Make Your Voice Heard

WE'VE MOVED! Democratic Convention Watch is now at http://www.DemocraticConventionWatch.com

There was a post up on DCW about the bags that will be handed out at the convention. There were a lot of comments on it, and the tone of many of these comments indicated surprise about the level of corporate sponsorship at the Convention.

I found this surprising because "corporate sponsorship" pervades our daily lives: who pays for the uniforms for your local softball teams? Ever notice product placement in TV shows?

The issue about sponsorship is that money begets access.

The Obama campaign is doing something different this year, something that is a big part of the convention, something which indicates true change to the political process.

At every national political convention, in addition to formally naming the presidential and vice-presidential candidates, a platform is written. That platform defines the goals of the party, and what the party wants to accomplish over the following four years. Behind the speeches and the rhetoric and the parties and the chum is that set of pages which say:

"THIS IS WHAT WE STAND FOR"

Normally, this is done by the party and foisted on the public. This year, you can contribute to the process, and make your voice heard. Over the next two weeks, public meetings (free of corporate sponsorship) will be held across the land. You can attend and say "this is what I think about Iraq, FISA, abortion, minimum wage, etc., etc., etc." Find your local meeting-place here.

Information will be collected, tallied, and presented to the DNC Platform Committee. In case you are interested, this is what we stand for now.