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| Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (R-NY) Former President Bill Clinton salon.com |
Hello Everyone:
Night two of Democratic National Convention was all about the party elders and the future of the party. The night featured speeches by former President Bill Clinton, rising stars Stacy Abrams and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). The big event was the formal nomination of VPOTUS Joe Biden (D-DE). The nomination was carried out by virtual roll, that showcased America the Beautiful people and a plate of deep-fried calamari. Speaking of elections:
Have you registered to vote? If you have, yay you. If you have not, stop reading, go to usa.gov and register to vote. Do you plan to vote by mail? Make sure your ballots postmarked by midnight October 15, 2020. Can you safely vote in person on Election Day November 3, 2020? Great, make sure you pack some provisions (food, water, a phone charger) and get in line. Make sure you stay in line even if the polls officially close in your precinct. Legally you cannot be prevented from casting your vote if you are still in line after the polls close. Thank you. Onward
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| Big tent boisestate.edu |
To underscore that message, the DNC went out of their way to showcase themselves as the party that tolerates political ideological differences in ways the Republican party, under the sway of Mr. Donald Trump, cannot even begin to fathom. Tuesday evening's session showcased the "New Democrat centerism of former President Bill Clinton to the new century progressive movement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was born in 1989, the year after Biden's first presidential run" (Ibid). Presidents Jimmy Carter and Clinton, along with former Secretary of State John Kerry--the party's 2004 nominee--were honored.
More Republican for Bidens were showcased with pre-recorded speeches from former Secretary of State Colin Powell and Cindy McCain, the widow of 2008 Republican nominee Senator John McCain, both praising the Gentleman from Delaware Former President George W. Bush, the only living Republican ex-president, the 2012 Republican nominee and Utah freshman Senator Mitt Romney. Neither of which will appear at next week's RNC convention.
Tuesday's keynote address was a 17-person was a group effort that was meant to highlight the party's multi-cultural constituencies followed by a virtual roll call of states. It was American the Beautiful in all of its racial and ethnic diversity, in stark contrast to the Republicans. That was the point.
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| Former Assistant Attorney General Sally Yates thehill.com |
Tuesday evening was another round of punches landed. Allow The Candidate Forum to take you back to the 2011 White House Correspondent's Dinner. President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the annual and endless mocked the notoriously thin-skinned then-reality television star, launching Mr. Trump's 2016 run. Nine years later, no one is laughing now. In fact, on Monday and Tuesday both party luminaries and invited Republicans used their moment to warn the public that "he represents a fundamental dangers to democracy" (Ibid). Former Assistant Attorney General Sally Yates looked straight into the camera and told the audience,
He treats our country like it's family business,... America, Donald Trump has quit on you (Ibid)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) added,
He won't defend our country, he doesn't know how to defend our troops (Ibid)
Former Secretary of State Kerry went straight for the kill,
The only person he's interested in defending is himself (Ibid)
Both former First Lady Michelle Obama and President Clinton devoted parts of their speeches to warn the nation that Mr. Trump was an existential threat.
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| Tuesday's keynote speakers signaltribunenewspaper.com |
One of the main features of televised convention speeches is snarky one-liners and the occasional blistering speech. However, this election cycle's convention was remarkably consistent with dire warnings of the Republicans' standard bearer.
It was keynote by committee. The Biden campaign used the moment to anoint not one, but 17 emerging stars. The men and women giving the keynote were chosen specifically, reflecting diversity of race, age, geography, and identity (Ibid). Bill Barrow and Nicholas Riccardi observe, "It was a stunt for sure, with selfies, ring lights and tightly scripted hits on Trump. But it also effective to make the point that Biden wants to provide a gateway for young leaders" (apnews.com; Aug. 19, 2020). Pennsylvania state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta, an openly gay lawmaker praised the Gentleman from Delaware for his support of marriage equality,
A new generation of leaders is rising up (Ibid)
Representative Kenyatta was part of the 15-person lineup that led up to 46-year-old Georgian Stacy Abrams who came within a razor-thin margin of becoming the first African American woman to be elected governor. The keynote by committee was bookended by the old guard Democrats. The point of the keynote by committee was make it clear that the Biden campaign was casting wide net in November. Monday was about ideological diversity and yesterday was about generational inclusiveness.
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| Rhode Island delegates with a plate of fried calamari nbcnews.com |
One of the highlights of any convention is the joyous roll call of states to officially nominate the party's standard bearer. This election cycle's roll call went virtual; instead of bouncing around a packed arena, the roll call traveled across all fifty United States and territories. It was truly America the Beautiful colors, complete with a plate of fried calamari. The Alabama delegation used their segment to pay tribute to the late Representative John Lewis by casting their vote from the Edmund Pettus Bridge, "the site of the 1965 voting rights marches and Bloody Sunday" (Ibid). The Utah delegates highlighted its successful statewide mail voting turnout. Iowa's moment was set in a cornfield, naturally. The Pennsylvania delegates cast their votes from VPOTUS Biden's childhood home in Scranton. When all was said and done, the Gentleman from Delaware was formally anointed as the nominee, awkwardly charming in expressing his deep gratitude to the delegates.
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| Former President Bill Clinton nymag.com |
President Bill Clinton has a tendency to be long winded but this time, he was mercifully short. Nevertheless, his brief (for him) remarks hit the intended target. Bill Barrow and Nicholas Riccardi note, "That Clinton was speaking at all was mildly surprising given how his sexual dalliances appear to some in the post-MeToo era" (Ibid). The normally garrulous president--his 2012 convention speech ran almost 50 minutes (!; Ibid) was tightly restricted to five minutes did not mince words for the man who defeated his wife in 2016:
If you want a president who spends his day watching TV or zapping people on social media, he's your man (Ibid)
He blasted the incumbent president for "making the Oval Office the storm center rather than the command center" during the pandemic and the nation's abysmal response.
Yes President Clinton, less is definitely more.
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| Dr. Jill Biden nytimes.com |
The evening was topped off by a keynote address from Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of VPOTUS Joe Biden. In a word, it was all the feels--okay three words. Symbolically, Dr. Biden spoke from an empty classroom at Brandywine High School in Wilmington, where she once taught (Ibid). She introduced herself to the audience, humanized her husband, and validated him as the candidate. Quite the task magnified by the glare of the spotlight but the former second lady was flawless,
I know that if we entrust this nation to Joe, he will do for your family what he did for ours--bring together and make us whole--His faith is unshakable (Ibid)
Dr. Biden spoke of her own career as a teacher and as second lady, she continued to teach college full-time. She also shared how she struggled after their son Beau passed away during VPOTUS Biden's second term. Dr. Biden told the audience,
I wondered if I would ever smile and feel joy again...
but she added that her husband
...went back to work
mired in his own grief (Ibid)
Dr. Jill Biden may not have the charisma of Michelle Obama but, in her own quiet way, she presented herself as a woman of fierce devotion and quiet strength.
Tonight, day three is all about Senator Kamala Harris, who gets ready to be the first Black woman, the first Asian American to be nominated for the vice presidency. We will finally get meet the man behind the woman, potential second gentleman Doug Emhoff. Thursday is the grand finale, VPOTUS Biden will deliver his acceptance speech.
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