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| Once every two years, Democratic Party activists and elected officials from the far corners of California gather in Sacramento for the state party convention. Ostensibly, they meet to elect a chair and other officers, but most have other reasons for making the journey. |
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For delegates, it's a non-stop blur of speeches, rallies, caucuses, receptions, and hospitality suites, enough to torture any ordinary person, but manna from heaven for the political junkie.
For me, the 1997 California Democratic Convention had a
different meaning. Beginning in 1983, I attended five of these conventions as a delegate.
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| But I quit the party in 1994, burned out from the volunteer work and unhappy with the outcome of a bitter State Senate primary in my area. Now I was going back, this time as a member of the press. It was an opportunity to meet many old friends from Southern California, plus a chance to see this curious biennial ritual--one in which I had been a full participant--through different eyes. Notebook and camera in hand, I made the 90-minute trip from El Cerrito to Sacramento, not quite sure what I would find. |
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The Delegates Who are these delegates, these political animals who give up a beautiful April weekend to hear endless speeches about education funding and welfare reform? They number about 3000, equally divided between men and women, representing all ages and every ethnic group. Some are newcomers, others veterans of countless earlier conventions. . . .
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The Press Conference My first convention event was a Friday afternoon press conference featuring state party chair Art Torres. This was a new experience for me; I had attended countless computer industry press conferences, but never a political one. Yet here I was, news editor of Macworld, right at home among reporters from the L.A. Times, New York Times, and Sacramento Bee. . . .
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The Speeches Politicians love to give speeches, and stem-winding oratory is an essential ingredient in any Democratic convention. Though none of this year's speakers showed the rhetorical skill of a Jesse Jackson, they frequently stirred the assembled delegates into a frenzy. . . .
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Paul Wellstone People of all political stripes were saddened by the tragic death in October 2002 of Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), who was one of my favorite politicians. Generally considered the most progressive member of the Senate, he was the only Senator up for re-election in 1996 who voted against the welfare reform bill. . . .
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