Comments on the California Democratic Convention (I was there)

[PeaceProgProsp]

However, I was there very briefly.

I blew in and out of the convention today (in San Jose) just to get a feel and report back to DU.

Sunday, apparently, is the slow day, but I got there just about the time people were filing out of the conference hall and visiting the tables. I have to emphasize that I wasn't there very long, so I don't know what it was like when it was busier, and I only picked up snippets of conversation.

So, here's the deal: Dean is a big favorite in CA. Kerry had the most organized presence. Edwards seemed to have the most active volunteers, and he's everyone's number two. The only anti-{any candidate} presence there was the anti-Dean presence (they actually had Dean=McGovern buttons, and those were the only anti-candidate buttons (or shirts or anything) that I saw).

Of the people who had only a single candidate's sticker/paraphernalia, people with Dean paraphernalia way outnumbered anyone else. The second largest group was people with all the candidates' paraphernalia. The only people who didn't want to hear anything about any other candidate, again, were the people with only Dean paraphernalia. Many of the rest (but not a majority) were willing to hear from everyone.

I only overheard one person talking about the Iraq War vote. However, one of the more common comments was, "we have 8 candidates who can beat Bush," or "I like them all." I got the impression (based on a very small sample) that people who featured Clark buttons were the ones more likely to like them all.

One of the most common phrases I heard from people leaving the conference room and entering the hall where the candidates' tables were located was "I like Edwards." Part of this was because there were several Edwards supporters handing out stuff to them. Whereas there was one Kerry person doing this, there seemed to be maybe six or seven Edwards people. So, perhaps the frequency of the comment was a measure of the number of volunteers, but it seemed like a sentiment which came easily to people's lips.

Kerry seemed to have a pretty active table. Kerry had the table with the most shit at it (balloons, a big poster, etc.) But, again, it was Sunday and there just weren't that many people there.

Interestingly, the Edwards table seemed pretty popular with the black voters. I lurked nearby and heard one elderly man say that his local party was going with Dean but he wasn't going with Dean, he was going with Edwards. Near the restrooms, I heard two women talking about how Edwards's message was right for them. They were from the south and they know he's talking about them when he talks about what's going wrong in America. Although Edwards was popular with the black vote. It looks like Dean has locked up the two Sikh votes at the conference -- they wore only Dean stickers and seemed decided.

After about 30 minutes the crowd thinned out, so I did the same, as I started to cross the line from omniscient/amature reportor to creepy weirdo/eavesdropper with digital camera, without a badge and with no clear purpose.

Incidentally, there was an unscientific button poll -- the results were posted. I took a digital picture, but erased it accidentally. It was the only picture I had the courage to take and I screwed it up. From memory, Dean was first with 700, Kucinich second with 300-something, Kerry in third with 300-something, Edwards with 90 in fourth (that was the first column). In the second column I think Gepardt was in 6th, but I'm not sure. I didn't bother committing the figures to memory because I took the picture. So I could be way off. My observations, it's important to note, are even more unscientific than the button poll. They are purely a product of where I was standing at a particular moment as I tried to eavesdrop.

If I had to sum it up, I'd say, CA is Dean's to lose. Kerry looks like he's making a serious effort which might pay off. There's fertile ground in CA for the Edwards tree to grow. Clark people are jovial.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

1. Your Impression Differs From Mine a LOT

I was there all weekend. Obvious Dean supporters dominated on Friday. Clark IMO had the edge on Saturday. Early this morning, I think it was pretty even. Then I left.

I think Dean unquestionably has the most INSTITUTIONAL support in California, there were loads of insiders and speakers who had all endorsed Dean. Which dilutes his "outsider" message, as various news articles have indicated recently.

But in terms of grassroots, I'd say it's very, very close between Dean and Clark.

Kerry and Edwards were distant thirds and fourths. Kucinich was actually right up there with Kerry and Edwards, since he has a very strong following in Northern California.

DTH

[PeaceProgProsp]

2. That's what I want to emphasize: I just wandered and listened and observed

I wandered for only an hour. I've never even been to one of these before, so I wouldn't have had any sense of anything other than what I saw. And what I saw is likely to bear no resemblence to statistical reality.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

3. Fair Enough

I'm not saying your impression was wrong; just that it differed from mine. :-) People see different things, especially if they observed the event from different angles/times.

DTH

[PeaceProgProsp]

4. Different angles and times is the key.

I heard that Clark's son was there on Saturday, which created some excitement.