I want to preface my account by saying that I am a Clark supporter/photographer so this report is from that perspective.
The Association of Democratic Chairs held their quarterly meeting in Little Rock this week. Among the many events that were held I attended two, the Friday evening reception and the Saturday morning "Grassroots and Grits" breakfast. General Clark and Howard Dean were both in attendance at the Friday reception, and Dean spoke at the Saturday morning breakfast.
The Friday evening event was held at the Capital Club on the 30th floor of the Region's Bank building in downtown Little Rock. Being a good Democrat, I volunteered to help with this event. I greeted people in the lobby and directed them to the elevators up to the 30th floor (fun, and not hard work if you can get it). Once all attendees had arrived my job was done and I proceeded to the party to mingle and be "hospitable."
The Capital Club had 2 large rooms set up, one with tables so people could sit and munch on the hors'd'oerves and the other room with a riser and mic for the speakers. Both rooms have very large windows with panoramic views of Little Rock facing north and west. The late-afternoon sun streamed in from the west and put my meager photography skills to the test.
The first speaker was Arkansas' new young State Chair, Jason Willett and he welcomed the Democrats, Howard Dean and Wes Clark, spoke about Arkansas politics and how our state is very Democratic (legislature, 3 of 4 Reps, and both Senators), and talked about the future direction of our Party and increasing grassroots involvement. Howard Dean spoke next, complimenting the Ark Dems, addressing the direction of the Party and praising Wes' testimony before the HASC. He said he was thrilled that Wes had told it like it is and put Perle in his place. HA! He also talked about the primaries and competing with Wes last year....and spoke about how they had talked regularly before Wes entered the race....I felt a friendliness and respect in his talk about it. Then it was the General's turn to speak.
At this point I would like to say that my reporting so far is hit-or-miss. Between trying to position myself to get a good view, take photos, and video tape with Ruth's camera, I forgot to concentrate on listening. D'oh!
Wes thanked Dean for what he was doing for the Dem Party and for being there. He also thanked Gert for standing with him, supporting him, and helping him to continue to speak out. He then talked about the HASC testimony and spoke about the sadness he felt about what has been undertaken by our country. He praised the men and women in the armed services and said he was also proud of the people who served in the intelligence community. "As I said in that committee, people in policy positions have a responsibility to understand the policy process, and to use the intelligence information wisely. The people in policy positions in the Bush Administration did not use it wisely, they did not understand it, and I think we need a Congressional investigation of
that!" <Applause and cheering here>.
He proceeded to talk about the work ahead for us Democrats. "We know what we believe" as Democrats, "we've got to make sure the American people believe it. We've got a lot of things in common, down our way people are talking a lot about family values; we believe in those family values, we believe in our religious convictions, our freedom of religion, our choice on what we believe in life and how we worship, and how we reach the dimension of spirituality that all of us have in one way or another."
"But I think it also very important that people in America understand that we stand for something in the way America conducts its affairs overseas, as well. In supporting democrats (little 'd' democrats) and those who aspire for democracy and freedom all over the world, that's what our party has stood for consistently, we're no johnny-come-lately to democracy. We also know that if you believe in the values WE believe in, its not just the form of government, it's the values on which its based..respect for individual rights and dignity. Its the process by which people come to make that structure and values their own. You cannot impose democracy, it must grow from the human heart and nobody does it or understands it better than Democrats." <sustained applause>. He then went on the welcome everyone to Little Rock, mentioned his staff and the work he is continuing to do from here in Little Rock standing up for Democratic values.
Both Wes and Dean mingled and visited with the guests before and after the speeches. I spoke with Wes briefly and did find out that he will be at our JJ Dinner again this year. I had the envelope of Meow's buttons with me and handed out a boatload of them. I shook Howard's hand and then handed him one of the buttons..."Here you go Sir, you need one of these!" It was the springtime baseball one. The most popular pin was the one with Wes' picture on it (my photo). People were clamoring for that one. I like to call that one the "Mr. President" button. :)
I socialized with various visitors and met some wonderful people from Alabama....Clark supporters that had traveled to SC and TN to help campaign. The lady notice my 4star pin and grabbed her husband and said "Oh look! A Clark Supporter!" I gave them several buttons and we all gushed over how great the General is (imagine that! hahaha). I also met some folks from NM, and met KayCe's young friend Gideon (another Clarkie!). He was rather shy and I grabbed him and dragged him over to the General to get their photo together. Dang, I'm pushy! I visited with Catherine, Suzanne, Paul, and Larry the blog guy from Wespac. I also got Wes and Howard to pose together for me to take a pic of them! Woohoo! Turned out great too!
I came away with a good feeling about Howard Dean and I think he will be a good Chair. He was very friendly and approachable. Of course rarely does an event go by that I don't say something stupid. This event was no exception. I told Dean that I wanted to ask him about when he went to college at Cornell (ok, don't say it) and he looked at me and said "Yale, I went to Yale." And I said....(here it comes)......"Are you sure???" OMG!! How stupid is that!! And he moved away, and can you blame him!?! LOL!!!!
Due to all my socializing I missed out on the food. I saw roast beef tidbits with rolls, some shrimp I think, fruit and veggie platters, beer and wine, and there may have been other items as well. A great time was had by all. After the reception there was a tour of the Clinton Library for the attendees. The Ark Dems know how to put on the dog!
Saturday morning there was a "Grassroots and Grits" breakfast held in the 2nd floor rotunda of the State Capitol. It was co-sponsored by the Dem Party and the Young Dems. Breakfast consisted of bacon, grits or cheese grits, various pastries, and a fruit platter, coffee and juices. I ate this time...lol! While standing in line for the food, I began handing out some of the few buttons I had left and one lady asked what Wespac was. When I told her she said,"Oh, General Clark! I saw a car out front with a Clark08 bumpersticker!" I laughed and told her that it was mine! (thanks jsainio!)
Several of our state officials spoke and then Dean took the podium. He spoke about the direction of the party and getting the grassroots and young people involved, and the importance of reaching out in all 50 states. He addressed the DeLay issue, elaborated on the facts of the situation and called on Hastart to restore the Ethics Committee to do their job. He railed about Bush and his SS privatization scheme and said Bush was breaking the law by promising a profit on stock investments (hmmm, I've seen that discussion at CCN, does Howard read that blog?). He went on to talk about getting the "pro-life" Democrats back into the fold. All in all, a very good performance. I have a good feeling that Dean is going to be working hard and positively for the Dems. That's the view and impression from here.
Picures posted on my site.
http://community.webshots.com/album/318469729UmfsHg/0 A reminder...photos on webshots are copyrighted material.
Addendum: I heard Wes telling Howard about how, on occasion, someone will come up to him in the airport and say, "You look familiar, yeah, I know you, you're Howard Dean!" Dean thought that was funny!
:kick:
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