HiH Chat with Sen. Berger in Denver


We had the opportunity to talk with North Carolina Sen. Doug Berger yesterday evening from the press box above the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, CO.

As we chatted, Sen. Berger gave us sound bites from speakers who were addressing the convention as we talked.

As for the transcript itself, it has been edited for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. The order of the comments has been altered in some cases to ensure a smooth flow of ideas (thoughts are often out of order in a cyber-chat situation), and extraneous comment have been deleted.

[Senator] I’m here inside the Pepsi Center here in Denver! I’m actually in the press area above the floor. Senator Patrick Leahy is speaking now.

We have 130 delegates from NC.

[Editor]
Are you there as a delegate?

[Senator] Yes I am an [Barack] Obama delegate

[Editor] Of those 130 NC delegates, how many are for Obama, as opposed to other Democrats who were running?

[Senator] I don’t know the breakdown, but I fully expect all delegates to vote for Obama.

Grace Vickery is here as a Clinton delegate.

The delegates were apportioned based on the primary vote. The Republicans have a winner-take-all system.

[Editor] But delegates may vote for any candidate?

[Senator] Delegates can vote for whoever they want to. However, both the Obama and Clinton campaigns pre-approved most delegates.

[Senator]
The Convention voted yesterday to give full voting rights to Florida and Michigan.

[Editor] Will the restoration of voting rights to Florida and Michigan change the presumption that Obama will win the nomination?

[Senator] The fact that they have full voting rights was agreed upon by the Obama campaign.

[Editor]
Clearly you’re an Obama supporter. Would you care to comment on why North Carolinians should support his presidential bid?

[Senator] Senator Obama and Senator Biden will put government back on the side of working people. I work. My wife works. Jason, you work. Your wife works. We need leaders who know what its like to fight to hold on to one house.

[Editor] Speaking of Obama’s choice of running mate, were you at all surprised when he announced that Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware would be the one to get the tap?

[Senator] Believe it or not, I picked Biden about a week before he went to Georgia.

Dennis Kucinich is speaking. [He is talking about] borrowed money paying billions of dollars for this war. He is getting a loud applause. [He is also saying that] oil companies want to drill more into your wallet.

That was a creative point.

[Editor]
How do you think an Obama/Biden ticket would rate next to the Obama/Clinton “dream team” ticket that the media has speculated about so much in the last weeks?

[Senator] It’s a safe pick. The Clintons have never been popular in NC. Regular working class men will know that in a bar fight Biden is the kind of guy you would want on your side.

My family was split. My wife and my daughter supported Clinton. My son and I supportedd Obama.

[Editor] North Carolina has been solidly Republican in presidential elections since the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Yet Obama has said that he needs to win North Carolina to win the election. With only 15 votes in the Electoral College, does he really need us all that much?

[Senator] If he wins NC, he will win the presidency. He can win the presidency, but lose NC.

There are over 150 paid staff [of Obama’s] in NC. There is a paid staff person in Vance County now.

So it’s fair to say that Obama will fight for NC rather than write it off?

[Senator] For every ten persons registering to vote, only one is registering Repubican over the past years. There are some polls showing Obama slightly ahead in NC. Determining who is a likely voter is a problem for pollsters. Over 200,000 new Democrats will have registered this year when the vote starts taking place.

[Editor] Do you think NC youth will be a factor for Obama?

[Senator] They are critical. Obama is the John Kennedy for this generation. There are delegates here who are only 18 years old.

[Editor] Let’s shift to the convention itself. What have been some of the seminal events for you?

[Senator] Michelle Obama demonstrated that her family understands what is like to work hard and fight for the American dream. [Sen. Ted] Kennedy’s probable last speech to this convention was very moving. He is dying from brain cancer.

I got a close up shot of Joe Biden last night. It may be in the Dispatch tomorrow. I also got a close up shot of Dan Rather.

[Senator] Hillary [Clinton] just introduced the Women of the Senate by video. Senator [Barbara] Mikulski from Maryland is speaking now.

[Editor] We’ve talked on the telephone a few times since you got to the convention, and I can gather that it’s loud. Besides volume, what feeling do you get being on the floor of what may be the most important political convention since the Democrats were in Chicago in 1968?

[Senator] It is electrifying.

Senator [Barbara] Boxer of California is speaking about today is the 80th anniversary today when women received the right to vote.

[Senator] I was a Clinton delegate at the 1992 convention.

[tim] Senator, do you think Obama’s yes vote on FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] will hurt his chances with Constitution-minded independents?

[Senator] There were FISA protesters outside the convention. The FISA vote hurts with independents.

Senator Blanche Lincoln from Arkansas is speaking. Affordable health care is being emphasized by each speaker.

[robgupton] At what point do you think Sen. Hillary Clinton will throw her support to Sen. Obama

[Senator] Tonight Hilllary will make it clear how strongly she supports Obama.

The Michigan Senator [Debbie Stabenow] just spoke.

[tim] Is there a call that if [Obama is] elected that criminal charges will be brought against Bush?

[Senator] There are those persons who believe President Bush has committed impeachable offenses, but I do not believe that the Obama administration will exhaust energy on the misconduct of the Bush administration. I would be disappointed if he did.

[Senator] Governor Ed Rendell from Pennsylvania is speaking now. [He is saying that] Exxon/Mobil just made record profits this quarter. He is also criticizing McCain’s support for a $4 billion tax cut for oil companies. He says the only thing green in McCain’s energy policy is the billions of dollars on tax cuts for oil companies.

[tim] It took ten years to put the three branches of government back on equal footing after Nixon. Will Obama reign in the ridiculous amount of power Bush has concentrated?

[Senator] He was a constitutional law professor. While his FISA vote was disappointing, I think he will reverse most of the policies the Bush administration has adopted that have violated the rights of innocent people.

[nclady74] Senator, who so far to you has given a good speech?

[Senator] Michelle Obama. Michelle showed she has lived the American dream and is someone who will stand for working people.

[nclady74] She was very good. Do you agree with people like [James] Carville in that last night wasn’t hard enough on the Republicans, or was last night on task in as far as establishing who [Obama] is?

[Senator] Biden and O