DNC speakers announced 8/27 UPDATE: Crist will speak

[Beet]

They've just announced a slew of additional speakers, all women:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/democratic-convention-women_n_1820517.html?utm_hp_ref=elections-2012

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Out of these, only two are elected officials. One is 76, and the other is a lesbian. I would have preferred they put on more potential rising stars in electoral politics. What about Amy Klobuchar or Kirsten Gillibrand?

[Beet]

Deval Patrick will be speaking. Cory Booker is Co-Chair of the platform committee.

[Beet]

As I said, it's the worst of both worlds. They're reserving a lot of spots for women for being women, but they didn't pick any who could actually have a political career at a higher level. I would rather have Schweitzer and Feingold than Lily Ledbetter, Eva Longoria or Nancy Keenan. But on the other hand, I also would have liked to see some women elected or potential up-and-coming leaders, such as Klobuchar or Gillibrand. The point of these speeches is to introduce lesser known people onto a national stage. That veteran who won the primary in Hawaii has a promising background to- Tulsi Gabbard (?).

[Beet]

How does the list get selected? Is it from the candidate's campaign, the national committee, a combination of the two?

[Beet]

How does the list get selected? Is it from the candidate's campaign, the national committee, a combination of the two?

Effectively, the presumptive presidential nominee has carte blanche to run the convention however they want.  The national committee becomes more or less subordinate to them once a putative nominee emerges.  Which is why a contested convention in the modern era would be so wild...

Thanks for the reply. You, Ernest and a couple other people are the only ones who make this board worth reading.