DNC Sponsored by George Soros

Friday, August 22, 2008

BARACK OBAMA, HORSERACE

No Business or Entrepreneurs Speaking at the Democrat Convention

Looking over the complete list of speakers at the Democratic convention, I note... that there is not a single businessman, entrepreneur, or private sector innovator speaking in the entire four nights, barring some last-minute addition.

Groups represented include the SEIU, the NEA, AFT, NARAL and Planned Parenthood. But not one representative of any company - just politicians, representatives of unions, and leaders of abortion groups. (I suppose some wag will say that Al Gore counts, as the innovative inventor of the Internet and creator of that television channel.)

By comparison, the GOP convention features EBay CEO Meg Whitman and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina. And this isn't even counting Mitt Romney, co-founder of Bain Capital.

UPDATE: I'll give a little credit where it's due, Mark Warner makes the cut as well as Romney does — former managing director of Columbia Capital Corporation, early investor in Nextel, founder of a large technology-based venture capital fund...


Monday's speakers will include:

* Former President Jimmy Carter

* Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

* Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. of Illinois

* Humanitarian Clint Borgen

* Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper

* Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar

* Miami Mayor Manny Diaz

* Illinois state leaders Alexi Giannoulis, Dan Hynes, Lisa Madigan

* Tom Balanoff from Illinois SEIU

* NEA President Reg Weaver

* AFT President Randi Weingarten

* NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan

* Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri

* Former Indiana Representative Lee Hamilton

* Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle

* Maya Soetoro-Ng - Barack Obama's half-sister

* Jerry Kellman - "Mentor and long-time friend of Barack Obama"

Tuesday: The theme for the day is "Renewing America's Promise." "Senator Hillary Clinton will be the headline prime-time speaker and former Virginia Governor Mark Warner will deliver the keynote address on Tuesday night."

The speakers will include:

* Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy

* West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Chair of the Democratic Governors’ Association

* Iowa Governor Chet Culver

* California State Controller John Chiang

* Change to Win’s Anna Burger

* AFL-CIO President John Sweeney

* Planned Parenthood of America President Cecile Richards.

* Pay Equity pioneer Lilly Ledbetter

* Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana

* Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts

* Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas

* Governor Janet Napolitano of Arizona

* Governor Jim Doyle of Wisconsin

* Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania

* Governor Ted Strickland of Ohio

* Governor David Paterson of New York

* Senator Bob Casey, Jr., of Pennsylvania

* Former Secretary of Energy and Transportation Federico Peña

* House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer

* House Democratic Caucus Chair Rahm Emanuel

* Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Assistant to the Speaker of the House;

* Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Chris Van Hollen

* Representatives Nydia Velazquez (D-NY)

* Linda Sanchez (D-CA)

* Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)

* Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)

Wednesday: The theme for the day is "Securing America's Future" and will feature the Vice Presidential candidate's speech. Representative Patrick Murphy (D-PA) and Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth will offer a tribute to war veterans.


* Former President Bill Clinton

* Governor Bill Richardson

* Massachusetts Senator John Kerry

* Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle

* Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed

* Chicago Mayor Richard Daley

* Senator Evan Bayh

* Senator Joe Biden

* Senator Jay Rockefeller

* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

* Convention home state Senator Ken Salazar

* House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn

* Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL)

Thursday: Barack Obama will accept the nomination in a speech at INVESCO Field at Mile High on the 45th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech. He will be joined by Former Vice President Al Gore.