WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com
This is what the bags will look like that delegates and media will get at the convention.
Each picture shows a side of the bag.
Each picture shows a side of the bag.
They are made from recyclable material from Coca-Cola.
No word on what will be in the bags yet.
No word on what will be in the bags yet.
Update: From the comments: Doesn't the Pepsi Center have a policy banning any items with Coke logos on them?
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Ed · 873 weeks ago
iPod
Godiva Chocolate
Pillow cases with 400-thread count
Ok just kidding.
In the past it's been more along the lines of:
Mints
A unisex shaving kit
Luggage tags with the DNCC logo on them
T-shirts (one from eBay)
DNC Convention Barbie
Coupons for local businesses
Magazines
Posters (rolled up)
Buttons
Books
Tourism guides, maps and advertisements
Benjamin_Specto · 873 weeks ago
Irving Washington · 873 weeks ago
They sold us out for a totebag.
Anders · 873 weeks ago
verification? · 873 weeks ago
hurr · 873 weeks ago
Oreo DemConWatch 47p · 873 weeks ago
-Not leather... recycled material
-Source is from the Host Committee
- Wiretapping at it's finest
pablo · 873 weeks ago
http://pabloonpolitics.com/att.htm
pablo
Richard Blair · 873 weeks ago
http://allspinzone.com/wp/2008/07/20/reality-or-p...
SarahLawrence Scott · 873 weeks ago
These welcome bags have had sponsorship for several cycles, right? That's bound to cause trouble in the Web 2.0 age, where the significance of everything gets examined far and wide. Candidates and officeholders pretty quickly put their investment portfolios in blind trusts, partially to avoid conflicts of interest, but also to avoid every investment decision being politically picked apart. Getting sponsorship for these bags is just plain trouble, and probably shouldn't be done in the future. (Let corporations give out bags--with their logos on them--if they want, but the DNC should have nothing to do with it.)
In this case--yes, I think the bags are for real. No, I don't think there's any conspiracy involved. (I know most people are joking when they suggest that, but not everyone is.) Someone just decided to get big corporate sponsors, like they probably always have, and AT&T and Coke were the ones that were interested. Did it cross AT&T's mind that this might be a good idea in light of FISA? Maybe. Did it cross Coke's mind that these would end up in the Pepsi center? Maybe. Did the person on the Convention side who got the sponsorship think it out? Very doubtful--it may even have been arranged by some kind of third party contractor.
Really though, just start thinking about the possible sponsors that would have been problematic: would you rather have an oil company? A drug company? Someone who uses sweatshop labor? Or, for that matter, something that could seem like a conflict of interest, such as an alternative energy company? All choices are bad here, even the good ones.
Next cycle, save the headache and drop the sponsorships. All the DNC is getting out of it is a spiffier bag. And believe me, if the DNC stops sponsoring the bags, they'll reappear anyway in an unofficial--and thus headache free--form.
BagCrutuc · 873 weeks ago
lightacandle · 873 weeks ago
lightacandle · 873 weeks ago
Matt 75p · 873 weeks ago
Also, if you have problems with corporate sponsorship of conventions, these bags should be the least of your worries. Take a look at the list of official sponsors of the convention at
http://www.demconvention.com/official-providers/....These companies are providing millions of dollars, most of it in products, not money, to the DNCC.
And here's a list of sponsors for the Host Committee:
http://www.denverconvention2008.com/index.cfm?pag...
Like I said, if corporate sponsorship of conventions concerns you, these bags are just the tip of the iceberg.
Ed · 873 weeks ago
Jenny G · 873 weeks ago
The corporate-sponsored parties really bugged me at first, but then I figured out that a big part of the convention is really just a heck of a big party. And someone has to pay for it. I rationalized it this way: Wouldn't you rather have AT&T paying for the hors d'oeuvres than have the DNC spend your contributions on them?
I blogged the 2004 convention for American Street and when I got home I posted about corporate sponsorship and the loot. I can't say what will go on in 2008, and I have only a sample of one. But this is what I saw in 2004:
Now that I’ve managed to get the clean clothes separated from the dirty, I have time to take a look at the small suitcase full of loot I dragged home from the convention. Corporate sponsorship was alive, well, and partying hard all over Boston. You know who picked up the tab for all those receptions, events, and parties–corporations. I did note that speakers made few references to war profiteering or general corporate greediness other than an occasional dig at Halliburton and some mentions about not giving tax breaks to offshore outsourcers. I guess it’s not good to bite the hand that’s feeding you shrimp hors ‘d oeuvres.
Rest of the story, including a list of loot and sponsors, is here.
lightacandle · 873 weeks ago
Murder and prostitution have also been around a long time, but the passage of time hasn't made them okay either.
The point is when corporations spend big money on a Democratic convention, they EXPECT something in return; they don't spend that money out of the kindness of their hearts -- they WANT something.
And, this year, they GOT IT.
They got the FISA bill they wanted. They got the telecom immunity they wanted
And America lost.
Don't tell me it doesn't matter.
The political parties USED to run far less expensive conventions -- you know, back when the delegates actually convened to ELECT (not anoint) a Party nominee.
If they would get over the idea that unless the corporations donate money to them, they can't have a fun time, we might all be better off.
Corporations do not give money to politicians out of some religious generosity -- they WANT, EXPECT and usually GET SOMETHING for that money.
Chad_Nielson 57p · 873 weeks ago
Now, I am not saying that the FISA vote was right or wrong. I am just saying that the Dems in congress didn't vote for it because of this stupid convention logo, thats all.
lightacandle · 873 weeks ago
What I am also referring to is that the Democratic Party leaders no longer even worry about how it might look to the public to have corporate logos all over everything at the Convention.
You might keep up to date on the FISA matter by reading Glenn Greenwald. http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/07/09...
You know when sports figures wear headbands with corporate logos, I could care less -- those sports figures don't get to vote away or Constitutional rights.
Same goes for the Olympics -- I could care less about the entanglement of corporate interests with Olympic games.
lightacandle · 873 weeks ago
We know Obama is pretty much running his own show with the Democratic Party now -- whatever Obama wants, Obama gets -- so WHY is Obama allowing such visible signs of corporate entanglement with the Democratic Party's nominating process?
There is NO NEED to have goodie bags for the delegates. It should be exciting enough for them that they get to nominate a major party's candidate for the presidency. That should be heady enough for any American -- they don't also need goodies. This isn't Halloween. And this is no time for Trick or Treat activities, or Trick or Treat politics.
Ed · 873 weeks ago
Just so there aren't any more surprises, I should also let everyone know that we have also reversed our position on fried foods in the convention as part of a deal with Crisco and Wesson who are now also going to receive Congressional subsidies to produce ethanol. Your cars will soon run on fried food waste which is actually great for the environment, but your car will smell like french fries.
Also because of the box office smash hit Batman: the Dark Knight, we are thoroughly convinced that crime is going to be at an all time and so we are going to cut back on security a little bit. Just to be sure, though, we have also cut a deal with Warner Bros. and each delegate will receive a DVD copy of the movie in their bag as a form or reassurance.
Feral Cat · 873 weeks ago
Dave-O · 873 weeks ago
The majority of Americans acknowledge that our society is headed in the wrong direction. The mass corporate sponsorship of a political convention might not indicate the illness, but it is definitely a symptom. You don't have to defend conspiracies to point out the obvious: our politics are haggard.
A healthy democracy is fueled by its citizens. What was that f-word again, the one where corporations exert too much influence on government?
Scott would have you thanking God you don't have cancer.
John Hoelzl · 873 weeks ago
John Taylor Gatto "The Underground History of American Education" (full text can be read online at johntaylorgatto.com)
Edwin Black "IBM and the Holocaust: The Strategic Alliance Between Nazi Germany and America's Most Popular Corporation" (excerpts can be read online at edwinblack.com)
lambert strether · 872 weeks ago