From the diaries -- Larry 

WesPAC Annual Meeting - DC 2005

WesPAC and the Dems are gearing up to take both Houses in 2006; and General Clark's leading the way!  The message: We need to mobilize now to achieve the Democrat Party's goals in '06 and '08!  What a power-house event at WesPACs' Annual Meeting in DC at the Washington Court Hotel, yesterday!   The GOP and neocons will be running scared behind all the smokescreens that they've been blowing around, recently.  The GOP is on a serious retreat, and that's why Clark is asking us to charge forward!

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Arrival:

It was a great sunny, slightly breezy and humid day here in DC.  I arrived halfway through the series of breakout sessions that WesPAC has scheduled.  Outside the hotel, I recognized Erick Mullen on his cell phone and Catherine catching some of the sunshine for a brief break. She directed me downstairs to the conference rooms where she mentioned that sessions have already begun.  At the reception desk, I noticed that Ruth Benedict had already displayed laminated NCCM-II brochures for next year and lots of NCCM (II) buttons.  Stan Davis also placed several of his"Wes Clark - American Hero" doggie tags, and Maria (ICB) covered another majority section of the table with several of her  famous "Get Starch!" and DC buttons.   So, button sprawl was everywhere!  No conservation at all.  But while they were not there, I exercised emminent domain authority,... and designated the new territory for a batch of SecuringAmerica.com buttons.  (btw, did I mention www.WesClarkDemocrat.com? ;) 

Afterwards, Catherine came back down, ..she gave me a personal escort to the room! Even her seat!  Well, there it is,... she's a true Knightess!  Kelly Flinn and RuthB were seated to my left, and Gene Caufield, Wes's brother in law, was to my right. This is good! We were all focussed on the speakers though.

Unfortunately, I missed Carl Levins' talk in Session I.   As the senior member of the Senate Armed Serivices Committee, as well as member of the Investigations Intelligence subcommittee, he was probably there to discuss some of the serious and critical issues facing our country on Iraq and in the White House, of which Clark had been especially outspoken about.  But, Maria and Stan and the others will hopefully provide more detail. Session II was beginning ...

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The Breakout Sessions: 

WesPAC hosted a series of very impressive sessions, which were articulated by an equally impressive group of speakers and guests, who all made very clear and evident, that we can take the Hill with the General!  More signicant, imo,  is how much the Democratic leadership truly values and respects Wes Clarks' leadership, he is a peer within the party!  From Carl Levin (MI), Rahm Emannuel (IL), Chet Edwards (TX), Ken Salazar (CO), Marian Berry (AR), and Nancy Pelosi (CA), as well as our favorite, Eric Massa (running for NY-29), they are all power-figures in the party.   They came to speak for Wes!  WesPAC attracted a Senator whose senior member of the SASC! ....The DCCC Chair! ...The DGA chair! ('Penny")!  And,  the House Democratic Leader!   Does the General know strategy, or what?

The other sessions by these key speakers generally discussed our partys' vision and the Democratric "strategy for success" on all fronts for 2006!   They're all dynamic speakers who each presented a credible amount of research.  As such, I think you can understand that we really can't discuss those details. Generally, Ken Salazar and Chet Edwards, who just won races in traditionally "red' zones, shared their insights on how they won in their campaign. "Penny' from the Democratic Governors Assn. (DGA) detailed her insights into the NJ and VA races, and how it applies to next years gubernatorial races, whereas Rep Emmanuel detailed the key races in 06, and why. When asked if he could share other 'information", Rahm replied, "if I tell you, I'm gonna have to kill you."  But the Dems are preparing to go to this race with overwhelming force, and believe it or not,.. a lot of it also depends on us - the foot soldiers of the grassroots campaign.  As Clark has many times, we need to get involved more within the community and political system to spread our message, the values of the Democratic Party.  That's no secret, we just need to execute it, there is a real strategy!  We can win this! The GOP knows that we're armored with the FACTs.   They're hiding behind the smokescreens of their rhetoric on defense.  So, our mission is to keep up the charge with Clark!

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The Meet and Greet Session: 

Afterwards, it was time for wine and cheese, ...it was open bar,. heh.  But I was cognizant to note that Wes Clark made every effort to speak and mingle around with as many supporters as possible.  He certainly appeared highly energized, similar to his campaigning days during the primaries! I hope he can continue to meet people and supporters of the Party.  The genuine "humanness" in his character and personality is rarely witnessed on screen, even among many within the Party, imo.

It was also a great time to mingle with other CCN bloggers and Clarkies that you're all familiar with ; Howard Park, Westcott, Stan Davis, drsusan, Pilgrim (Carol), Melange, ICB (Maria), larry, Brent, JOhn,  KFlinn, RuthBendict, gordonsuber, heartclark and btw...who's VADem? Howard is like our Democratic Party guru on all things democrat.  I think Stan now has more buttons/pins on his jacket than the General ever had on his uniform. I could be wrong. Icantbelieve that ICB gave me a great gift!  She actually pressed a pic of me and Clark on a button. For that! All of you,.. please check out; "www.clarkbuttons.com,... and did you know they're free!"   All were dressed in their fineries; but again, RuthB prolly gets credit for nicest formal gown with her black velvety dress.  Gordon was Gordon,... he's always in conversation with someone. More research, imo,.. but I can bet that his book with be thicker than Bill Clintons' "My Life."   Eric Massa (NY-29) is remarkable articulating the platform for his district and can easily address the key issues with great clarity.  Others included many who attended NCCM, like Florence and Debby from Virginia, they supported the Clark and Kaine campaign in VA and have every reason to be proud for their work. If Dems want to hear the 'formula for success", they proved how!  And others, I did recognize names from the www.fourstardemocrats.com group, such as Patricia Speigel and Mike Webber.  And lastly, I'll even plug the website forfor a senior research fellow at www.globalsecurity.com, he had expertise in nuclear proliferation and we briefly discussed why North Korea and nuclear proliferation is a big problem. Let's just hope Bush doesn't commit another "strategic blunder."   I mentioned that we have credited their info/research at www.SecuringAmerica.com.  Maybe this guy can guest blog, here?

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Some  photos:WesPAC Annual  - DC (Photos)
As I said on ICB's post, the first pic is mostly for y'all to check out Clarks' tie.

Sorry for many blurred pics,... I chose not use my flash during the sessions. As such, the photos captured alot of vibrations due to the longer exposure times.  Catherine and Eric Mullen both lucked out, at least this time; but snapshots of WesPACs' CCN Overlords, Larry and Brent made it. Now we can put a face to our complaints .   Fortunately, lots of folks had digital cameras, so WesPACs' Annual Event should be very well covered. Overall, a Star-studded evening with DC Congressional notables, and of course, the 4-Star General.

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[Note: Catherine Grundin and the staff at WesPAC really deserve our deep appreciation for organizing this terrific event,.. so Thanks Everyone! :) ]

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