Here's a smaller report on day 2 of the California Democratic Convention.
Most of the day's programs (aside from a few formal acclamation "elections" of party officials, yawn) on Saturday's program was a series of "Town Hall" events that were anything but. For the most part, they were a series of speeches (many of them by candidates for state office who used the opportunity to give a stump speech) with no interaction with the audience. Sorry guys, put putting your lineup in director's chairs instead of sitting behind a curtain-lined table does not make it a town hall. I did find the session on Social Security somewhat interesting because the speakers were not candidates for anything, and were therefore there to talk about the issues at hand. I actually learned a lot about what the real story behind the funding of the program is, how changing the investment backing from Government Bonds to roll-the-dice stock market funds wouldn't do anything to change the in-vs-out funding situation, etc.Concurrent with the above was a small setup of booths, much like the show floor at a typical conference. A hodge-podge of booths, really: some purely selling swag and souveniers, some representing particular groups and interests (teachers, unions, Native Americans, etc.), some for passing out literature for upcoming candidates, some activism and advocacy groups,and so forth.
As a side note, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the number of over-the-top "political convention geeks" was very low. You know the type: rainbow suspenders with every inch covered with buttons; gigantic sparkly red-white-and-blue hats, etc. Very few of those. Mostly it's just a cross section of real California residents mulling around and networking.
The highlight of the day was, beyond a doubt, the banquet speech given by former Presidential Candidate, now head of the Democratic Party, Howard Dean. Let's just say it was well received, and I think quite a breath of fresh air as far as the Democratic Party is concerned. It wasn't a campaign speech; it was about what values and rights we have as Americans. Instead of the usual policy-wonk stuff that just doesn't resonate with the average American, this was all about values. It was clear that he had been heeding the advice of George Lakoff's book Don't Think of an Elephant; those of us there who are familiar with Lakoff's work were quite happy to see that Dean, and perhaps the Democratic Party as a whole eventually, gets it. People can't be persuaded from the mind only, but also from the heart. I highly suggest interested folks to check out the webcast of the speech if/when it comes online.
Sunday, the last day of the convention, is a short day. I may have a chance to report on it, or possibly not; we'll see.