This is a pubic service announcement from all of us DC-ites who are getting swamped with requests for Inauguration tickets and/or accommodations from friends, family, and people we barely even know.... We don't have any tickets.
To get tickets to the inauguration, you are supposed to contact your member of Congress and get placed on the waiting list. Realistically, if you haven't done so by now, or if you don't have really good political contacts, you're not getting any. The general public usually lines up and down the streets hoping for a glimpse of the Presidential Motorcade passing by. Come early and dress warmly. January in DC is usually about 30 degrees.
Now for logistics: Hotels all around the D.C. area are already full. Anything you do find will be vastly overpriced and well outside of the city. I'd recommend that you look in the Baltimore MD/Richmond VA area and take a train or shuttle into the city. Lastly, if you're thinking about driving into DC, don't. Just... don't.
Tickets to inauguration balls are still available, but expensive. Private events are plentiful and should be your best chance, but don't expect to see a certain handsome politician with a funny name around. It's just a chance to celebrate with like-minded people. (i.e. Michigan will probably have its own ball.)
Obama signs all around my East Lansing neighborhood (Glencarin-Chesterfield-MSU area) have been getting torn up, littered about, and the metal holders are getting twisted up and strewn about. I counted six on my three block street alone.
Just wondering: anyone else having this happen around the Lansing area, or was this just the work of some angry drunken frat boy?
I thought this was a pretty entertaining part of this afternoon's Associated Press story on this Saturday's congressional district meetings:
The 15 congressional district meetings could get raucous. Obama, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and two other candidates pulled their names from the ballot, forcing their supporters to vote for Uncommitted.
About 450 people have registered to run for the 36 delegate and 2 alternate spots set aside for those who backed Uncommitted. Brewer says the vast majority are Obama supporters, but he expects the competition to win a spot will be intense.
"People feel very passionately about their candidates, and I expect we're going to see a lot of passionate campaigns on Saturday," he said.
About 450 people also applied to run for 47 delegate and 13 alternate spots that will go to Clinton supporters, but the Clinton campaign has reduced the list to around 150 people, Brewer said.
About 21,000 party members are eligible to vote at Saturday's district conventions.
Its especially encouraging for me, a Hillary Clinton supporter, to see that, despite not having any formal organization in the state (like Michiganders for Obama), there was a fairly equal number of applicants for spots for "Uncommitted" and Hillary Clinton.
I can't help but to assume that the Obama campaign will benefit from its geographical closeness this Saturday. From what I hear from my Obama-supporting friends in Grand Rapids, the competition could be described as "intense."
I know in California, the Obama campaign slashed over half of his delegates to the congressional district conventions, until public pressure (and a fierce reaction from the netroots) caused Axelrod & Plouffe to reverse their decision at the last minute. There was a lot of speculation about whether the Obama campaign made a coordinated effort to eliminate anti-war activists and members of the netroots as a way of controlling the tone of the meetings. But others have contended that it was less of an effort to cut bloggers and hardcore activists, and more of a way for the Obama campaign to ensure that its big donors were rewarded with a spot at the convention.
We'll see how this Saturday turns out, any predictions?
I know that I plan to be watching this all unfold at Creston High School in Grand Rapids.
Iowa and New Hampshire have had their say -- who will you vote for?
It's decision time for millions of progressives just like you. Which candidate deserves your vote to become the next President of the United States? And with the Michigan Primaries in question, this is a great chance to have your vote heard.
You can vote right now for your favorite candidate in a unique online poll of progressives across the country. Please vote here to pick your president:
As you vote at "Pick Your President," five of our progressive non-partisan partner organizations will be surveying their supporters as well in California, Colorado, Ohio, Washington and Wisconsin (polling both Democratic and Republican candidates).
If you support a specific candidate -- and you know many people who agree with you -- it's time to rally them to the cause. Today.
By spreading the word about this unique online poll of progressives in Michigan and across the country, you can help your favorite candidate build momentum immediately. No matter which candidate you are backing, their campaigns are counting on you.
Hi, folks. Here are today's grumps, gripes and jokes about the presidential race:
In Michigan, Sen. Carl Levin is asking state Democrats to vote "uncommitted" in Tuesday's primary, which, as a good little Dem I'll probably do. But I'm not happy about it. I feel disenfranchised, like many in the state, in what is, I think, a crucial election. But, as Levin pointed out in a Detroit Free Press article: "... despite the national party's threats to the contrary, Michigan's 156 delegates will be seated at the Democratic National Convention in August. He said seating those delegates would open the door for states to challenge and change the national party rules that require Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada to hold the earliest primaries." So hold your nose and do what you must, Dems -- commit to uncommitted. Or to Hillary, I guess. (Speaking of which, has more ever been made of one little mist-up? Behold, the power of a woman's tears! Could you blame her for thinking, "Jeez, that worked GREAT! If I'd known emotions were so handy, I'd have developed more of them years ago!"?)
Earlier tonight I published a very extensive diary over at Daily Kos outlining everything the Draft Gore movement has been up to - and boy, let me tell you, there was a lot of outlining to do. The absolute highest priority right now, however, is gathering the 12,396 valid signatures to get Gore on the Michigan primary ballot should he choose to run.
Governor Granholm's response that Michigan issues needed to play a larger role in choosing the Democratic nominee are valid, but she fails to recognize that Senator Edwards has been responding to Michigan issues for his entire campaign.
Senator Edwards has dedicated his campaign to providing the most comprehensive and the most practical plans for helping Michigan.
Senator Edwards is a strong ally of labor, which has a very strong presence in the state of Michigan. He is ready and willing to stand up to any challenges to keep jobs in Michigan and make sure that companies that take jobs from Michigan and send them to China will not be rewarded by the federal government.
Edwards has laid out the most comprehensive plan for health care, which will leave NO ONE behind. He admits that his plan will be expensive (though it will cost less each year than the war in Iraq), but he is willing to make cuts in other areas to guarantee that all of Michigan's citizens have health care. Elizabeth Edwards likes to challenge the other Democrats in the field to provide equally effective health care plans, by asking voters to question the other candidates about health care. When asked how many people will still be uninsured if your plan goes into effect, John is the only candidate that can respond with a confident: "Zero"
Environmental Concerns are also at the fore-front of Senator Edwards campaign. He was the first major candidate to release a realistic plan for the environment and it remains the most comprehensive of all of the candidates. Michigan's environmental needs have always been addressed by the Edwards campaign.
...the list could go on and on.
At the end of the day, which candidate was (and still is) talking about Michigan's issues before the state primary was changed?
Only...John Edwards
John doesn't need to campaign in Michigan to make Michigan issues stand out, because his campaign has always embodied Michigan's needs and with David Bonior at the helm, that isn't soon to change!
Al Gore and The Suthren Drawl, Tennesseans the same, were the top picks of both parties in a Detroit News poll of likely primary voters last week. When Gore's name isn't included, voters picked Hillary.
When his name is included in the field, Gore gets 36 percent support compared to 32 percent for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, 16 percent for Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and 8 percent for former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the poll shows. When voters stick to announced candidates only, it's Clinton with 45 percent, Obama at 26 percent and Edwards at 16 percent.
When The Suthren Drawl's name is removed, Giuliani, not Romney (darling of the party apparatus), wins.
"I like Mitt Romney but I don't think he can be elected. I'll support Giuliani because he can be elected. He appeals more to the middle of the road, the moderates and independents," said Cynthia Fahr, a retired antique dealer from New Baltimore who took part in the poll. "He comes off truthful and forthright."
If Fred Thompson wants to put together a winning campaign team, this ain't the way to go. Fred Thompson has appointed one of the dimmest bulbs in Michigan political history to manage his campaign.
(Many thanks to philgoblue for his incredible work. It's great that all of MichLib's visitors get a chance to see John Edwards speak! - promoted by LiberalLucy)
On Saturday, 21 April, the day after protesting George Bush's visit to my hometown, and the morning after coaching some youth soccer, greee and I packed into his car and drove the three hours from Grand Rapids (the west coast of Michigan) to Detroit for the Michigan Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.
The place was packed to the gills and it was quite hard to move around the main ballroom at Cobo. I believe Party Chairman Mark Brewer said it was the largest Jeff-Jack ever. We estimated that there were at least 200 tables of 10 people each - 2000+ in attendance to celebrate our Party's victories in reelecting Jennifer Granholm and Debbie Stabenow, prepare to reelect Carl Levin and listen to the keynote address by presidential candidate John Edwards.
From here you will find links to the candidates (and possible/probable candidates - both Ds and Rs), lists of prominent Michigan endorsements, and all Michlib diaries tagged for that particular candidate. Check it out.
As it turns out, I'm in a particularly good and neutral position to put all of this together. As a dead person, Michigan law unfortunately does not allow me to vote - and since the election of Janice Winfrey as Detroit City Clerk, that applies even to the place of my residence. Bah Humbug!
Well...nevermind that. Let my misfortune be your boon.
Date of Michigan Democratic Primary: February, 2008 (unofficial)
Date of Michigan Republican Primary: February, 2008 (unofficial)
Click
on link below to find out more about each candidate's Michigan
presidential campaign and to see all Michlib diaries tagged for that
particular candidate. Be aware that many of the candidates do not yet
have any Michlib diaries associated with them.
NOTE: To have your diary entry appear in one or more of these sections, enter the candidate name or names written exactly as shown below in the "Tags" field when writing your diary (separate multiple names with commas).
Democratic Candidates for President of the United States (and possible candidates):
Willard "Mitt" Romney (R-Taxachusetts) was born and raised in Michigan. His daddy, George Romney (R-American Motors), was once the Governor of Michigan.
Like his daddy, Mitt wants to be the Republican nominee for President of the United States in 2008. In 1968, Daddy Romney's presidential campaign went down in flames after he claimed that he was "brainwashed" by American Generals into supporting the Vietnam War while touring Southeast Asia three years earlier.
It's going to be interesting to see if his son claims to have been brainwashed back in 1994 when Mitt sounded like a liberal forcefully supporting abortion rights and distancing himself from the patron saint of right-wing Republicans, Ronald Reagan:
So was Mitt Romney (R-Taxachusetts) brainwashed back in 1994 when he was trying to run to the left of Ted Kennedy or is he really a liberal from Michigan that Michigan liberals can support?
The Romney for President effort in Michigan is headed up by none other than House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche. It's not yet clear what's going to be more difficult task for the deposed House speaker: (1) trying to explain away Romney's liberal past; or (2) explaining to Republicans how he mangaged to lose the Michigan House while the Republicans hung on to control the Michigan Senate and didn't lose a single congressional seat in Michigan in 2006.
Update: Details as per Freep: 5:35 p.m. Thursday at the Mabry Banquet and Convention Center, 23397 Mound Road in Warren.
...because he's oh-so-popular in our state right now. From the AP:
President Bush will stop in Michigan this week to help raise money for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Bouchard, the White House has confirmed.
Bush will visit Warren on Bouchard's behalf Thursday. The president will headline a $1,000-per-person fundraiser, according to an invitation obtained by the Associated Press.
The president also had a fundraiser for Bouchard in Michigan last month, raising more than $1 million.
C'mon Amway Guy! George is your buddy! You said at the last debate that you like being compared to the President of the United States. Go give him a hug! I'll bring the camera.
In case you haven't heard, U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) says he is now mulling a bid for the White House in 2008.
I'm curious. What does the Michlib community think about Obama (or the 08 race in general)? Leave your responses in the comments.
I'm not ready to sign on just yet, but Obama certainly excites me than Hillary Clinton or a John Kerry repeat. I like Feingold, but I'm not sure he has the kind of ability to connect with people that Obama does. Maybe he's just been in the Senate too long.
On Saturday, 21 April, the day after protesting George Bush's visit to my hometown, and the morning after coaching some youth soccer, 
