Howard Dean Keynote Address at Net Roots

823pm  -  General Wesley Clark is speaking before Howard Dean gives the address. He has touched on some valid points concerning our rights to health care, stemming any US aggression towards Iran, the treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo. He calls for various attendees who are military, community volunteers, medical staffers, public servants to stand and be acknowledged. He mentions Rick Noriega's run for the Senate [v. popular in Texas!] and it's an all around inspiration.

Side note: Baratunde Thurston aka Jack Turner from Jack and Jill politics blog is performing what someone referred to at my table as 'hype' man duties. Hey I want a cool gig like that! He gets to be on stage with all the heavyweights. It's good to have a little flavor and throw out some comedy to boot!

Gina Cooper, NetRoots Nation coordinator is speaking now. The consensus at my table is we need an energy boost as people have been here since before 9am. Where's Howard?! 

Baratunde just said Obama went against the grain as a Black man refusing public assistance. Oh no he didn't! 

Ok I need some caffeine. I'm getting a little bit of an education here. I'm sitting at a table with blogger Christian Progressive Liberal and some local Texas political activists. One of the speakers doing another pre-introduction is a somewhat controversial figure, Glenn Maxey.

Rudolph Malveaux ran a campaign against him. This is his account.

In the Democratic Primary in Texas, Mr. Maxey challenged a 20 year Democratic incumbent, Ms. Nelda Spears, Travis County Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar, who is heralded as the best in her office in the history of the State of Texas. Throughout the unusually long primary campaign, 10 months, Mr. Maxey resorted to some of the dirtiest and patently unethical campaign tactics ever in Travis County (Austin). Ms. Spears defeated Mr. Maxey 74% to 26% in the most lop-sided defeat in the Texas Primary Election. Maxey's lack of character and ethics should have left him without any  support from the Progressive community , but it didn't. In fact, Maxey enjoys the lofty position as an elder statesman with the Progressive community and the Democratic Party. Shameful, sad, and disheartening, I have little respect for people who allow Maxey and people like him the alms that should be left to legitimate statesman and public servants.