Dems blame weather forecast for move indoors from Bank of America Stadium. (Yeah, right)

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 5, 2012

Democrats wimp out. 'No way 

Barack can fill a hole this big!' 

By Emily Goodin and Amie Parnes - 09/05/12 10:02 AM ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Obama's acceptance speech has been moved from the Bank of America Stadium to the Time Warner Cable Arena, Democrats announced Wednesday.

Democrats blamed "severe weather forecasts" for the move to the smaller, indoor arena from the large outdoor stadium. Thunderstorms are forecast on Thursday for Charlotte.

"We have been monitoring weather forecasts closely and several reports predict thunderstorms in the area, therefore we have decided to move Thursday's proceedings to Time Warner Cable Arena to ensure the safety and security of our delegates and convention guests," said DNCC CEO Steve Kerrigan.

The announcement comes after Obama campaign officials insisted the speech would go forward in the stadium "rain or shine." The stadium speech was meant to recall Obama's 2008 address in Denver, when he closed a largely successful convention with a speech to supporters at Invesco Field.

Republicans took glee in the decision, and expressed doubt that the weather was the real reason for the venue switch.

There have been questions over whether Democrats could fill the football stadium, which holds 73,000 seats, and the GOP was quick to argue that the real reason for moving Obama's speech was a lack of enthusiasm for the president four years later.

"Problems filling the seats," asked an email sent Wednesday by the Republican National Committee. It said Democrats were "continue to downgrade events due to a lack of enthusiasm."  Time Warner Cable Arena, where the Democratic National Convention has been taking place all this week, holds 22,000 seats.

Democrats pushed back at the Republican accusations.

"The bottom line is that you just need to look at the forecast," a campaign official said. "This was not a political decision. This was a public safety decision... We wanted this to go forward."

"Everyone will sleep soundly knowing we are making the right decision," the campaign official said. "You have to make the best call you can with the information you have at the time.

Campaign aides said a final decision was made on Wednesday morning. It is not immediately known how President Obama took the news.

Officials said they had given out 65,000 community credentials and advised that those people should not plan to attend tomorrow night.

"We were concerned about capacity on the high end not the low end," a campaign official said.
Democratic officials said 19,000 people were currently on a waiting list and that they were expecting close to 89,000 supporters on Thursday night.

Officials said they "can't accomodate" those people but encouraged them to hold watch parties with their neighbors.

A campaign aide called the move a "public safety decision" and added that the campaign is "disappointed we have to make this call."

Moving the event is "a logistical lift," said another campaign official, who reiterated Team Obama is "disappointed" that tens of thousands of people "won't be able to join us."

"Our top priority is the safety of our convention goers and guests," a Democratic official said.
— This story was updated 10:35 a.m.

Romney tweets: 'The government belongs to us.'

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 5, 2012

Mitt Romney must be keeping an eye on the Democratic National Convention, which began Tuesday in Charlotte, N.C., because a video shown on the convention floor sent him to Twitter with a dissenting opinion.

Mitt Romney @MittRomney

 "We don't belong to government, the government belongs to us."

September 4, 2012

According to the campaign, the tweet from Romney's official account was responding to a video shown earlier in the day at the Democratic convention.

"Government is the only thing that we all belong to. We have different churches, different clubs, but we're together as a part of our city or our county or our state," the narrator said in a video shown on the convention floor.

Buzzfeed has the portion of the video.

The video seems to echo the point President Obama was making in a campaign speech in Virginia earlier this summer, a speech that has become contentious after the GOP turned their response into a major theme of the Republican National Convention last week.

"If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help," Obama said in the July speech. "There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges.

"If you’ve got a business — you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen. ... The point is, is that when we succeed, we succeed because of our individual initiative, but also because we do things together. There are some things, just like fighting fires, we don’t do on our own."

Republicans have blasted Obama for the "you didn't build that" line, but Obama's campaign has fired back the outrage requires taking the president out of context. Romney has said Obama was demonstrating he prioritizes "the collective" over the individual.

"The point he was trying to make was things like education, infrastructure ... are things we do together," White House senior adviser David Plouffe noted last Sunday.

The chant "We built it" proved very popular with the GOP crowd last week in Tampa, Fla.

Gibbs: Religious references included in Dem platform replaces word 'God'

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 4, 2012

 

By Alicia M. Cohn - 09/04/12 08:44 PM ET

Robert Gibbs, a senior adviser for President Obama's campaign, ducked questions on Tuesday regarding whether or not the word "God" was deliberately left out of the Democratic Party platform.

"There's talk throughout the platform about faith and religion and I think that's what's important," Gibbs told CNN.

The platform, released late Monday, does not include the word "God," although it does refer twice to freedom of religion and religious tolerance.

Gibbs said the references to religion "lets people understand and know what this party is all about." But pressed to say whether the omission was deliberate, Gibbs shied away.
"I know there's thousands of God-fearing Democrats here tonight," Gibbs said, counting himself among them. "A lot of us here believe in a higher power."

Constitution cited less in Dem platform . . .

By Pete Kasperowicz - 09/04/12 10:16 AM ET

The Democratic Party released a platform late Monday night that makes just three direct references to the U.S. Constitution, in contrast to the Republican platform from last week that cites the founding document more than two dozen times.

Unlike the GOP platform, the Democratic platform makes no mention of the "Founding Fathers," nor does it mention Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson or George Washington. The GOP platform refers to the Founding Fathers twice, and mentions Washington three times, Jefferson twice and Franklin once. The Republican platform includes six full pages on the need to restore constitutional government.

These differences between the two platforms reflect the ongoing argument between the two parties for the last few years. During that time, Republicans have increasingly leaned on the Constitution to justify their effort to scale back what they say is an overgrown federal government, while Democrats have largely dismissed these GOP arguments and have said their policy prescriptions are in line with the Constitution.

A related difference can be seen in the use of the word "God" in the two platforms. The GOP platform mentions "God" or "God-given" rights in the context of the Constitution about a dozen times, but the Democratic platform makes no mention of "God," although it twice notes the freedom of religion in the United States.

VS: SO THESE ARE SOME GOOD COMPARISONS. WHICH DO YOU PREFER?

Ryan says Jimmy Carter era better than Obama's (Yikes!)

Verne Strickland / September 4, 2012

 

By STEVE PEOPLES   September 3, 2012

(AP) Greenville NC  — Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan is calling former President Jimmy Carter’s leadership “the good old days” compared to the last four years under President Barack Obama.

The Wisconsin congressman campaigned Monday at East Carolina University in Greenville, about 230 miles east of where thousands of Democrats were gathering at the Democratic National Convention.

Ryan says voters will hear a lot of words from Democrats in Charlotte this week. But he says they won’t hear evidence of how the nation is better off under Obama’s leadership.

Ryan says the only way to change the direction of the country is to change the president.

The message is part of a broader messaging strategy by Republicans in North Carolina and across the country this week.

Obama and his team believe a successful convention can propel him to victory. (Can they do it?)

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 4, 2012

 By Alexis Simendinger - September 4, 2012

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- President Obama and his campaign team believe a successful Democratic National Convention can help plow a path to victory in November. Having experienced the same phenomenon in Denver four years ago, they hope to bottle convention magic one more time.
Plenty of political scientists argue that public reaction to presidential nominating conventions is actually a poor predictor of the eventual winner -- even when polls edge higher for a nominee after a convention’s stirring addresses fade from memory.

In fact, the Gallup Organization suggests the state of a presidential race going into the conventions -- not the state of the contest coming out of them -- says more about who is likely to win.

Since 1952, the leader heading into the quadrennial gatherings has gone on to win the presidency in 12 of 15 elections, Gallup found.

In a neck-and-neck contest such as the one between Obama and Mitt Romney, then, the Democrats’ show in Charlotte could tilt momentum enough to realize a solid lead, add to it with the October presidential debates, and drive home messaging with TV advertising and through voter mobilization efforts in key battleground states.

Romney sustained no real bounce out of his Tampa convention and nominating speech, at least as of Monday, Gallup reported. “The public rated Mitt Romney’s speech the least positively of presidential nomination acceptance speeches Gallup has measured since 1996,” the organization said.
Democrats in Charlotte are talking about openings along at least six key fronts: 

1) Bounce and Hold: The president’s team wants to attract a hefty audience for speeches delivered by Obama, Bill Clinton, Michelle Obama, and a decidedly diverse roster of politicians and “American heroes” who can explain the Democratic Party’s rationale for four more years. They want to win public attention as measured by TV ratings and poll results by next week. With viewership down for the GOP convention compared with 2008 and no evident polling bounce for Romney nationwide, Democrats in Charlotte say they’re hopeful.

    2) Stoke Love (and Fear): Among African-Americans, Latinos, women and young people, Obama hopes to rekindle passion among voters who elected him president in 2008 -- and if he can’t quite pull that off, at least encourage voters to fear the GOP agenda outlined by Romney and his running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Where enthusiasm for Democrats has waned, the president’s campaign team believes Obama can plug holes with doubts and fears about his opponent. Expect the convention program in Charlotte to be more explicit about what a President Romney would supposedly do in the next four years than what Obama promises to accomplish in a second term.

    3) Speak to Independent Voters: Support for the Democratic Party among independent voters has fallen 12 points from where it was at this time in 2008. Obama wants to use his convention to woo enough of the tiny tribe of squishy, fence-sitting persuadable voters to help him defeat Romney in November. “We try to look at this through the eyes of people making choices,” senior Obama campaign strategist David Axelrod explained when discussing the conventions Friday.

   4) Sketch an Optimistic Agenda: After the Tampa assaults on Obama pegged to tax policy, the economy, and his “you didn’t build that” comment this summer, the president’s convention will turn the tables with an agenda organized around the middle class. Expect the president to discuss Medicare, student loans, consumer protections, health care for women, and a better defined Democratic agenda for a second term. Because Romney did not discuss Afghanistan in Tampa, Obama will make as much as he can about his record as commander-in-chief and head of state. “By the end of next week, the American people will see the road map to restore the middle class,” said campaign spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter.

   5) Reassure Voters about Washington: Americans indicate they continue to doubt whether Obama or Romney can fix what’s broken in Washington to achieve legislative changes that will improve their lives now and in the future. The president, who has spent a year campaigning against Congress and Republicans, has argued in interviews that the results of the November elections will “break the fever” and pave the way for tough decisions and bipartisanship. Democrats want their three-day convention to appear more optimistic, harmonious and keyed to middle-class worries when it comes to breaking the gridlock in the nation’s capital.

   6) Gain Traction in the Battleground “South”: As much as Democrats have sought to use the Charlotte convention as a way to replicate the narrow 2008 Obama victory in North Carolina, appealing to neighboring Virginia may be even more important to the party’s Electoral College strategy. “Everyone in the South is part of a convention like this, so there’s also a ripple effect to being in North Carolina,” said Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx. “We border Virginia, and some of the other states around us that could be competitive in this race, and I think particularly North Carolina and Virginia are going to be ones to watch in this election.”

Alexis Simendinger covers the White House for RealClearPolitics. She can be reached at asimendinger@realclearpolitics.com.

Protestors in Hong Kong riled over school 'brainwashing' by Communist China authorities.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 3, 2012

Thousands of protesters, parents, and their children outside 

the government headquarters in Hong Kong.

Photo: AP Photo/Kin Cheung

9:13PM BST 03 Sep 2012

Chanting "No to brainwashing education. Withdraw national education", some 8000 people denounced a Hong Kong government-funded booklet entitled "The China Model" they say glorifies China's single Communist party rule while glossing over more brutal aspects of its rule and political controversies. 

One hunger striker was taken away on a stretcher on the third straight day of protests after fasting for more than 40 hours.

The protests represent a challenge for Hong Kong's new pro-Beijing leader Leung Chun-ying, who took office in July, and who has come under pressure for policies that have highlighted underlying tensions as the financial hub becomes increasingly intertwined, economically and socially, with China.

Polls suggest Hong Kong public distrust towards China is at a record high some 15 years after the former British colony reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, with many fearing Beijing's hand encroaching increasingly into the city's cherished freedoms and political affairs.

Many of the protesters were young students who flocked to the demonstrations straight after their first day back at school, some heckling Leung to scrap the scheme or step down.

Despite protracted public opposition to the scheme including a late July rally that drew some 90,000 people, officials resisted calls to scrap it from local primary and secondary schools, saying it was aimed at instilling a greater sense of national pride and belonging towards China. 

"The important thing is to ensure that the public concern or the parents' and the students' worry about the so-called brainwashing will not happen," said Hong Kong's number two official, Carrie Lam.

"But that will only be achievable by more communication between the various stakeholders and by putting the trust in the school sponsoring authorities and the individual schools."

Hong Kong officials say schools may adopt the curriculum voluntarily with the scheme not to become mandatory until 2015.

The protests are a continuation of demonstrations that first flared on Saturday, with many pledging to fight on including a small band of hunger strikers. One middle-aged female academic was stretchered off late on Monday for medical treatment after going on hunger strike for over 40 hours. 

While the curriculum touches on some negative aspects of contemporary Chinese history including unfair land grabs by corrupt officials and a toxic milk powder scandal, it makes no mention of the June 4, 1989, crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.

Source: Reuters

Her Royal Bevness (Gov. Perdue) plays hostess at National Democratic Convention.

Verne Strickland Blogmaster / September 2, 2012




NEWS & OBSERVER September 2, 2012
Staff writers John Frank, David Menconi and Bruce Siceloff

Gov. Bev Perdue will play hostess in chief this week with the world look at North Carolina amid the Democratic convention. Her tentative schedule started with four national cable news interviews Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union”.

On Monday, after rehearsing for her opening remarks on the convention’s first day, Perdue is tentatively scheduled to appear on MSNBC for separate interviews with Andrea Mitchell and Chris Matthews. And later in the week, she will appear on MSNBC again for an interview with Chuck Todd.

But one major N.C. Democratic face you won’t see on TV: state party Chairman David Parker, officials said. (The less he’s seen the better, some Democrats privately say.)

Parker is still toxic after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the party earlier this year. At the time, national party officials described Parker as “a man without a part,” but he survived repeated calls for his resignation and remains at the helm.

That said, Perdue has her own issues: unpopularity and former campaign aides indicted after an investigation into her 2008 election effort.

The musical lineup for the big event includes James Taylor; Foo Fighters; Mary J. Blige; Earth, Wind & Fire; Delta Rae; Inspire the Fire; Marc Anthony (singing the national anthem).
Ledisi, DJ Cassidy and Durham resident Branford Marsalis are among the acts performing earlier in the week.

GOP elite crash DNC party
The Republican convention in Florida continues – at least in part – this week in Charlotte as the party seeks to counter the Democratic message.

About 50 high-profile operatives and surrogates for presidential candidate Mitt Romney are coming from Tampa to North Carolina to run a GOP war room not far from the Democratic convention at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Among the expected surrogates: N.C. Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, a former congressman and friend of VP candidate Paul Ryan; South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.

New executive decision looms
Republican legislative leaders are in tune with the concerns of Democrat Gene Conti, who complained this week that he is underpaid as the state’s transportation secretary.

That’s why they amended the state budget this year to give North Carolina’s next governor new power to set salaries for non-elected state department heads.

“These agencies have gotten huge in terms of budget and responsibility,” said state Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, one of the Senate’s chief budget-writers.

Conti said he took a big pay cut in 2009 when he gave up a private-sector job to take charge of DOT, with its $4 billion budget and 12,000 employees. Stevens agreed with Conti that the statutory salary limit – $121,807 this year for the heads of DOT and seven other agencies – could make it hard for the state to attract the best administrators.

So whoever wins the November election to succeed retiring Gov. Bev Perdue will have the authority to set these salaries, starting in the fiscal year that begins in July 2013.

“Either Gov. Dalton or Gov. McCrory, we think, will need the flexibility to bring in the best-qualified people to run these agencies,” Stevens said. “We think the state will be better off at the end of the day. We did not provide additional money for this. If the next governor pays the health and human services secretary double what the current secretary is making, he’ll have to find that money elsewhere in the budget,” Stevens commented.

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/09/02/2312112/perdue-plays-hostess-in-chief.html

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/09/02/2312112/perdue-plays-hostess-in-chief.html#storylink=cpy

Parker is still toxic after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the party earlier this year. At the time, national party officials described Parker as “a man without a part,” but he survived repeated calls for his resignation and remains at the helm.

That said, Perdue has her own issues: unpopularity and former campaign aides indicted after an investigation into her 2008 election effort.

GOP elite crash DNC party
The Republican convention in Florida continues – at least in part – this week in Charlotte as the party seeks to counter the Democratic message.

About 50 high-profile operatives and surrogates for presidential candidate Mitt Romney are coming from Tampa to North Carolina to run a GOP war room not far from the Democratic convention at Time Warner Cable Arena.

Among the expected surrogates: N.C. Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes, a former congressman and friend of VP candidate Paul Ryan; South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley; U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus.


New executive decision looms
Republican legislative leaders are in tune with the concerns of Democrat Gene Conti, who complained this week that he is underpaid as the state’s transportation secretary.

That’s why they amended the state budget this year to give North Carolina’s next governor new power to set salaries for non-elected state department heads.

“These agencies have gotten huge in terms of budget and responsibility,” said state Sen. Richard Stevens of Cary, one of the Senate’s chief budget-writers.

Conti said he took a big pay cut in 2009 when he gave up a private-sector job to take charge of DOT, with its $4 billion budget and 12,000 employees. Stevens agreed with Conti that the statutory salary limit – $121,807 this year for the heads of DOT and seven other agencies – could make it hard for the state to attract the best administrators.

So whoever wins the November election to succeed retiring Gov. Bev Perdue will have the authority to set these salaries, starting in the fiscal year that begins in July 2013.

“Either Gov. Dalton or Gov. McCrory, we think, will need the flexibility to bring in the best-qualified people to run these agencies,” Stevens said. “We think the state will be better off at the end of the day.

“We did not provide additional money for this. If the next governor pays the health and human services secretary double what the current secretary is making, he’ll have to find that money elsewhere in the budget,” Stevens said.

Staff writers John Frank, David Menconi and Bruce Siceloff

more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/09/02/2312112/perdue-plays-hostess-in-chief.html#storylink=cpy