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Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Cantwell’s Cash Bar

posted by on November 8 at 16:56 PM

Freedom Beer

I wanted to devote a whole Slog post to this blistering comment from one of last night’s posts:

The party at the Sheraton was FUCKING LAME. What was supposed to be a thank you to the volunteers and most importantly the campaign workers who have been working their ass off for the past 6 months turned into a few speeches and then everyone leaving. Some of us who, I don’t know, still had shit to do until around 10 pm got there as everyone was leaving.

The party should have been open bar, there should have been better multimedia, the setup should have been better, the candidates and party officials should have hung around to keep people partying, and oh, did I mention that there should have been a FUCKING OPEN BAR. Charge for fancy cocktails if you want, but a bunch of free wine and beer is a must. Not to mention lots of food. $7 dollar alcohol when your party consists of under-paid campaign workers, college students, and labor? That’s messed up.

If I sound a little pissed, I am. After spending the day in the rain helping Dems, not to mention giving money and volunteering, the least the Dems could do is give us a good fucking party.

Hear, hear.

By all reports the party at the Sheraton—Cantwell’s party, primarily—was a bust and an insult. Maria raised $18 million for her re-election bid, and it had been evident for weeks (months!) that she was coasting to an easy victory. The day after the election Maria has, according to her FEC reports, $2.4 million dollars on hand.

With that kind of money on hand, Cantwell could certainly have afforded to spend a little bit on beer and wine to show her gratitude to her volunteers and supporters. All those people that went out in the rain and worked GOTV and raised money and stuck yard signs all over town—you can’t buy them a couple of beers, Maria? And make sure there are some TVs in the room? And something to snack on?

Or were people merely invited to come to your victory party so they could serve as a cheering backdrop for your acceptance speech? And if your props wanted a drink while they waited for TV cameras to snap on, well, they have to fork over $7 for a beer?

Maria Cantwell’s seven-bucks-a-beer “victory party” is yet more evidence, as if we needed any, of the Cantwell camp’s low emotional IQ. Pretty clueless, pretty crass—and pretty stupid. Cantwell may feel like she’s senator-for-life now, thanks to her 15 point margin over Mike McGavick. But Conrad Burns, the now-former Senator from Montana, had 24 point margin of victory in 2000.

All I’m saying, Maria, is that you might need those volunteers to save your ass in some future election. So it’s a dumb move to insult them by inviting them to a party and then surprising them with a pricey cash bar, no food, and no TVs.

It’s not too late to make it up to your volunteers, supporters, and local campaign staff, Maria. Before you head back to DC in January of 2007, host a bash to thank everyone who worked so hard. But this time with an open bar. Do the classy working-class thing, Maria, and buy your hard-working volunteers a beer.

RSS icon Comments

1

dude, no truer words have ever been spoken. A day in the rain canvassing and pollwatching, and if it weren't for the cool drinks at the Stranger party at the Spitfire, I would have never gotten my drink on. The Dems should have had a fucking shitfacer blowout at the Sheraton.

Posted by el ganador | November 8, 2006 5:01 PM
2

Glad I voted Guthrie.

Posted by DOUG. | November 8, 2006 5:03 PM
3

fucking a savage, fucking a.

Posted by SeMe | November 8, 2006 5:07 PM
4

Some Dems know how to do it right. Adam Smith & Norm Dicks had a hosted bar at their party in Tacoma.

Posted by cuyahoga | November 8, 2006 5:20 PM
5

Actually, Burns won by only 4 pts in 2000.

Posted by Whitney | November 8, 2006 5:43 PM
6

Yeah, Mariah. What do you think, we're cheap dates or something? That you can just fuck your consitutents-- vote pro-war and the patriot act and not fight hard right supreme court justices-- without even buying them dinner? What do you mean you don't love us?

Posted by wf | November 8, 2006 5:47 PM
7

I'll go a step farther: it's too late. No party or celebration or thank-you bash can undo the slap in the face Maria just gave to her hundreds of hardworking volunteers and lowly paid campaign workers.

What she did said, "Yeah, you helped raise me $18 million and got me reelected. Now FUCK OFF."

You are a wooden PC career politician, Maria. Maybe you think the country will be well on its way to hell in 2012 and that there's no reason to worry about re-election or running for bigger and better things or maybe you're gonna retire, and if so, fine.

Wait, no, it's not fine. You just slapped the people who helped make you in the face. So what if you do something to make up for it? You already made your point. You can't undo what happened.

Like Greg Nickels, you showed us what a deceitful two-face you really are once you got what you needed.

Posted by Gomez | November 8, 2006 5:58 PM
8


Technically, from what I understand, that thing at the Sheraton was not Maria Cantwell's party.

It was the Washington State Democrats Party, which covers all the Democrats in Washington State who ran a race this year. So you should also be directing this ire toward Washington State Democratic Party Chair Dwight Pelz so he can make a note of it and start budgeting for the 2008 party.

And, BTW, it's like that every single year: no food, no-host bar. Maybe a few platters of food that get immediately devoured at 8:05pm.

I know everyone is concentrating on getting their candidates elected and understandably put less energy into the victory party. (I mean, can you see a campaign manager's math: "Hmmm...should I have this volunteer doorbelling 100 homes today or raising money for our glorious victory party?" They're gonna pick doorbelling every time.)

That said, they will have no doorbellers if they don't feel appreciated. Drink tickets, people!

Posted by Um | November 8, 2006 6:08 PM
9

For chrissake, the beer's hardly warm before you turn and start tearing apart your own. Classic Democratic behavior, complete with threats. Are you in it for the beer? Who gives a shit? Who cares about this stupid party when there's a government to run?

Posted by Fnarf | November 8, 2006 6:16 PM
10


Ditto. If you are volunteering for a political campaign for the glory and free beer, then you are in the wrong place.

(Unless you are a Republican, then you get free beer, lucrative gov't contracts, and of course, eternal glory.)

Posted by yup | November 8, 2006 6:22 PM
11

I am sure the Sheraton rapes you on the in-house bartending when you throw events there and I think there are plenty of better things to spend money on than some douchey $7 beers, Dan. What happened to the good old beer-in-the-room parties upstairs that used to soothe all us alcoholic Dems anyway?? I guess the era of Jim Kainber is truly over...or was it just that you people werent invited?? That said, Dwight is no fan of a buz-kill--I am sure this will be ironed out next season. Don't blame Maria--she had nothing to do with this.

Posted by ilovegovernment | November 8, 2006 6:27 PM
12


I think all you had to do was ask around...Dems were partying upstairs in the rooms. I saw more than one keg cup on the main floor of the Sheraton.

Posted by keg | November 8, 2006 6:38 PM
13

There is a simple reason (two, actually) why it's not possible to have free beer.

1.) Yes, the liquor prices that hotels charge are hellishly expensive.

2.) Since it is sort of an open party, you would have problems with Our Washington State Liquor Board, who forbids giving out free booze. If you could get away with it, you'd probably need to have a dreaded beer corral

Posted by Catalina Vel-DuRay | November 8, 2006 8:23 PM
14

A few points in follow up to my highlighted comment. (thanks Dan!)

1) No one, I repeat no one I have talked to or read has suggested that the Dems should have had some sort of high class shindig. All we wanted was free wine and beer and a good party. Figure a thousand people at 6 glasses each (like a good dem I am being liberal in my calculations), that’s 6000 glasses. At costco one can buy wine at $4 a bottle, let’s just say $5 to be safe. Each bottle is 5 glasses, so one would need 1200 bottles for a total of $6000. An equal amount of beer and your set for a whooping $6000. Even if I am off by a factor of 10 it is not that much compared to how much was raised. Add in some donuts, snack trays, and the like and you could have a great spread for 10-20k.

2) Regarding drink tickets being available. That’s the first I am hearing of it. I was a volunteer and know/spoke many campaign staffers and none of us had them. Even if it’s true, why complicate things. just make it free.

3) The Sheridan. If they won't let them Dems serve their own booze, then its time to find a new venue. They are not the only game in town.

4) I'm not, nor is anyone I know, in it for the fucking beer. I am in it because I want Dems to win. I am in it because I want to save this country from the theocrats and neocons. When that happens I want to have a BIG FUCKING PARTY. I want to get drunk, I want to yell, and I want to stay up all night. AND I DON'T WANT TO DO IT IN A FUCKING HOTEL ROOM. I also don’t want to ask a round like a god damn tool, or wander into a suite I am not invited too.

In the end all I wanted was a big room full of rowdy dems, big screens, and lots of free booze. Is that too much for ask.

Posted by Giffy | November 8, 2006 8:36 PM
15


Unfortunately it is. We need that money to win elections, most of which we are usually outspent.

There aren't any places that accomodate 3,000 people that are centrally located that will allow you to bring your own beer and wine. This is how those places make money. They would be out of business if they didn't.

Also, here's the problem ...somehow someone is characterizing this thing as a party and it's not a party in the traditional sense. It's a place to gather while watching the returns with like-minded people in one central location. Yes, the Dems should probably make sure key volunteers get a drink ticket (there were none), blah blah blah...sounds really like a lot of logistics. That energy should better be spent winning elections.

Maybe the Dems should take over the Showbox next year. That place holds about 2,000 people and has 3 bars and the drinks are cheaper.


BTW, two years ago, there was no rowdiness. Just sadness. And everyone went home at 9:15.

Posted by question | November 8, 2006 10:01 PM
16

Hey, question, you unread smartass, I thought it's been documented that the Cantwell campaign had over $18 million and was $2 million+ in the black as of Election Day. Which isn't exactly "outspent."

Posted by Gomez | November 9, 2006 8:25 AM

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