This may be a little premature, but someone in the comments asked what I could possibly have to contribute by blogging from the Republican Convention beyond what the media will provide. Perhaps that person was being a tad hostile, but never mind. He/she also had a grain of truth because… I don’t have a clue. So consider this post a suggestion box. What would you like to know? Schwarzenegger’s shoe size? Who wears a toupee? (Not Captain Kirk, but Aaron Brown?) Have at it.
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Whatever strikes you as interesting, Roger, is likely to interest your readers. The point of your going is to provide a set of unjaded eyes and an active curiosity to supplement what comes from more conventional reporters, isn’t it? Let your whimsy be your guide, I’d say.
I’d like you to keep a close eye on McCain, and any remnants of the McCain supporters. Even though his free speech mindbenders drive me nuts, the state of the world in 2008 is going to require a President of huge stature. I think McCain might end up being our era’s Lincoln in 2008. See if it looks like there is any maneuvering from/for him for a 2008 run.
Roger:
Tell us what you hear and see when the cameras are not around.
What we see on TV is often staged, tell us what is not.
Dan Rather.
I would like to know if there is a brain inside his skull. Please open his skull and take a peek. Rather may not survive the interrogation, but at least we would be sure.
(please note that this is an infantile attempt at humor, and no meant to provoke an actual assault upon said “person”)
Thanks for offering, Roger… if you get a chance to talk with McCain, see if he’ll respond to the following hypothetical (viz. his condemnation of the Swift Vets): Assume another “Hanoi Hilton” POW was running for national office and used descriptions of his “McCainesque” POW experience (torture, etc) to shore up his credentials. If McCain *knew* those descriptions to be either false or inflated (by virtue of being there at the time), would he speak up or stay silent?
Moonbats! Get into the counter demonstrations.
Do what bloggers do best — watch the press.
Talk to alternate delegates, and volunteers. They’re likely to be party faithful, and often on the rise in the party.
Don’t talk to them about the same crap that the “journalists” would. Tell us your reactions.
I have no doubt whatsoever that your take on the convention will differ from the take put forth by the mainstream media. Even Fox won’t get it all. Just go for it and do what comes naturally.
I’d be curious as to how McCain can condemn the SBVT’s when he has NO first-hand knowldege or experience of what happened and they do?
As for Dan Rather, repeat after me, “What’s the frequency, Kenneth?” Assuming of course he actually descends from his Olympian booth (“Bring me another sacrificial interview!”) and comes within yelling distance of a blogger…
Roger,
I’ll second Charlie (C) with a little tightening of focus. Delegates or delegation leadership (not state chairs but people within the “Top 10″ from the state) from Battleground states. Beginning with Ohio and Florida. I’d like to know what they perceive as the largest obstacle within their particular state. I’ll be happy to run down a leaderhip list for each state if you feel it would be useful or worthwhile.
What can we do to help you prepare? You’ve got a group here that is quite capable of providing a fair amount of decent research relatively quickly.
During the Dem Con I enjoyed the angle Dennis Prager took. He interviewed delegates, party organizers, people behind the scenes.. was unfailingly polite and really got into these people’s brains and exposed how much was true thinking and how much was rhetorical talking points. Dennis interviews like a diamond drill.
IMHO I believe a lot of conservatives actually have a better cognitive handle on their beliefs, if only because they are attacked so viciously and conservatives have had to make their case in defense. I would like to see this kind of compare/contrast with Dems.
Does Shatner really wear a piece? Didn’t know that, lol….
Nimoy was best man at his wedding in 1997.
Shat had a million shares of Priceline for being their spokesman, he took the shares as payment instead of money. I wonder if he sold any before the crash in 2000. He was sitting on 65 million or so at that point.
Mike
I will never have the chance to be anywhere like that.Probably boring much of the time but it’s a big event.
Just be yourself and try to tell us about the people you meet.How they seem to you.Is anyone honest? What do the delegates you happen across seem like? Are ‘real conservatives’ good people too?
You know . Your usual wit and wisdom.
Roger,
All the suggestions above are great. Interesting to me though is simply the illogical nature of the original commentor’s point (accusation?):
If we in fact knew now what your contributions were going to be in blogging the convention, only in that instance would your blogging the convention be unnecessary.
My request: with Kerry in deep trouble (in my opinion), the mainstream press will be in full war-room mode. Highlight the difference between the facts and the media hatchet jobs on said facts.
Your blog is great!
I’d like to hear if there’s any talk about
a political future for Condi. I’m a fan of hers.
Roger,
See if you can get any “mainstreamer” to comment intelligently on the Swift Boat Veterans matter.
Good luck in any case.
Jamie Irons
(OT to Charlie (Colorado): At 10:34 AM on the “Mentir at Honteux” thread, I asked you a question (also OT!) related to your state vector observation.)
I would like to see the following Republican Party myths (must be pro-life, anti-gay, pro-gun, god-fearing, etc.) debunked. The party is open and diverse, and I’m sure you will see evidence of this.
Continuing with my previous theme…
Besides obvious factors such as your intelligence, writing talent, ability to find connections and analogies that others may not see, you are representative of individuals from the ‘left/liberal’ side who believe Bush’s prosecution of this war is basically wise and, yes, just, and you have chosen to support him.
But you, like many of these others, are uncomfortable with aspects of the ‘right/conservative’ side of the political spectrum’s positions on various social issues.
I’d like to know to what extent the atmosphere you find at the convention regarding these issues comforts or concerns you and if such comfort or concern should play a role in any fence-sitters who are still standing, er sitting.
Your POV as an articulate and sensitive man of words is extremely important.
Anyway, I’d like to know if these Republicans are really scary or just like, you know, normal folks.
Tell us what justifies the alphabet networks coverage of conventions, besides the opportunity for the networks to promote their preferences and demean the opposition as a prelude to $100 million in advertising, mostly television, by both parties to reduce the campaigns to bumper sticker sentiments.
Then tell us why bumper sticker voters should be urged to vote.
And enjoy yourself.
Heh. In other words, what Godzilla said! LOL
McCain doesn’t have what it takes, he’s too mercurial.
I want to know if the pubbies on the floor are as educated as we are.
I also want to know why they don’t discuss HC more thoroughly. How do they suggest getting over the emotional aspect of the argument?
We will get the Birds Eye View, you can offer the Worms Eye View. Mainly it is your real-time impressions that I will find most interesting.
Roger, I’m going to assume the Republican delegates will be feeling a lttle hostile towards mainstream media, SBVT being the main issue, so please observe and report those interactions, I’m sure the Chris Mathews of the world will only interview “sanitized” delegates.
Also, good point by godzilla!
This political stuff is all well and good,but I would appreciate some dirt…and anyone else wearing a syrup.
I would keep an eye on Bill Owens of Colorado. See if he might be ready for prime time in 08.
I saw Bill Owens with Howard Dean at an ACLU thingy about the Patriot Act (C-Span). I was impressed. It would be good to get a sense, if possible, of his standing in the party.
(OT aside: Dean’s summation concerned the people’s relationship with their government (vis-a-vis civil rights). No mention of war at all. Dean simply does not believe we’re at war.
I wish the Dems had nominated Dean. At least he believes in something and is consistent.)
Charlie (Colorado): Of course, I meant “Mentir Est Honteux.”
PIMF ;(
Jamie Irons
Agree with most of what’s been written here, esp. keeping an eye out for the RNC’s potential ’08 candidates (personally think Jeb’d be great, but think people might have “Bush fatigue” by that time).
Something to look out for: does this convention reflect a post-9/11 world? I watched Kerry’s speech (nearly all of it) and was surprised by the lack of substance (directed at the middle), the plays to the base with generic talking points, and just the general mediocrity of it all. It really was addressed as if to a pre-9/11 audience.
Minutes after Kerry’s speech, while clicking through the channels, I happened upon Bush’s 2000 convention speech on C-SPAN2. I realized that he was saying many of the same things and in the same generic fashion. This disgusted me at first, but then it came to me: his 2000 speech was appropriate to the times. Kerry’s 2004 speech was not.
This was similar to someone on another thread saying that Bush wanted to fight “sensitive” wars as well. It would have been a real zinger..only Bush made that remark in March of 2001. Kerry said it a couple of days ago.
What can I say? I envy you! There’s no way I could afford to go to this thing and even if I could there would be no way that I could convince my wife to come along – and I can’t stand being without her long. Enjoy!
Pull a Moses Wine act and infiltrate the MSM. See if you can find out how (and if) they think.
Check out the impact of Protest Warriors (protestwarrior.com) in any big demonstration. These kids have an interesting angle.
Don’t waste your time on McCain. There are no mysteries there other than why my fellow Arizonans vote for this idiot.
Find out what the Repub operatives are saying about SBVT, since it is an uncontrollable, grass roots (with some non grass-roots money) movement.
And do what Syl said – she beat me to it.
Oh, and have fun – otherwise, what’s the point?
I would like to see the following Republican Party myths (must be pro-life, anti-gay, pro-gun, god-fearing, etc.) debunked. The party is open and diverse, and I’m sure you will see evidence of this.
That’s actually what I was leading up to — I was trying to be subtle.
I would keep an eye on Bill Owens of Colorado. See if he might be ready for prime time in 08.
Bruno, Syl, I like Bill Owens as much as anyone, but he’s rumored to have fairly serious bimbo eruption trouble that kept him from running for Ben Campbell’s seat in the Senate.
I’d like to see Jane Norton (not Sec’y of Interior, but Jane, the LT Gov.) get more air time, though.
PIMF
You mean everybody doesn’t wear purple hats and fur coats at the computer?
Mr. Simon,
Thanks for asking for our input as to what we would like to see you do.
Personally, what I would like is for you to talk to convention delegates and simply find out what they are about. Are they representative of what President Bush sells, or are they representative of something else? The Democrats are going to say that the Republicans are putting on a show that is not who they are, so simply talk to delegates, find out who they are, and tell the world what you find out. The media is going to cover the stage show. You cover who the show is really for. You cover who the Republican party sent as representatives. You find out what their core is.
That’s what I would like to see.
I think it would be good for my side. I am sure you would find some whose social views are radically different than yours. But I bet overall you will find them to be good people.
Peter: This political stuff is all well and good,but I would appreciate some dirt…and anyone else wearing a syrup.
What?
Jamie: (OT to Charlie (Colorado): At 10:34 AM on the “Mentir Est Honteux” thread, I asked you a question (also OT!) related to your state vector observation.)
I took a look, and I’ve got to admit my immediate respond is “duh?” My undergrad background was philosophy, mainly, and my graduate work was much more math than physics. Other than some pop stuff, I don’t know the physics involved at all well. I used the “state vector” analogy because Spacerad used it in his description of his method.
With that said, John Cramer’s “transactional” approach seems to cope with this well. I’ve lost the link, but ‘”John Cramer” transactional’ should find it.
Roger,
The best contrast would be to contrast your coverage to that of the MSM. While they are playing political inside baseball style, just give us common sense reaction to the speeches.
Thanks, Charlie, for your reply to my OT question. Your response here “crossed” a brief email I sent you.
I wondered about that “anyone else wearing a syrup (sic),” too. I just put it down to one of those esoteric British turns of phrase that we Yanks never seem to get.
Jamie Irons
Hi, Roger
I’d be interested in the people outside protesting and who finances them — especially some of the more outrageous protests that I’ve heard will be staged. I didn’t notice much coverage of protesters at the DNC.
Have a safe and productive trip.
Pat S.
But Charlie, state vectors are neither philosophy, physics, nor math, merely engineering. It’s a fancy name for a point, like “marginal” is a fancy name for a derivative. Would’nt the world be much simpler if we all just spoke mathematics?
Thanks for asking.
All of the questions/recommendations/suggestions above are really good. I think just getting a feel for the event and relating it to us would be terrific. Most of us will never get a chance to go to an event like this – you can tell us what it is like.
What I’d like to know is if you meet anyone like yourself – a 9/11 Democrat who finds themselves in the one place they thought they’d never be.
On the shallow end of the pool – who is the tallest of the TV talking heads, who is the shortest.
Roger,
I think you should ask appropriate people to try to get L. Paul Bremmer III up in some Bush ads, saying how brave his Iraqi associates were and how important it is that America not let them down – again. The insinuation should be that Kerry wants to cut in run, which, by actual poll, his convention delegates do want. (And so does he, I think.)
Double for John Moore on MSM, especially how Kerry’s Lie was Enabled by the MSM — for years.
Any talk about how so much Bush-hate drowned out the job of finding Dem closet skeletons BEFORE the Dem convention? (SBVT were talking in MAY!!! still not too late to pick Edwards…)
Blacks. Women. And especially Black Women — If Bush can go up from 10% of the Black vote, the Dems could be buried.
Any anti-Kerry guerilla moves discussed. I like big signs: Kerry Lied, 2 million Died.
(the USA followed Kerry’s advice, left SE Asia … and let evil commies murder millions)
Your thoughts about yourself, Roger. Knowing the evil the commies would do if the US leaves Vietnam, would you still want the US out (=Killing Fields)?
What do the Rep operatives think is the weakest Rep policy? (prolly not too much spending!)
Roger,
Tell us to what degree you witness a big tent. How much lively debate do you witness at the convention amongst Republicans?
Supposedly the GOP is showing its (social value) moderates during prime time in order to hide a more rightward monolithic dogmatism. Is the party in fact averse to honest debate underneath this surface? Or is it a vibrant forum?
Jim
1) interview condi rice.
2) cover the press coverage.
Find a black convention delegate and interview him or her on an issue of substance unrelated to race. Do not ask any questions related to race except at the end. Then, ask if anyone else has interviewed them on topics unrelated to race.
I bet no one else will have.
I’m not sure what conventions have become. We already know who’s gonna be the candidate. So, what’s the story? Something outrageous that happens? Someone who might be a candidate next time? Or, will it all just be hot air?
I suggest you find a market. Buy a bowl, a spoon, some milk and some Kashi Toasted Wheat. This will permit you to feel good in the morning and purge the b.s. you encounter from your system.
Ah Hollywood, content free as ever I see. Roger, pictures please, if you have the time.
Supposedly the GOP is showing its (social value) moderates during prime time in order to hide a more rightward monolithic dogmatism. Is the party in fact averse to honest debate underneath this surface? Or is it a vibrant forum?
Jim, if you can find what I wrote about it a few threads ago — which would mean you have more ambition than I do — you’ll find the place where I mention that I — a Choctaw Buddhist national defese libertarian, pro-choice, anti-drug war, pro-gun and anti- the “Christian Nation” nonsense — have beedn invited to chair a meeting of a pretty high powered Republican men’s club here in Colorado.
And yes, they did know all that before hand.
The “rightward monolithic dogmatism” story is the one the mainstream media has settled on. It’s not, in my experience, a story that’ve very consistent with the people in the party.
Hollywood, you are asking exactly the same question I asked at the last meeting of this sort I attended: what is the convention good for now?
Good deal, Charlie! Crimony, do we match up, except that I’m not Choctaw! A new Republican (I was D for 21 years), I’ll be volunteering at the local GOP headquarters from now until Nov 3. I hope to witness as much bigness of tent and genuineness of forum as you have.
Keep your eyes and ears open for what the MSM is saying off air or off the record about Bush, Iraq, WMD, etc.
Cover the counter protestors (e.g., protestwarrior.com) because nobody in the MSM will.
Two words — Rudy Giuliani.
If you stumble across Michael Moore and manage to settle into orbit around him, ask him which type of Iraqi “insurgent” most reminds him of the Minutemen — the guy who beheaded Nick Berg et al., the guy who blew up police recruits, the guy who blew up Christian churches, the guy who executed Fabrizio Quattrochi or the guy who seized the holiest site in Shia Islam and is now garrisoned there with a few thousand of his closest Iranian friends.