Wireless Philadelphia means I can liveblog from inside The Constitution Center. Excellent!

Obviously, in my ancient Red Sox T-Shirt, I'm heavily under-dressed. For the guys, being under-dressed is a cable-knit sweater. For the women--the majority of the audience--it's a Penn T-Shirt. For these nice young people, the American Democracy Institute's Eastern Regional Summit is clearly a Big Deal.

The presenter speaks:

"Welcome to the American Democracy Institute's Eastern Regional Summit. ADI is a 501(c)(3) corporation..." And, believe it or not, they're commited to "Civil discourse" [actual quote!]

I.e., no protests! Ah, the virality Republican memes...

***

Waiting....

Will she take questions...

10:07AM She's uncharacteristically late...

Here we go...

And now the WiFi connection is fading [because, rereading the email to get my into the hall, because I didn't enter by the media entrance!]

[NOTE, 12:16PM Now I'm reviewing these notes, and one thing I'm going to highlight is the memes or talking points that I heard; each was repeated several times, sometimes by different speakers, though my notes may not reflect that. And in a couple of places, I've added the "[coded]," for phrases an activist or a blogger would read deeper meanings into.]

Of course, we don't get to the main event right away; here are the warmup acts.

[John Hart, ADI Founder] Corretta Scott King... Pledge... [I left out "under God"] Quiet crisis of democracy... People turn away, voice not heard, doesn't matter... Here to help elevate voices in national dialog .. NDI give resoucces support ... Sustain a vibrant democracy...

Break session topics [the NDI is holding an event at which Hillary is the main speaker] ... Faith and public policy ... Constitution... Role of media ... Discussion with national experts and peers...

While you listen, three questions: What can I learn about importance of civic participation? How will it affect me? What can I do next to become more involved? ...

Path to common sense solutions remains the same... Debate the issues....

***

[Sean Wilentz, author of Rise of American Democracy] Four quick points:

1. Democracy is a new thing in the world, a nanoseccond in the scheme of world history (American political democracy as we know it). For millenia, fear of the many-headed mob. Rupture at 18th C. Founders hedged democractic element, sometimes wisely. It's an experiment 200 years is not that old.

2. Democracy was not freely given, nobody waved a magic wand. Fought for, contested. Even, for example, the role of white men to vote without regard to property. Seems narrow today, but then had to be fought for and won. As did the right to voice opinions between elections. This is essential to hold office holders accountable. In 1790s in Philly, this right began in resistance to the Alien and Sedition Acts [code]. It was a Federal crime to criticize the President or Congress. Got so weird a guy named Luther Baldwin, in 1798, in a Newark bar: "I wouldn't mind if President John Adams was shot through his arse." For that, Baldwin was brought up on Federal charges. Resistance led to support for Jefferson (Revolution of 1800). After that, most support democracy.

3. Democracy is never simple. For us, the issue was slavery. By 1840s, US developed into two distinct democracies: Southern (democratic order required slavery to assure Democracy); Northern (Jeffersonian, all men created equal, south an oligrahy).

4. A fighting faith. Lincoln: "When all is said and done, it is right that makes might."

***

[Gene Nichol, William & Mary (?), constitutional lawyer ] Opening for Hillary makes me feel like a garage band leading off for the Rolling Stones.

Real changes to the Constiution...

Mix of money and politics, profane...

Dems cry to heaven about practices they once embraced; Republicans decry practices they could stop since they control all three branches...

Gerrymandering... Both parties draw the lines ... The Ins make the rules to penalize the Outs... Against all democratic theory...

Government ridding itself of the pesky practice of judicial review... Protection of rights through judicial review is greatest American contribution, not just the written Constitution. After all the Soviets had one...

50 years ago, celebrated greatest decision, Brown vs. Board of Education. Lawyers asked: What was the original intent of the 14th amendment. Was it to outlaw segregated schools? Answer to the question: incconclusive. Warren: The question as beside the point, given harshness of segregation. If American idea of equality allowed this, it wasn't worth much.

Does the American idea of equality mean much when 1 in 5 of its children live in poverty? When most powerful nation on earth mean much on the Gulf Coast? When 47 million have no health coverage?

Our faith tells us that all children are equal in the eyes of God. But we don't fund our schools that way.

These debilitating disparities are never discussed. We've come to think that a regime of economic apartheid is unassailable.

Lincoln: Central purpose of America: "the weak can be made strong."

LBJ: "We may not know everything, but we know the difference between chicken shit and chicken salad."

King: "I'm maladjusted. And I call upon all people of good will to be maladjusted as well."

[Stemwinding peroration. Standing O.]

***

[Naida Montez, Aspira] Nervously--and why not, she's 17--introduces Clinton.

***

[Hillary. Standing O. She's tiny, pink suit, not Chanel, big, big voice.]

Reinvigorate Democracy...

Young people who exemplify where I hope we are headed...

Montez, the intro, 17 year old, President of Philly Chapter, Aspira, Puerto Rican youth org. You too are either already doing something, or you want to be more engaged...

[Now the standing experiment. If you are X, please stand...]

1. Public servants, 10%

2. Anyone who joined or started an organization, 90%

3 if you voted or worked to 100%

This is the answer to whether young people are apathetic...

Our democracy is not static. If it were, I would not be standing here as an elected Senator

Progress.... Not just new gadgets, but dream of a more perfect union...

WWII generation, the young: safety net, Social Security, saved the world from great threat...

60s, the young: civil rights, voting rights ... [doesn't mention war protests]

Challenges...

Health... Children, poverty, ashtma ...

Men and women who work as hard as they know how, can't rise above poverty

Work hard to get a degree, see your job outsourced...

"Unfinished business for American democracy"

45 million, unfinished

When students can't stay in college because the loans go up, the interest goes up [applause]...

Turning the clock back on progress in the 20th C...

"Girlcot" (as oppposed to boycott. Took a stand against offensive mechandise and won]

College, MTV news, nobody can escape Darfur [applause] After Rwans said never again, still have not taken action [big applause]

Worked hard to amend constitution -- The young looking at voting as an opportunity. I see voting as a "dialog with decision makers"... Out there are millions of young people engaged in a conversation.

Which age group increased voting most 2002-2004, the youngest voters [big applause]

Must take a stand for rights of students to vote where they go to school. Ohio where students had to wait hours in line [code...].

Fix our electoral system to every vote is counted and every vote counts.

Safe, secure, hackproof systems, as others have done. In India, it's all electronic.

Safe secure and honest [Code for election fraud]

What passes for debate is two people yelling at each other on TV. That's not a debate, that's entertainment. It's the equivalent of American Idol. They don't sing very well. We turn it off.

The current leadership is trying to deny evidence and facts. They want to be a lot of rhetoric. Trying to turn Washington into an evidence-free zone.

Drugs, FDA, not based on science. Entire administration denies what's before our eyes, global warming [applause]

Actions will determine the quality of life and your standard of living in the years to come.

Global warming--

Don't just yell at the TV, speak out, deluge the Capitol, say this is a voting issue..

Start asking, when will oil companies be part of the solution not part of the problem

Go to the shareholders meetings, need to be part of a better tomorrow, not taking the money and running today.

Stand for the eternal values of protecting the planet, caring for children, educating girls and boys, we shouldn't be afaid of competition, we should prepare to win

Can't afford to think small...

Face the facts, unafraid. Bring your hopes, dreams, iPods, cell phone cameras, and change the world, like those starting in this place.

Enjoy the ride, there's nothing more exciting than fighting for a country and a cause you believe in. God bless you. [applause]

***

No questions. And, oddly, no mention of Roe or the Supreme Court.

[More later after I get to a site with a reliable caffeine and WiFi connection.]

Later: OK, here's what I thought.

1. It was great that Hillary mentioned local activists: Aspira, Girls as Grantmakers. For some of the attendees, I'm sure this conference will be a very positive, energizing thing.

2. The speeches were appropriate to the historic setting (or at least the area of the Independence mall; the Constitution Center is a new building). Again, for the attendees, I'm sure it was very heartening to see their (our) efforts interwoven into a centuries-long--and successful--struggle. Wilentz in particular was excellent at that; lively, informative, principled, clearly not a politician and therefore all the more effective in making his (sometimes coded) points.

3. Symptomatically, or not, I'm having a hard time coming up with the right word for the audience. "Young people" sounds patronizing--why I made the joke above. "Youth," "Da Yout'" sounds patronizing too. The whole need for a category seems weird to me anyhow, because, being technical, I work with a broad range of ages, and I think of people in terms of the abilities, not their age. (Age does bring some abilities--wisdom, persistence of memory--but not all the old are wise, or good. I mean, look at Babs. Nor are all the young innocent or idealistic.) Surely this is true in the blogosphere as well. In any case, Hillary tended to say "young people" so I guess my choice was a good one.

4. I don't get what the Hillary haters are on about. I'm not a huge Hillary fan myself, and the haters had gotten under my skin enough so that I wondered if I'd see or hear anything about Hillary that creeped me out. But no. So, the wingers must have manufactured their hate driven by fear of losing power, which is SOP for these guys, now that I think about it. Conversely, I wasn't ravished by her appearance, or the speech, either. Ultimately, I suppose I saw a professional who cares about what she does and is very good at it. (Whether that's enough to separate Hillary from the pack, or to pull the country out of the ditch that Bush drove us into, is another question entirely.) I also sensed, perhaps, rather than saw, someone who is thinking strategically, many moves ahead. God knows we Dems need that.

5. The issues that got the audience roaring were: Darfur, voting, global warming/oil, student loans. However, a holisic connection remains to be made--and, given the Hall and Hillary's obvious powers as a speaker, it's strange that it wasn't---between all of these single issues and the destruction of government and the Constitution by the Republicans. The coherent worldview, the common thread, the elevator speech, has yet to be created.

6. A "safe, secure, honest, hackproof" system--I like that meme. Hillary applies it only to voting machines, but I think it applies to Republican rule (I won't say government). The country under the Republicans isn't safe, is less secure, not honest (i.e., won't "face facts"), and is being hacked--"inherent authority" and "signing statements" are both hacks (or should I say, cracks).

7. Leading me to my final point. The whole event was a praiseworthy endeavor and it's great that Hillary's taking care of the seed corn. But the country is in a Constitutional crisis today. We must face the facts now.

It was so odd it was to be in the Constitution Center, and hear nothing from Hillary about, say, Bush's claim of "inherent authority" to set aside the law, which is a direct and blatant attack on Constitution's doctrine of the separation of powers.

I can't understand what would prevent Hillary from at least giving the issue a line. Sure, there was material from all the speakers about how the Constitution evolved to serve the public good, but there was nothing from Hillary about how the Constitution is foundational, and how the Republicans are eating the foundation away. Would the audience, not having lived through Watergate and Iran Contra, not have understood the issue? Had the hall, as I mentioned above, bought into the stifling Republican meme of Civility, which censors vigorous disagreement? Can it be that the Beltway believes that doing business as usual a little better than usual is acceptable?

UPDATE 4:05PM

8. One more thought. I'm not sure I'm enthusiastic about that "dialog with decision makers" phrasing that Hillary used. After all, in a representative democracy, the representatives, er, represent. They don't dialog and then have a conversation and then decide. That's a rather corporate model. Our representatives work for us, not the other way round. (At least, in the [D|d]emocratic view of the world.)

9. And another set of missing connections. Thinking of Shystee's triangles... She got off some good lines about the shouting heads; but there were no analytical tools about the connections between cable, the rightwing "bloggers," and the Republican Party. In other words, Hillary said nothing about the central analytical tool she herself first proposed: The VRWC.

10. So as the afterglow fades--and there is a glow, no question, Hillary is impressive--I'm left with the impression that this speech was not about presence, but about absence. The speech was remarkable chiefly for its silences--Silence on Roe, silence on Scalito, silence on the VRWC, silence on Iraq, and above all, silence on the clear and present danger to our Constitutional system of government. Is this all there is? Surely not.

UPDATE 9:22PM

11. And another strange silence: Abramoff. Sure, this is a speech to young activists; seed corn, as I said above. But you want young people to engage in the process, and have nothing to say about Abramoff, or the K Street project? Am I missing something?