President Obama accepts nomination. Rep. Xavier Becerra speaks.

If you look at the headlines from today’s opening breakfast for the California delegation here at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, you’ll be confronted with headlines breathlessly claiming that California Democratic Party Chairman John Burton compared Republicans to Nazis.

That’s nice headline fodder and all, except it’s not true. Here’s the actual quote from Burton:

“They lie and they don’t care if people think they lie. …Joseph Goebbels it’s the big lie, you keep repeating it,” Burton said Monday before the Blake Hotel breakfast. He said Ryan told “a bold-faced lie and he doesn’t care that it was a lie. That was Goebbels, the big lie.”

Without actually delving into the headline behind the quote, you’d think that Burton claimed that the Republican Party has an ideology relevantly similar to that of the National Socialists. He didn’t. Instead, he made reference to the method of propaganda and deceit made most famous by, yes, Joseph Goebbels: that it doesn’t matter how big the lie is, as long as it gets repeated over and over without shame. And eventually, goes the strategy, you can convince people to believe your big lie.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because the Romney campaign, and the Republican Party in general, is using that exact strategy. The Romney/Ryan ticket is repeating bald-faced lies over and over again in the assumption that through muddying the waters enough, they can make truth a casualty of politics. They are doing this with the big lie that Obama gutted welfare-to-work programs. Ryan lied to the world publicly when he insinuated that Obama was responsible for the closure of the manufacturing plant that closed in the Bush administration. And most egregiously, the same people who want to gut Medicare and turn it into a privatized, premium-support voucher program are the ones falsely accusing Obama of cutting Medicare by $716 billion.

If the Republican ticket were not so absolutely insistent on telling their big lies, perhaps comparing their strategy to the person who made the big lie famous would not be so apt. Did Chairman Burton say that the Republicans are Nazis? No. Did he say that they’re shameless propagandists who have no problem lying to the world? Absolutely. And on that, Romney and Ryan are guilty as charged.

UPDATE: Burton has issued a statement:

“To correct press reports of my recent comments about Republican lies, I did not call Republicans Nazis nor would I ever. In fact, I didn’t even use the word.

 

If Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, or the Republicans are insulted by my describing their campaign tactic as the big lie – I most humbly apologize to them or anyone who might have been offended by that comment.”

My suggestion would be…if you’re offended by people calling you a liar, stop lying.

There’s been a lot of analysis about why Democrats lost the Massachusetts Senate race, because it was so obvious.  Failing to accomplish what you campaigned on depresses your base, emboldens the enemy and convinces independents that you’re a loser.  The lesson is not that Democrats went “too far” – but that they didn’t go far enough.  If I had faith in President Obama and the Democratic Party, I would be hopeful that they learned that lesson.  But only one person seems to get it – former DNC Chair Howard Dean – who was unceremoniously kicked to the curb last January.  It was Dean who gave Democrats a backbone in the run-up to the Iraq War.  It was Howard Dean’s “Fifty State Strategy” (as opposed to Rahm Emanuel’s recruitment of Blue Dogs) that won Congress in 2006.  And it was Dean’s playbook that Barack Obama used to beat Hillary Clinton in an historic campaign.  Beltway Democrats resent Dean, because he cares more about helping progressives win than stroking their ego. And – what’s most unforgivable – he’s been proven right.

Every two years after an election, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call publishes a large, beautiful color map of the United States featuring the results of House and Senate races.  Dark blue stands for “Democratic take-over,” and dark red stands for “Republican take-over.”  I first saw the map in 1996 on my college roommate’s wall, and resolved to buy it after an election where the Democrats win big.  What’s really pathetic is that I had to wait ten years.  Today, I’m proud to have the maps from 2006 and 2008 on my wall.

It’s not a co-incidence that both of these elections happened when Howard Dean chaired the Democratic National Committee (DNC.)  Dean had electrified the grassroots with his 2004 presidential campaign, because he said it was time for Democrats to be tough.  His campaign was about taking on Republicans in every part of the country, but it was also about empowering the Party’s grassroots.  Supporters were told to take ownership of the campaign, and small online donations allowed him to stay competitive with corporate-funded candidates.  In many ways, Howard Dean was the first “netroots” candidate.

Dean took the helm at the DNC, and set out to do the work to win in 2006.  He instituted reforms in the Party that devolved power from the well-heeled donors to the grassroots activists.  These “heavy hitters” were not real Democrats – most are corporate types who give money to both parties, as opposed to small donors who actually believe in the Party.  Dean proved that small online donations can compete with the “big boys,” which did not endear him to the old guard.  But activists could finally feel good giving their fifty bucks to the DNC.

He also implemented a “Fifty State Strategy” – investing Democratic resources in places where the Party hadn’t existed for years.  It may not help flip districts in one cycle, but it laid the groundwork for Democrats to seriously contest races in the future.  It also helped Democrats seize opportunities when the winds favored them.  Momentum favored Democrats in 1998 (due to disgust at the Clinton impeachment), but they failed to re-take Congress because they were not competing in enough districts.  That was not a problem, however, in 2006.

Compare this strategy with the “old-school” tactics that Rahm Emanuel employed at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.)  Rahm focused on a small number of districts, recruited conservative Blue Dog Democrats and told them to run against their own party to co-opt the Republican base.  At worst, these candidates lost.  At best, they won – but would then go to Washington with an anti-progressive mandate.  

Howard Dean is the reason Democrats won in 2006 – and got nothing but grief for doing so.  The media started pushing a lie right after the election that Democrats won because they had run “conservative” candidates.  James Carville went on CNN to throw a tantrum about how Dean should be kicked out of the DNC, and that Harold Ford – the only serious Democratic Senate contender that year to lose, and an anti-progressive DLCer to boot – should replace him.

Dean’s transformation of politics also made it possible for Barack Obama to win the White House.  Hillary Clinton was the establishment choice (and in party primaries, the establishment always wins), who raised money the old-fashioned way – through big donors.  But Obama adopted the Howard Dean playbook of a grassroots campaign with a compelling message, and fundraising from small online donors.  As the primaries dragged on, Obama outpaced Hillary because his donors – unlike hers – hadn’t maxed out and kept giving.

One would think that such a track record would have kept Howard Dean at the DNC for another four years.  Instead, President-elect Obama quickly replaced him with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine – and didn’t even invite Dean to the announcement ceremony.  As far as anyone can tell, Kaine has abandoned Dean’s “Fifty State Strategy” – bringing the DNC back to the old days of raising gobs of cash, dissing the grassroots and not investing in resources that lead to long-term viability.

The result?  Democrats lost the governorship in Virginia (Kaine’s home state), couldn’t save Jon Corzine in New Jersey and even blew Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts.  We can’t blame Tim Kaine for all of this, but it’s telling that just after the DNC stopped pursuing what Howard Dean had done they started losing elections.  What’s galling is that Obama would not have been President without the groundwork Dean laid.  What’s infuriating is that Obama was supposed to be about “change we can believe in.”

Howard Dean has returned to Democracy for America – where he’s provided instrumental leadership on the health care debate.  Unlike Obama’s Organizing for America, which refused to target conservative Democrats who have given us nothing but trouble, DFA has aired TV ads in Nebraska that targeted Ben Nelson on the public option.  When Democrats caved to Lieberman’s extortion (because Obama sent Rahm Emanuel to Capitol Hill, urging the Senate Democrats to do so), Dean accurately read the public’s pulse and said, “kill the bill.”

For standing on principle, Dean got nothing but grief.  He was called “unstable” by White House aides.  The “screaming” Howard Dean meme was again repeated in the media.  He had committed the unforgivable crime of being right, and they resented it deeply.  And in a few weeks, Dean’s prophecy would be proven right again by voters in Massachusetts.

Now, the Democrats have managed to fumble Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat – losing to a right-wing Republican who once posed nude for Cosmopolitan. Evidence shows that Martha Coakley’s numbers went down after the Senate passed the health care bill.  Shouldn’t the Party leaders listen to Howard Dean?  At least, they owe him an apology.

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily, where this piece was first published.

There’s been a lot of analysis about why Democrats lost the Massachusetts Senate race, because it was so obvious.  Failing to accomplish what you campaigned on depresses your base, emboldens the enemy and convinces independents that you’re a loser.  The lesson is not that Democrats went “too far” – but that they didn’t go far enough.  If I had faith in President Obama and the Democratic Party, I would be hopeful that they learned that lesson.  But only one person seems to get it – former DNC Chair Howard Dean – who was unceremoniously kicked to the curb last January.  It was Dean who gave Democrats a backbone in the run-up to the Iraq War.  It was Howard Dean’s “Fifty State Strategy” (as opposed to Rahm Emanuel’s recruitment of Blue Dogs) that won Congress in 2006.  And it was Dean’s playbook that Barack Obama used to beat Hillary Clinton in an historic campaign.  Beltway Democrats resent Dean, because he cares more about helping progressives win than stroking their ego. And – what’s most unforgivable – he’s been proven right.

Every two years after an election, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call publishes a large, beautiful color map of the United States featuring the results of House and Senate races.  Dark blue stands for “Democratic take-over,” and dark red stands for “Republican take-over.”  I first saw the map in 1996 on my college roommate’s wall, and resolved to buy it after an election where the Democrats win big.  What’s really pathetic is that I had to wait ten years.  Today, I’m proud to have the maps from 2006 and 2008 on my wall.

It’s not a co-incidence that both of these elections happened when Howard Dean chaired the Democratic National Committee (DNC.)  Dean had electrified the grassroots with his 2004 presidential campaign, because he said it was time for Democrats to be tough.  His campaign was about taking on Republicans in every part of the country, but it was also about empowering the Party’s grassroots.  Supporters were told to take ownership of the campaign, and small online donations allowed him to stay competitive with corporate-funded candidates.  In many ways, Howard Dean was the first “netroots” candidate.

Dean took the helm at the DNC, and set out to do the work to win in 2006.  He instituted reforms in the Party that devolved power from the well-heeled donors to the grassroots activists.  These “heavy hitters” were not real Democrats – most are corporate types who give money to both parties, as opposed to small donors who actually believe in the Party.  Dean proved that small online donations can compete with the “big boys,” which did not endear him to the old guard.  But activists could finally feel good giving their fifty bucks to the DNC.

He also implemented a “Fifty State Strategy” – investing Democratic resources in places where the Party hadn’t existed for years.  It may not help flip districts in one cycle, but it laid the groundwork for Democrats to seriously contest races in the future.  It also helped Democrats seize opportunities when the winds favored them.  Momentum favored Democrats in 1998 (due to disgust at the Clinton impeachment), but they failed to re-take Congress because they were not competing in enough districts.  That was not a problem, however, in 2006.

Compare this strategy with the “old-school” tactics that Rahm Emanuel employed at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC.)  Rahm focused on a small number of districts, recruited conservative Blue Dog Democrats and told them to run against their own party to co-opt the Republican base.  At worst, these candidates lost.  At best, they won – but would then go to Washington with an anti-progressive mandate.  

Howard Dean is the reason Democrats won in 2006 – and got nothing but grief for doing so.  The media started pushing a lie right after the election that Democrats won because they had run “conservative” candidates.  James Carville went on CNN to throw a tantrum about how Dean should be kicked out of the DNC, and that Harold Ford – the only serious Democratic Senate contender that year to lose, and an anti-progressive DLCer to boot – should replace him.

Dean’s transformation of politics also made it possible for Barack Obama to win the White House.  Hillary Clinton was the establishment choice (and in party primaries, the establishment always wins), who raised money the old-fashioned way – through big donors.  But Obama adopted the Howard Dean playbook of a grassroots campaign with a compelling message, and fundraising from small online donors.  As the primaries dragged on, Obama outpaced Hillary because his donors – unlike hers – hadn’t maxed out and kept giving.

One would think that such a track record would have kept Howard Dean at the DNC for another four years.  Instead, President-elect Obama quickly replaced him with Virginia Governor Tim Kaine – and didn’t even invite Dean to the announcement ceremony.  As far as anyone can tell, Kaine has abandoned Dean’s “Fifty State Strategy” – bringing the DNC back to the old days of raising gobs of cash, dissing the grassroots and not investing in resources that lead to long-term viability.

The result?  Democrats lost the governorship in Virginia (Kaine’s home state), couldn’t save Jon Corzine in New Jersey and even blew Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts.  We can’t blame Tim Kaine for all of this, but it’s telling that just after the DNC stopped pursuing what Howard Dean had done they started losing elections.  What’s galling is that Obama would not have been President without the groundwork Dean laid.  What’s infuriating is that Obama was supposed to be about “change we can believe in.”

Howard Dean has returned to Democracy for America – where he’s provided instrumental leadership on the health care debate.  Unlike Obama’s Organizing for America, which refused to target conservative Democrats who have given us nothing but trouble, DFA has aired TV ads in Nebraska that targeted Ben Nelson on the public option.  When Democrats caved to Lieberman’s extortion (because Obama sent Rahm Emanuel to Capitol Hill, urging the Senate Democrats to do so), Dean accurately read the public’s pulse and said, “kill the bill.”

For standing on principle, Dean got nothing but grief.  He was called “unstable” by White House aides.  The “screaming” Howard Dean meme was again repeated in the media.  He had committed the unforgivable crime of being right, and they resented it deeply.  And in a few weeks, Dean’s prophecy would be proven right again by voters in Massachusetts.

Now, the Democrats have managed to fumble Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat – losing to a right-wing Republican who once posed nude for Cosmopolitan. Evidence shows that Martha Coakley’s numbers went down after the Senate passed the health care bill.  Shouldn’t the Party leaders listen to Howard Dean?  At least, they owe him an apology.

Paul Hogarth is the Managing Editor of Beyond Chron, San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily, where this piece was first published.

Nancy Pelosi officially goes through the motions of nominating Joe Biden, followed by a video montage focusing on Biden’s working class roots in Scranton as a stuttering young man, through his dedicated family life, and finally turning on his experience and accomplishments as a legislator.

Bo Biden, Joe’s son and Attorney General of Delaware, introduces his father (I didn’t catch much of it, as I was distracted shaking hands with Scott Kleeb…)

Biden thanks the crowd, thanks the crowd.  Says how proud he is of his son, and how his wife leaves him both “breathless and speechless.”  Proud to be on the same stage with Bill Clinton, and proud of Hillary Clinton, “a woman who has made history and will continue to make history.”

Honored to live in a country with the bravest warriors in the world, and honored to represent his state of Delaware.

Accepts the nomination.

“For every american trying to do the right thing…no longer will you hear the eight most dreaded words in the English language: The Vice-President’s Office is on the phone.”

Biden brings up how he and Obama come from different backgrounds.  Calls out his father (whose advice for young Joe was “when you get knocked down, son, get up.  Get up.”), then calls out his mother.  Failure at some point is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.  When I stuttered, she said, “Joey, it’s because you’re so brilliant you can’t get your thoughts out quickly enough.”  And when I got knocked down by guys bigger than me, she said “Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day.”  And after the accident, she told me, “God doesn’t send you a cross you can’t bear.”

Talks about the dignity of work and the America’s promise, the American Dream that anyone can make it if you try hard enough.  “Today that American Dream feels like it’s slowly slipping away.”  “I’ve never seen a time when Washington watched so many people get knocked down, without doing anything to help them get back up.”

Millions of Americans are asking themselves questions they never thought they’d ask themselves: should mom move in with us now?  Did you hear they may be cutting out healthcare company?  We owe more on the house than we can pay.  How are we going to send our kids to college?  How are we going to retire?

That’s the America George Bush has left us.  And that will be the America we will have if George–sorry, John McCain is elected president.”  Hilarious Freudian Slip from Joe–or was it?

“John McCain doesn’t seem to get it.  Barack Obama gets it, though…I believe the measure of a man is not the road he travels, but the choices he makes along that road.  Barack Obama could have done anything after he graduated from college…He chose to go to the South Side of Chicago…He made their lives the work of his life.  That’s what you do when you’re raised by a single mom who worked two jobs and raised a family…It’s about whether you can look your child in the eye and say We’re Going to Be All Right.”

Talks about how Barack Obama got people off welfare, got more healthcare for children,   helped control nuclear proliferation, and helped wounded veterans.

“We don’t have to accept a situation we cannot bear.  We have the power to change it.  And change it is exactly what Barack Obama will do.  That’s what he’ll do for this country.”

Now here it comes.  The attack on McCain.  Obligatory respect for McCain’s service.  “But I profoundly disagree with the direction John wants to take this country.  John says we’ve made great economic progress.  I think it’s been abysmal.  McCain has voted with the Bush Administration 95% of the time.  That’s hard to believe!”  Hits the More of the Same line.

Key line repeated throughout the speech:

That’s not change.  That’s more of the same.

Hits McCain on minimum wage, tax cuts for the wealthy, oil company and pharmaceutical tax breaks, Iraq, energy policy and more.

“These times require more than a good soldier.  They require a wise leader.”  Lots of great quotes throughout this speech.

Now Biden brings up the contrasts with specific Obama policies, including on energy possible, better education, accessible healthcare for every American, more cops on the street, security back in social security, equal pay for women.  “That’s the change we need.”

Calls Afghanistan the “real central front of the War on Terror.”

Ugh.  Throws red meat on the Georgia/Russia business.  Biden should know better–but hell, it probably polls well.

Biden throws McCain’s lack of judgment on Afghanistan compared with Obama’s foresight.  “John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was right.”

On talking with Iran, even the Bush Administration recognizes that we have to talk to Iran.  John McCain has been wrong, and Obama has been right.  Same thing for timelines in Iraq–the Administration and the Iraqi government are setting timelines: McCain was wrong and Obama was right.

“Again and again, on the most important national and economic security issues, John McCain has been wrong and Barack Obama has been proven right.”

Finally, he brings it home to his Scranton roots.  This is the time America gets back up.  This is our time.  This is Barack Obama’s time.  This is America’s time.”

All in all, a fantastic speech.  I could have wished that Biden had started hitting McCain a little earlier in the speech before people had the chance to tune out–but that’s just a nit to pick.  Awesome job.  

OBAMA: “I was everyone to understand why I’m so proud to have Joe Biden and Bo Biden and Mama Biden here to help me take America back.  I think the convention’s gone pretty well so far, what do you think?  Michelle Obama kicked it off pretty well, don’t you think?  If I’m not mistaken, Hillary clinton rocked the house last night!  (nice shot of Bill and Hill, obviously smiling).  I think President Bill Clinton reminded us what it’s like when you actually put people first.  Thank you President Clinton!  We’ll be movign to mile High stadium tomorrow.  At the beginning of this campaign, we had a very simple idea, that change dosn’t come from the top down but from the bottom up.  Change comes from ordinary people doing extraordinary things…We’re going to have a great night tomorrow night, and see you there.  Thank you and God Bless America!”

Joe Biden has just been selected as the Vice Presidential nominee.  There’s a little “BI-DEN, BI-DEN” chant in the room, which I pretty much never thought I’d see.

After a short video we’ll have the speech.

In the video: “When you see the abuse of power, you’ve got to speak.”  This is going to be a solid speech.

…Beau Biden, the Attorney General of Delaware, who is being shipped out to Iraq in a month, is introducing him.  He’s talking about that horrible accident that killed his mother and sister.  Joe Biden sat by his bedside and said “Delaware can get another Senator, but my boys can’t get another father.”  Eventually he was encouraged to serve, and he commuted to work every day while he was a US Senator.  This is a good introduction into Biden the man.

…Biden opens by praising President Clinton, “a man who brought this country so far I pray we can do it again.”  He praises Hillary as well.

“Let me make this pledge to you… no longer will you hear the most dreaded eight words in the English language… “the Vice President’s office is on the phone.”  Unfortunately he mangled the setup slightly.  He’s working into this one.

Biden introduces his mother… Her motto was “failure at some point of your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable.”  He sets up the red meat by saying that when bullies would fight him, he’d send him back out and saying “bloody their nose.”  My mother’s creed is the American creed, everyone is equal, no one is better than you.

…Biden moving on to how the American dream is slipping away.  He’s building a narrative of how Republicans have broken this country.  It’s very accessible to the middle class.  “That’s the America George Bush has left us. And that’s the America we’ll have if Geor- John McCain is made President.  Freudian slip!”

Biden: Barack “is the great American story.”  The measure of a man is what he chooses to do… and he tells the story of Obama moving to the South Side of Chicago to help steelworkers instead of taking a big corporate job.

…Biden has had a few flubs, but this is an emotional speech.  He’s making the case for Obama, and he’s giving testimony of the quality of his character.  “We don’t have to accept a situation we cannot bear, we have the power to change it.”

…the obligatory “John McCain is my friend” part, but now we are into the red meat.  He’s tying McCain to Bush and repeating the “more of the same” refrain.

…I hadn’t heard the “McCain has voted 19 times against the minimum wage” bit of research before.  He then followed up with the “we need a wise leader.”

…I have to say that this is not that great a speech.  The passion was there in the beginning, but he’s now reading lines that it doesn’t seem like he would read.  And this Obama part is a bit too wonky.  The “that’s the change we need” is a bit grating.  I understand that he’s trying to define change, but it’s not the best way to do it, IMO.  Maybe this will improve.

…He’s on stronger ground on foreign policy here.  His foreign policy knowledge is broad and wide, and he’s very blunt about it.  “John McCain was wrong, and Barack Obama was right” on foreign policy.

…He’s bringing into the headlines the recent collapse of the Bush foreign policy and how McCain wants to go down the same path.  With Obama “we’ll be able to lead again.”  This is pretty decent stuff.

OK, so some skinny dude from Illinois showed up.

I’ll put a link to this on the top of the site so that it doesn’t get pushed off the front page. Post your parties in the comments, and I’ll update this diary

So, over the flip are some fun watching parties for Thursday’s Obama speech.

AMADOR & CALAVERAS

At the Hotel Leger on Main Street in Historic Mokelumne Hill  Off Highway 49 munchies No-host bar

5:30pm -?  rsvp to [email protected] or Judy Hotchkiss@jhotchkiss2!yahoo.com

CHULA VISTA / SAN DIEGO

Join Marty Block and others for this historic event. Good food, good music and good friends.

Marty Block for Assembly Chula Vista office

380 Third Ave., Chula Vista (between F and G streets)

Thursday, 5:00pm – 9:00pm

FREE

FRESNO

Democrats In Action Office

255 N. Fulton Suite #104

Between Belmont and Divisadero

Beginning at 6:00PM

Light Refreshments will be served

RSVP to [email protected]

ORANGE COUNTY

Latinos for Obama

Thursday, August 28, 2008; 6:30 PM to 8:30PM

At the Home of Ray Verches, 13661 Belle Rive, Santa Ana, CA 92705

626-862-5369 / 714-360-0661

Please let us know you’ll join us by sending an RSVP to [email protected]

SAN FRANCISCO

California Democratic Party

Doors open at 5:30pm

Where: Hyatt Regency Hotel: Embarcadero Center

RSVP: Get tickets ActBlue page.

And Castro for All

Jillian’s @ The Metreon

101 Mission Street, Corner of 4th

San Francisco, CA

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Free

* Parking available across the street.

SACRAMENTO

Lounge on 20

1050 20th Street, Suite 100

Sacramento, CA

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Free

SAN MATEO

Denver by the Bay

ActBlue Page: $100

6PM-9PM

Tom Lantos Memorial San Mateo County Democratic Headquarters: 628 El Camino Real, San Carlos

SAN BERNADINO

5pm-8:30pm at the Roosevelt Bowl at Perris Hill Park in San Bernardino.

More details at Blue County.

Suggested donation $5 per person $20 for a family of 5

MONTEREY

5:30-8pm at the Golden State Theater – SOLD OUT

Overflow available at:

Britannia Arms, 444 Alvarado Street

Round Table Pizza, 375 Alvarado Street

Ol Factory Cafe, Sand City, 1725 Contra Costa

All events in Monterey free

SALINAS

4-8 pm at Pizza Factory, 926 Main Street

Click to register

Also free

Just saw Melissa Etheridge give a great performance to a standing ovation.  Then Harry Reid came on to talk about energy.

That’s the political equivalent of a hairpin curve.

Earlier, some of California’s finest women addressed the convention, as every Democratic woman in the US House hit the stage.  Hilda Solis, Maxine Waters and Lois Capps gave remarks.  Waters had a good line saying that McCain doesn’t understand the housing crisis because none of his seven homes are in foreclosure.

I had some good chats with some electeds.  I asked state Board of Equalization member Judy Chu about how the budget is affecting her office, and she replied that they’re just trying to collect revenue wherever possible to paper over the crisis, but sales tax revenue is down because of the struggling economy.  Kamala Harris and I chatted about blogging and how the traditional media is covering this election.  She said that every single interview she’s had has a question about disunity in it.  What a false meme.

Netroots hero Patrick Murphy from my parent’s district is up now, and he’s doing great.

…Boy, Evan Bayh ate his Wheaties today.

Though Barack Obama has been nominated by the Democratic Party by acclamation, the delegate counts still are tabulated.  And I just heard that the final count here in California was 263-169.

FWIW.

…let me update.  Apparently it was 273 for Obama, 166 for Clinton, with two superdelegates not voting, one of them DiFi, who isn’t here.

…the fact that California was the only state of the ones that went through the roll call that had to pass because they didn’t have all the votes cast… well, the word “disorganization” comes to mind.  Of course, it’s also the largest delegation, so it’s maybe understandable.

Speaker Pelosi has just hit the floor, and the Presidential nominating process has begun.  Dolores Huerta is making the nominating speech for Hillary Clinton right now.  People are pretty rapidly taking their seats.

It’s important to note that a roll call vote is a completely perfunctory and normal process.  Some may have been outraged by the fact of a roll call, but it’s wholly unsurprising and will end with Barack Obama as the nominee, just as Bill Clinton became the nominee on the third night of the convention in 1992, and Clinton in ’96, and Al Gore in 2000, and John Kerry in 2004.  It’s a nominating convention.  This is how it works.

UPDATE: Hillary released her delegates, making them free to vote for whoever they want.  As many feel the obligation to vote the way their constituents asked them to vote, Hillary will still get a lot of votes.  Also, Hillary signed her ballot for Barack Obama this morning.

UPDATE: Obama is about to be nominated.  The applause for Obama’s nomination is defeaning.  There will be no fight on this floor.  A registered Republican from Tennessee, Michael Wilson, is offering the nomination.  He’s an Iraq war vet.  “I support Barack Obama because America needs a President with the strength, wisdom and courage to talk with our enemies and consult with our allies.”

UPDATE: Apparently everyone in the West wears a bolo tie.

UPDATE: Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a strong Hillary supporter in the primaries and co-chair of her campaign, is seconding Obama’s nomination.  “No matter where we stood during the campaign, Democrats stand together today.”  Seriously, the disunity idiots need to stuff it.

UPDATE: The roll call is beginning, and it will continue until there is a nominee.  Alabama is kicking it off, so it looks like they’ll go alphabetically.

UPDATE: Alabama – 48-5 for Obama.  Alaska – 15-3 for Obama.  American Samoa – 9-0 Obama.  Arizona – 40-27 Obama.  Arkansas – 47-0 for Obama (in a call for unity; Clinton crushed Obama there).

UPDATE: So Barbara Boxer and Art Torres announced that California passed on its roll call vote.  There’s a very good reason for that.  First of all, the floor is being managed so that a certain state puts Obama over the top.  Second, if California voted now, less states would be part of the process, because when Obama reaches the threshold for nomination the roll call immediately ends.  So don’t go reading anything into this.

UPDATE: Actually, Chairman Torres just explained it to me a little differently.  A lot of the superdelegates never checked in with their vote with him ahead of time.  He’s legally required to go to their delegated proxies for a vote, and a lot of them didn’t know about the voting either, so he would have had to announce significantly less votes than the 441 California is granted.  Anyway, that’s what he told me.

UPDATE: I haven’t been totally keeping up with the count, but the overwhelming majority of votes are going to Sen. Obama. It’s kind of fun to be in the room for this, but calling it a “floor fight” would be kind of absurd.  I’m going to try and talk to Sen. Boxer soon.

UPDATE: Right next to me, Bob Mulholland and some CDP staffers are frantically tabulating votes from Representatives and their proxies.  So that appears to be the reason for the pass.

UPDATE: Gasbag emeritus David Gregory is chatting with Boxer and Torres right now.  I’m sure that, after the explanation, Gregory will claim that the pass was because of disunity and Democrats who hate one another.

UPDATE: Word is that New York will ask for a voice vote and Obama will be put in by acclamation.

UPDATE: They should really have a running total somewhere in the hall.  Mistake.  I guess Obama was up to 744 by the time they got to Kentucky, but it’s hard to keep track.

UPDATE: New Hampshire, Arkansas, and a couple others have gone entirely for Obama out of unity.  New Jersey is up now and they just did the same thing.  Let’s see if that rumor about New York is true.  

UPDATE: So New Mexico yielded to Illinois.  And Illinois will yield to New York.  And there will be a voice vote… and Hillary has come out to call for it.  The whole crowd is on their feet.

UPDATE: It’s over.  Pelosi moved quickly to do the ayes and nays.  It was a nice moment.  Lest California delegates worry, all votes will be counted.