Author: Emmett O'Connell (Page 127 of 176)

Democratic Victory Circle: Exclusive Crap

February 6, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

This will guarantee that I don’t get another “exclusive” email from Dwight Pelz, but what the heck.

The Democratic Victory Circle is a boneheaded idea. The last thing you should try to do, especially when you’re leading a political party, is ever try to be “exclusive” with your communication. Instead of taking a page from Colorado vice-chair Dan Slater who blogs out in the open, Washington State Democratic Chairman Pelz is sending emails seeking donations in exchange for “insider” gossip.

Here’s his “exclusive notes” on his trip to the DNC (published here). Here is the pitch for you to donate $1,000 a year so you can keep on getting these “exclusive” emails.

From the pitch:

Special Benefits Include:

Participation in quarterly Democratic Victory Circle events with recognized speakers and/or elected officials (i.e. nationally recognized pollsters)

Regular updates from Chairman Dwight Pelz on state and national political developments, projects, and events

Recognition at Washington State Democratic Party events

Special reduced rate to attend Washington State Democratic Party events

Photo opportunities with State and Federal elected officials

Special recognition in Washington State Democratic Party publications and website

This kind of “insider” stuff is one of the reasons I don’t like politics.

I understand the attraction of the recognition stuff and the reduced rates, photo opportunities and other stuff that don’t particularly attract me. I don’t participate in politics so people will like me, but rather to make the world a better place (I know how stupid that sounds). Writing special emails to a special group of folks who have paid for the privilege is a quick way to making politics unbearable.

The sad thing is that his notes would actually make a nice blog post, but for some reason, instead of actually sharing what he thinks Pelz wants folks to pay for it. The really sad thing is that I don’t think he expected anyone to copy and paste what he wrote.

Jorge as “sixth starter”?

February 6, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Lookout Landing lists Jorge Campillo as a possible sixth starter (which I guess also means long man out of the pen):

Sixth Starter Candidates:

Cha Baek
Jake Woods
Jorge Campillo
Justin Lehr

Campillo and Lehr are both older than the other two on the list, which means not a lot in this case. But, its nice to see him get mentioned in a major league role.

This week in Olympia

February 5, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Find out what this map is all about and more, this week on the Olympia City Council.

Parque signs, I was right

February 3, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Sweat. Took long enough.

Jim Parque coming back with the Mariners

February 1, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Jim Parque, who last pitched with the Devil Rays in 2003, is signing with the Seattle Mariners as we speak, according to folks I know. Its going to be a minor league contract, which is basically no lose for either side.

It seems like he had a pretty good career going until he fell down the stairs in 2001. Wouldn’t be a bad signing for the Ms, except makes it less likely that my man Jorge Campillo is going to get a roster spot.

Jorge Campillo’s winter lines

January 30, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Campillo pitched in the Mexican Pacific League this winter for the Culiacan Tomato Growers (I kid you not). Here are his lines from Mariner Minors, including two playoff games:

Regular Season:
13 G (13 GS), 5-4, 3.07 ERA in 76.1 IP, 55 H (8 HR), 30 R (26 ER), 67/18 K/BB, 4 WP

Playoffs:
2 G (2 GS), 1-0, 1.42 ERA in 12.2 IP, 12 H, 2 R (2 ER), 10/3 K/BB

Its “Democratic” Party and we’re all federalists

January 30, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Whacky Nation proves its name:

They’re the Democrat party.

I spent many years in the news media during the 70’s and 80’s …. and I never once wrote copy that read “Democratic Party.” It was always “Democrat Party.”

Forget your new spin, liberals. There is nothing democratic about your party. There’s actually nothing democratic about our great United States of America. We’re a republic (under God to many) with a republican form of government. We elect representatives who create laws for us.

You are such losers. You must have flunked civics, if you ever took it. Must be sad to be a Democrat.

First, I don’t doubt that Mark was a reporter, but I do doubt whether he was a good one. He obviously (if he’s telling the truth) didn’t consult his AP Stylebook very often. The stylebook, pretty much the bible of usage for reporters, takes this stand on Democratic Party:

Capitalize both the name of the party and the word party if it is customarily used as part of the organization’s proper name: the Democratic Party, the Republican Party.

Capitalize Communist, Conservative, Democrat, Liberal, Republican, Socialist, etc., when they refer to a specific party or its members. Lowercase these words when they refer to political philosophy (see examples below).

Democratic when referring to the party, Democrat when you’re talking about the member of the party.

On the second notion that our country is not actually a democracy, but rather a republic. I don’t disagree there, but I do disagree that there is something different about the two. Democracies and republics are not exclusive of the other. You aren’t one or the other.

Here’s a civics/history lesson for ya: The Democratic Party began as the Democratic-Republican party, and morphed into the more current Democratic Party in the 1830s or there about. In those early days it was common for those Jeffersonians to refer to themselves as Republicans
(the current day Republican Party was formed by Whig Party activists in the 1850s).

The term “Republican” was a reference not to a system of government but rather a political philosophy that rejected monarchy and corruption.

But, if you’re a stickler for systems, according to the Central Intelligence Agency, we’re a “Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition” and the World Fact Book says:

The Constitution creates a federal system, in which political power is divided between the national government and the governments of each state. The national government is sometimes called the federal government. The Constitution also creates three separate branches of government—legislative, executive, and judicial—to share the work of creating, enforcing, and interpreting the laws of the nation. The branches are represented by Congress, the president, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

So, actually we’re neither republican nor democratic, we’re federalist.

Junkballer non-roster invitee

January 28, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

The best news of the day, Jorge Campillo, the 28 year old Mexican junkballer that I’ve been rooting for over the past two years, is going to Arizona with the Mariners. He was released last fall and I thought for some reason that was the last of him.

I like the idea of a Chris Bosio from south of the border making it to the Mariners. Maybe I’m projecting though.

The Mariners first signed him two years ago. He progressed through the farm system quickly, getting his first start in 2005, and after one inning leaving with a serious injury. After Tommy John this last year he starting pitching in the minors over the summer, and made it back to Seattle in the fall, finishing with some mediocre innings in relief.

Though the rotation looks pretty stacked (not necessarily with talent, just arms), I’m hoping he gets a chance.

Here is a hiralously translated piece from Mexico on his first year in the majors:

Campillo was the one of the sensations of the Mexican equipment last Series of the Caribbean, which was worth to him to be recruited by Sailors of Seattle. After going and coming to branches, had its great opportunity Tuesday 2 of August before Tigers of Detroit, but as soon as it completed an entrance.

And a piece from scout.com reminding me why I liked him to begin with.

The blog difference between Richardson and Edwards (its local)

January 27, 2007 / Emmett O'Connell / 0 Comments

Ken and I are fighting the good fight (seemingly about over now) over at Scoble’s blog about why our guy is just as good, or even better, than John Edwards regarding the blogs.

I’ve made the point that not only are Richardson’s supporters the only group using an independent tool to organize themselves in the real world, but that Richardson has met with bloggers in Iowa, South Carolina and Washington.

The main difference between Edwards (especially his blog powered tour a few weeks ago) and Richardson is that one has focussed on the national blogosphere, while the other has focussed on smaller, regional blog networks. Edwards is the national guy, Richardson has focussed his attention on the regional blogosphere.

This may seem like a difference in time and money, that Richardson can only attract small fish, but the three instances above were when he was acting as chair of the Democratic Governors Association, when focusing locally was important. It also shows a different understanding of why blogs and the netroots are important.

Matt Stoller on the local blogosphere (and here):

You’ll notice that on the netroots page almost every candidate has a local blog or set of blogs that are covering the race. That’s because it’s the local bloggers that are going to keep tabs on the races and the campaigns, and create the buzz and the excitement necessary to win. Local blogs and netroots communities don’t just channel money, they channel volunteers, energy, intelligence, and news coverage. And sometimes, lightning strikes. A really effective local blog can shape a race the way the Ohio 2nd blog shaped the Hackett special election.

At least in how Richardson has approached the netroots, he seems to understand that local matters. It doesn’t matter really what national bloggers pay attention to you, it matters what the bloggers are getting locally.

Richardson’s “for governor” site last year also kind of proves this point. “The Plaza,” (which you can’t see anymore, was a scoop based community site. Open diaries, the whole schmere. I’m pretty sure it was the first open community blog in New Mexico.

His upbringing as a politician, which has included thousands of local town hall meetings and regular “open door” sessions, extends this point. I’ve said that Richardson was a blogger before AOL was around. By that, I mean, he has had the kind of open, up front, conversations that bloggers want, without actually blogging himself.

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