OK -- Official DU/Wisdems Gathering -- 10 p.m. Friday

[eyesroll]

...at the hotel sports bar. (Since I can't seem to find whether they have a stand-alone bar as well.)

Look for the DU bumper sticker/ t-shirted people.

Sound good?

[ewagner]

1. Sounds good to me

At this hour, everything is on track so I should be there......

Looking forward to meeting some more DUers.....

[eyesroll]

2. Excellent!

We'll just need to hang out a bit for stragglers who need to go to hospitalities (as well as the various and sundry delays and speakers-going-way-over-their-allotted-time that might make the convention itself end late).

[sybylla]

3. See you all at 10 - n/t

[TheMightyFavog]

4. Hey guys,

Sorry I couldn't make it.

If you would like to know I was the heavy set man with glasses, a blue button down shirt, carpenter Jeans with a cell phone hanging from the right ruler pocket.

Tomorrow I'll have my DU screenname on my tag.

BTW, did anyone buy one of those FDR campaign buttons?

[sybylla]

9. I did

Bought two, one to donate to our picnic's fundraising auction and one to keep. I'm kind of starting a collection. I picked up a couple of Kennedy buttons last year at a local antique store and paid about the same so I figured it wasn't a bad deal.

Sorry we missed you Jonathan. Eyesroll and I figured you had to be there somewhere. If you saw the resolutions debate on Friday night, I got up and spoke out in support of the electronic voting resolution two people or so before Secretary Lafollette. Short, long dark hair and a DU t-shirt.

[MessiahRp]

5. I didn't see any of you!

Myself and "WI For Kerry" went into the Sportsbar and saw nobody.

Look for me tomorrow sometime. My name tag will read "Robert Poole, Outagamie, CD6" on it. I will have Jef Hall buttons on for sure. BTW he was unbelievable tonight. His speech was by far the best at the Convention yesterday IMO, a tough pull with Lautenschlager, Lawton, Kind, and Obey all in that group.

I'm getting a copy of that speech and posting it here for all you DUers that couldn't attend. :)

Rp

[eyesroll]

7. Howdy -- we tried to meet up

Wandered through the sports bar with a DU sticker, and I guess our paths didn't cross. (It was a mess.)

We did meet up with Sybylla and Mad as Hell, though.

I enjoyed Jef's speech, too -- he's good. He should be fun in a debate with Petri.

[TheMightyFavog]

8. The best speech, IMHO

Was a tie between Feingold and Tammy Baldwin's "Your're Fired!" speech. Talk about a speech that get the crowd really into it!

[sybylla]

10. MadAsHell and I were outside the bar at 10

I walked through with a DU sticker as well and didn't see anyone who looked like they might be DUers. Waited outside until 10:10. We left thinking that the convention ended so late everyone decided to go to the hospitality suites and blew the DU meeting off. We went back at about 11:30 looking for ewagner before we left, in case he was waiting there. Sorry we missed each other.

Eyesroll managed to guess that I was a DUer when I got up to talk about the electronic voting resolution so they managed to hunt us down in Kind's hospitality suite later.

I found out that ewagner didn't make it though he was talking about going up until the last minute. I hope everything is well with him.

I spoke to a dem at the convention who asked about DU and said she is planning to check it out so watch for an opportunity to welcome her aboard. Her SO works for Rep. Kind.

[MessiahRp]

12. Well I tried I guess...

"didn't see anyone who looked like they might be DUers"
Well how could you know that? :)

I went through the bar like five times that night looking desperately for DU anything but I couldn't find anyone. Well I did find someone, Russ Feingold who I talked to for awhile late that night, but not any DUers. I too spread the good word of DU around so I know at least a few people that are going to check it out.

Jef seemed very proud of the fact that WI for Kerry and I have spread the word about him on DU and that some of you good people have contacted him on it. I guess he didn't think the word would get out about him so soon, but you guys have been great about letting him know DU is behind him that I think he's making sure I keep DU involved in the process. :)

Next year myself and Bill Schwulst are likely organizing the Convention when it comes to my hometown of Oshkosh. Let's put it this way, it's going to be way bigger and way more entertaining.

One thing I want to do is run a DU table at the Convention. :)

I figure we can have merchandise, sure, but maybe print up pamphlets and introduce a lot of younger Dems to the Underground... and you'll see that with no major elections next year we're going to do something the DPW doesn't do very well at itself, and Party Build like crazy in the off year. So instead of hoping after four years to dust off a list and see if those people are still Dems and see if they'll work for the candidates, you can turn to all fo them who have been with you the whole time as well as a bunch of people that might have not been there before.

I can't release any details but we already have started the brainstorming process and next year is going to rule. :)

And since we're reaching a smarter, younger, more active audience... DU really needs a voice at next year's convention IMO. :)

So we'll see. When I get confirmed details over the next few months of what we have set in stone for next year, you'll get them here.

Rp

[TheMightyFavog]

13. Yeah, maybe we can have Will Pitt write up something for us...

I know that one group selling the anti-bush buttons with the guy wearing the "boot bush" hat (I bought a few buttons from him) had one of Pitt's pieces.

[eyesroll]

14. It's in Oshkosh next year?

I thought it rotated to Milwaukee/Madison in odd-numbered years.

Cool anyhow -- we probably couldn't go to Superior or Eagle River (just too far), unless we were running for something. But Oshkosh we can manage (it's marginally closer to us than Appleton).

If DU has a table, well, we have a built-in meeting place!

Waukesha's put in a bid for '06...we'll see...(I'd love that because, if my state senator Ted Kanavas continues to piss me off as much as he's been doing now, and the Dems don't field a real candidate, I might run...and it would be nice to be able to host).

[sybylla]

15. Didn't see anyone who was looking for anyone with a DU sticker & t-shirt

which I was wearing and flashing around. Don't know what more I could do. Eyesroll did the same thing a little while after I did and she didn't snag any DU fish either.

Sorry.

Great idea about a table, by the way. It does cost but I don't imagine the price is out of reach. Check with the state offices in the spring when they start leasing them out. The problem is getting someone to man it. If we all go as delegates, we've got convention business to deal with.

[MessiahRp]

16. We can get volunteers....

I'm pretty sure we're not all going to go as delegates so it will work itself out. All we'd need is four shifts to volunteer and if we had two people willing to split the duties we'd be good. I know WI For Kerry wasn't a delegate and he talked up DU to everyone he saw so he would likely man a table if I asked. :)

Anyways, we'll see how it comes along.

Rp

[ewagner]

17. Things went south

starting at 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon.

Ended up working with a client until about 6 but still planned to go the next morning....

Thanks for remembering and I'm really sorry I missed it.

[sybylla]

18. I'm sorry to hear you had to miss it too.

But I'm very happy to hear everything is well with you otherwise.

[WFF]

6. I missed it :(

I didn't see the notice untill late Friday night. Will anyone be meeting anywhere on Saturday night?

BTW, I am not attending the convention. I just happen to live in Appleton.

[sybylla]

11. You could have come as a guest.

$20 and you could have seen the whole thing yourself.

There may be a few stragglers there tonight but most people go home Saturday depending on how far home is. Would have been nice to see you.