend of the president that just happens to co-chair his reelection committee, is leaving office in 2014. He will talk about Romney's time at Bain and how he mistreated the workers of the companies Bain acquired.

Conspiracies!

Look for birther heads to pop off when Obama's sister, Maya Soetoro-ng, speaks. Be on the lookout for crazy emails or Facebook posts from that crazy relative.

Harold & Kumar at the DNC

Not only is Kal Penn, the former Associate Director of Public Engagement for the Obama administration, covering the convention for BarackObama.com, he is speaking at it, too. Penn addresses the convention during the 9 p.m. hour.

Comments

[sarcasmic]

No byline?

[Fist of Etiquette]

The Democrats are responding by running a video on how great Carter is.

Yeah, I don't know about this strategy.

[John]

Devel Patrick in 16 because Obama just wasn't stupid enough.

[Proprietist]

It's pretty sad when Cuomo is arguably their most reasonable option.

[John]

Cuomo, hell Biden. What a freak show.

[John]

It used to be when Democrats were in trouble they would trot out memories of Truman. Now when they are in trouble they will trot out Carter? Wow. just Wow.

[John]

As bad as the current Dems are, the future may be worse. Look at the rising stars in the Party. Villagarosa and Casto, two of the worst most corrupt mayors in America and Patrick and O'Malley two of the worst and most corrupt governors. Hell, maybe Biden is the best choice for 16.

[Ice Nine]

Yeah, really gross. Say what you will about the Repubs but when it comes to impressive young talent they currently have the deepest bench that's been seen in many a decade.

[Brett L]

I has a sad now. Those "young talent" have done dick all to fix any of the structural problems within their realm of rule (with perhaps Rand Paul excepted). Just because they look and talk better, means nothing.

[John]

Just because they look, talk and have something above child like intelligence means nothing.

FIFY.

[Brett L]

Yeah. I guess that's it. Congratulations on not being Boss Tweed. (Granted, IL hasn't figured this out yet.) Now rise above the mediocrity of electability.

[Ice Nine]

OTOH you are not the arbiter of whether or not they are doing what is wanted and needed by their party and its members (I did specify that the comment was exclusive of anyone's political bias.). They're Republicans. They don't particularly care about nor do they exist to mollify a sad libertarian. And, on the contrary, some of them don't look so good and some of them don't talk so well. But all of them are proven dynamic, capable and effective.

[Brett L]

Can you name one besides rand who has proven "dynamic, capable, and effective"? If I squint real hard, I might be able to put Jindal there, too, as at least being capable. Everyone else in the deep bench seems to be able to get elected (which is a start), but honestly, what has Rubio or Haley or Ayotte or anyone else actually done?

[generic Brand]

Mike Lee from Utah has stood by Rand Paul on quite a few issues, and co-sponsored the budget with Rand and Jim DeMint. Maybe he doesn't qualify as "rising star" because he's not as outspoken as Rand Paul, though.

[T]

If I squint real hard, I might be able to put Jindal there, too, as at least being capable

He gets 'capable' for his work at LA's Dept of Health alone. Anything beyond that is gravy.

[Ice Nine]

Jindahl, Walker, Christie, Thune, Daniels, Fortu?o, Pawlenty, Petraeus (presumably), Pence, Coburn come immediately to mind. Rubio, Haley, Martinez and Ayotte are gravy and will come into their own. There are more. This is a deep bench; if you want to deny that, have at it and have fun. But please, don't let your political biases get in the way of this discussion. We're not talking about their political philosophies.

[Pip]

Well Rubio won a US Senate race, which is a lot more than you'll ever accomplish in this life.

[Brett L]

And did what with it? Great. Let's go back to the DeLay days of having power for its own sake. That worked so well for the country. Yay, Hitundrunpublicanism. Winning the election isn't supposed to be everything. Its supposed to be a start to actually do something. Wake me up when the Republicans remember that.

[Ice Nine]

What is the something that Rand Paul has done that so mightily eclipses the accomplishments of those on my Repub list?

[Virginian]

Don't forget Ron Johnson in Wisconsin (rhymes so nice!), Dan Snyder in Michigan, Susanna Martinez in New Mexico. I also throw in Bob McDonnell here in VA, who's big social brouhahas were pushed by the legislature and who I think is much more of a stick to the ledgers guy. Problem is the VA governor is very limited to what he can do. Which is usually a good thing, but it means instead of privatizing the ABC the Assembly decided to do something about the 'bortion.

Look, I'm a Southerner, and damn proud of it, but the way to get a more libertarian Republican Party is to get Republicans from outside the Bible Belt into national prominence. You get someone like Snyder who's interested in balancing budgets and cutting wasteful spending, instead of talking about the gays and the 'bortion in a thick Southern accent, that's a good thing. Honestly, the way for Republicans to win elections and win over independents is focusing on the money issues with Midwestern white guys, preferably with a CPA or some kind of experience in using math.

If that makes me a HitandRunpublican well then I guess I accept that.

[DJF]

Being mayor of San Antonio is no big deal, the city is run by the City Manager and mayor only gets paid $4,000 a year. But I doubt if the MSM will point that out.

[DJF]

The voters of San Antonio think that the mayor job is so unimportant that out of 750,000 eligible voters only 50,000 bothered to vote in the mayor election..

[Ice Nine]

Tributes to Jimmy Carter and Ted Kennedy. That--Is--Pathetic.

[John]

Maybe they can have a CGI of Mary Joe Kopechne speaking from the grave explaining how happy she was to die for abortion rights in the Senate.

[WTF]

Damn your quick fingers!

[John]

Kopechne and Kennedy jokes are like chimps in suits, they never get old.

[WTF]

Tribute to Ted Kennedy? Do they have images of Mary Jo Kopechne with a series of statements on how she would want Obama to win?

[John]

At what point during the convention does Susan Fluke take the stage to get her Catholic Church funded abortion?

[WTF]

Because if you don't want to pay for it, you are 'denying her access'.

[Bardas Phocas]

I'm hoping she tears up a picture of the Pope to get the point across.

[LTC(ret) John]

Does she have to go bald like Sinead too?

[generic Brand]

Is Susan Fluke Sandra's retarded sister?

[o3]

^^with gems like this, is it any wonder that 2/3rds of women vote dem

[John]

You don't want to pay for Fluke's abortion? What kind of a monster are you?

[o3]

the kind of monster that graduates from georgetown w private insurance

[John]

If you don't pay for her abortion personally, you just hate women.

[Ice Nine]

Here's what George Will said yesterday about what we'll be hearing at the Democratic Convention.

"Judging by his campaign to date and his list of convention speakers, he is probably going to make six arguments for a second term:
1) Mitt Romney is rich.
2) We need a serious vice president - Joe Biden instead of Paul Ryan.
3) Republicans hate women.
4) The only woman they don't hate is Ayn Rand and she's dead and she wrote bad novels.
5) Something must be done to prevent Sandra Fluke from having to pay for her own birth control pills.
6) All will be well if I can raise by 4.6 points the top income tax rate on fewer than 3% of the American people.
That's it as far as I can tell."

[John]

I can't believe they are going to give Fluke and Warren prime time spots. Warren is a political novice who coined the phrase "you didn't build that". What is the over under on stupid and offensive things she is going to say in her speech? 5?

[T]

Oh, I'll take the over on that. She'll beat 5 easy.

[NoVAHockey]

I keep hearing from people that Obama has this in the bag. I can't tell if they are delusional or if i'm missing something. The fact that he is personally popular is going to win the day. I don't get it.

[Somalian Road Corporation]

Heh, I just had this argument with a relative. He has MSNBC on virtually every waking hour (this is not an exaggeration) and simply doesn't get news from any other source but there and NPR, so I figure that factors into it in a non-insignificant fashion.

[John]

They just live in DC. My neighbors swear he does. They are that fucking delusional. These people were shocked at the 2010 midterms.

I don't know that Obama is going to lose. There is still time for Romney to fuck it up. But if the media manages to drag Obama's sorry ass back in office it will be by a hair and he will be completely without a mandate and a lame duck from day one. I kinda hope Obama wins, though I don't think he will. A second Obama administration would be high comedy and maybe finally show people what liberalism actually is.

[tarran]

Freaky thing happened this morning.

Was talking with my neighbor who has an Obama picture over her mantelpiece. She says she gave money to Romney...

At this point I am no longer standing by my prediction of an Obama victory. I thought she would slash her wrists rather than supporting a Republican. If she was willing to give money to Romney, Obama has lost a significant chunk of his base.

[John]

My wife and I live in the bluest of counties. We make it a habit to note every time we see a care with an 08 Obama sticker and not a 12 Obama sticker. We see a whole lot of them. I think a lot of his base is either going to stay home, vote Johnson or vote Romney but are afraid to say so aloud.

[PapayaSF]

In San Francisco I have noted a few Obama 2012 bumper stickers, but they are a tiny fraction of the number four years ago. In fact, leftover 2008 stickers may outnumber them.

[NoVAHockey]

You hear anecdotal stuff like that and look that the polling in the upper midwest, where it's tied or "lean" D, and I don't see how Obama wins the true swing states. Tied in Michigan?

[John]

And in Wisconsin as well. If you are a Dem and you can't win Wisconsin easily, you are in big trouble.

[Brett L]

My sense is that the Obama campaign is essentially in free-fall. Now, they'll do their best to rally. As a friend pointed out for a lot of these guys, if they don't win, they don't eat. They won't mail in the last 3 months, but I don't know what they can do to move the meter short of live boy/dead girl in Romney's trunk.

[Dr. Frankenstein]

As to the live boy/dead girl well Obama knows a guy. It can happen.

[Ice Nine]

At this point I am no longer standing by my prediction of an Obama victory.

I agree. In fact I'll say here what I've been saying around my place for a few weeks - Unless Mitt is found in bed with Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj between now and Nov 6, he is going to win by a healthy margin.

[John]

This is bad for Obama

A majority of voters believe the country is worse off today than it was four years ago and that President Obama does not deserve reelection, according to a new poll for The Hill.

http://thehill.com/conventions.....undeserved

No amount of "it was the Bush's fault" and "hey look abortion" is going to help that. I don't see how Obama convinces anyone not already convinced that he deserves re-election.

[LTC(ret) John]

I dunno - if he was found in bed with those two, I might just consider voting for him. Of course, I live in IL, so I can vote for GJ with a smile on my face.

[Brett L]

Remember, RNC was a "contested" convention and viewership was down 40%. The only people watching will be the in-the-tank media and compulsive C-Span viewers (who have zero influence), so they're pretty safe.

[John]

The Romney people will be watching it and putting the stupidity in various commercials and Youtube videos.

[Ken Shultz]

I think a lot of people who weren't watching on TV were watching the important bits online.

That's what I was doing.

So, just because people weren't watching on TV doesn't mean they weren't paying attention.

[T]

After two days of great barbecue

Since I'm bored with the DNC already, I'll focus on this throwaway. Garrett is from Massachusetts. How the hell is he qualified to judge great barbecue?

[Brett L]

If he's talking about how great Carolina style BBQ is, he's already wrong. I mean, I love pork, but if it ain't featuring brisket, its kind of pretendeque.

[Proprietist]

So you've never had real Carolina pulled pork then?

[Brett L]

Its delicious, but it isn't real barbeque.

[T]

I am a barbecue pantheist. All meat cooked with fire and smoke is good.

Which is why I like to start barbecue fights. I'll eat it all, so pissing contests about what is and isn't real 'cue are funny to me.

[Brett L]

I'll bet you eat "chili" with beans in it, too. Heathen.

[T]

Look, you can eat spicy bean stew all day long if you so desire, just don't call it chili. Chili doesn't have beans.

I naively thought when I moved back to Texas I could quit explaining this to people, but the influx of foreigners to this great state has made it a continuing problem.

[Brett L]

You're okay with me, then, T.

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

The best "Carolina Style" pulled pork I ever had was in Atlanta.

Make of that what you will.

[Pip]

Atlanta knows good food.

[Heroic Mulatto]

Garrett is from Massachusetts. How the hell is he qualified to judge great barbecue?

Well, there is this thing called 'transportation'. It allows people to travel to different places and experience different things.

[T]

Bah. New-fangled innovations will destroy our way of life. Allowing people from the next town to come to our town will only cause trouble.

[The Other Kevin]

I think the theme for this year's convention will be "Who are you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?"

[John]

No it is "It could have been worse".

[Almanian's Evil Twin]

"You ain't seen nothin' yet! Believe me when I say that...."

[John]

I am increasingly convinced that Joe Biden is a still living Andy Kaufman long con. When Jerry Lawler comes out on the floor during Biden's speech and challenges him to wrestle a man for once, we will know.

[Ken Shultz]

I assumed it would open with a flag burning and Jeremiah Wright singing "God Damn America".

[John]

That comes right after the Muslim Brotherhood calls the arena to prayer.

[Proprietist]

Is that before the Kenyan flag salute and ceremonial Churchill bust bash, or after?

[John]

Those are Wednesday night.

[sage]

When does Chewbacca take the stage?

[Anonymous Coward]

The Democrats are responding by running a video on how great Carter is.

What else could we call supporting Robert Mugabe, Daniel Ortega, Mobutu Sese Seko, Omar Trujillo, Hugo Chavez, Kim Jung-Il, and Fidel Castro, but greatness?