Democratic National Convention Cancels Kickoff Event, Due To Monetary Costs;
Claire McCaskill Cancels Convention Attendance, Due To Political Costs

The DNC had planned to open their convention with an event at the Charlotte Speedway; they'll be moving it somewhere cheaper and smaller.

The move comes as party planners are grappling with a fundraising deficit of roughly $27 million, according to two people familiar with the matter who requested anonymity to discuss internal party politics. With a party ban on direct contributions from corporations, the host committee has raised less than $10 million, well short of its $36.6 million goal, said one of the people.

They claim it's for "logistical" reasons. Well, money is logistics, too.

Back in January they decided to shorten the convention from four days to three.

I guess that fourth day would have been when Claire McCaskill spoke. Because now she's not coming.

Supposedly this is her standard practice in years in which she's seeking election. She did skip the 2004 election (but then, Missouri voted for Bush, and she might have had similar concerns about the haughty liberal senator from Massachusetts).

Exit question: How many convention cancellations does this make? McCaskill, Manchin, Tester, Matheson, Tomblin, Rahall, Critz — who else? Good lord. No wonder they’re moving to a smaller venue. At this rate, Obama, Biden, and OWS will be the only ones there.

Update: Dan McLaughlin: “If this many in his party were bailing on attending the convention of an incumbent GOP POTUS, media would spin it as sign of his extremism.”

Fantastic point. If Obama can't hold his coalition -- if he's getting cancellations and people distancing himself from him -- doesn't that mean he's too liberal, too extreme, for the Democratic Party, and for the voters generally?

But no. The "extremist" label can only be applied to the GOP. It's in the Media Narrative Stylebook.

posted by Ace at 04:30 PM

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