Tag: Democratic Convention

2024 DNC Wrap Up

It’s over!

Last night was the closing night for the Dems and their convention (mercifully)…..and it is now official we have our Dem candidate and now the campaigns can begin in earnest…..

The bummer of the night for those in attendance was the rumor of an appearance by Beyonce was just that…. all smoke and manure…..

Harris made her acceptance speech and made promises that will be idle words come next January…..but do not let me pee on the parade…..you decide….

As Kamala Harris took the stage Thursday during the final night of the Democratic National Convention, the cheering went on for so long that Harris had to gently move things along, saying, “OK, we gotta get to some business.” The vice president started out by wishing her husband, Doug Emhoff, a happy 10th wedding anniversary, then moved on—as expected—to laying out her personal story and accomplishments. Then came the moment many had been waiting for:

  • “On behalf of the people. On behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set off on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with: people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.”

  • She went on to discuss what she sees as the “extremely serious” danger of putting Donald Trump, whom she called an “unserious man,” back in the White House. “Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol.” More quotes, per CNN and the AP:

  • Appeal to the other side of the aisle: “I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self.”
  • Campaign promises: Harris talked about strengthening the middle class and said her administration would create an “opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed.” She said she’d end America’s housing shortage and protect social security and Medicare.
  • On the erosion of reproductive rights: Speaking of Trump’s role in the end of Roe v. Wade and the further restrictions Republicans want to see placed on abortion, she said, “Simply put: They are out of their minds.”
  • On Israel and Gaza: She said she’d “always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7.” But she also said the devastation and suffering in Gaza must end.
  • On border security: She said as president she’d get the bipartisan border bill, which she accused Trump of killing for political reasons, passed and signed into law. “I refuse to play politics with our security.”

And at the end the big finale….a huge balloon drop all 100,000 of them….yes I counted.

I wish something more interesting had occurred on the last night but it was pretty much the same as all conventions…..

We now have our two candidates and it is official…..let the dueling begin….all the jibes, accusations, insults and whining….

On to November!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

Democratic Convention–1964

As you are probably well aware the Democratic Convention is going strong in Chicago and by all accounts it is a huge success (the words of political analyst for the MSM not mine)….

But let us walk back 60 years to 1964 when there was a bit of an ugly incident. (That’s right yet another chance for me to inject some history into your dreary lives)

1964 I was entering into my junior year of high school and my Leftist leanings were becoming more pronounced.

These were the dark days of segregation in Mississippi and blacks were fighting for the rights….especially the right of voting.

Ever hear of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party?

The place is Atlantic City, New Jersey….

The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was founded on April 26, 1964 as part of a voter registration project for African Americans in the state.  For over half a century Mississippi blacks had attempted to attend regular Democratic Party meetings and conventions but were continually denied entry.  They formed the MFDP, which welcomed both whites and blacks, to run several candidates for the Senate and Congressional elections on June 2, 1964.

Attempting to get members to join the MFDP angered most white Mississippians who often responded with violence.  During the Freedom Summer of 1964, three men, Michael H. Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney, who were associated with the MFDP, disappeared and were later found dead with fatal gunshot wounds.  The one African American man was beaten so badly for attempting to register to vote that his bones had been crushed.  This defiance by Mississippi’s white majority propelled the MFDP to get its delegates into the upcoming national convention to replace the “regular” Democrats.

The regular Democrats wanted to seat an all-white delegation at the 1964 National Democratic Convention which met in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The MFDP protested.  Supporters of the MFDP came from all over the United States to support their protest.  Eventually a compromise proposal orchestrated by Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey offered the MFDP two non-voting seats next to the regular Mississippi delegates.  However, the MFDP refused the offer because it denied them any chance of voting on the floor of the convention.  MFDP leader Fannie Lou Hamer spoke before the convention rules committee explaining the position of the party and why the compromise offered was unacceptable.

While the MFDP ultimately failed in its goal of gaining seats at the Democratic National Convention, it was ultimately successful as its story in Atlantic City reminded the country of the ongoing battle Southern blacks faced in gaining full citizenship rights.  The Civil Rights Act of 1964, passed two months before the Convention, did not address the right to vote.  African Americans in Mississippi and across the nation vowed to continue to press for full voting rights.  The MFDP’s role in that struggle helped pave the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

(blackpast.org)

As per usual for the day racism and bias won out and the delegates were not seated and were treated with suspicion and hatred.

Members of the MFDP went to Atlantic City believing that their planned contest of the seats assigned to the state party had a reasonable chance of success. In reality, the MFDP leadership received an education on how politics at the national level operated. While a number of MFDP delegates sincerely believed that moral persuasion would lead the DNC to refuse the regular state party the state’s allotment of seats, President Johnson had his own agenda. Johnson, running without opposition for the nomination for president, wanted a smooth convention. He feared a southern walkout if the DNC seated the MFDP. Johnson ordered the FBI to wiretap the MFDP office, as well as the hotel rooms of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Bayard Rustin. Johnson knew the positions of civil rights groups and key leaders throughout the convention. He also threatened the patronage of those who might have been inclined to support the MFDP. In addition, he coerced Walter Reuther, the head of the United Auto Workers union, to threaten to cut off financial support to SNCC and the MFDP in Mississippi if the challenge was not withdrawn.

This threat did not alter the determination of the protestors. Before a televised hearing of the Credentials Committee, the deeply affecting testimony of Fannie Lou Hamer led Johnson to stage a news conference in an effort to stop public opinion from mounting to the point that he had to give seats to the MFDP. Johnson forced Hubert Humphrey to try to convince the challengers not to go forward. This was a test of Humphrey’s personal loyalty, and Johnson told him the vice presidential position on the ticket depended on how he handled the controversy. Humphrey offered the MFDP two seats representing the state of Mississippi, and the rest of the MFDP delegation were to be “honored guests” at the convention. The MFDP refused this offer, demanding at least the seats proportionate to the state’s blacks of voting age. Unwilling to compromise, the challengers got no seats, but they did manage to obtain the credentials of sympathetic delegates from states that disapproved of the regular Mississippi delegation. Several members of the MFDP staged a sit-in demonstration on the convention floor, but security guards quickly removed the protestors.

MFDP members left the convention embittered by their experience. Feeling betrayed by the actions of northern liberals and civil rights moderates such as King and Rustin who had supported the compromise option proposed by Humphrey, the MFDP and SNCC became more militant after the convention. The DNC did unseat the regular Mississippi Democrats in 1968 (as promised at the 1964 convention) when the state party persisted in denying access to blacks. As a consequence of this action, the Mississippi Democratic Party ended the discriminatory practices and customs it had used to exclude blacks from meaningful participation in party affairs.

(encyclopedia.com)

This was a valiant attempt to gain recognition but sadly the forces of racism won the day but that was short-lived….then came the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

There you have my little slice of history from my state of Mississippi.

Now as the Right attempts to limit and even stop some citizens from voting the valor of those people should be a beacon to not roll over and never play dead.

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DNC–Day 2

I know I said I would not write about the convention until the last day wrap-up…..but the Dems keep doing something not done before and it needs to be reported.

As a political junkie it is my duty to report and analyze.

Day 2 was full of stuff….the dance party and Obama coming to the mike yet again.

The Dems trying to make the convention pulled out a couple of things out of their butts….like a dance party roll call….

Convention roll call votes can be staid and cheesy, but Democrats turned theirs into the ultimate dance party on Tuesday, the AP reports. DJ Cassidy stood onstage in what appeared to be a double-breasted satin suit of royal blue, spinning a special song for each state and territory awarding their delegates to Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention. What America got was a mashup of an elite karaoke night: Detroit native Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” for Michigan, Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” for Massachusetts, and Tupac Shakur’s “California Love” for California. Georgia brought out one of its natives in person: Atlanta’s Lil Jon striding through Chicago’s United Center to the beats of “Turn Down for What,” his song with DJ Snake.

  • Florida’s delegation played Tom Petty’s anthem to hard-headedness, “I Won’t Back Down,” in casting its delegates for Harris—a not-too-subtle jab at the state’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Petty was born in the Florida city of Gainesville. DeSantis used the song as the theme of his failed Republican presidential primary this cycle, and it was part of the name of a super PAC that spent lavishly on his losing cause.
  • Alabama, obviously, got “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Alaska announced their backing of Vice President Kamala Harris to “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, a band from Wasilla, where Republican Sarah Palin was once mayor.
  • Minnesota went with “1999” by Paisley Park’s own Prince. Indiana, with actor Sean Astin by the microphone, went with Gary native Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough.” Nevada played “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, the synth pop band from Las Vegas. Kansas went with “Carry On My Wayward Son” by the rock band Kansas.
  • New Jersey went with Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA.” “Under one groove nothing can stop us now,” DJ Cassidy said over Springsteen’s anthem.

Unconventional…..did it generate more enthusiasm?  Did not see it….

Then came the night’s keynote speaker….Barack Obama….

Two decades after making his national debut on a Democratic National Convention stage, Barack Obama closed out the second night of the DNC Tuesday in Chicago, a city particularly meaningful to the former president.

  • Saying Americans want to know who is thinking about their future and their children’s futures, Obama noted Donald Trump isn’t losing sleep over those concerns. “Here’s a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago,” he said. “It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that is getting worse now that he’s afraid of losing to Kamala. There’s the childish nicknames. The crazy conspiracy theories. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on.”
  • He said someone recently told him Trump is like a neighbor who constantly runs his leaf blower. “From a neighbor, that’s exhausting. From a president, it’s just dangerous,” Obama said. “The truth is, Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends.”
  • He went on to tout Harris’ accomplishments and what she will achieve should she become president, promising she would not worry only about her own interests, as Obama accused Trump of doing, but about what’s best for all Americans.
  • As the crowd booed while Obama talked about Trump, Obama said sternly, “Do not boo. Vote.”
  • Of Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, Obama said, “Let me tell you something, I love this guy. Tim is the kind of person who should be in politics. Born in a small town, served his country, taught kids, coached football. … You can tell those flannel shirts that he wears don’t come from some political consultant. They come from his closet—and they have been through some stuff.”
  • “I noticed, by the way, that since it’s become popular, they don’t call it ObamaCare no more,” Obama said after a mention of the Affordable Care Act received enthusiastic applause.
  • “Yes, she can,” Obama said of Harris at one point, prompting a round of “Yes she can!” chants from the crowd.
  • “If a parent or grandparent occasionally says something that makes us cringe, we don’t automatically assume that they’re bad people,” he said, noting that “the world is moving fast” and some people need time to “catch up.” He urged Democrats to extend the same grace to those on the other side of the political aisle as they would want extended to them.
  • “If we each do our part over the next 77 days … if we work like we’ve never worked before, if we hold firm to our convictions, we will elect Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States,” he said as his speech came to a close. “So let’s get to work.”

A typical Obama speech….lots of cheers, applause….but did he change any minds that were on the fence?  Can’t see it.

To be honest there was not much different from the last convention or the one before that or……

So ends day 2 of the DNC…..what fresh Hell will be unleashed on the peasants?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020 Dem Convention–Day Four–The Conclusion

After tonight the Dem Convention will go down in the history books as the first virtual political convention…..and as the night that Joe Biden accepts the party’s nomination as the Democratic candidate for president of the United States….

Tonight’s speeches will be something to hear…..and the rogue’s gallery of speakers is…..all the losers in the primaries……with a few popular women thrown in for effect…..

  • Senator Cory Booker
  • Governor Gavin Newsom
  • Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms
  • Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg
  • Senator Tammy Baldwin
  • Senator Tammy Duckworth
  • Senator Chris Coons
  • The Biden family
  • Former Vice President Joe Biden

In case you are wondering tonight’s speakers are those that the DNC want to promote for the future…in other words all those backward looking Dems that cannot move this country forward.

And the night went something like this…….

The Democratic National Convention wrapped up Thursday night with Joe Biden formally accepting the party’s nomination for president, following four nights of such political VIPs as Barack and Michelle Obama, VP nominee Kamala Harris, Hillary and Bill Clinton, and many more urging people to vote for him. “Here and now I give you my word, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst,” Biden said. “I’ll be an ally of the light, not our darkness. And make no mistake, we’ll overcome this season of darkness in America.” The AP notes Biden kept his focus positive, in contrast to the dire warnings of what a second Trump term might look like that had been offered by some of the big names who spoke on other nights. More from the convention’s final evening:

  • Biden’s kids Hunter and Ashley made what Fox News calls a “rare” appearance; their speech was mostly a tribute to late brother Beau.
  • Even Sarah Cooper, the comedian whose lip sync impersonations of President Trump have gone viral, spoke: “Donald Trump doesn’t want any of us to vote because he knows he can’t win fair and square,” she said.
  • Former presidential candidates Sen. Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Andrew Yang, and Michael Bloomberg all showed up to emphatically endorse Biden, with Buttigieg pointing out the former VP expressed support for same-sex marriage even before then-President Obama did. “Joe Biden is right, this is a contest for the soul of the nation. And to me that contest is not between good Americans and evil Americans,” Buttigieg said. “It’s the struggle to call out what is good for every American.”
  • “Last week, Donald Trump said ‘our economy is doing good,’ while 40 million Americans are at risk of losing their homes, 30 million aren’t getting enough food to eat and 5.4 million people have lost their health care because of this crisis,” Booker said, per Fox Business. “He has failed us.”
  • Per Fox News, Bloomberg had a similar message, saying Trump “has failed the American people catastrophically” and that we must not “rehire” Trump because it is time to “put an end to this whole sorry chapter in American history.” Trump fired back on Twitter in real time: “After the worst debate performance in the history of politics, Michael Bloomberg, commonly known as Mini Mike, is trying to make a comeback by begging the Democrats for relevance. They treated him like a dog – and always will. Before politics, he said GREAT things about me!”
  • Yang said the country needs Biden to pull it out of the “deep, dark, hole” it’s in thanks to Trump. Then, a lighthearted moment as he passed the baton to actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The two, apparently mocking those who are seemingly unable to pronounce Kamala Harris’ first name correctly, bantered back and forth about how to pronounce Mike Pence’s name. “It’s pronounced Pahnce, I believe,” Yang said, prompting Louis-Dreyfus to shoot back, “Oh, some kind of weird foreign name?” Watch it here.
  • Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who spoke ahead of a tribute to late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, said, “We know how important it is that we elect real leaders like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, people of honor and integrity, who hold justice close to their hearts and believe that the lives of my four black children matter.”
  • Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq veteran and one of the contenders Biden considered for VP, slammed Trump’s handling of the US military. Americans “have a coward in chief who won’t stand up to Vladimir Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops heads,” she said, per the Hill.
  • For a taste of how this is the crowning achievement of Biden’s long political career, read here.
  • As for Trump, he had this to say Thursday in Biden’s birthplace of Scranton, Pennsylvania. He was also back on Twitter soon after Biden’s speech ended: “In 47 years, Joe did none of the things of which he now speaks. He will never change, just words!” In earlier tweets, Trump contrasted himself as for “LAW AND ORDER” and Biden for “CRIME!” and continued his attacks on mail-in voting, claiming the Democrats are pushing it so they can cast fraudulent ballots and “STEAL” the election by sending ballots to people who “don’t even exist.” He added, “To get into the Democrat National Convention, you must have an ID card with a picture…Yet the Democrats refuse to do this when it come to your very important VOTE! Gee, I wonder WHY???”
  • Trump also gave an interview to Fox’s Sean Hannity at the same time the DNC events kicked off; watch it here.

As I feared there was little actual talk about policies…plenty of promises and plenty of looking back and plenty of family remembrances with a seasoning of humor thrown in….none of which will tell us how we will actually profit from a Biden presidency.

As usual the DNC does not look forward…they find the past when they were successful is the only chance they have to sell their lousy policies to the American voter.  The media follows suit with the DNC….they bring fossils like Carvell out of the closet as a pundit….again policies of the past not looking forward.

This convention was millionaires telling us mere peasants that if we vote for them we too can achieve the riches of the nation…the same promise they give every four years and yet here we are still believing lies and hoping for the best.

To tell the truth…..I do not think that this Biden/Harris team is a winning combo….but we shall see.

Something to think about in closing…..

Biden “began his public career serving with people born in the 19th century,” writes John Harris in Politico Magazine. “If he wins the presidency, he surely will have some young aides who will still be alive in the 22nd century.” At 77, he is older than 94% of Americans, and he is older than 27 presidents when they died, writes Harris. Trump, of course, is only 43 months younger. But given the time when these two men came of age, “those three-plus years have an outsize historical significance,” adds Harris, pointing to how yearbook photos changed drastically during the 1960s as a cultural transformation in the US took hold.

And this brings the 2020 Dem Convention to a close…….all that is left to do is sweep the floors and turn out the lights and turn off the laptops……..but not to worry if you are a political geek….there will be more next week…the 2020 GOP Convention….the real fun thing of the month.

Okay some will say….did you see or hear anything that you approved of during the four nights…..well yes…..the music!

THE END!  This has been an IST Production.

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2020 Dem Convention–Day Three

The third day of the Dem convention is now in the can (as they say in show biz)…..this was the Big Day……Obama speech….Clinton speech…. Harris speech…..

The Virtual Convention is novel idea and Trump is losing his mind over all the speakers that are trashing him…….and it is a beautiful sight at that……his ranting is a joy to my ears……

For those that had better things to do….I will give my take on Day Three….big night for speeches…….Obama, Clinton and Harris acceptance…the rest are just filler…..and of course Donald the Orange has to flex his fingers as well…

For all those that cannot live without the words of Obama….the transcript of his speech…..https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/19/politics/barack-obama-speech-transcript/index.html

 

But the most inspirational speech was from Gabi Gifford…at least in my mind……

With no further ado…….Night Three……

The barbs were flying between President Trump and his predecessor before night 3 of the Democratic National Convention even began. Excerpts of Barack Obama’s DNC speech were released in advance, including his comment that he had once hoped Trump “might show some interest in taking the job seriously.” Before the night officially kicked off, Trump tweeted, “Welcome, Barack and Crooked Hillary. See you on the field of battle!” (Hillary Clinton also spoke Wednesday night at the virtual convention.) Then, while apparently watching Obama’s speech in real time, Trump tweeted, “HE SPIED ON MY CAMPAIGN, AND GOT CAUGHT!” and then, “WHY DID HE REFUSE TO ENDORSE SLOW JOE UNTIL IT WAS ALL OVER, AND EVEN THEN WAS VERY LATE? WHY DID HE TRY TO GET HIM NOT TO RUN?” More on Obama’s speech and the rest of the evening:

  • Trump also slammed Obama during a press conference before the DNC events got started. “President Obama did not do a good job. And the reason I’m here is because of President Obama and Joe Biden, because if they did a good job I wouldn’t be here. And probably, if they did a good job, I wouldn’t have even run,” he said.
  • Fox News calls Obama’s speech “a blistering attack” while Deadline goes with “scathing.” Other lines included, “He’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends” and “Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t.” Obama said that during Trump’s presidency we’ve seen “our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.”
  • Obama, who spoke from Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, also criticized Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and his attacks on mail-in voting. “They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter,” he said. “We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy.”
  • The word from historian Michael Beschloss on Twitter: “No former President has ever attacked his incumbent successor at a convention like Barack Obama tonight, or even come close.”
  • Obama also, of course, talked about Biden. “Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother,” he said. “Joe and I came from different places and different generations. But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle; his empathy, born of too much grief. Joe’s a man who learned early on to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him: ‘No one’s better than you, but you’re better than nobody.’ That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts. That’s who Joe is.”
  • Clinton was no kinder to Trump in her remarks. “If Trump is re-elected things will get even worse,” she said. “Remember back in 2016 when Trump asked what do you have to lose? Well, now we know. Our health care, our jobs, our loved ones.”
  • Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Warren also spoke. “Joe Biden is the president we need right now—battle tested, forward looking, honest and authentic. He has never forgotten who he is fighting for,” Pelosi said, per the BBC. “And Kamala Harris is the vice-president we need right now, committed to our Constitution, brilliant in defending it and a witness to the women of this nation that our voices will be heard.”
  • Also up Wednesday was Gabby Giffords, the former congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 mass shooting. “Words once came easily, today I struggle to speak. But I have not lost my voice. America needs all of us to speak out, even when you have to fight to find the words,” she said, per CNN. “We can be on the right side of history. We must elect Joe Biden. He was there for me, he’ll be there for you too. Join us in this fight. Vote vote vote.”
  • The night wrapped up with Kamala Harris formally accepting her nomination as vice president. She said she envisions America as a “beloved community, where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, no matter where we come from or who we love. A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth.” She said Trump’s ” failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods.”
  • Harris also addressed the civil unrest in the nation: “Let’s be clear: there is no vaccine for racism. For George Floyd. For Breonna Taylor. For the lives of too many others to name. For our children. For all of us,” she said. “We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work. A president who will bring all of us together—Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indigenous—to achieve the future we collectively want.”
  • Trump was apparently listening to her speech, too: “BUT DIDN’T SHE CALL HIM A RACIST??? DIDN’T SHE SAY HE WAS INCOMPETENT???” he tweeted. The BBC points out that while Harris and Biden clashed over race issues during the second Democratic debate, she has never called him racist and in fact went out of her way to say she does not think he is racist.

As they say (whoever “they” are)….Night Three is “in the can”….omto night four and the conclusion of the nation;s first “Virtual” political convention……

A suggestion for the DNC….if you talk about the future then stop trotting out fossils like the Clintons, Carvell, Kerry and Powell……talk about the future and let the past slide into the history books there is NO need to rehash the stupidity of the DNC in the past.

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2020 Dem Convention–Day Two

The Virtual Convention continues……

Day two of the Dem Convention is pretty much like day one….blah blah yada yada….beat Trump…..but for those that need more let me help out…..

A few big names like Bubba Clinton are on tap for day Two…..

NBC News uses the word “eviscerates” to describe Bill Clinton’s treatment of President Trump during the former president’s speech at night No. 2 of the Democratic National Convention Tuesday. “If you want a president who defines the job as spending hours a day watching TV and zapping people on social media, he’s your man,” Clinton said. “Denying, distracting, and demeaning works great if you’re trying to entertain and inflame. But in a real crisis, it collapses like a house of cards.” NBC notes that the appearance by Clinton, who has spoken at every Democratic convention for more than 30 years, was controversial this year given his history and the #MeToo era. More from the night, which, as the first night, included Republican voices for Joe Biden:

  • Biden is now the official Democratic presidential nominee, the AP reports. In what the Washington Post calls the “first virtual national party roll-call vote,” convention delegates announced how many of the state’s delegates were pledged to Biden. NBC notes that part of the convention is typically “sleepy” and even “tedious,” but the pandemic-induced virtual DNC managed to make it interesting, showing a video that was, essentially, a tour of the USA. The views included Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge, the headwaters of the Mississippi River, a Puerto Rican community recovering from a hurricane, and Washington’s Black Lives Matter Plaza.
  • Republicans Colin Powell and Cindy McCain spoke, with Powell formally endorsing Biden. “The values I learned growing up in the South Bronx and serving in uniform, were the same values that Joe Biden’s parents instilled in him in Scranton, Pennsylvania,” he said. “I support Joe Biden for the presidency of the United States, because those values still define him. And we need to restore those values to the White House.”
  • John Kerry said Trump “inherited a growing economy and a more peaceful world. And like everything else he inherited, he bankrupted it. When this president goes oversees it isn’t a goodwill mission. It’s a blooper reel.”
  • The keynote “speaker” of the night was actually a group of 17 young, diverse Democrats who were featured in a video montage. Among them was Stacey Abrams. “In a democracy, we do not elect saviors. We cast our ballots for those who see our struggles and pledge to serve,” she said.
  • Interestingly, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used her 60 seconds of speaking time to second the nomination of Bernie Sanders for president. She did, however, congratulate Biden on his nomination, NBC notes. Per this Twitter explainer, AOC’s nomination of Sanders was a “symbolic” “formality” given that he was the only candidate other than Biden to reach the 300-delegate threshold.
  • NBC says Jill Biden “stole the show” with her deeply personal speech. Included in the topics it touched on: the death of the couple’s son, Beau. “How do you make a broken family whole? The same way you make a nation whole,” she said. “With love and understanding. And with small acts of kindness. With bravery, with unwavering faith. You show up for each other in big ways and small ones. Again and again.”
  • Other big names included Jimmy Carter and John Legend, who closed out the night with a performance.
  • In what NBC calls a “standout moment,” Ady Barkan, a health care activist battling ALS, said, “We live in the richest country in history and yet we do not guarantee this most basic human right,” and that “even during this terrible crisis, Donald Trump and Republican politicians are trying to take away millions of people’s health insurance. With the existential threat of another four years of this president, we all have a profound obligation to act.”
  • Barack Obama, who won’t speak at the convention until Wednesday night, offered Biden congratulations on his nomination on Twitter. “I’m proud of you,” he wrote.

And let’s not forget John McCain’s wife…..but I am not sure if she was just there as a nicety or did she actually endorse Biden…….

Joe Biden and John McCain had an “unlikely friendship,” said Cindy McCain while speaking Tuesday night at the virtual Democratic National Convention. They met when Biden was a young senator and McCain a Senate liaison for the Navy, and their relationship progressed to the point that their families shared backyard picnics—despite Biden and McCain’s political disagreements. “They would just sit and joke. It was like a comedy show, sometimes, to watch the two of them,” Cindy McCain said amid a video montage that included clips of the two men together, per Politico.

Their willingness to reach across the aisle “was a style of legislating and leadership that you don’t find much any more,” she continued. However, Fox News notes the longtime Republican stopped short of formally endorsing Biden, though Politico says it’s “unclear” whether her appearance was meant to be taken as such an endorsement. Both Cindy McCain and daughter Meghan have openly criticized President Trump (a major John McCain foe), but while Meghan McCain confirmed she will be voting for Biden in November, Cindy McCain has previously pushed back against reports that she would be throwing her support behind him

AOC had 60 seconds and that was by design….the DNC is scared to death of AOC for her leadership and policies……DNC did not want to give her a good spot as a platform.

All in all Day Two is in the bag…..and Wednesday will be the big nite for ex-President Obama will speak……

Finally, the Dems foreign policy was about yesterday with Powell and John Kerry…..needed to be more forward looking….a disappointment for me.

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020 Dem Convention–Day One

I am trying to help all wanting to see what the DNC is all about this election…..I will be writing about the four day virtual get-together……

The most unusual political convention to date is underway—the Democrats’ all-virtual affair leading to the coronation of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Thursday night. Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders spoke Monday night, along with a rarity—a Republican, former Ohio governor (and 2016 presidential candidate) John Kasich, who attempted to appeal to disenfranchised members of his party. For future nights, live-streams are easy to find, including at the convention’s official website. From night one, some early highlights courtesy of the AP:

  • Michelle Obama: Biden was a “terrific vice president” and is a “profoundly decent man,” she said. “He knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country.” Of Trump, she added, “If you think things possibly can’t get worse, trust me, they can and they will if we don’t make a change in this election.” The AP calls her speech, which also referred to Trump as being “in over his head,” “uncharacteristically pointed and political.” Her plea to Americans: “Vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.”
  • John Kasich: He said his status as a lifelong Republican “holds second place to my responsibility to my country.” Elaborating: “In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times,” he said of his participation at the Democrats’ convention. “We can do better than what we’ve been seeing today, for sure. … Many of us can’t imagine four more years going down this path.” He also noted he does not believe Biden will turn “sharp left.”
  • Bernie Sanders: “My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake.” He called on his progressive base to rally around Biden. “Our movement continues and is getting stronger every day. Many of the ideas we fought for, that just a few years ago were considered ‘radical,’ are now mainstream. But, let us be clear, if Donald Trump is reelected, all the progress we have made will be in jeopardy.” The AP notes his speech was an “unqualified endorsement” of Biden, in contrast to his speech at Hillary Clinton’s nominating convention in 2016.
  • George Floyd’s siblings: Philonise and Rodney Floyd led a moment of silence in honor of the Minnesota Black man killed by police.
  • Plus a bunch more: A lot more Democrats including New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar spoke, plus three more Republicans who back Biden: California businesswoman Meg Whitman, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Whitman, and former New York Congresswoman Susan Molinari. “This isn’t about Republican or Democrat. It’s about a person—a person decent enough, stable enough, strong enough to get our economy back on track,” said Christine Whitman. “Donald Trump isn’t that person. Joe Biden is.”
  • Virtual enthusiasm: Convention organizers tried to infuse a sense of excitement into the virtual event, getting actress Eva Longoria to emcee and airing several live speeches, though many of Monday night’s were pre-recorded. They also organized online watch parties that included celebrities and elected officials, and hosted drive-in viewing stations where people could watch the speeches from their cars.
  • Others who popped in: Americans whose lives have been impacted by Trump’s policies and practices, including a farmer concerned he will lose his livelihood and a woman whose 65-year-old father died of COVID-19, came on to frame the speakers. “His only preexisting condition was trusting Donald Trump, and for that, he paid with his life,” said the grieving daughter.
  • Meanwhile: Trump was holding his own rally in Wisconsin, where the DNC was originally scheduled to be held before it went virtual amid the coronavirus pandemic. He told the crowd, per Rolling Stone, “We are going to win four more years. And then after that, we’ll go for another four years because they spied on my campaign. We should get a redo of four years.” The magazine notes the FBI has refuted that claim about 2016. “The only way we’re going to lose this election is if the election is rigged,” Trump added.
  • And also: The POTUS, who also appeared in Minnesota Monday night, went on quite a tweetstorm as the DNC’s opening night was drawing to a close; he retweeted quite a few less-than-flattering takes on Cuomo’s appearance in particular.

Onto Night Two……

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I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

2020 Democratic (Virtual) Convention

It is that time again….the season of the political conventions……and today is the first for 2020 and it will be the Democrats…..keeping with the social distancing thing because of the Covid-19 it will be a virtual convention…..

For those that are interested in hearing what the politicians have to say….I have a rundown for you…..

A political convention unlike any that came before—thanks to the pandemic—begins Monday night. The Democratic event to formally nominate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will run 9pm to 11pm Monday through Thursday. Some details:

  • Watching: You can watch it in full via the official stream on YouTube or via the convention website. ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox News will carry it from 10 to 11 each night, while C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS will run the full event, per the New York Times. Streams also are available via Apple TV, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV (search “2020 DNC”) and via Amazon Prime Video (“DNC”).\
  • Monday night: Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, and a Republican—former Ohio Gov. John Kasich—are among the names on the speaking roster. Also: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Jim Clyburn, Convention Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson, Rep. Gwen Moore, and Sen. Doug Jones.
  • Key demographic: Kasich is on the docket to appeal to Republicans unhappy with President Trump who might consider voting Democratic this year, explains USA Today.
  • Key question: What will Bernie say? The Vermont senator will have to walk a tricky line between keeping his base firmly behind Biden while speaking about his more progressive policies, per CNN. The consensus is that he will make the case that the issue of paramount importance is getting Trump out of office, and the policy fights can happen later.
  • Logistics: The convention will have “hubs” in New York, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and in the Biden home of Wilmington, Del. Emcees from Los Angeles will lead the programming, and speakers will be in different parts of the country.

I wish I could get excited  for this election but so far it has been a yawn……maybe something will break out of the Convention that will get me in the mood for voting for a Democrat…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

50 Years Ago

Closing Thought–27Aug18

50 years ago this August history was being made the Dem Convention and the riots that followed…..the drama had everything needed to be a blockbuster…..love-hate, war-peace, old-new, etc…..

We’re taking another look back at the year 1968 this morning, remembering the political earthquake that was the Democratic National Convention. Chicago-born Scott Simon, of NPR, is our guide:

Worlds collided at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago: young and old, war and peace, law and order.

“The whole world is watching, the whole world is watching…”

“You can’t take that week in isolation,” said Bill Daley. “’68, one of the most dramatic and traumatic years in the nation’s history. And it kind of all rolled to Chicago, and you could feel it coming.”

Daley, who would become President Obama’s chief of staff, was a college student in 1968, and spent the convention at the side of his father, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/remembering-1968-chicagos-bloody-democratic-convention/

In 1968 I missed these protests for I was a bit preoccupied in Vietnam…..if I had been stateside I would have been there…

This for you younguns……

If you would like a more detailed account of those bloody days in American political history……

Our young needs to know these history of how a people took to the street to make a difference…yes it turned violent and it is a matter of opinion on who started the trouble…..