Report Long Lines Here - Texas: Lines at polling places before opening but moving fast.

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High Democratic precincts were doing well this morning in Dallas. I was out and about early putting up signs and promoting down ballot races at the polls. You can follow me on Twitter today at http://twitter.com/jeffstrater

Dallas County went blue the last election cycle. Looking for it to become a darker shade of blue. Very cool since the W Library will be here and the Bush's are moving back. Cheney's also rumored to have purchased a condo in Dallas.

EDIT from Mr Super: It seems to be a good idea if we can keep track of any problem precincts around the country. We have a fair amount of media who visit this site, and reporting these lines can be a way for them to report on issues all around the country.

If you know of extremely long lines - anywhere in America - report them here in the comments section. Be sure to include the 1) city, 2) state and when possible the 3) precinct location or nearest cross streets.

So far this morning I have received reports of long lines in California, Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, Nevada and North Carolina.

I have specifically received word that a precinct at Pico and Fairfax in Los Angeles saw a line 3 blocks long at 7:30 AM this morning. If you haven't voted yet, please allow plenty of time today.

Hillary Hotline

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So you might wonder why does Jeff post so much about Hillary Clinton??

I want to get the word out on how hard Hillary is working for the Obama/Biden ticket. Like Hillary, I am 100% in support of the ticket and working hard to get Obama elected.

Hillary's staff has been getting the word out on her campaign activities. The latest is a Hillary Hotline email. To check it out, go to my blog by clicking here.

Blogger Jeff Strater has two blogs. Check them out at http://jstrater.blogspot.com and http://www.hotpoliticalmess.com

Gov. Sebelius to speak to Texas Delegation

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State delegations will meet each morning for breakfast, credential distribution, and speakers

Gov. Sebelius of Kansas will be speaking tomorrow to the Texas Delegation. She is a great speaker. I saw her Saturday night at the National Stonewall Democrats Federation dinner.

The only thing I didn't like is she yelled out "Rock Chalk Jayhawk"... not just once but twice. That's the cheer of Kansas University (what Kansas State grads call Univ. of Kansas). As a Kansas State grad I was just a little peeved! Although I did not grow up in Kansas, I have always had a special place in my heart for the state and the state paid for my fellowship.

Jeff Strater is a pledged delegate for Sen. Clinton from Texas. His blog is at http://jstrater.blogspot.com Jeff can also be reached on the convention floor at jeffstrater at gmail.com

Watching VP announcement with delegates

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Watching the VP announcement at the Renaissance Hotel with members of the Mass and Maryland delegations and attendees of the National Stonewall Democrats Convention.

Late last night I was with delegates from across the country when the news started to break of Biden as VP. It was interesting to hear initial thoughts from both Obama and Clinton delegates. As a Clinton delegate, I am disappointed that Sen. Clinton is not the VP nominee yet excited to support Biden. I was impressed by Biden's speech today.

Other notes:

• The altitude is getting to to many people I have been talking to. Or perhaps the late fun some of us had last night!



• Staying at the Renaissance Hotel which was recently renovated for the convention. It rocks. From the technology to the design of space, this place is cool. I don't think it will compare to the Texas delegation hotel. The Red Lion Hotel has announced that improvements will be made after the convention. Arrg.



• Everyone in Denver seems really nice and excited to welcome delegates. This is a really cool place for a convention. However, it is a little tricky to get around town.

Jeff Strater is a delegate from Texas. His blog is at http://jstrater.blogspot.com

Ready for thousands of delegates and friends?

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I'm taking a bit of a blog break to finish packing, run errands, wind down some items at work and head to Denver.

I will be arriving Friday evening armed with my complimentary shuttle voucher for my airport to hotel transportation. The first two nights I will be at a nicer hotel. Then its off to exile beginning Monday at the Texas Delegation hotel, Red Lion Denver Southeast. At least it is near the rail line.

Looking forward to sharing the convention experience with you!

Contributor Jeff Strater also has a blog at http://jstrater.blogspot.com

Sen. Clinton rallies behind Obama on conference call with national convention delegates

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On a conference call last night for her 1800 national delegates, Hillary explained that she is 100% committed to taking back the White House and working hard to elect Sen. Obama as the Democratic Party nominee.

Hillary encouraged her delegates to be focused on the goal to defeat McCain and the republicans this fall. Sounding very upbeat and excited, Hillary spoke of campaigning for Sen. Obama in New Mexico and remarked that she has explained to voters that she has so much more in common with Sen. Obama than McCain.

Hillary commented that she was pleased that her delegates reflect the strength and diversity of the party and thanked everyone for their hard work. She looks forward to seeing everyone in Denver and mentioned a convention reception and other operational items that her remaining staff are working on. The mechanics of when and how delegates would be released was not discussed.

Hillary also provided a summary of the party's platform and was very passionate in describing the core issues of the platform. She was pleased that the platform strongly recognizes the issues of her supporters.

Hillary was joined by Harold Ickes and Tina Flournoy. Ickes and Flournoy answered questions during the question and answer period.

This post also appears on Jeff Strater's Denver Bound Blog at http://jstrater.blogspot.com

More delegates blogging, y'all!

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Something must be in the water in Dallas!

Obama Delegate Erin Moore and Clinton Delegate Paul Tran from Dallas join me in the blogesphere. Erin is the elected Obama delegate in the same district that I was elected as a Clinton delegate. Paul is a delegate elected at large from Texas. They both rock and are super cool dems. Erin was elected among dozens of Obama supporters and Paul was selected among 4,000 at large nomination applications.

Join me in welcoming them to the Democratic Convention blog world by visiting their sites:

Erin's blog is located at http://lgbtdelegate.blogspot.com/

Paul's is located at http://www.electpaultran.com/

And don't foget my blog at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/

Convention crashers! Couch surfing!

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New York Daily News discusses what the call "convention crashers" in their article "What the desperate will do to see the Democratic Convention". Click on this link to read: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/08/16/2008-08-16_what_the_desperate_will_do_to_see_democr.html

I wonder if the scariest hotels in Denver are booked too? My hotel seems pretty scary from the reviews and it is a delegate assigned hotel for my state delegation.

The New York Daily News article cites a couple websites to find alternatives to hotel rooms including: www.airbedandbreak-fast.com
and http://dncdisruption08.org/rideboard/

And, there is craiglist.com. But, I have been hearing some crazy stories about craigslist lately.

I really do not consider the folks mentioned in the article as "convention crashers". They don't really plan to go to the convention but want to be close to the action. There is certainly lots of things to do if you are not a delegate and you really score if you find a delegate to take you to things. Many invites include guests of delegates.



Jeff Strater, a delegate to the convention, also blogs at http://jstrater.blogspot.com

Brad and Angelina to host event during convention

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There is a rumor reported by the Rocky Mountain News that Jolie and Pitt may host a fundraiser during the convention.

I doubt I am on the invite list or have the money to get it... but if Angelina or Brad are reading this, please hook me up.

You can read about this and other happenings by Penny Parker, On the Town Columnist, for the Rocky Mountain News at http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/aug/09/parker-jolie-pitt-may-host-charity-fete-during/

This post also appears at Jeff's Denver Bound Blog at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/ . Jeff is a National Delegate from Texas.

Clinton's web chat and recent communications

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This week we have heard a great deal from Hillary. Her campaign has sent at least three emails this week and she has been visible in her support for Sen. Obama. Today, her website offered an interesting web chat that gave some insight on what she is up to.

Sen. Clinton's website hosted a web chat located at http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/blog/main/2008/08/07/153910

The full content is on the link above. She commented on issues she is working on, her future, working with Sen. Obama and the Democratic National Convention. Here are the 12 questions she answered:

Question #1: What are you working on now
Question #2: What goals do you have for yourself during the next four years both professionally and personally?
Question #3: From a high school student: I want to go into law one day as my major what is the best piece of information you can give me? The second one is what wanted you to go into politics?
Questions #4: I want to say if he does ask you to be his VP you should and you would make a great vice president Mrs. Clinton:)
Question #5: One of the main reasons that I voted for Hillary is her plans for healthcare. Can you make a comment on how healthcare carried out in the next administration?
Question #6: Special thanks to you for your leadership in the birth control issue! What is the prospect for the paid family leave bill the house is taking up?
Question #7: Hey Hillary, My 12 year old daughter and I are sitting here, waiting anxiously, for each reply. Love you!!!!!!
Question #8: As a college student (one of your biggest student supporters; Go Hillary!) I am wondering what you and Senator Obama feel is the best course of action to deal with rising tuition costs and continued cuts to the higher education budget. (It's gotten really bad here in California-thousands of teachers losing their jobs, tuition costs rising, funding disappearing).
Question #9: Are you truly supporting Senator Obama and encouraging your supporters to do the same or are you just saying what you have to?Question #10As a college student who is participating in his first presidential election, your candidacy really brought to my attention to and energized me about the great things that can be accomplished through our political process. Now that, unfortunately, your candidacy is over, and since you (reading your biography) were able to accomplish so much during your collegiate years: What would you suggest college-aged Americans do to become more involved in the American politcal system, aside from voting?Question #11 Good Morning Senator Clinton: Thank you for taking time to chat with your supporters. Is there any possibility of your name being placed in nomination for President at the convention? This would at least give your supporters a voice in the choice for the party's nominee.
Question #12 Hillary, I hope that we will be able to talk with you at the Convention in Denver! Please consider meeting with us -- YOUR supporters!

Party with the Young Democrats at their convention kick off

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I was reassured that 40 is the cut off from the Young Democrats! I'm 38 and have two more years! Yee ha!

The Young Democrats of America announced their pre convention kickoff today.

Here are the details:

The Young Voter Revolution is happening at Bar Standard!

Sunday, August 24th, 9:00pm

1037 Broadway in SoCoDenver, Colorado

No RSVP required. General Admission.

This event is co-hosted by the Young Democrats of America and the Colorado Young Democrats.

Directions from the Colorado Convention Center:
Head southeast on 14th St toward Welton St for 4 blocks
Turn right onto Bancock Street. Walk south four blocks.
Turn left onto East 11th Street. Walk two blocks.
Turn right onto Broadway. Walk 1/2 block.
Bar Standard will on on your right.

Sen. Clinton's statement today

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We are hearing alot from Hillary the last couple days and it appears like we may hear more.

Today, Hillary posted the following on her blog:

http://blog.hillaryclinton.com/

"It has been great getting back to work in the Senate for the people of New York. And now that the Senate is in recess, I'm very excited about getting back out on the campaign trail to help elect Barack Obama and grow our Democratic majorities in Congress. With the Democratic convention coming up, the excitement and curiosity is certainly starting to build. I want to assure you that Senator Obama and I are working together to make sure it's a big success. We will ensure that the voices of everyone who participated in this historic process are respected and our party is fully unified heading into the November election. While no decisions have been made yet, I will make sure that we keep you up to date and involved with all of the Convention activity. It means so much to me to know that no matter what the coming months and years bring, you'll be working right by my side. With your help, 2008 is going to be a great year for Democrats. "

Hotel confirmations for delegates just assigned!

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(pictured above is the Texas delegation hotel. Some reviews of the hotel on the internet are a little scary)

This may seem trivial but I was stressing. And, I am way laid back.

Just last night I got my hotel confirmation for the convention. I was beginning to worry since I registered back in June. Would I have to sleep on a couch or a park bench? Put an ad out on Craigslist? Party officials had mentioned since mid July that confirmations were coming in a few days.

The Texas delegation has the honor of staying at the Red Lion Hotel - Denver Southwest (Aurora). This assignment has probably something to do with being the home state of George W. On our state delegation conference calls, several delegates have raised concerns over the hotel's ratings. Trip Advisor reviewers give it a 2.5! Trip Advisor ratings always tend to be a little dramatic. Check out the reviews at http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g29144-d120066-Reviews-Red_Lion-Aurora_Colorado.html

It will be interesting to see how well our high profile Texas delegates manage at a hotel. I can't imagine that some of them will be with us, however, you must be at the delegation breakfast each day to get your credentials for the day. I visited with our state party chair a couple weeks ago and he and his wife commented that it will be a nice place. They went on a tour of the hotel a couple weeks ago.

If you are interested to learn where each state delegation is assigned, go to http://www.demconvention.com/delegation-hotel-assignments-announced-for-2008-democratic-national-convention/

I will be hanging out at the Adam's Mark hotel bar. That's where the New York and California delegations will be staying!

This blog entry is by Jeff Strater, a delegate from Texas. Jeff's blog is located at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/

Web chat with Sen. Clinton

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Thanks for DemConWatch for inviting me as a contributor. I'm Jeff Strater, a national delegate from Dallas, Texas. I also have a blog, "Jeff Strater's Denver Bound Blog", located at http://jstrater.blogspot.com/

I wanted to let you know that Sen. Clinton will have a web chat tomorrow (Thursday, August 7, at 12:00 PM EDT). You can follow the link below for more details. Hillary mentions that she looks forward to the Democratic National Convention and that Hillaryclinton.com will include more information about the convention and schedule in the very near future.

Check out Hillary's message regarding the online chat:

http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/chat/?sc=1995&utm_source=1995&utm_medium=e