National Elections

Charlotte: Teeming With DNC Fever

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Nancy19-sm72

by Pamela Powers Hannley

Hot, muggy Charlotte was teeming with DNC fever on Sunday night. Although the Democratic National Convention doesn't start until Tuesday, many of delegates, journalists, politicians, and protesters are already in town.

Consequently, barricades and police were everywhere. In addition to police on foot, stationed at strategic places — like in front of the US Court House– there were swarms of 20 or so bicycle cops cruising the streets.

Fellow Huff Post citizen journalist Krzysztof Piotrowski and I ventured to town (from our hotel in South Carolina!) in search of the Occupy to Free Bradley Manning Dance at Frazier Park. Even after tweeting, e-mailing, and calling the protest organizers, we didn't find them. After about a one-mile trek, we did find the park and about 50 police on bicycles or motorcycles. Maybe they were looking for the dance also? Such is the life of a citizen journalist.

Back in uptown proper, we did find action and parties we couldn't get into behind the barricades. That is where we happened upon Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, who was confronted by reporters asking about campaign finance reform as she left a restaurant.

More photos after the jump.

Photos and commentary from the campaign trail

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by Pamela Powers Hannley Thanks to the Huffington Post Cover the Convention contest, I am currently at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. For ground level coverage that you will not get from the lame stream media, check out my stories on Huffington Post, Blog for Arizona, Twitter (p2hannley), Facebook, UStream, and YouTube. Blog for Arizona's … Read more

Convention watch parties/volunteer opportunities

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: A late calendar submission from the Pima County Democratic Party: Tuesday, September 4th5:00 pmPima County Dem HQ, 4639 E. First St.HOST: Obama For AmericaWatch Keynote Speech By Julian Castro:We will meet other supporters, make phone calls, and then watch the speech together!RSVP: https://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/latinosforobamaevent/gs4hjz Thursday, September 6th5:30 pmFox Theater, 17 W. CongressHOST: Ron Barber For … Read more

2012 Democratic National Platform

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The 2012 Democratic National Platform will be approved by convention delegates later today, and has been posted online. The Democratic Party Platform. The platform is captioned "Moving America Forward." Here are the section headings:

You can download a copy of the Platform.pdf.

Here is a quick summary of highlights from the AP. Dem platform a sharp contrast to GOP positions:

Delegates will vote today to adopt the platform, which reflects the president's argument that his work is unfinished and he deserves another four years to complete the job.

The document is a sharp contrast from the Republican blueprint that the GOP adopted at its convention last week. The Republican plan would ban abortion and gay marriage, repeal Obama's health-care overhaul law and shift Medicare into a voucher-style program.

Parade Magazine profile of the Obamas

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Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Parade Magazine, the Sunday newspaper insert, published a profile of Barack and Michelle Obama today in advance of the DNC National Convention. If you didn't get the Sunday paper, you can read it online. A Conversation With the Obamas. It's your typical Parade fare. I was most impressed with the photos that … Read more