ND: Basking in Insignificance

Seventeen thousand insignificant people crowded a Grand Forks, North Dakota arena to see the next President of the United States.

They were part of what Sen. Kent Conrad said, while introducing Obama, was the biggest political event “in my adult life.”

Alerus officials said more than 17,000 people joined, for a few hours, the North Dakota Democratic Party’s convention, cheering, stomping and yelling like a crowd at a rock concert when Obama took the stage, and throughout his 45-minute speech. Minutes before the speech started, a thousand or more still waiting in line were allowed to hurry in to stand on the floor after all the seats were full.

“Some people think the Democrats can’t win in North Dakota, so we shouldn’t put too much time in here,” Obama said. “I tell you what, we didn’t fly over North Dakota. We landed. We didn’t write off North Dakota.”

The crowd screamed approval and remained standing for several minutes, until Obama showed how he got his reputation for charming crowds.

“At least, feel free to have a seat, guys. That’s why you got chairs.” Most took him up on the offer, but several times during his 40-minute speech they rose again to their feet.

We have two Democratic senators from North Dakota that typically win reelection by wide margins. There is no reason to write off North Dakota. Barack Obama can win there. And even if he doesn’t, he just pumped up the local Democratic Party as Dick Cheney would say, “Big Time”.

15 Comments

refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 10:00 am

Barack Obama impresses me more and more everyday!!! His speech yesterday was incredible and the way he has campaigned in EVERY state and not just when they were in play(like Hillary in Texas) shows that he is a candidate for all people and realizes that it will take all of us working together to fix the problems America faces.

refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 10:51 am

The same people who did such a great video for Obama slam McCain for his idiotic stances on the war.

fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 10:54 am

That’s John.I.Is or something like that. This is a parody video that came out right after the Will.i.am video.
- refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 11:00 am
  
  I hadn’t seen it before and thought it was great. LOL
  - fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 12:26 pm
    
    I liked at the end of it…just killed me.

fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 10:58 am

I had no idea Dorgan was a Dem. I had just assumed…North Dakota = Rep. and that Conrad was a fluke. I had to go look it up. I mean, it should be good enougn that a California resident even knows North Dakota’s Senators, but party affiliation? Pfffft.

idredit on April 5, 2008 at 11:29 am

Wow! 17,000 in North Dakota.. was that a typo?

insignificant people. I’ll take some more of those…all the way to November.

btw, good tactic now that the Michigan re-vote is dead. dead., Obama camp has called for a 50/50 split of the delegation

Here’s the statement from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe:

“Senator Obama firmly believes that the Michigan delegation should be seated in Denver. A 50/50 split of the delegates is an eminently fair solution, especially since originally Senator Clinton herself said the Michigan primary wouldn’t ‘count for anything.’ It’s now up to the Clinton campaign: they can agree to a fair resolution or they can continue trying to score political points and change the rules. It’s time to move forward. Senator Clinton should accept an equitable solution that allows Michigan to participate fully in the convention.”

more than fair. it’s generous considering Hillary violated her pledge not to campaign there.

fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 12:36 pm
h/t to Maria Gomez at TPM she leads me to a story from The Register-Guard where a Clinton spokesperson calls the 10K (3000 who were turned away) people who showed up to see Obama speak last month “irregular” people.

Eugene businesswoman Val Hoyle, a member of Clinton’s Oregon steering committee, said she has no doubt that the New York senator could fill McArthur Court with more than 9,000 people, as Obama did on his March 21 stop in Eugene.

“Hillary speaks to regular people,” Hoyle said. “And coming to a regular high school — South Eugene High — means the people who are there actually get to be more of a participant than if they were at a larger venue.”
emphasis mine

So now the list of insignificant voters is:
- Black people
- Activists
- Caucus goers
- Unemployed voters
- Residents of states Clinton lost
- Rich people
- Young people voting for Obama
- People who attend Obama rallies
She’s still got a few more groups to insult. I almost want her to win the nomination just to see her try to kiss the asses of black people and activists in particular. It’s nice to see the Clinton’s campaign echoing Chris Matthews. Very nice.
- chocolate ink on April 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm
  
  Has this sour grapes attitude turned Clinton’s face purple yet?

chimneyswift on April 5, 2008 at 11:42 am

I can’t wait to see the big blue country we all live in on the election maps, the day after the elections this year.

Drew J Jones on April 5, 2008 at 11:50 am

17,000 is very impressive. I’d really love to pick off some of the states out in the Plains. That would be the perfect slap in the face to the DLC crowd. A few in the Plains, a few out in the West, maybe a couple in the South, and hold the Kerry states. A nice, broad coalition.

idredit on April 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm

if the Clinton tall tales get debunked, we may get your wish. Clinton continues to be pinned down under sniper fire.

NYT: Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells

Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care by an Ohio hospital because she could not come up with a $100 fee.

The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.

“We implore the Clinton campaign to immediately desist from repeating this story,” said Rick Castrop, chief executive officer of the O’Bleness Health System.

Linda M. Weiss, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, said the Clinton campaign had never contacted the hospital to check the accuracy of the story, which Mrs. Clinton had first heard from a Meigs County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy in late February.
- eeblet on April 5, 2008 at 3:07 pm
  
  That’s just disgusting. As if the handful of non-for-profit medical establishments don’t have enough problems?
  
  Thanks for the link. But – yargh! yuck! Such horrible tactics.
  - Drew J Jones on April 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm
    
    Yeah, that’s what offended me. Throwing that on the hospital is really disgusting. And, as SusanG pointed out, it’s not as though there aren’t enough horror stories of health care to tell.
    
    But this is Hillary Clinton, who tries to look tough by claiming to run from imaginary snipers. Why should this surprise us?
americanforliberty on April 5, 2008 at 12:27 pm

A slim chance Kansas will go Obama, but McCain and Airbus Tanker deal does not play well statewide. Especially, in Wichita where the aviation industry is the biggest employer:

tp://www.king5.com/business/stories/NW_031108BUB_mccain_advisors_back_eads_JM.43aa0cf3.html

refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 10:00 am

Barack Obama impresses me more and more everyday!!! His speech yesterday was incredible and the way he has campaigned in EVERY state and not just when they were in play(like Hillary in Texas) shows that he is a candidate for all people and realizes that it will take all of us working together to fix the problems America faces.
refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 10:51 am

The same people who did such a great video for Obama slam McCain for his idiotic stances on the war.
- fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 10:54 am
  
  That’s John.I.Is or something like that. This is a parody video that came out right after the Will.i.am video.
  - refinish69 on April 5, 2008 at 11:00 am
    
    I hadn’t seen it before and thought it was great. LOL
    - fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 12:26 pm
      
      I liked at the end of it…just killed me.
fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 10:58 am

I had no idea Dorgan was a Dem. I had just assumed…North Dakota = Rep. and that Conrad was a fluke. I had to go look it up. I mean, it should be good enougn that a California resident even knows North Dakota’s Senators, but party affiliation? Pfffft.
idredit on April 5, 2008 at 11:29 am

Wow! 17,000 in North Dakota.. was that a typo?

insignificant people. I’ll take some more of those…all the way to November.

btw, good tactic now that the Michigan re-vote is dead. dead., Obama camp has called for a 50/50 split of the delegation

Here’s the statement from Obama campaign manager David Plouffe:

“Senator Obama firmly believes that the Michigan delegation should be seated in Denver. A 50/50 split of the delegates is an eminently fair solution, especially since originally Senator Clinton herself said the Michigan primary wouldn’t ‘count for anything.’ It’s now up to the Clinton campaign: they can agree to a fair resolution or they can continue trying to score political points and change the rules. It’s time to move forward. Senator Clinton should accept an equitable solution that allows Michigan to participate fully in the convention.”

more than fair. it’s generous considering Hillary violated her pledge not to campaign there.
- fabooj on April 5, 2008 at 12:36 pm
  h/t to Maria Gomez at TPM she leads me to a story from The Register-Guard where a Clinton spokesperson calls the 10K (3000 who were turned away) people who showed up to see Obama speak last month “irregular” people.
  
  Eugene businesswoman Val Hoyle, a member of Clinton’s Oregon steering committee, said she has no doubt that the New York senator could fill McArthur Court with more than 9,000 people, as Obama did on his March 21 stop in Eugene.
  
  “Hillary speaks to regular people,” Hoyle said. “And coming to a regular high school — South Eugene High — means the people who are there actually get to be more of a participant than if they were at a larger venue.”
  emphasis mine
  
  So now the list of insignificant voters is:
  
  Black people
  
  Activists
  
  Caucus goers
  
  Unemployed voters
  
  Residents of states Clinton lost
  
  Rich people
  
  Young people voting for Obama
  
  People who attend Obama rallies
  
  She’s still got a few more groups to insult. I almost want her to win the nomination just to see her try to kiss the asses of black people and activists in particular. It’s nice to see the Clinton’s campaign echoing Chris Matthews. Very nice.
  - chocolate ink on April 5, 2008 at 4:02 pm
    
    Has this sour grapes attitude turned Clinton’s face purple yet?
chimneyswift on April 5, 2008 at 11:42 am

I can’t wait to see the big blue country we all live in on the election maps, the day after the elections this year.
Drew J Jones on April 5, 2008 at 11:50 am

17,000 is very impressive. I’d really love to pick off some of the states out in the Plains. That would be the perfect slap in the face to the DLC crowd. A few in the Plains, a few out in the West, maybe a couple in the South, and hold the Kerry states. A nice, broad coalition.
- idredit on April 5, 2008 at 12:23 pm
  
  if the Clinton tall tales get debunked, we may get your wish. Clinton continues to be pinned down under sniper fire.
  
  NYT: Ohio Hospital Contests a Story Clinton Tells
  
  Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care by an Ohio hospital because she could not come up with a $100 fee.
  
  The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O’Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.
  
  “We implore the Clinton campaign to immediately desist from repeating this story,” said Rick Castrop, chief executive officer of the O’Bleness Health System.
  
  Linda M. Weiss, a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit hospital, said the Clinton campaign had never contacted the hospital to check the accuracy of the story, which Mrs. Clinton had first heard from a Meigs County, Ohio, sheriff’s deputy in late February.
  - eeblet on April 5, 2008 at 3:07 pm
    
    That’s just disgusting. As if the handful of non-for-profit medical establishments don’t have enough problems?
    
    Thanks for the link. But – yargh! yuck! Such horrible tactics.
    - Drew J Jones on April 5, 2008 at 4:30 pm
      
      Yeah, that’s what offended me. Throwing that on the hospital is really disgusting. And, as SusanG pointed out, it’s not as though there aren’t enough horror stories of health care to tell.
      
      But this is Hillary Clinton, who tries to look tough by claiming to run from imaginary snipers. Why should this surprise us?
- americanforliberty on April 5, 2008 at 12:27 pm
  
  A slim chance Kansas will go Obama, but McCain and Airbus Tanker deal does not play well statewide. Especially, in Wichita where the aviation industry is the biggest employer:
  
  tp://www.king5.com/business/stories/NW_031108BUB_mccain_advisors_back_eads_JM.43aa0cf3.html

ND: Basking in Insignificance

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