16 April 2018: The Michigan Democratic Party convention
This is my report on the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) convention yesterday at Cobo Center. I went with friends Mike & Lora to support Dana Nessel for Attorney General, https://www.dana2018.com/. She rose to prominence by challenging Michigan's constitutional ban on same sex marriage, ultimately prevailing at the U.S. Supreme Court.
The best part of the convention was that Dana won the endorsement of the Democratic Party. It was truly exciting to be part of the crowd shouting "Dana" over and over again throughout the day. Michigan will be blessed with Dana as Attorney General, fighting for the rights of consumers, in contrast to Bill Schuette, who seemed dedicated to fighting for the rich and powerful. We are also fortunate to have Jocelyn Benson as our likely next Secretary of State, someone who understands the office, and will work to restore our right to vote and to a transparent, ethical government, severely damaged by Rick Snyder and the GOP legislature.
The MDP deserves credit for handling the estimated 6,700 delegates, much more than the usual 2000 or so, without any apparent major problems. However, the main purpose of the event was to vote for Attorney General, which did not begin until 5:00 pm, and the convention did not end until 7:00 pm or so. As one official noted, "This is why people want to have nothing to do with the Democratic Party." It would have made much more sense to have voting throughout the day ending at 4:00 or 5:00 pm, which would have eliminated any lines and ended the convention at a reasonable hour. Maybe next time.
Dana's victory was also a victory for common sense, and a major defeat for the arrogance of organized labor. For reasons unknown, the UAW, AFL-CIO and other major unions supported a candidate for Attorney General, Pat Miles, who worked for a law firm committed to anti-union activities. Mr. Miles appears to be a nice guy, but without strong convictions on major issues. I asked three of his apparent followers why they were supporting him. The first turned out to be his father. The next two indicated they merely listened to the union. To his credit, when the counting was apparently favoring Dana, Mr. Miles made a gracious concession speech, ending the convention on a unifying note.