Glad to see I’m not the only one avoiding the Dem dog-and-pony show. I may break down and watch the Repub one for a while. May. May not. These things have no drama, no surprise and very little point. And the media coverage (saturation, really) is predictable. It is fun reading the Pajamas Media reports, however, because, for the most part, they’re original.
Via Instapundit.
UPDATE: Even people within a few blocks of the thing don’t care. Read to the bottom of this Lileks’ post to see what I mean.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 
Now that I am aware of our tax money being provided to help fund the conventions, I feel like I should watch. I wonder if I can call my Rep or Senator and complain about how they are spending the money at the Convention. That could be fun! =) Anyone know if government funded conventions has been done in the past?
I was unaware of this, actually, but a little Googling shows the FEC says it’s $16.82 million for each, which probably barely covers the signage.
http://www.fec.gov/pages/brochures/fecfeca.shtml
These are mostly “special interest” (i.e., corporate-donated) clambakes to energize the precinct workers. I wonder how much the oil companies the Dems love to pretend to hate kicked in? I doubt if conventions have been funded for very long. In the early years of the Republic, there were no conventions or primaries at all. The party elders did the choosing. I suppose the primaries are an improvement but the conventions have become a joke since 1976 when they stopped deciding anything:
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Charles+M.+Arlinghaus%3A+Conventions+are+tax-funded+indulgences&articleId=518b6328-86a9-47c6-8edb-c17f7164dd10