Just got back from the MI Convention. We had a good old fashioned floor fight--but I think we all came out (mostly) better off for it.
More importantly, the grassroots candidate, Amos Williams, won. He didn't just win--he won by a lot. Read below for more details. I'll post some analysis of HOW Amos won (hopefully with a link to a video of his acceptance speech--here's a liveblogging transcript), which was superb) later in the week.
I showed up in my "Amos Williams, Attorney General, My Choice, Pro Choice" shirt this morning. Some Scott Bowen supporter (the opponent) made some comment to the effect that I'd be done with the shirt with the end of the day. Uh huh.
As a proud member of John Dingell's 15th CD, we got prime seats, right up front, the left half of the stage (oh yeah! up front AND on the left). It also meant we were right between Conyers' CD-14 and Kilpatrick's CD-13. These three CDs represent the core of MI's SE MI democratic votes and had a huge chunk of delegates between them. It was clear CD-15 was solidly for Amos, so if Bowen were going to win it, he would probably need solid support from the other two districts. There were a lot of Bowen signs in Conyer's district, and a good number in Kilpatrick's (though since Kwame backed Amos strongly, it seemed likely that it would split).
In the middle of the Regents nominations (Debbie Dingell is one nominee for the Wayne State Board of Governors), Bowen's crowd marched into the floor. It was impressive, though I noted a number of the signcarriers were seated at the edges of the room--non-voters. Perhaps these are some of Bowen's family members who, we discovered, couldn't vote since they weren't MDP members.
Then Amos' parade came in, which was even bigger. Lots of people in street clothes with their delegate badges. I'd say more of these people were delegates, so had a vote.
Bowen gave a good speech. I was perhaps churlish when I noted audibly (remember, I was in the fourth row), as the self-funded Bowen ragged on DeVos for being Daddy's rich kid, that he himself was one of those rich kids. But the comments asking him about choice were louder--Bowen heard them from the stage and launched into a "we're a big tent party" line.
Then Amos came on, with David Bonior nominating him. Bonior gave a beautiful speech, with two well-used quotes from the bible. And he told key aspects of Amos' bio:
* Worked in a Dodge plant and was a member of the UAW
* Served in the 101st Airborne in Vietnam and received a Bronze Star and Purple Hearts
* Served as cop in Detroit for 17 years
* Lost his hand to Agent-Orange related cancer
* Got a law degree and served as a trial lawyer taking on insurance companies (both Cox and Bowen got a chunk of money from the Insurance Industry)
Amos said a few words, including his support for the democratic process of a floor vote, his insistence that this meant we were democratic, not disunited.
And then the voting. It was an astoundingly muddled process, counting 105 votes split between two candidates and three counties. times 15 congressional districts (some of them with many more counties in them). From the 13th I heard folks calling for a roll call vote, with Bowen signs in hand--that must have meant Amos won it. I couldn't really tell what was going on in the 14th. Oh--and the 15th? About 12 of the 105 people voted for Bowen.
Only they never announced our vote. We, of course, are the last CD of 15 (you gotta trade something for the great seats upfront). Here are the vote totals they announced (and here's a map of the CDs):
Amos Bowen
1 148.72 26.25
2 (weren't ready)
3 42.51 84.49 (This is Bowen's CD, Grand Rapids)
4 136 26
5 196 17
6 116 16
7 149 9
8 139.4 34.6
9 162.06 32.94
10 136.8 10.2
11 146.1 18.9
12 155.55 65.45
By this point, Bowen was on stage. He started by saying something like, "I'm determined, but I can count, too." And he made a very gracious concession speech. He introduced Amos by saying,"I propose we welcome a Vietnam veteran and a heck of campaigner, our next attorney general, Amos Williams!"
Bowen was on the speech for Amos' acceptance speech--just Amos, his family, Bonior, and Bowen. That was cool.
Amos started his speech by proclaiming, "I am a liberal!" I love this guy--he is not afraid to call himself a Democrat.
The funniest line from his speech is when he suggested one of the reasons Cox, who has had at least two extramarital affairs and is said to have had sex in the jury boxes while he was a prosecutor, and who is clearly using the AG position to set up a gubanatorial run, wasn't protecting the people of Michigan is becaues "He's busy lusting after Granholm's seat."
Trust me, this is one fighting Dem.
Like I said, I'll have more analysis about how Amos won this race. A hint though--contrary to what you hear, this wasn't decided in the last week with the UAW nomination. This was decided over the last 6 months, as Amos put 20,000 miles on his car driving to visit every CD in MI.
I'll tell you what. Yesterday, I was determiend to work to get Granholm re-elected. But today, I'm really excited to go tell people about our superb candidate for Attorney General.