A Proud Redneck
Joe Carter, a horse vet from Norman, finds the perfect label for himself outside the gates of the Pepsi Center in Denver, where he is serving as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention.
And The Winners Are …
Oklahoma delegates to the Democratic National Convention held their first caucus/breakfast this morning here in Denver, at 7:30 and no one looked like they had been partying too much … yet.
The first breakfast meant the first drawing for guest seats at the Pepsi Center tonight. Though all of the delegates and alternates have reserved seats every night, the guests don’t. Oklahoma was supposed to get five passes, but Monday morning, the delegation only had four for the convention center itself. There were also some for a watch party nearby.
A lot of the delegates brought spouses, and they’re among those who will be trying to get into the convention every night _ particularly Thursday night when Sen. Barack Obama accepts the nomination.
Among the winners of coveted passes tonight was Pete Regan, a former aide to Rep. Dan Boren who ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 2006.
Jay Parmley, who was chairman of the Oklahoma Democratic Party during the 2004 convention in Boston, and is now a superdelegate for Oklahoma, got the unenviable task of drawing the names for the guest passes.
“So he lets me do the bad part,” Parmley said of current state party chairman Ivan Holmes.
The breakfast this morning was sponsored by Conoco-Phillips, which in Washington parlance is Big Oil. Company executives attended the breakfast and handed out backpacks with the company logo. There wasn’t a lot of talk about alternative energy this morning or about repealing tax breaks for Big Oil.
In fact, the company got a warm welcome, and Holmes noted, twice, that there will be a big Conoco-Phillips sign behind the delegation in the Pepsi Center. The Williams Companies is sponsoring a lunch for the delegation downtown today so _ hey _ it’s energy company day.
Kalyn Free, a superdelegate and Native American activist who ran unsuccessfully against Boren in 2004, read a long poem she had written about the state party and its long-time leaders.
And delegates Tim Mauldin and Joe Carter discussed the Will Rogers platform they are promoting at the convention to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Okahoma humorist’s quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Carter donated books, written by his father, Joseph H. Carter, about Rogers _ “Never Met a Man I Didn’t Like.”
The convention kicks off early today with reports from the various committees. Former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters will be presenting the report of the Rules Committee, which is going to recommend that a special commission decide what changes, if any, need to be made to the party’s primary system.
Democratic Convention Notes
Photo by Chris Casteel
With relatively few delegates, and a not-so-good track record of voting for Democrats for president, Oklahoma Democrats usually get put in the upper reaches of the arenas that host the national conventions every four years. This year will be no exception.
The Oklahoma delegation will be seated well off the floor and up in the bowl of the Pepsi Center in Denver, where the Democratic National Convention begins on Monday. Not a bad view, even though it’s not close to the “action.”
The bigger problem on Sunday was that the section was 10 seats short of the 48 needed for the Oklahoma delegates. During a practice run on Sunday for the traditional roll call of the states _ which will occur on Wednesday when Sen. Barack Obama is formally nominated as the party’s presidential candidate _ Holmes made note of the seat shortage when Oklahoma was called on for a microphone check.
A convention organizer for the party went up to the section and assured Holmes that room will be made for the entire delegation.
Holmes and others had a long and unexpected wait to get into the Pepsi Center on Sunday because of a protest march that snaked through downtown Denver to the center.
Photo by Associated Press
The protesters had a lot on their minds and signs including the war in Iraq (against) and world trade (also against) and corporate media (again, against).
A huge line of delegates and media representatives (including this blog’s author) were forced to wait until the procession passed before the police _ and there’s a small army of them around the center _ were allowed through security and into the center.
Holmes said Sunday that he has been given only 35 extra tickets for Obama’s speech on Thursday at the football stadium. And this for a place that holds more than 75,000. He had requested 200 since a lot of Oklahomans who aren’t delegates want to attend the speech.
A lot of people are going to be very disappointed, he understated.
Many of the Oklahoma delegated used Sunday to shop or go sightseeing around Denver or attend activities related to the convention, including an Interfaith gathering. Sunday night, some of the delegates went to an event honoring New Orleans hosted by Democratic Party chief Howard Dean.
Oklahoma Delegates Feted at Historic Steakhouse
Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren, an avid sportsman who sits on the board of the National Rifle Association and is co-owner of a hunting ranch in Texas, found the perfect place in Denver to host a party for the state’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
The Buckhorn Exchange, which opened in 1893 and is both a restaurant and taxidermy museum, has rooms full of mounted heads of buffalo, deer, antelope and moose _ and a lot of that is on the menu as well. The Oklahoma guests had their choice of entrees among buffalo, steak and elk.
Boren rented out the entire restaurant for the party, and he and his wife Andrea greeted delegates and guests near the upstairs bar, where the state of Colorado’s first liquor license is displayed (along with aforementioned animal heads).
Among the guests: Gov. Brad Henry; former Oklahoma Gov. David Walters and his wife, Rhonda; former Oklahoma Congressman Brad Carson (who is a delegate) and his wife, Julie; state Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland; Oklahoma City attorney and Democratic Party fundraiser Mike Turpen; Chesapeake Energy executive Tom Price; and Boren’s sister, Carrie, who is the missioner for evangelism at the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas.
I wrote a story a few weeks ago about how much money Boren’s congressional campaign has been raising, even though he doesn’t really a face an election challenge this year. A good chunk will probably have to go to pay for the lively party that kicked off the convention festivities for the Oklahomans.
