2012 Democratic National Convention

Progressive Central:
The People's Convention
Tuesday, September 4th in Charlotte, N.C.

From PDA & Rep. Keith Ellison
Co-Chair, Congressional Progressive Caucus

Join John Nichols (Nation Magazine, MSNBC), at guided conversations and events featuring guests: Governor Mike Dukakis, Congress members John Conyers, Raul Grijalva, Keith Ellison, Jim McGovern, Barbara Lee* and Alan Grayson, plus several other progressive leaders, (see below).

Friends, Over the last unbelievably short 8 years of my being an active and engaged member of the Democratic Party, I have had the privileged honor to meet some of the greatest political figures of our lifetime and certainly some of the most respected leaders of the Democratic Party.

There is just one person I have not yet had the opportunity to personally meet and that is our President Barack Obama! Please make a donation to help me travel to Charlotte and maybe get that one last opportunity to meet our President and be your voice in Charlotte!

Humbly asking for your generous donation,

Tina Willis Rodriguez, 2012 Democratic National Convention Delegate-Alternate

Former 1st Vice Chair-NCDP 3rd Congressional District; SEC Member-NCDP; 2008 DNC Rules Committee; 2nd/3rd Vice President-Carteret County Democratic Women; 2004 DNC Delegate; Wildwood Precinct Chair; and 2006 Candidate for Carteret County Commissioner

http://fundly.com/sendtinatocharlotte2012

I am guessing the holdup has to do with the fact we (Charlotte) only has one big park in downtown where they can hold the numbers of people expected to protest and it is right across the street from the City/County Government Center.

"We've made multiple attempts over many months to go through the appropriate channels to get permits...but have still heard no response from city and county officials," said George Friday, an organizer with the Move to Amend Campaign.

read more: Charlotte Observer

I talked about this when it was first announced that Charlotte would host the convention. I was out in Denver in 2008 and they had a huge public park right in the middle of town that served as a great public space for speakers and a good place for marchers to congregate before and after protests. Charlotte has Marshall Park which is a good central park but is right beside the city/county government center and will probably be in the "security zone". I am guessing they will open up a two square block of space that is slated for our new baseball stadium and is county property.

read more: Charlotte Observer

Back in 2008 I had the privilege of using one of BlueNC's media passes while I was in Denver for the convention. Each state had an official state blog for the convention and BlueNC was ours. You can see my pictures here, here, and here.

The reason I bring this up is that Charlotte has set up a venue for bloggers to work from and to offer them support while they are in town for the convention

When thousands of visiting bloggers come for the convention, most of them will need a place to work.

You can read about the group that is facilitating this here: The PPL

Misplaced anger and missed opportunities:

Casting North Carolina as an anti-union bastion with "regressive policies aimed at diluting the power of workers," more than a dozen trade unions affiliated with the national AFL-CIO have told the Democratic National Committee that they will sit out the 2012 convention in Charlotte.

Right assessment, wrong response. You don't change the hearts and minds of people by absenting yourself; you make the biggest splash you can. And you damned sure don't leave your local affiliates out to dry: