Blogger Candidate Forum: DNC Convention Summary

Shattering the glass ceiling
cnn.com

Hello Everyone:

Can Blogger say wow.  Oh my goodness, yours truly still cannot believe that Secretary Hillary Clinton became the first American woman to win a major party nomination for the presidential election.  This is truly an amazing moment.  As yours truly tweeted, "A woman's place is in the House, the Senate, and the White House."  Also, Blogger would like to extend a big congratulations to Senator Bernie Sanders for running a campaign based on the issues, without stooping to name calling and insults.  The Sanders campaign started a movement of civic engagement aimed at those who would otherwise, not be part of the process.  These is a beautiful thing.  Senator Sanders you rock.  You are a class act for endorsing Madame Secretary and urging your supporters to back her.  You are humble in victory and defeat.  Today, we are going continue are convention coverage, more on those new emails,  and take a look at Senator Tim Kaine.

Live stream image from the DNC Convention
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
gossip cop.com

Let us start with the events of the past two days.  Day One, in two word Michelle Obama. The First Lady stole the show with a heartfelt speech that praised Madame Secretary as a public official and political survivor; rebuked Donald Trump without mentioning his name.  The speech accentuated the positive aspects of the American narrative while rejoicing in the image of an African American family in the White House.  Blogger was also pretty joyful when President Barack Obama was first elected to office.  The positive nature of the speech was a stark contrast to all the hateful, vile words coming out of the campaigns.  Blogger would also like to mention the energetic speech given by Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ).

Another takeaway from night one was the left embrace of Madame Secretary.  Senator Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) did much to breach the rift between the Sanders and Clinton wings of the Democratic party.  Both senators delivered sharp attacks on the Republican ticket, while giving their full support in spite of the diehards plaintive cries.  Protestors continued to plague the convention.  Chants of "Black Lives Matter" and choruses of boos continued to plague the speakers.  Finally, Mr. Trump played a supporting role of sorts.  His name was not used to unify the crowd, nor did the speakers focus on Mr. Trump's negative narrative.  In fact, any mention of his name failed to stir the crowd.

Senator Sanders addressing the DNC Convention
pix11.com

Day Two: History made.  Wow, again.  Last night's big moment came when former President and First Gentleman in waiting Bill Clinton offered a loving intimate portrait of the woman who would be president (still can't believe it).  While praising his wife as "change maker, President Clinton confirmed that Democrats have a challenging task ahead of them, going after the votes of people who are demanding that Washington D.C. be overhauled from the top-down.

Law, order, and policing took center stage.  At

The Dean Scream
lattices.com

the Republican National Committee Convention, the message was a simple one: stronger law and order.  This left the DNC to paint a more nuanced picture-balancing party concerns over racial bias in law enforcement and paying tribute to fallen police officers.  This message was delivered via the mothers of African American children lost to gun violence and in encounters with police officers.  The Sanders supporters's tantrums seem to be petering out.  Finally, it was nineties night at the convention as the DNC brought familiar faces from the Clinton-Gore campaigns.  The highlight for yours truly, former 2004 primary candidate, DNC chair, and Vermont Governor Howard Dean who resurrected the "Dean Scream."

WikiLeaks hacked emails
truth feed.com

Another takeaway from Tuesday was those leaked DNC emails.  Ah yes, emails the gift that keeps on giving and the DNC wishes they would not be so generous.  Although Mr. Trump was rarely mentioned but Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-Va) and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright warned about giving a man, who embraces Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the nuclear codes.  Ms. Albright alluded to the release of hacked DNC emails, suggesting that the Russians were boosting Mr. Trump's chances.

Never one to remain to remain quiet, Donald Trump waded into the controversy by suggesting that Russian hackers find a way to locate the deleted emails from Madame Secretary's server.  Specifically, Mr. Trump called on Russian intelligence agencies to find those 30,000 deleted emails.  He even went on to suggest that they have all those email and demanded they be released.  This sparked immediate furor from the DNC as evidence appears to be mounting that Moscow was behind the hacked emails.  Outrageous does not even begin to describe Blogger's reaction.  It is bad enough that the DNC engaged in practices aimed at undermining Senator Bernie Sanders's campaign.  This beyond the pale.  Now we have a presidential candidate suggesting that a foreign intelligence entity hack into a rival's private emails.  Even if it was said in jest, Mr. Trump still has not learned that what he says matters.

Senator Tim Kaine
en.wikipedia.org

Finally, congratulations to Virginia Senator Tim Kaine on being named Secretary Hillary Clinton's running mate.  Ahead of his introduction this evening, let us get know Sen. Kaine.  Senator Kaine is one of handful of people to serve as mayor, governor, and senator.  He has been both a civil rights attorney, teacher, and missionary.  The Gentleman from Virginia was elected to the Senate in 2012 as "...as a can-do optimist skilled in bringing people together across old lines of party, race or region." (kine.senate.gov; accessed July 27, 2016) Currently, he serves on the Armed Service, Budget, Foreign Relations, and Aging Committees.  He is also the raking member of the Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee and Foreign Relations Subcommittee on State Department and USAID, International Operations and Bilateral International Development.  (Ibid).

During his tenure, Sen. Kaine has focused on smart defense in a changing world.  The first piece of legislation in the Senate, the Troop Talent Act of 2013, established new standards to assist active duty service personal to receive civilian credit ails for military skill to facilitate their transition to civilian life. In the Foreign Relations Committee, he introduced bipartisan legislation to revise the War Powers Resolution of 1973 and voted to authorize the ongoing U.S. military action against ISIS.  He also supported the bipartisan Budget Act of 2015.  The Gentleman from Virginia is the founder and co-chair of the Career and Technical Education Caucus.  He also introduced a bill to recognize six Virginia Native American tribes, championed legislation to encourage public middle and senior high schools to teach students how to prevent sexual violence.  (Ibid)  Senator Kaine's list of accomplishments, in his short time in the Senate, is stellar.

Senator Kaine and Secretary Clinton
fox2now.com

 Senator Tim Kaine brings a sense of stability and a breadth of experience to the ticket.  He is not a flashy candidate but this is part of what makes him a good running mate.  One of the factors in choosing a running mate is finding someone who will not detract from the top of the ticket.  He has a sense of moral conviction that balances out any questions of Madame Secretary's morality.  Like Madame Secretary, he has a sense of religious conviction.  His Catholic faith has informed his position of the death penalty and abortion but upheld the law in his state.  The Gentleman from Virginia also has an off-the-cuff manner that seems more amiable than Mr. Trump.  His efforts to reach across the aisle makes him a far less polarizing figure than Madame Secretary.

Stay tuned for tomorrow night's grand finale when Secretary Hillary Clinton takes the stage to formally accept the nomination.  Her task will be to give the speech of a lifetime.  Once again, yours truly will live blog.