Thursday, February 01, 2007
Progressive bloggers get organized for convention
WE’VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
Plans are in the works to get bloggers and other progressives organized for the 2008 Democratic Convention:
ProgressNowAction and America’s top progressive blogger—Markos Moulitsas, founder of DailyKos.com–have teamed up to convene ProgressCon2008, a national convening of bloggers, internet organizers and non-profit leaders during the Democratic National Convention in Denver, August 25-28, 2008.
“The Convention is coming to our hometown of Denver and we’re teaming up with Markos to host our friends in the progressive community in style,” stated Bobby Clark, Deputy Director of ProgressNowAction, Colorado’s largest online progressive organization.
Posted by Matt at 10:08 PM 
kind of off topic, but the convention is what spurred the altercation. i think it gives a hint at how backroom the convention will be run…
WASHINGTON —
A Democratic love-fest came to a screeching halt Friday after a high-ranking Hispanic party official abruptly resigned amid allegations he used a racial slur during a heated argument with a black aide to party Chairman Howard Dean.
Alvaro Cifuentes was chairman of the DNC’s Hispanic Caucus and is well-known in national Hispanic Democratic circles.
Cifuentes was attending the DNC’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C., Friday when he and the aide got into an argument.
It’s not clear what started the fight, but sources said Cifuentes called the aide, who is black, “boy” twice during the confrontation, and two conference attendees were alarmed enough to try and restrain Cifuentes.
Sources said they believed that Cifuentes’ actions were physically intimidating, and his words racially insensitive.
DNC spokeswoman Karen Finney confirmed the resignation Friday evening, saying it occurred after a meeting with Dean, the former governor of Vermont. She said that Cifuentes resigned his post as caucus chairman, but remains a member of the DNC.
Asked if Dean forced Cifuentes to resign his post, Finney said: “Gov. Dean and Alvaro had a private meeting this afternoon. Following that meeting, Alvaro attended the Hispanic Caucus meeting, [and] submitted his resignation. It was accepted by the caucus.”
Attempts to reach Cifuentes for comment by phone were unsuccessful. His home phone number is restricted, according to phone company records.
A man who answered to the name “Alvaro” at a number believed to be the Cifuentes’ household said the caller had the wrong number before the reporter identified himself, and then hung up.
Repeated phone calls to that number were not answered.
Sources said the argument appeared to stem from a dispute that began Thursday over how the 2008 Democratic convention in Denver was being planned. According to sources, Cifuentes didn’t like Dean’s moves to centralize power over the upcoming convention in the hands of those in Washington.
Dean’s aide reportedly approached Cifuentes on Friday, telling him: “If you don’t like his leadership, you can leave,” sources who were near the confrontation recalled.
Finney said the party did not have any further response to Cifuentes’ resignation, but another DNC source said “it was the right thing to do.”
Cifuentes had been chairman of the Hispanic Caucus since 2001, Finney said. Caucus chairmen are voted upon by members in the caucus, which is made up of Hispanic members of the DNC. Caucus chairmen are not paid officers of the DNC, but they do sit on the party’s decision-making executive committee. There are 447 total DNC members.
The resignation followed a spat between two other lawmakers earlier this week. Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Calif., resigned from the House Hispanic Caucus after what she said were inappropriate remarks by the caucus chairman, Rep. Joe Baca of California. She said friends told her that Baca called Sanchez a “whore.”
Baca has denied making the comments.
We are coming to Denver!
Me, my 4 year old daughter, my sister in law and her two daughters, 18 and 10, are going to represent for Obama and for democracy! I feel it in my bones that this is going to be a HUGE event, historic, in America. Any one say Seattle, 1999 or Chicago, 1968? Superdelegates!???????? How UNdemocratic is that!?
paz
raquel