Other states not happy about tickets to Obama's speech
Others seek more seats at Invesco to watch history
David Monteroand Kevin Vaughan, Rocky Mountain News
Published August 8, 2008 at 7:06 p.m.
Updated August 8, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.
Coloradans and people from the Mountain West region may get the bulk of tickets for Barack Obama's speech, but not all states are happy about it.
California - the largest delegation to show up in Denver for the Democratic National Convention - doesn't just want a seat for the speech at Invesco Field, they want seats. Plural. In a big way.
"With respect to size and position, we need more tickets," said Bob Mulholland, campaign adviser for the California Democratic Party. "We are 20 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed to win."
The Obama speech ticket giveaway took off Wednesday afternoon and by Friday afternoon, more than 80,000 Colorado residents had submitted applications for the so-called community credentials.
After receiving 60,000 requests from Colorado, which is well more than the number of tickets available for the state, the campaign started a waiting list, which had around 20,000 names Friday afternoon.
Invesco Field's capacity for the Aug. 28 speech is expected to be about 75,000 people. Obama officials promised that Colorado would get half of the available tickets and that the Mountain West region - loosely defined as states bordering Colorado - would receive two-thirds of the credentials issued.
Campaign officials, along with Gov. Bill Ritter and former Denver Mayor and Obama National co-chair Federico Pena, cited the battleground status of states such as Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico in talking about why the lion's share of the tickets will go residents of those states.
Pat Waak, chair of the Colorado Democratic Party, said she was still working to make sure the county representatives get tickets.
"I could always use more tickets, but I'm not complaining right now," Waak said. "I just want to get as many of my party activists in there as possible."
But even a state such as New York - the state with the second-largest electoral vote total with 31 - is hoping the ticket distribution works out.
Carly Lindauer, spokeswoman for the New York Democratic Party, said they trust the Democratic National Convention Committee to get them the tickets they need.
"New York is sending the second-largest delegation to the convention and our delegates are eager to hear Sen. Obama speak at Invesco Field," she said. "We are sure that the campaign and the DNCC will find a way for them to participate in this historic event."
The demand for tickets is already fueling a ticket frenzy on sites such as craigslist and eBay. One, on craigslist, offered to pay "mucho" for DNC tickets. "Looking for an entrepreneur willing to bypass a historical event for some money!"
An ad on eBay offered two tickets to Obama's speech for $2,300 - with a twist: "100 percent of the net profits of this sale will be donated to the John McCain general election fund."
Steve Happel, a business professor at Arizona State University, predicted it would be impossible for convention organizers to stop all ticket sales.
He said it is possible to limit the number of people who turn around and sell their free tickets. But with ever-more sophisticated brokers operating, it will go on, he said.
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August 8, 2008
7:37 p.m.
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ColdShot writes:
LOL!!!!!
August 8, 2008
8:54 p.m.
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Scott writes:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ROFLAO
Scott
August 8, 2008
8:56 p.m.
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Mike846 writes:
Sounds like a contest of "mine's bigger than yours!" to me. Typical Californian elitism. They're ENTITLED!! Give me a break. Mike
August 8, 2008
9:09 p.m.
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kevin3 writes:
Too bad Cali, you voted for Hillary anyway!
August 8, 2008
10:57 p.m.
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n_jared writes:
Denver DNC Obama 2008 ????
LA DNC Kerry 2004 lost
Glad we lost the 2004 bid.
August 10, 2008
10:11 a.m.
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gneubeck writes:
The only thing you'll miss is a skillfull reading from a teleprompter. In spite of the determined attempts of the Obama handlers to obfuscate the details concerning Obama's subversive background, more and more Americans are seeing thru the Obama charade; and, are making an objective appraisal based on their own intelligence of the historical facts which are irrefutable. Obama is neither Christian nor Muslim. Unless he has had one of his very frequent epiphanies in the last week or two, he is a disciple and practitioner of Black Liberation Theology whose tenants have been amply articulated by Jeremiah Wright and James Cone. For 20yrs. Obama, under the tutorial of the fanatical Reverend Wright, immersed himself and his family in Black Liberation Theology, a Marxist derivative which rejects Christianity; and, which professes that the White race is equivalent to the Devil. It's amazing that anyone would be shocked at Obama's perverted view of the Bible. Rev. Wright's mentor, Black Liberation theologian, James Cone, in his book "For My People" states: "The Christian faith does not possess in its nature the means for analyzing the structure of capitalism. Marxism, as a tool of social analysis, can disclose the gap between appearance and reality, and thereby help Christians to see how things really are." It is this logic, reinforced by his mother who was an avowed Marxist, which has schooled Obama to seek economic parity in America thru income redistribution; i.e. Marxist Socialism; and, is an overriding theme of his campaign. Obama's repeated references to "economic parity" and "social justice" are simply Marxist jargon for "Taking more from you and giving it to others for the common good". Further, noone should be surprised at Obama's proclamation that American is NOT a Christian Nation. Although the Obama campaign has painstakingly attempted to lay a smokescreen to confuse the past religious associations of their candidate, hopefully a Christian America will send Obama an unmistakable message in November. It's what you get with an un-vetted candidate whose only skill is reciting a text from a teleprompter while even Jesse Jackson admits Obama arrogantly looks down his nose and "talks down to the audience." A characteristic which was front and center in Obama's comments about bitter folks in Small Town America who "Cling to their religion." Greg Neubeck
August 14, 2008
2:23 p.m.
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Benighse writes:
I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO OBTAINING MY OBAMA CREDENTIAL....NEVADANS FOR OBAMA CAN TURN OUR STATE BLUE THIS YEAR....WE ARE REGISTERING MORE DEMOCRATS ALL THE TIME....AND MORE REPUBLICANS FOR OBAMA ARE INTERESTED IN VOTING FOR HIM IN THIS ELECTION. SO GET ME MY TICKET, AND LET'S KEEP THE GROWTH GOING....LET'S ALL PUT OBAMA TO WORK FOR ALL AMERICA!!!