Liveblogging from the TDP Convention

Greetings from the floor of the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena. Tonight's general session of the TDP Convention will begin in about 40 minutes. The scheduled speakers include Chris Bell and Gen. Wesley Clark. I will, hopefully, have live updates from the floor as the evening progresses.

The SD Caucuses took place this afternoon. I was present for the SD 10 session, and may have an update later. Eddie Rodriguez of The Red State was elected to the SDEC for SD 26. Congratulations! Eddie believes he is the only blogger elected to the SDEC. At the SD 10 caucus, Anna was elected to the Resolutions Committee. Congrats Anna!

6:41 p.m. Gen. Clark is now speaking. He speaks of the troops first, asking all to stand and applaud for all Americans serving in the armed forces. He recalls the time he spent overseas while in the military, and states that American troops--and Americans--were once respected by people in other countries. He laments where the Bush Administration has taken the country. (Don't we all.) Bush is guilty of "command negligence," especially for not following up on the Presidential Daily Briefing that warned Bin Laden determined to attack in the United States. Bush took us to war in Iraq without an adequate reason. (This draws BIG applause). Clark asks, "How about some leadership?" "Why can't we lead instead of just bullying?"

Clark now addresses education, saying we should have the best public education system in the world. Clark also discusses the health care system. He mentions that 350,000 kids in Texas were thrown off of the Children's Health Insurance Program. This draws another BIG response. Clark also criticizes the Bush Administration's treatment of science. "We can't have our science corrupted because someone disagrees with the conclusions."

The Bush administration plays on peoples fears, says the General. (Damn right!) Clark says, "Enough is enough."

Clark now discusses what Democrats believe. "Equal opportunity for all Americans." "We believe in a strong national defense." Instead of building fences, we should be building bridges. Clark now shows some love for Chris Bell and Barbara Radnofsky.

Clark urges Democrats to do something now--in 2006. He describes the U.S. Congress as being a "roll over, do nothing, cover up congress."

The General's final line is something to the effect of, "We're taking this government back for the people of the U.S and the people of Texas." The General walks off to big applause, with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" playing in the background. (Seriously.)

Clark is a wholly impressive person. He has good things to say. He's a fairly good speaker, but not as dynamic as, say, John Edwards. Good speech, but not a great one.

8:53 p.m. We have just concluded a roll call vote to elect the permanent convention chair. This has delayed things a bit, and some fellow bloggers who have heard Chris Bell speak before decided to head to the Flying Saucer for the blogger's caucus. I'll probably have more to say about the convention chair vote later. (For the record, Bob Slagle easily defeated Ted Weisgal.)

9:04 p.m. Chris Bell takes the stage. Early on he says we need a new Texas Revolution. He calls for a "moon shot" for Texas public schools, and says the Texas public school system will be his top priority as governor. He criticizes our use of standardized tests, saying our kids need to learn something more useful than how to take the TAKS test. Gov. Perry, he says, has been a "miserable failure" as governor, especially when it comes to health care and education.

Bell's campaign theme is the "New Mainstream." His speech is similar to the speech he gave in Fort Worth on the day of the SD Conventions, but he has added to it.

Bell quotes Mack Brown (Hook 'Em). To become National Champs, the Longhorns had to learn how to win again. It's time for Democrats to learn how to win again. We don't win by selling out "to the lesser of two Republicans." Bell proceeds to criticize Grandma Strayhorn as well as Perry.

Bell becomes the third or fourth person tonight to mention that today is Tom DeLay's last day as a member of Congress.

Bell brings the speech to a close, and the Beatles' "Revolution" plays in the background. Like Clark, Bell is a decent speaker, but not a great one.

I think I'm gonna sign off now and go have a beer. More tomorrow.