Category Archives: DNC

Philly is Primping for #PHLDNC

By DocJess | Published July 3, 2016

It’s Independence Day weekend in Philadelphia and OH! the sites and sounds. There are spectacular things to do and see….and some things will remain (and be added!) for the DNC Convention the last week in July.

2016-07-02 13.24.04I brought my nieces and my sister-in-law to, of course, the Constitution Center yesterday both to see the newest version of Freedom Rising, and the renovation of the Bronze Room. As I’ve been telling all DCW readers for years — if you come to Philly, I’ll be glad to take you to the Constitution Center. Open offer because to me it really is the happiest place on earth. For this weekend, there are displays and demonstrations on the front lawn of Colonial times: a blacksmith and a weaver, just to name two of many.

Remember, the Constitution Center is hosting PoliticalFest, which will run from 22 July through 27 July. It’s inexpensive and will be a terrific experience. You can get your tickets (good for all six days) here.  If you’re credentialed, PoliticalFest is free. Continue Reading...

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Will Clinton or Trump give their acceptance speech outdoors?

By Matt | Published July 2, 2016

Eight years to the weekend that DCW broke the news about Obama possibly giving his acceptance speech outdoors, as DocJess noted, the rumors are flying again:

Discussions are in the works to move Hillary Clinton’s presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention away from the Wells Fargo Center to a larger location, Billy Penn has learned.

Philly Congressman Bob Brady said nothing has been finalized but “there’s talk about it. Continue Reading...

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#DNC Update: 3 Weeks Out

By DocJess | Published July 2, 2016

dnc2016It’s just 3 short weeks to the convention! We’re all excited here at DCW: can’t wait to be there amoungst the delegates, protesters and famous people.

We’ll be posting interviews starting next week. So far: three politically-active folks, a young woman completely new to politics, and a protester. We’re working at getting interviews with other folks planning on attending. If you’re attending the convention and want to be interviewed, let us know and we’ll interview you, too. A convention is not just “a thing” but thousands of personal stories.

There’s a rumor that Hillary’s acceptance speech will be held outdoors at  Citizens Bank Park or Lincoln Financial Field in lieu of indoors at the Wells Fargo Center, similar to what Barack Obama did in 2008. But it’s iffy.

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Summary of Draft DNC Platform

By Matt | Published June 28, 2016

After its last meeting in St. Louis, the Democratic Platform Drafting Committee has released a summary of the 2016 platform.

This draft will now go to the full Platform Committee for final approval at a meeting in Orlando, Florida on July 8th and 9th.  The document approved by the full Platform Committee, consisting of 187 members from across the country, will be presented for ratification at the Democratic National Convention in July.

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Both conventions still working to raise money

By Matt | Published June 8, 2016

Both the Republican and Democratic national political conventions remain short of their fundraising goals, as organizers have grappled with calls for corporate boycotts of the Republican gathering and Democrats coped with a protracted nomination battle.

Each committee is working to raise more than $60 million.

The host committee for the Republican gathering in Cleveland has collected roughly $56.5 million, said David Gilbert, its president and CEO. That puts the committee about $7.5 short of the $64 million it must collect for the July 18-21 event. Continue Reading...

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Preparing for 2020

By tmess2 | Published May 22, 2016

While there is still plenty of time left in the 2016 election, discussion has already started about the rules for the 2020 election.  Changes to the delegate selection process tends to be driven by “fixing” what the party sees as the problem in the last election cycle.  For example, a lot of the changes on the Republican side (e.g., the binding rules, penalties for states violating the rules) were driven by what the party leadership thought went wrong in 2012 — Ron Paul doing better at state conventions than he did on caucus nights, states violating the timing and proportionality rules.

The two parties are at different stages of the process for modifying the procedures for 2020.  For the Republicans, the process for convening the next convention is part of the party rules .  Normally, the rules can only be amended at the convention.  In 2012, the convention granted limited “one time only” authority to the Republican National Committee to change the process.  Given the difficulty of making changes on the fly during a convention, it is likely that the Republicans might give the RNC this power again.  For the Democrats, the actual drafting of the rules for the next convention is done by the Democratic National Committee after the convention.  Typically, the most that has happened during the nomination process is an agreement to have a study commission to look at revisions to the rules.

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Media tours site of Philadelphia Democratic National Convention

By Matt | Published April 12, 2016

The Democratic National Convention Committee hosted a walkthrough for the media at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia:

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Some Philly cab drivers threaten boycott during convention

By Matt | Published April 4, 2016

The battle between legacy cab companies and Uber/Lyft is playing out in Philadelphia, with some Uber drivers siding with the legacy cab companies:

And to be clear, not all parties agree on a boycott: Continue Reading...

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The Rules of the Convention: Part Three — Organization of the Convention and Nomination Process

By tmess2 | Published April 2, 2016

In July, the individuals elected as delegates to their party’s conventions will show up in Cleveland and Philadelphia to select the nominees of their party.  As noted in Part One, each party has temporary rules:  the Republican rules contained in the “Rules of the Republican Party” and the Democratic  Rules contained in the “Call for the Convention.”  These temporary rules do include several committees that will meet before the convention to work on some of the details of the convention, including a rules committee for drafting the permanent rules.

The rules for both parties have some similarities.  There are two big differences, however.  The first involves the composition of the convention committees.  The second involves the process for voting on a nominee.

Continue Reading...

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The Rules of the Convention: Part One — The Basics

By tmess2 | Published March 26, 2016

Normally, the rules of the two national conventions are an after-thought.  One candidate gains a significant lead in early March and the rest of the candidates drop out.  The convention becomes a coronation and the rules only matter to insiders.  This year, however, both parties may have two (or more) candidates fighting into June .  At that point, the rules may become crucial to bringing an end to the race.

This post will cover some of the basics in the rule.  With the race now entering a “calm period” with Wisconsin on April 5 and New York on April 19 before the pace picks back up on April 26, my hope is to reach at least three other topics over the next several weeks:  1) delegate selection; 2) the running of the convention itself; and 3) what might change between now and the conventions.

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