D.C. Wire: August 24, 2008 - August 30, 2008

DC Republicans Welcome Palin to GOP Ticket

Here is the statement released by the District's GOP regarding John McCain's selection of Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate: "Gov. Sarah Palin (Alaska-R) is a reformer who has a reputation of bucking her Party for the common good. As Chairman of the DC Republican Party, I can...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 29, 2008; 5:27 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
 
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What's Up, Dawg?

About 1,200 people packed the Park at Fourteenth to watch Sen. Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for president last night at a party sponsored by grassroots organization Young & Powerful for Obama and party promoters Team BBC. One of them was "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson. Jarvis Houston, national...

By Nikita R Stewart  |  August 29, 2008; 11:46 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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D.C. Wire Video: D.C. Delegation Celebrates at Invesco Field

By David A Nakamura  |  August 29, 2008; 7:39 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Scenes From the Nomination

DENVER -- After a week of keeping his distance from the rest of the District's delegation, Mayor Fenty joined them last night on the convention floor at Invesco Field about 30 minutes before Obama began his acceptance speech. Fenty sat at the rear of the city's section, which was on...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 29, 2008; 2:21 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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From the Floor: Real People Are Here

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. As I stood in line to get a bite to eat, I could not help but listen to the telephone conversation...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 28, 2008; 10:00 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  At the Convention  
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From the Floor: DC Unity Is in the Air

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. DC, I want to report that, if only for tonight, your Democratic Party leadership is here united behind its shared belief...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 28, 2008; 8:20 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  At the Convention  
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From the Floor: We Have Arrived at Invesco!

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. I am here, I am here, Thank God, I am here. After an amazing week at the Pepsi Center, the Democratic...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 28, 2008; 8:16 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  At the Convention  
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D.C. Wire Video: Hollywood Stumps for D.C. Voting Rights

DENVER -- D.C. Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss made good on his promise to get actress Hayden Panettiere on the stump for D.C. Voting rights today. She and her mother appeared at a luncheon organized by Strauss, fellow shadow Sen. Michael Brown and shadow Rep. Mike Panetta at the Crowne...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 28, 2008; 4:08 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Too Busy For Breakfast

DENVER--Guess who was a no-show for the D.C. Delegation breakfast again? Mayor Fenty, who went 0 for 4 this week. Fenty had a good excuse Monday and Tuesday when he was in D.C. But his absence has been the talk of the delegation the past two mornings. Today, D.C. Democratic...

By Nikita R Stewart  |  August 28, 2008; 12:37 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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Mendelson Writes to Make Things Right

D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson continued his letter writing campaign to Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) since he says he cannot get any answers from the administration during hearings. This time the question is crossing guards. Where are they? In a letter dated today, Mendelson, chairman of the Committee on...

By Nikita R Stewart  |  August 28, 2008; 10:34 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
 
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Q&A: Jesse Jackson Talks Before Heading to Denver

Just before he boarded a flight and headed to Denver yesterday, the Rev. Jesse Jackson talked to the D.C. Wire's Hamil Harris about the 1963 March on Washington, Barack Obama's nomination and the role he plans to play after the convention. JJ: "It is a historical error for those who...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 28, 2008; 7:49 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
 
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Frustration With Fenty Grows Among D.C. Delegation

DENVER -- The theme of the DNC is unity and reconciliation between Obama and Clinton supporters, but the relationship between Mayor Fenty and many of the D.C. delegates is growing more strained by the day. Delegates are griping privately that Fenty has gone out of his way not to spend...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 28, 2008; 4:28 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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Push For Voting Rights Finds Hurdles

DENVER -- Here's a feature story on the efforts by the D.C. delegation to win over converts to the voting rights movement at the Democratic National Convention that appears in Thursday's Washington Post: The day did not start well for the activists from the District. Armed with buttons, bumper stickers...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 28, 2008; 12:58 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Star Power in D.C. Delegation Section

Strauss with Panettiere at Pepsi Center. (David Nakamura - TWP) DENVER --- Shadow Sen. Paul Strauss might be a B-lister on Capitol Hill, but he hangs with the A-list when it comes to Hollywood. Strauss brought actress Hayden Panettiere to the Pepsi Center tonight for Joe Biden's vice presidential...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 27, 2008; 11:19 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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From the Floor: Obama Surprise

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. Yet another surprise. We did not anticipate that Senator Obama was here tonight. No one thought the rumors were true. The...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 27, 2008; 11:06 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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From the Floor: Clinton, Obama Afterthoughts

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. I haven't blogged about Michelle Obama's speech on Monday night or Senator Clinton's speech last night. But both Michelle Obama and...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 27, 2008; 8:39 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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From the Floor: Live from the Pepsi Center

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. For those of you watching on television, I cannot express the feeling inside the Pepsi Center tonight when Senator Hillary Clinton...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 27, 2008; 7:38 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Robert Bobb Not Running for School Board

D.C. State School Board President Robert Bobb won't be running for another term. The deadline to file for candidacy was at 5 p.m. today, and he didn't bring in any nominating petitions - nor, for that matter, did he ever pick them up. Bobb has not returned repeated calls for...

By Marcia Davis  |  August 27, 2008; 5:32 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  Education  
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Fenty's Denver Schedule: Triathlon, Voting Rights March; No Hillary, No Delegation Breakfast

Mayor Fenty and other D.C. officials marched for voting rights today. (David Nakamura - TWP) DENVER -- Mayor Fenty, who had been in Denver over the weekend, returned here from Washington on Tuesday afternoon, after having been in the District for the first day of school Monday. But even...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 27, 2008; 1:52 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
 
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From the Floor: On Camera and Online

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. Jeff participated in a washingtonpost.com live online discussion to answer questions from readers who have been following his adventures in Denver...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 27, 2008; 12:45 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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Fenty: The Un-Reformer?

Labor groups are distributing a flyer at the Democratic National Convention that criticizes Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's relationship with local union workers, the D.C. Council and community groups, according to a press release sent out by the Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO. Calling him "the un-reformer" in bold type, the flyer...

By Nikita R Stewart  |  August 27, 2008; 10:51 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (5)
Categories:  At the Convention  
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Heller Drops Out Before Officially Getting In

Dick Heller, who successfully challenged the District of Columbia's gun ban in the U.S. Supreme Court, won't be running for DC Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives after all. The plaintiff in the lawsuit that overturned the District's gun ban had been flirting with a run against Eleanor Holmes...

By Nikita R Stewart  |  August 27, 2008; 10:20 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
 
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Inside the Media Tent

The Post's multimedia studio has been a revolving door of pols and celebs. DENVER -- It's no secret the political conventions are tightly choreographed stage extravaganzas at which the thousands of reporters are seeking the same scraps of news and otherwise filling time with analysis and features. At the...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 26, 2008; 9:17 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
 
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Norton Pays Tribute to Fallen D.C. Soldier

DENVER -- Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton delivered a heartfelt and rousing push for D.C. voting rights during her convention speech this afternoon, vowing that the city will "keep the promise" for full representation to honor Darryl T. Dent, a soldier from the District who died in Iraq. Norton was passionate...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 26, 2008; 5:55 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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DC Vote's Eli Zigas is Ready and "Abe-l"

Zigas, as Abe, signs up two more for the cause. DENVER -- In 2000, Eli Zigas bought a black tux for his senior prom at Wilson High School and grew out a beard sans mustache. Call him wacky, but he just liked the look. Little did he know that...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 26, 2008; 3:17 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
 
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D.C.'s Tom Lindenfeld: Inside the "Boiler Room" at the DNC

DENVER -- Tom Lindenfeld is an alternate delegate for the District, but he's perhaps the busiest of the city's entire delegation. That's because Lindenfeld, a Washington-based political consultant, is helping oversee the logistics for each night's production at the Pepsi Center, the 19,000-seat arena where the speeches are taking place...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 26, 2008; 11:24 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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Go-Going for Voting Rights

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton is set to speak before the Democratic Party Convention tonight. But before she does, DC Vote's music video, "Demand the Vote," will get its own 60 seconds of fame at Denver's Pepsi Center at 5:15 p.m. EST. But you can watch it here....

By Marcia Davis  |  August 26, 2008; 12:10 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (3)
Categories:  At the Convention  
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In the Pepsi Center: View From the D.C. Seats

This was the view of Caroline Kennedy from D.C.'s seats. DENVER -- One of the first questions for delegates at a convention is: Where will they be seated? As a small state--er, city--with few electoral college votes, the District is predictably not high on the list for seating choices....

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 11:54 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (4)
 
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Seen at the Convention

Denver city hall: nicer than the Wilson Building? Political food for thought... Obama is making headroads into a key interest group....

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 8:30 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
 
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D.C. Technology Chief in Denver All Week

DENVER -- Michelle Rhee wasn't the only Fenty Administration official to be trotted out to the Democratic National Convention this week. Vivek Kundra, the D.C. government's chief technology officer, is here, too. Kundra tells D.C. Wire that he's speaking on two panels, including one with Google, which has partnered with...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 4:43 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (7)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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From the Floor: Democrats Diversify to Unify

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. Hello Washington Post Readers: It's me again, blogging directly from the Colorado Convention Center. I am happy to say that the...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 25, 2008; 2:52 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (6)
 
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From the Floor: Over the Weekend

Jeff Richardson is the Vice Chair of the District's Democratic Party. He will be attending the Democratic National Convention and will be blogging for D.C. Wire from Denver. From Saturday August 23 As I reported yesterday, the four D.C. voting rights scholars and I began our journey Saturday morning...

By washingtonpost.com  |  August 25, 2008; 12:57 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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DC Vote: Stymied by Denver Public Works?

DENVER -- Forget those oppressive monarchs in the Senate and House. DC Vote, that indefatigable advocacy group pushing for voting rights in Congress, has a new villain: the Denver Department of Public Works. DC Vote's latest attention-drawing stunt -- a rally at the Denver Mint, where members will decry the...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 12:52 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (0)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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D.C. Superdelegate Watch

DENVER -- We told you in The Post last week about the complaints from some of D.C.'s local delegation about the role of the 15 at-large superdelegates, who are national party figures seated with the D.C. delegation because they live in the District. So how many of the "supers" showed...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 11:37 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (1)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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Fenty Staying at Obama/Biden Hotel

DENVER -- One of the questions heading into the convention is what Mayor Fenty, who was not asked to deliver a convention speech, would get for his early endorsement of Barack Obama. Now we know at least one thing: Fenty is staying this week at the Westin hotel, the home...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 25, 2008; 1:42 AM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (2)
Categories:  2008 Presidential Race  
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Rhee in Denver: Media to Blame for Teachers' Contract Holdup

NYC schools chief Joel Klein introduces the Rev. Al Sharpton today at the Denver Art Museum as Mayor Fenty and Michelle Rhee look on. DENVER--Funny thing about D.C. schools Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee. The media seem to love her (or at least they are fascinated by her hard-charging managing...

By David A Nakamura  |  August 24, 2008; 7:47 PM ET  |  Permalink  |  Comments (15)
 
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