Jezebel: Dnc

White House Women Pushed For Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Irin Carmon — Mon, 16 May 2011 15:30:00 EDT

Politico says that "several women close to Obama" including Valerie Jarrett, convinced him to choose Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz" over former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland for DNC chair, partly to appeal to Jewish, Floridian, and/or female voters. We're big fans. More »

"Girl" Fight: PUMAs & Progressives Share Call To Abortion-Rights Action

LatoyaPeterson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:00 EST

The Stupak-Pitts Amendment is the health-care straw that broke the camel's back. After close to two years of compromising and waiting, progressive, pro-choice women are outraged - but for completely different reasons. Amy Siskind and Kate Harding square off post-jump. More »

Jennifer Granholm Says, "Be Bold," Why Were You Put On This Planet?

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 16:10:03 EDT

One of the really amazing things about being at the Democratic convention this week was all the women (and young women) who were there — delegates, attendees, elected officials and others. It was very cool to see so many young women getting so excited and involved about politics. So when I got a chance on the very last day to interview Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (thanks in no small part to my new friend Erin Hofteig at Media Matters, who arranged for me to use their conference room and this balcony), I knew I had to ask her about her experiences getting politically engaged and her advice for those of you who are contemplating it yourselves. More »

Lilly Ledbetter Knows McCain's "Out Of Touch With Reality"

Megan Carpentier — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:40:36 EDT

It's not terribly often that you get to interview a feminist icon. Well, I mean, I guess it's getting more common for me, but still, it's pretty cool. So when my colleague over at Glamocracy asked me if I wanted to interview Lilly Ledbetter, I was like, "Hell, yeah." Don't recognize her name? If you ever have to sue for unequal pay, you will want to be thanking her — her case against Goodyear spawned Congressional legislation, a mention in nearly every speech this week and a speaking slot at the Democratic convention on Tuesday night. More »

Conventional Crap: Moebama Underwhelmed By Barack's Beautiful, Moving Speech

Megan Carpentier — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Although I am basically a walking, red-colored zombie — or, I would be if my feet didn't hurt so much that I'm not really walking as much as limping — someone's got to wrap up the week of speechifying, pandering, branding and making the kind of history that causes grown people to cry before the speech even starts and hard-bitten members of the press corps surreptitiously whip out their personal cameras to take pictures while they're working. And on this day which is crap by virtue of the fact that it won't even be 8 am in Denver when we finish writing this, there's really only one person who I could — or would want to — talk about this with. Ever wondered what Moe Tkacik would say when Barack Obama was made official? Then join us after the jump. More »

David Duchovny Needs Sexual Healing

Dodai Stewart — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

David Duchovny, 48, has entered rehab for sex addiction. Here's his statement: "I have voluntarily entered a facility for the treatment of sex addiction. I ask for respect and privacy for my wife and children as we deal with this situation as a family." Duchovy has been married to Tea Leoni since 1997 and they have 2 kids: daughter Madelaine West, 9, and son Kyd, 6. (Um, remember this?) [People]
Oh, god. There's info floating around that Tea Leoni is secretly dating Billy Bob Thornton. And this old blind item ("What actor, Mr. X, is having an affair? The file on him is that he's screwing his (female) tennis instructor. Yup. His actress wife is going to become a Lion when she finds out!") seems to clearly be about Duchovny and Leon. WTF. [ONTD, Radar, Perez Hilton]
BREAKING NEWS: Heidi Montag is McCain's Vice President. She says. [Extra]
Barack Obama's Denver set was constructed by the designers who did Britney Spears' sets. It's Barry, bitch! [Extra]

Conventional Crap: Wednesday Surprises And The End Of Our Patience

Megan Carpentier — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Look, these conventions are hard. Some of us have it harder than others, what with getting up at the crack of dawn and walking miles a day and trying to pay attention to speeches when all we really want to do is curl up in bed and die. But I can't die, yet, if only because everyone will Twitter and text me so much that the vibrations will shock my heart back to life and I just can't deal with waking up to 1,000 new emails or whatever. Anyway, so Joe Biden spoke and Barack Obama surprised and if the Huffington Post's Jason Linkins and I wanted to die a lot less we would probably care a lot more. More »

Liveblogging Bill Clinton's Convention Speech

Megan Carpentier — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:00:57 EDT

Oh, damn, I barely got to my seat in time but I am here! They closed the hall again, like that's any big deal because every speech they close the hall (except in Boston, where I swear they bribed the fire marshalls). But this is Bill Clinton, bitches! More »

Comic Confrontations: Judge Judy Vs. Crazy Hillary Supporters

Tracie Egan Morrissey — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Even after Hillary Clinton's speech last night, in which she called for a unified party, there are still devoted Democrats and/or Clinton supporters who are retardedly deciding to vote for John McCain, essentially undermining their right to choose in order to spite their official nominee. But there was one particularly crazy lady, a member of "Clintons 4 McCain," whose shrillness and lack of logic stood out from the pack. Chris Matthews tried to hand her the business, but we know a woman who is a little more qualified for the task: Judge Judith Sheindlin. More »

Conventional Crap: There Is Nothing But Hillary On Hump Day

Megan Carpentier — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Really, after last night, there's nothing else to talk about. There's no stupid McCain response that needs to be parsed, no other headlines to read, it's just time to talk about Hillary. And so I'm lucky that I have a Clintonista with me today! Asma Hasan is a fellow Glamocrat, but she's also a Denver local and the author of Why I Am A Muslim and American Muslims and the upcoming Red, White, and Muslim: A Memoir in Belief. She's one of the biggest Clinton fans I could find in Denver who isn't a freaking P.U.M.A. (but more on that later) — and, in a Crappy Hour first, a real, live Republican. The boxing gloves come out, after the jump. More »

Samantha Ronson: Literary Lezebel?

Dodai Stewart — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

"She's certainly telling friends she's planning to write a book," says a source close to Sam Ronson. "It's supposed to be about her, allegedly. But come on, you know Lindsay will be all over that book. She's the only one people want to read about." But! Michael Lohan says: "She's using my daughter. People never even knew who Samantha Ronson was until she met Lindsay. She was just some L.A. DJ. And now she's writing a book? I am at wit's end with this stuff. This is not in Lindsay's best interest." Oh dear! (And for the record, the Ronsons were on the New York scene before Lindsay ever shot Parent Trap. So.) [Yahoo News, The Sun]
Michael Lohan thinks LL is drinking again. "Samantha drinks and passes the drinks under the table to Lindsay, and behind the scenes it gets worse and worse." [MSNBC]
Nicolette Sheridan and Michael Bolton: Splitsville! The couple has been engaged since 2006 and started dating in 1992. They broke up after five years but got back together in 2005. Tell me how am I supposed to live without you? [Yahoo News, People]
Related: Headline of the day: "Desperately Airbrushed Housewives: Latest Publicity Pictures Contrast With Recent Real Life Shots Of Stars" [Daily Mail]
Matthew McConaughey's mom reveals her husband, Matt's dad, died while she was having sex with him: "On Monday mornings, he and I often said goodbye by making love. One day, all of a sudden, it just happened. I knew that something was wrong, because I didn't hear anything from him. Just nothing. But it was just the best way to go!" [Page Six]

Liveblogging Hillary Clinton's Convention Speech

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:15:02 EDT

Former Virginia Governor (and current Senate candidate) Mark Warner was Hillary Clinton's lead-in tonight — how cool is it that a man was basically her warm-up act, by the way? Anyway, he's finished speaking, and we're waiting for Chelsea to start her introduction of her mother — this will be the largest crowd she's ever addressed, actually, and I'm pretty sure she'll kick Claire McCaskill's son's ass — and for the the evening's big event, which is really Clinton's speech (sorry Marky Mark, I'm sure you'll win in Virginia anyway). Will she rip McCain a new one? Convince the final P.U.M.A. holdouts to support Barack Obama? It all starts after the jump. More »

Note: Megan will be here after 10 pm EST...

Anna Holmes — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 19:30:00 EDT

Note: Megan will be here after 10 pm EST to liveblog Hillary's speech. Until then, give 'em hell. More »

Hillary's Speech May Heal Some, But Others Prefer The Wounds Stay Open

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 18:30:00 EDT

A year ago, common knowledge held that this year's DNC would be the Hillary convention, culminating in a coronation of the first female soon-to-be President. What a difference a year makes. Hillary Clinton will be speaking tonight in Denver on the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage, but as the losing candidate and not the nominee. And the bitterness that was on display at the end of her run has, for some people, not dissipated. So what will tonight change? Probably not very much. More »

Dork Meets Bill Hemmer, Resists Drooling

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:40:00 EDT

A couple of weeks ago, I set up an interview with Fox News' Megyn Kelly for Glamocracy (appearing soon, by the way, and she is super-nice) and mentioned to her fabulous publicist that I always really liked Bill Hemmer, with whom Megyn co-anchors a show. And, by "liked" I mean, "thought was completely cute." And there's nothing I like better to do than embarrass myself in front of a really hot guy, so I asked if it was possible that I could take a picture of Bill Hemmer just to gush, and his publicist did me one better and let me interview him... and then he insisted that I get in the picture with him. And he put his arm around me! Gushing aside, he was also super-nice and smart. More »

Some Political Parties Aren't Even Worth The Free Pinot Noir, Prophylactics

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:40:00 EDT

Last night was my first night on the convention party beat and I hoped for something along the lines of our Unconventional Conventionaire, what with funny anecdotes and cute guys and booze and fun. But I either have horrible timing, or the invitations to the wrong parties, or shitty luck, or all of the above because the boldest faced names I saw all night were a Congressman whose name I couldn't remember and a bunch of other journalists. My night of misfortune, for your amusement, begins after the jump. More »

Conventional Crap: Chicago! Hope! Change! (And "Poison")

Megan Carpentier — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

Oh, good God, it's early here in Denver and it was a late night last night but Spencer Ackerman and I are dedicated servants, so we dance, bitches, dance for your amusement despite the fact that we both think it might be sort of okay to die this early in the morning. After the jump, we talk about the parties, condoms, the venereal disease that is John McCain, Michelle Obama, race relations in America and the relevance of both Bell Biv Devoe and Sir Mixalot. (It's really early here in Denver, people.) More »

Michael Phelps Not Ready To Commit

Dodai Stewart — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:00:00 EDT

Michael Phelps isn't really looking for a girlfriend. "I am 23 now and if I went out with a girl she wouldn’t see much of me until I get past 30," he explains. That's just silly! Ladies see plenty of you. When you're wearing a swimsuit. [Daily Express]
David and Victoria Beckham's "car crash" was actually just a car that got all scratched and jacked up when it was left parked at the airport. Posh's rep says: "There was no car crash." [Perez Hilton]
Barack Obama has asked Jennifer Hudson to sing the national anthem on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention before his address. She is "thrilled" and "excited." [People]
Was "vote or die" Diddy asked not to come to the DNC? [MSNBC]
Oh, dear: Justin "I'm A Mac" Long seen kissing Kirsten Dunst. [Rush & Molloy]
More barftastic car crash terrible can't-look-away Heidi Montag video pix. Sorry. [ONTD]

Convention Diary: In Atlanta

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 15:30:00 EDT

I am currently sitting next to Charles Barkley at the Atlanta Airport, who got on the phone as soon as he sat down because he left his wallet at the house. He's on his way to Denver, too, and chatting with a middle-aged African-American couple about how exciting it is as a "young man" to see Obama's candidacy and how incredibly excited they must be to see it — and they agreed. Barkley added that "the economy sucks for the majority of people" and even signed an autograph for another girl's boyfriend. He'll be on CNN later this week, and he's really hard to get a surreptitious picture of because he wears he hat pulled low. More »

The Unconventional Conventionaire: Getting The Party Started In Denver

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:40:00 EDT

Party animals — in this case, asses — should watch themselves this week, as we've got some spies watching them. Our main Mata Hari is the "Unconventional Conventionaire", a convention goer who cares less about The Party and more about the parties: she's got her eyes and ears at the ready, her ass on the dance floor and her laptop back at the hotel just waiting to sell out what all is being sold behind the scenes at the DNC. In this edition, she hits up the weekend's pre-convention parties with a couple of balls, a couple of drinks and one very big eye-roll at what little it takes to inspire fangirl giggling in Denver.

Conventional Crap: Top Shelf Liquor, Chris Matthews & Madonna

Megan Carpentier — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 10:00:00 EDT

I'm about the leave for the airport to help kick off the start of the Democratic National Convention tonight with various bashes, booze, and bonding with other bloggers. One of those bloggers already in Denver is Kay Steiger, who works at Campus Progress and will be blogging for Pushback and RH Reality Check while she's there. She's one of our rotating clan of conventioneering Crappyists for the next week, and she gets right into the Crappy spirit with a hangover, a discussion of Madonna's newest endorsement, what I could teach Chris Matthews and where Bill Kristol can stick his new-found feminism (hint: it's also a synonym for donkey). More »