Wednesday, July 28, 2004
POOR, PITIFUL TEXAS... NOT!
The media always loves to write stories on how mistreated the Texas Delegation is at the Democratic Convention, because we're the (claimed) home state of the Bush family. Truth is, we're not being mistreated at all...
One of the 4+ interviews that I did yesterday was with Sarah Schweitzer of the Boston Globe, asking what I thought about our seating arrangements on the Convention Floor, our hotel location, and our lack of glamorous or high profile guest speakers at our daily Delegation Breakfast.
Obviously I didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, because my remarks are nowhere to be found in her story.
The truth as I see it is this. Texas, as the third largest delegation at the Convention, is a logistical nightmare for ANY convention. Finding a hotel that is large enough to house all of us together is difficult enough, and it's almost always the larger hotels in areas such as the airports that are the best choices for delegations such as ours. We are at the Hilton Boston Logan - one of the newest and nicest facilities in the entire Boston area. And if you are wondering how delegation seating is allocated on the floor of a Convention, envision making 56 puzzle pieces - each of a different size - fit into a finite space in a way that keeps each piece completely whole. Drawing delegations on a convention seating map is akin to drawing Congressional districts - maybe we should have had Tom DeLay draw our delegation seating chart for the Democratic Convention since he's obviously so knowledgeable on the subject. :-(
If I had written the Boston Globe story instead of Ms. Schweitzer, here's what I would have included - based upon the responses I gave yesterday to the reporter's questions:
________
"Cate Read, 37, a Delegate from Houston, is thrilled with the way the Texas Delegation is being treated. "Yes, the Texas Delegates are staying out at the airport - but in Boston, the airport is very close into town and immediately accessible to the rest of the city by the T. We are getting everywhere we need to go, easily and quickly. Others may have the impression that 'out at the airport' is an inconvenient hassle, but you have to take it into perspective - we have Delegates from West Texas who routinely drive 50 or 100 miles just to go to the grocery store. We're not staying out in the middle of nowhere, we're finding it very easy and convenient to get around."
"Regarding our Delegation seating on the Convention floor," Read said, "we really have some of the best seats in the house. Delegations who are closer down to the podium from us are complaining about problems seeing what's going on because of people standing in front of them and the constant movement on the floor. We have comfortable raised stadium seats with a completely unobstructed view. Our other two largest Delegations, from California and New York, are seated in similar locations. The Fleet Center is a relatively small and intimate arena, where the distance from the front to the back of the Delegate seating area is fairly inconsequential."
"As for the lack of high profile speakers at our Delegation Breakfasts," added Read, "we haven't really noticed they weren't here. Our speaker today, Congressman Chris Bell, is a hero to Democrats in Texas and across the entire nation and we are honored that he would spend the morning with us and host today's breakfast. Standing up to Tom DeLay and his illegal activities is a courageous act for Congressman Bell. We are proud of him, and grateful to him for spending time with us here in Boston."
________
That's THE story and I'm stickin' to it.
|
One of the 4+ interviews that I did yesterday was with Sarah Schweitzer of the Boston Globe, asking what I thought about our seating arrangements on the Convention Floor, our hotel location, and our lack of glamorous or high profile guest speakers at our daily Delegation Breakfast.
Obviously I didn't tell her what she wanted to hear, because my remarks are nowhere to be found in her story.
The truth as I see it is this. Texas, as the third largest delegation at the Convention, is a logistical nightmare for ANY convention. Finding a hotel that is large enough to house all of us together is difficult enough, and it's almost always the larger hotels in areas such as the airports that are the best choices for delegations such as ours. We are at the Hilton Boston Logan - one of the newest and nicest facilities in the entire Boston area. And if you are wondering how delegation seating is allocated on the floor of a Convention, envision making 56 puzzle pieces - each of a different size - fit into a finite space in a way that keeps each piece completely whole. Drawing delegations on a convention seating map is akin to drawing Congressional districts - maybe we should have had Tom DeLay draw our delegation seating chart for the Democratic Convention since he's obviously so knowledgeable on the subject. :-(
If I had written the Boston Globe story instead of Ms. Schweitzer, here's what I would have included - based upon the responses I gave yesterday to the reporter's questions:
________
"Cate Read, 37, a Delegate from Houston, is thrilled with the way the Texas Delegation is being treated. "Yes, the Texas Delegates are staying out at the airport - but in Boston, the airport is very close into town and immediately accessible to the rest of the city by the T. We are getting everywhere we need to go, easily and quickly. Others may have the impression that 'out at the airport' is an inconvenient hassle, but you have to take it into perspective - we have Delegates from West Texas who routinely drive 50 or 100 miles just to go to the grocery store. We're not staying out in the middle of nowhere, we're finding it very easy and convenient to get around."
"Regarding our Delegation seating on the Convention floor," Read said, "we really have some of the best seats in the house. Delegations who are closer down to the podium from us are complaining about problems seeing what's going on because of people standing in front of them and the constant movement on the floor. We have comfortable raised stadium seats with a completely unobstructed view. Our other two largest Delegations, from California and New York, are seated in similar locations. The Fleet Center is a relatively small and intimate arena, where the distance from the front to the back of the Delegate seating area is fairly inconsequential."
"As for the lack of high profile speakers at our Delegation Breakfasts," added Read, "we haven't really noticed they weren't here. Our speaker today, Congressman Chris Bell, is a hero to Democrats in Texas and across the entire nation and we are honored that he would spend the morning with us and host today's breakfast. Standing up to Tom DeLay and his illegal activities is a courageous act for Congressman Bell. We are proud of him, and grateful to him for spending time with us here in Boston."
________
That's THE story and I'm stickin' to it.
Free Web Site Counter
