Finally, right? I seriously apologize to whatever readers I have left, as I have had very little motivation of late. However, I went down to the Sussex County Jamboree on Saturday, and it's got me all fired up. I would have posted earlier than today, but this is the first time in almost a week that I've spent the night at my own house.
For those of you don't know, the Sussex County Jamboree (or, for the sake of brevity/laziness, SCJ) is an annual event where the Delaware Democratic Party and its big fans get together and basically celebrate being a Democrat (which, believe it or not, I am quite capable of doing). I was there with the Markell campaign, and as such, I was fortunate enough to run into gay crusader couple Corey and Doug Marshall-Steele. Corey skewered me for not posting recently (as have Tim McBride, Tyler Nixon and Dominique Marshall), so I figured that it was in my best interests to post a piece about the Jamboree.
Rep. Pete Schwarzkopf (of whom I am a fan) was MCing the event. Not that there's anything special about that, but nonetheless, he was MCing. Rev. Christopher Bullock (an upcoming candidate for Congress), Helene Keeley, Chris Coons and Gene Reed (candidate for Insurance Commissioner) were all in the audience. In between speeches, there was a sort of raffle for various prizes (a nice bonus considering the damn tickets cost $20 apiece). And there was a buffet with some freakishly good food. I don't really care about the raffle or the buffet, but I figure that some of my readers might want to know little details like that.
OK. Tom Carper was the first person I recognized who gave a speech (the local sheriff gave one before him), and on that alone I kind of wanted to leave. As I said in the Harold Ford piece, Tom Carper is a horrible public speaker. Let's address his charisma first. The man was wearing a shirt that I'm sure he borrowed from Waldo. His characteristic hunch and weathered face reminded me of a slightly malnourished Igor. He mutters in a deadpan, monotonous voice. And while he managed to stay on topic this time, he almost never does (example: "You know, I remember when I was running for governor.................. I was driving by Best Buy yesterday..."). As far as the actual content, I was infuriated by the whole thing. I swear to God, Tom Carper radiates a schmuckiness that belongs nowhere near the Democratic Party. Not only did he bitch and moan about primaries with Jack Markell, John Carney, Matt Denn and Ted Blunt RIGHT THERE, he brought the two gubernatorial candidates up on the stage to say that. Honestly, Tom, what's the problem with the primary? Does it go against your backroom deal with Carney, or is it just too much democracy for you?
After Carper, I mostly forget the order of speakers. I will say that I hunted down Ted Blunt to talk to him about YDM's upcoming Carney/Denn/Blunt event regarding the group's endorsement, informing him that Carney's campaign had effectively told us we had to postpone. Somehow that turned into a photo-op, Blunt's campaign advisor giving me her card, and me filling out a form to add me to his list of volunteers. Awkward.
Let's just assume that Ted Blunt spoke next. His speech had very little to do with the Democratic Party and much more to do with saying "vote for me" 40 different ways (one of which was lifting his granddaughter to the mic and having her scream "VOTE FOR MY POP-POP", a slogan which was shamelessly plastered across the t-shirts of all the Blunt grandchildren). Pretty uneventful. Although it would seem that Matt Denn has his work cut out for him, because apparently Mr. Blunt has been in the Wilmington City Council for 23 years. Hoo-ee, 4 years in a state-wide office really doesn't stand up to 23 years of deciding whether or not to replace the sidewalks on 2nd Street.
Matt Denn's speech was really inspirational... I don't say this because I prefer Matt (though, confidentially, I do), but because he had the balls to go against the grain. I was in the corner with some of Matt's volunteers (who, by the way, are all really attractive. I don't know what the hell that was all about, but it beat the hell out of Read and me on the Markell team), his wife and their two kids (who don't need to scream "Vote for my Dad" to be cute). I've never actually heard Matt speak a lot. He spoke at the YDM kick-off party, but I didn't know he had the ability to blow me away as he did on Saturday. He essentially said, in so many words, that Carper was full of shit; that primaries pick the better candidate more than they tear the party apart (an over-exaggeration by Carper and his wait-your-turn mindset); and that the enemy is not Demcorats who have chosen to run/their supporters, but the GOP, who have run this country into the ground, who have consistently shot down legislation that would make health care more affordable in the Delaware House of Representatives, and who think they can "click their heels together three times and say 'No Child Left Behind'". The event was looking up.
Beau Biden might have been next, I honestly don't remember. I was raiding the dessert line, so I was only catching bits and pieces of his speech, but I essentially gathered that Beau Biden is awesome and that I'm glad he's my Attorney General. I couldn't give you much of a reason besides the fact that he quickly fulfilled his campaign promises and that he's not Ferris Wharton.
Dennis Spivack wasn't there. A man spoke on his behalf. Let me just say this, if you're not an event, DON'T TRY TO SPEAK AT THAT EVENT, much less through a man who clearly has very little experience with public speaking. Come on, Dennis. I know you're not stupid.
I ran into John Carney on the way to the buffet. He was staring right at me. I stopped dead in my tracks and did an about-face. Awkward moment of the day.
Jack Markell got up on stage and gave, as usual, a great speech, essentially saying that we (Democrats) had some hurtles to jump with health care (which has been stalled not only by George Bush & friends, but also by the Delaware House of Representatives), education, energy conservation and a global economy. He said that primaries were good because debate and dialogue focus candidates on an issue. There was an especially memorable quote Jack gave regarding that thought:
I'm convinced that John Carney forgot he had to give a speech. He started off by taking "YEEEE-HAW" and extending it into a paragraph. I assume he was pandering to Sussex County constituents when he told a story about being a good old boy (from Claymont, who went to Dartmouth), spittin' watermelon seeds farther than the Secretary of Agriculture. He may as well have finished that sentence by hocking a loogie and nailing the spittoon. He then went on to take "Uhhhh, what Jack said" and stretch that into another two paragraphs. And he topped it off with what I thought was very interesting. He listed off several people as being inspirational to him, and in the midst of his kiss-ass sentences, he had an "Oh, shit" moment. He said that Ruth Ann Minner is an inspiration for his gubernatorial campaign. Take that as you will, but I think this whole thing is downright Nixonian. The man only says that because he's next in line, and Prince Charles wouldn't insult Elizabeth, no matter how downright shitty her rule was. I'm going to go ahead and assume that John also sees Mark Foley as a source of moral inspiration, and Christopher Hitchens as a source of religious inspiration. What a dumbfuck. Honestly, I hope his campaign reads my blog, so they know just how badly he fucked up.
I don't care to comment on Joe Biden's speech. It was a lackluster stump speech. "Blah blah blah, I love Delaware, blah blah blah, Charles de Gaulle, blah blah blah, Madeleine Albright". I think it's pretty funny though, that Jerry Lamb in the front row was lighting Biden's face with a little flashlight.
So yeah. By and large, it was good. I've learned that I really, really, really like Matt Denn. I've learned just how qualified for the office of governor Jack Markell is (and just how unqualified John Carney is). And I've learned that Tom Carper is a piece of -- oh. Wait. I knew that already.
For those of you don't know, the Sussex County Jamboree (or, for the sake of brevity/laziness, SCJ) is an annual event where the Delaware Democratic Party and its big fans get together and basically celebrate being a Democrat (which, believe it or not, I am quite capable of doing). I was there with the Markell campaign, and as such, I was fortunate enough to run into gay crusader couple Corey and Doug Marshall-Steele. Corey skewered me for not posting recently (as have Tim McBride, Tyler Nixon and Dominique Marshall), so I figured that it was in my best interests to post a piece about the Jamboree.
Rep. Pete Schwarzkopf (of whom I am a fan) was MCing the event. Not that there's anything special about that, but nonetheless, he was MCing. Rev. Christopher Bullock (an upcoming candidate for Congress), Helene Keeley, Chris Coons and Gene Reed (candidate for Insurance Commissioner) were all in the audience. In between speeches, there was a sort of raffle for various prizes (a nice bonus considering the damn tickets cost $20 apiece). And there was a buffet with some freakishly good food. I don't really care about the raffle or the buffet, but I figure that some of my readers might want to know little details like that.
OK. Tom Carper was the first person I recognized who gave a speech (the local sheriff gave one before him), and on that alone I kind of wanted to leave. As I said in the Harold Ford piece, Tom Carper is a horrible public speaker. Let's address his charisma first. The man was wearing a shirt that I'm sure he borrowed from Waldo. His characteristic hunch and weathered face reminded me of a slightly malnourished Igor. He mutters in a deadpan, monotonous voice. And while he managed to stay on topic this time, he almost never does (example: "You know, I remember when I was running for governor.................. I was driving by Best Buy yesterday..."). As far as the actual content, I was infuriated by the whole thing. I swear to God, Tom Carper radiates a schmuckiness that belongs nowhere near the Democratic Party. Not only did he bitch and moan about primaries with Jack Markell, John Carney, Matt Denn and Ted Blunt RIGHT THERE, he brought the two gubernatorial candidates up on the stage to say that. Honestly, Tom, what's the problem with the primary? Does it go against your backroom deal with Carney, or is it just too much democracy for you?
After Carper, I mostly forget the order of speakers. I will say that I hunted down Ted Blunt to talk to him about YDM's upcoming Carney/Denn/Blunt event regarding the group's endorsement, informing him that Carney's campaign had effectively told us we had to postpone. Somehow that turned into a photo-op, Blunt's campaign advisor giving me her card, and me filling out a form to add me to his list of volunteers. Awkward.
Let's just assume that Ted Blunt spoke next. His speech had very little to do with the Democratic Party and much more to do with saying "vote for me" 40 different ways (one of which was lifting his granddaughter to the mic and having her scream "VOTE FOR MY POP-POP", a slogan which was shamelessly plastered across the t-shirts of all the Blunt grandchildren). Pretty uneventful. Although it would seem that Matt Denn has his work cut out for him, because apparently Mr. Blunt has been in the Wilmington City Council for 23 years. Hoo-ee, 4 years in a state-wide office really doesn't stand up to 23 years of deciding whether or not to replace the sidewalks on 2nd Street.
Matt Denn's speech was really inspirational... I don't say this because I prefer Matt (though, confidentially, I do), but because he had the balls to go against the grain. I was in the corner with some of Matt's volunteers (who, by the way, are all really attractive. I don't know what the hell that was all about, but it beat the hell out of Read and me on the Markell team), his wife and their two kids (who don't need to scream "Vote for my Dad" to be cute). I've never actually heard Matt speak a lot. He spoke at the YDM kick-off party, but I didn't know he had the ability to blow me away as he did on Saturday. He essentially said, in so many words, that Carper was full of shit; that primaries pick the better candidate more than they tear the party apart (an over-exaggeration by Carper and his wait-your-turn mindset); and that the enemy is not Demcorats who have chosen to run/their supporters, but the GOP, who have run this country into the ground, who have consistently shot down legislation that would make health care more affordable in the Delaware House of Representatives, and who think they can "click their heels together three times and say 'No Child Left Behind'". The event was looking up.
Beau Biden might have been next, I honestly don't remember. I was raiding the dessert line, so I was only catching bits and pieces of his speech, but I essentially gathered that Beau Biden is awesome and that I'm glad he's my Attorney General. I couldn't give you much of a reason besides the fact that he quickly fulfilled his campaign promises and that he's not Ferris Wharton.
Dennis Spivack wasn't there. A man spoke on his behalf. Let me just say this, if you're not an event, DON'T TRY TO SPEAK AT THAT EVENT, much less through a man who clearly has very little experience with public speaking. Come on, Dennis. I know you're not stupid.
I ran into John Carney on the way to the buffet. He was staring right at me. I stopped dead in my tracks and did an about-face. Awkward moment of the day.
Jack Markell got up on stage and gave, as usual, a great speech, essentially saying that we (Democrats) had some hurtles to jump with health care (which has been stalled not only by George Bush & friends, but also by the Delaware House of Representatives), education, energy conservation and a global economy. He said that primaries were good because debate and dialogue focus candidates on an issue. There was an especially memorable quote Jack gave regarding that thought:
My friends, this is what democracy is all about.Damn straight.
I'm convinced that John Carney forgot he had to give a speech. He started off by taking "YEEEE-HAW" and extending it into a paragraph. I assume he was pandering to Sussex County constituents when he told a story about being a good old boy (from Claymont, who went to Dartmouth), spittin' watermelon seeds farther than the Secretary of Agriculture. He may as well have finished that sentence by hocking a loogie and nailing the spittoon. He then went on to take "Uhhhh, what Jack said" and stretch that into another two paragraphs. And he topped it off with what I thought was very interesting. He listed off several people as being inspirational to him, and in the midst of his kiss-ass sentences, he had an "Oh, shit" moment. He said that Ruth Ann Minner is an inspiration for his gubernatorial campaign. Take that as you will, but I think this whole thing is downright Nixonian. The man only says that because he's next in line, and Prince Charles wouldn't insult Elizabeth, no matter how downright shitty her rule was. I'm going to go ahead and assume that John also sees Mark Foley as a source of moral inspiration, and Christopher Hitchens as a source of religious inspiration. What a dumbfuck. Honestly, I hope his campaign reads my blog, so they know just how badly he fucked up.
I don't care to comment on Joe Biden's speech. It was a lackluster stump speech. "Blah blah blah, I love Delaware, blah blah blah, Charles de Gaulle, blah blah blah, Madeleine Albright". I think it's pretty funny though, that Jerry Lamb in the front row was lighting Biden's face with a little flashlight.
So yeah. By and large, it was good. I've learned that I really, really, really like Matt Denn. I've learned just how qualified for the office of governor Jack Markell is (and just how unqualified John Carney is). And I've learned that Tom Carper is a piece of -- oh. Wait. I knew that already.
9 comments:
Good post. You write well. Do more.
As to Denn, I really like him too, but feel he's wasting his time running for Lt. Gov. when he stands a very good chance of unseating Castle.
Post more, dude.
Disbelief
Great writing, Mat. It's lively, engaging and fun to read.
Mat , keep up the good work !! You write so well! Your only going UP from here.
Post the picture and tell the story about the spider and your wonderful Mother yesterday morning.
I would so love a webcam in your house.
who is the Lamb person?
Your take on the Jamboree is much appreciated, each blogger has so far contributed varient, fascinating tid-bits.
From your piece, I take it that Denn is somewhat in the Markell - other - category (from a party perspective) that would explain his in-your-face-Carper attitude. Perhaps Denn is aggitated because Blunt support from the DEM generals will be part and parcel for Carney support from the Wilmington delegates.
Thank God you guys still visit the page.
Disbelief:
A lot of people could unseat Castle. I'm just glad that a free-thinking Democrat stands a damn good chance of taking Carney's vacated seat.
JJ:
I appreciate it, I really do. The webcam would be pretty funny, though I will say there's a reason spiders and other vermin are attracted to our house, and that reason doesn't need to be broadcasted in lo-fi video.
Nancy:
Jerry Lamb was the man with the poodle in the powered wheelchair up front -- though you weren't there, were you? I'm not exactly sure of his ties to the Democratic Party... I assume he's just a yellow dog Dem. I'm just inferring upon Matt's general good-naturedness, but I'd say you're dead on in your analysis.
I will caution you on one thing and that is to please be wary of how your fellow bloggers will call you out for intellectual dishonesty should we find it. We will bite you in the ass if we think it is time for a bloggers ethics panel [Eschaton joke]and by all means join in on the game when reading any of the rest of us!
Here is my problem:
I saw that you echoed agreement that Blunt's jamboree speech was very good, even fantastic on DE Lib today.
I have something of a problem that you did not reflect anything of the kind in your mention of it here. In fact, your descriptors make it sound like a pretty terible speech, at least that is the impression that I was left with until I came upon the comments that praised it highly.
So, just sayin' that if you aren't truthful, deliberately or otherwise, I will be up your butt about it, directly!
Supporting another candidate is no justification for welching on giving your readers an accurate representation. Since you have stated elsewhere that you thought the Blunt speech was great, why didn't you say it here?
Nancy:
I was mocking the poster's grammar on DE Lib -- I was kind of worried it would fly over somebody's head. Sorry about that.
But, to clarify, I thought Blunt's speech was awful, though there are those who would praise it even if he had gotten up on the stage and said that the time for another holocaust was now. I am a supporter of Matt Denn for Lt. Gov, and while Ted is an extraordinarily nice man, he doesn't stand a chance and apparently can't give a decent speech.
Unfortunately, I am also a grammar snob, and I couldn't resist giving the lifelong dem poster a jab over his poor choice of pronoun, one which echoed an off-the-boat German immigrant. So, while I don't by any means agree with the poster, I had to subtly bite his head off for the post.
heh,
I am a suckee grammar student so yes, it went over my head.
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