A Morning Breakfast with a Twist

At a breakfast that was devoted to meeting some of the up and coming governors from around the country and a tribute to Edmund G. “Pat” Brown, former governor of the State of California and father of current California Attorney General Jerry Brown, there was an interesting spectacle to spice up the festivities. Upon entering the Sheraton Hotel ballroom, we were given a handout not exactly sanctioned by the Democratic Party. It said: “Why is Gloria Gagged?”

Just as the program began, Attorney/Activist Gloria Allred entered the room fitted with Suffragette style gag and scarf, and as a believer in free speech and recognizing that some Hillary Clinton supporters still feel at this point that their candidate has not received a proper tribute and attribution, I don’t really have a problem with anyone having his or her issues aired, but I did find it a bit comical and somewhat melodramatic that Ms. Allred spent the entire breakfast with a gag stuffed in her mouth and attempting to gather a group of ultra dedicated Hillary supporters after the breakfast.

As I left the room, there was a relatively small group gathered to listen to an impassioned plea from Allred planning something, but whatever it is, it will not overshadow the emotion and atmosphere of this convention. All major high profile leaders in this country, people who came out early for Barack and people that were once strongly in the Clinton camp, are now united behind the Obama-Biden presidential campaign. The theme is unity, and the overall feeling in the room this morning and in the convention hall last night is we are all Democrats, and we have an awesome candidate who we will all work hard to see that he becomes our president.

This morning we were addressed by a few exciting and emerging prominent Democratic governors from key states, David Patterson of New York, Ted Strickland of Ohio and also the governors of West Virginia and Iowa, each with an inspiring message offering support for Barack, and looking forward to each one of their states receiving a boost and an economic injection that will only arrive with the return with a Democratic president. The speeches were good, entertaining and uplifting.

The morning culminated with a spirited tribute to the group of women elected officials that we have in the State of California that were in the room, and the standouts for me were my Congresswoman Jackie Speier, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey of the north Bay Area and Congresswoman Maxine Waters of Los Angeles. It was a fitting tribute to the emergence of the powerful, successful and skilled political women that hold many offices in our diverse state.

After a little get-together with Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher at another hotel, I will meet up with my fellow delegates from CD12, Susan Pfeifer and April Vargas, and we’ll head over to the Pepsi Center for what will most likely be a historic and very memorable night of sights, sounds and one speech better than the other.