"At the Democratic National Convention, your political worth is measured not just by who you know but also by where you are sitting. The seating chart of the State delegations is carefully crafted to put swing states like Florida, Missouri and Pennsylvania up in front of the podium, and more importantly in view of the TV cameras, but for every valued delegation some other state is banished to the cheap seats..."
"...besides the Vermont delegates like hanging out with their friends from Guam."
Convention coverage usually touches somewhere on Guam. But the coverage is always just about how poor their seats are, or how far they have traveled. Let's face it. I picked Guam for this blog because for me it was the definition of obscurity. It wasn't until I saw the dot on my page referral map that I knew where it was... and that is always part of the big news from the convention on Guam. "Most people don't know where it is."
That is the big tragedy of traditional media coverage, if you are not a state with a major media market or a lot of delegates unsure of which way they will swing, you do not matter. That sort of coverage hopelessly narrows the political conversation and makes the conventions a stupid meaningless practice. They are a big campaign ad for the campaigns, and as long as they drop the balloons and some woman shows up from middle America with red, white and blue face paint and a funny hat, they will keep putting on these shows, but the predictability is killing them. They are predictable because the only story that the television networks can cover are the stories that have already been decided long ago.
People from Guam will be there. They will come from far away. One of them will be spotted at some point wearing a 'hawaiian shirt'. They will have lousy seats. Until they are covering their own stories, that is all we will ever get, and none of the policies critical to their survival will ever matter.
Westword
How to Recognize a Guam Delegate: Guamanians are gorgeous. Their exotic mix of Malay, Chamorro, Filipino, Spanish, Asian, and American ancestry has produced people who are extremely easy on the eyes. Although the Pacific island is a part of Micronesia, don't expect to see delegates running around Denver in grass skirts and coconut-shell bras. Guam is the westernmost outpost of the United States of Discount and Fashion Mall Shopping, and every store is duty-free! Guamanians are as trend-savvy and fashionable as any mainland MySpace suburbanite, and they dress the part. Otherwise, telltale signs of the Guam delegate will include the need for a down coat whenever the temperature dips below 86 degrees Fahrenheit and the wearing of zoris. Zoris — or flip-flops, as they are called on the mainland — are worn all day long, with any outfit, by either sex. They are only removed during daylight hours one at a time, to emphasize a point during a zori attack — or political debate, as it is called on the mainland.
Tom Burka
Guam Delegates Threatening To Capture Plum Massachussetts' Floor Spot
Feisty "Red-Shirted Warriors" Ready To Rumble
Courageous and strong-hearted delegates from Guam, the U.S. territory that has fielded the smallest number of delegates on the floor, 12, surged forward in what appeared to be a carefully coordinated thrust into Vermont, Connecticut, and Maryland, making a stab at capturing the coveted seating held by Massachussets directly in front of the stage.
Scripps Howard
Twelve delegates flew for 18 hours to the continental United States for the Democratic National Convention this week.
Why such a long trip? These delegates are from Guam, a U.S. territory in the Pacific. The smallest delegation to the convention also traveled the farthest to get here.
"We are American citizens," said Tyrone J. Taitano, 46, a Guam delegate. "But because of the system we have no voting representation in Congress, but just like there are Americans abroad, there are us."
The last time the NY Times did a story that they archived under their 'Guam' topic was in January.
Guam isn't the big story. Getting bloggers from Guam won't make it the big story. But the thing to realize is that the ~Big Story~ is not the big story these days. The big story is the millions of tiny constituencies that the internet can quilt together. Advertisers love the internet and even cable because you can target individuals in highly personal ways. Political strategists should pay attention.
The fire hose of big media covering a big event still reigns supreme, but the Republicans will always be able to take slightly more advantage of the power of corporate television. When Kerry debated Bush, they went to split screen and pushed the cameras in on Bush to equalize their heights and make Bush look more immediate and powerful. See if that happens again next time the heights are reversed. For a party of diverse people, we need to use the power we have to give them their own eyes, ears, and voices.
Otherwise, it narrows everything.
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