It has begun. It was a rocky start. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, former chair of the DNC is gone. Donna Brazile is in. The Bernies misbehaved, especially the California delegation. Sarah Silverman told them they were ridiculous.

The great speakers of the night were Corey Booker, Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. There was lots of excitement in the air. Hopefully the Bernies have been put in their place and will now play nice with others, especially since Donna Brazile gave a very specific apology.

How, what are others walking away with as they watch?

39 Thoughts to “The Democratic Convention…How’s it working?”

  1. Many of the Bernies are out of control idealists. They simply lack political reality.

    Michelle Obama was fabulous. What a great first lady.

  2. Steve Thomas

    Booing the pastor delivering the invocation? Wow….just Wow.

    I suspect this train-wreck will continue, based on the line-up of speakers tonight. From WTOP:

    “The Mothers of the Movement participating include Gwen Carr, mother of Eric Garner; Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin; Maria Hamilton, mother of Dontré Hamilton; Lucia McBath, mother of Jordan Davis; Lezley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown; Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, mother of Hadiya Pendleton; Geneva Reed-Veal, mother of Sandra Bland.”

    Yeah…this will go over REALLY well with all of those “middle of the road undecideds”…especially Michael Brown’s mom. Gotta make sure all of those BLM protesters vote for Hillary…

    And on a day where a French Catholic Priest was beheaded by “ISIS soldiers”while conducting Mass, and the 4th terror attack in a week has occurred in Germany, do you think any of tonight’s speakers will mention ISIS? Even 1 speaker?

    My takeaway? I think history will look back on this convention as a disaster for the DNC…right up there with 1968 and 1972.

    1. Are you trying to “look large” for Donald Trump? Oh dear God.
      I was sort of looking forward to hearing from Joe Biden and Bill Clinton.

      Those mothers of the movement sound like a bad idea to me. I am no fan of the Bernies or the BLM crowd.

      I don’t think its wise for anyone at either convention to gt all tangled up in breaking news. I would hope they wouldn’t. I will skip the mothers march, thank you very much.

    2. @Steve

      http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-convention-speakers-tuesday/

      You left off Lena Dunham also if you were trying to gross me out. I sure hope she keeps her clothes on. Meow.

      1. Steve Thomas

        @MoonHowler

        Now that made me laugh!

    3. Mothers of the Movement were very dignified. 3 of them spoke and they were well-spoken. I don’t believe that segment will be a disaster for the DNC at all.

      Lena Dunham….she was funny. She kept her clothes on. I always worry when I hear she is going to speak. But she did a nice job. Nothing outrageous.

  3. Ed

    Yesterday I picked someone up at the Philadelphia airport. A policeman was standing in the curb lane. My passenger was there so I pulled up to the curb. The policeman told me to go around him. I shook my head and pointed to the passenger. The policeman unsnapped his gun holster and put his hand on his gun and then yelled at me to go around him. I had to wait for traffic to clear, pull into the left lane, pull forward several car lengths and then back to the curb. Maybe it was the hot weather. Maybe it was being upset at being assigned airport duty. Whatever the reason, that police officer was a dangerous and disrespectful a-hole who threatening my family by brandishing his gun. I told another officer nearby that I did not find this behavior acceptable. He apologized for the department and was willing to direct me to a supervisor but it was going to be a long hassle and I decided to just let it go in the interest of time and family. #AllLivesMatter

    1. @Ed
      Don’t you live locally? Why on earth would someone ask you to pick them up in Philly?

      1. ed

        @MoonHowler

        I was on personal business in the area.

      2. Steve Thomas

        @ed

        Some DNC-related activity, protest march?

      3. ed

        More like providing transportation so a relative who came to Phi to protest at the DNC could join us in visiting a terminally ill grandparent.

        @Steve Thomas

      4. I am sorry you have a sick parent/grandparent. Been there. No fun.

  4. It looks like unity to me. Bernie made the motion that Hillary be selected by affirmation.

    Hillary makes history as the first female nominee. Maybe it just doesn’t mean as much to men.

    1. Steve Thomas

      @MoonHowler

      It would mean a lot more, if it were any Democrat Woman other than Hillary.

      1. Steve, I doubt if you would like the person regardless of who it was.

  5. TCWinPWC

    On HRC specifically, my read (largely from social media) has been a more tempered reaction. A lot of people “retweeting” media reactions versus sharing their own emotional take on it (clearly both happened, just a lot more of the former).

    Hypotheses on why….

    1. It’s just not that radical. HRC represents the establishment, period. Life-long pol, born rich, getting much much richer, had to beat a genuine ideologue in the primary. The box being checked is historic, but the checker isn’t all that distinctive either in substance or style (contrast with Trump, or BHO ’08). And unlike BHO in ’08, who was brilliantly branded but without a lot of detail, HRC may be considered by Dems to be a better alternative than Trump even with all her baggage, but the excitement is instrumental, to beat Brand X versus the messianic tone of BHO. She’s like the class president of the Baby Boomers.
    2. Not that empathetic or “relatable.” HRC is very wealthy and has an army of handlers (makes sense, there are so many things it’s not worth her time to do), so there’s economic distance. Emotionally, the polish and smugness creates distance, as does the sense that the whole truth is something we just aren’t going to get. Contrast with Bernie. Crazy policies, but you know he’s a real person and you’re getting substance over surface.
    3. Record and reputation. HRC in 2008 had a more impressive and successful body of work, to the point that many GOP senators and officials spoke highly of her work ethic, acumen, etc. The last 8 years as an executive have not been easy, or generally positive – and often the reaction or spin was worse than the deed, particularly when it cut against the moderate left’s view of itself as more honest and clean. The Benghazi “blame the video” fiasco was probably the worst, because it harkened back to the Iraq War’s shifting justifications / wag the dog vibe under W – and the obvious trampling of free speech, though both sides have sadly become less protective there.
    4. Bill. We all know it. Great memories of the tech boom, but… Where there’s smoke, there’s usually fire, and there’s a ton of smoke. And does anyone want to relive Dirty Granpa?
    5. Boxes are getting checked all over. Less than 5% of the largest US companies have female CEOs, but the number is growing. Old line companies… IBM, GM, Xerox, Lockheed. And a woman runs Facebook (Sandberg), arguably the coolest company. And the numbers get better (not equal, but better) as you get into top earners (10%), board seats (20%), executive management (25%) and first-line management (36%). Again, not equal, but better. Source: http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-sp-500-companies

  6. Donald Trump will twist and spin at any chance. He just had a press conference this morning where he bashed Tim Kaine. He said that unemployment doubled under the Kaine administration. What he left out is that Kaine was in office from 2006 thru 2010. Hmmmm…does Trump not remember there was a great recession and that Kaine is who brought us through that mess.

    What a contemptible human being Trump is. Oh, he also said Virginians hated Tim Kaine. Another lie.

  7. TCWinPWC

    Another interesting angle on “how it’s going”…

    DNC has an ad on Craiglist for actors.

    https://m.reddit.com/r/The_Donald/comments/4uvj1f/dnc_is_imploding_craigslist_ad_for_actors_needed/

    Points away from “well.”

    1. Of course you have no idea how the actors will be used. Those seats are at a premium. I doubt seriously if you have to twist anyone’s arm to go to the convention.

  8. Ed

    “An ad suggesting the DNC was hiring actors to fill empty seats appeared on Craigslist, but was almost certainly a fake.”

    Gullible, voters….Trump’s targeted demographics

  9. Robin Hood

    Trump said he loves the poorly educated and being poorly educated is why they love him back.

  10. TCWinPWC

    And now Sanders has announced he’s leaving the party.

    All kinda make you wish Biden had run. He’s got that grin… he knows it’s 90% BS, and yet he keeps on chugging.

    1. Are you surprised?

      The Bernies all need to grow up.

      Everyone loves Joe.

  11. Fabulous night for the Democrats!!! Other than the loony lot booing Leon Paneta, it was flawless.

    Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, both gave terrific speeches. Obama was at his best. TV is saying that his endorsement speech was the best in the history of television.

    Clinton/Kaine!!!

    (an asside–former Virginia Governor, Tim Kaine’s father-in-law, was present in the audience. He and his wife are in their 90’s.)

  12. TCWinPWC

    Will be interesting to see if HRC gets a convention bounce. LA Times tracking has Trump up by 7 points now (also worth seeing the next story down on elites/insiders versus progressives).

    http://www.latimes.com/politics/

    Iowa political markets (betting based futures) still predict HRC but the spread is closing and the vote-share is almost at parity.

    http://tippie.uiowa.edu/iem/

    HRC should see some convention bounce, plus the negative ads are starting (to be frank, some are less ads and just… here’s some Trump footage!).

    1. It’s way too early for polls to mean much. The convention isn’t even over.

      I just don’t think there are that many people in the country who would support a president whose is in bed with the Russians.

      Of course, I didnt think there were that many people who would support or excuse making fun of the handicapped.

      Regardless of how people feel about Trump, Trumpism is the real thing to fear.

      1. TCWinPWC

        @MoonHowler

        It is early, but sifting interim metrics is tempting, and fun.

        The Russia hacking thing is a bit silly, in my opinion. Trump made a sarcastic comment (always a risk as they are context dependent) and it’s being used to score points. This is the game, of course. I can see how HRC needs to create doubt around “world stage readiness” and also “tech savvy” because she has exposure there. Folks like Assange and Snowden (uneasy darlings of those on the left who still fear the nat-sec surveillance state, and no friends of Trump certainly) have commented on the content and method of the recent disclosures to the point that the chain of causation from Trump is not seriously believable. Leadership affinity with Putin… yeah, that’s a bit concerning.

        Personal opinion – this comes down to a very distasteful forced binary choice between options that are both unattractive. If I could, I’d vote “no.”

  13. Steve Thomas

    Gary Johnson and Jill Stein both smell blood in the water, at the DNC Convention. Both candidates have traveled there and addressed the disaffected (and if in their view, disenfranchised) hardcore Sanders supporters. I think Stein will benefit the most, as she’s the closest ideologically to the Bernie-or-Busters.

    Jill Stein, who is on her second run for President (’12, ’16), has run for MA Governor twice, MA House once (against someone I grew up with), and twice for Lexington Town Council…all unsuccessful. Lexington borders the city I grew up in. I understand the politics of that area. She couldn’t get elected to the Town Meeting of a municipality the size of Manassas Park, which is overwhelmingly progressive.

    Johnson and Stein’s presence in the race, hurt Hillary MUCH more than it does Trump…and the DNC hack only amplifies this. Of course, that won’t be discussed in the MSM or here. Let the DNC lovefest continue.

    1. TCWinPWC

      @Steve Thomas

      The number I’ve seen suggest the Green party is marginally more of draw away from HRC than Johnson is from Trump. And the Green high watermark (2.7%) is 3X that of the LP (1.1%). But when it gets down to game time, the GP has limited ballot access… in the battlegrounds, no GP in Nevada, Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Iowa, New Hampshire.

      1. Steve Thomas

        @TCWinPWC

        TC,

        I think you are spot-on. I believe the effect of these candidates will be most felt in those marginally reliable states for either of the main parties, where the opposing party can get close. This forces the expenditure of resources to shore-up the base electoral states each camp counts on.

        Another dynamic is the “undecideds”. Frank Luntz has a great piece in Time: http://time.com/4424053/frank-luntz-the-myth-of-the-undecided-voter/

    2. Let’s say you are right, Steve. Just what the hell are you going to do with some swine like Trump?

      Values? Oh give me an effen break. Be very careful what you wish for.

      I will laugh like hell at the first moan or groan over President Trump.

      1. Steve Thomas

        @MoonHowler

        I am a Republican, voting for the Republican Ticket. It is that simple.

        Do I think Trump is the answer to all of our problems? No Effin Way.

        I do believe that Hillary Clinton is the most corrupt individual to run for office…in the history of “ever”. I think it is quite apropos that she chose Shonda Rhimes to produce and direct her “Bio Vid” that will be played tonight. Rhimes is the creator of the ABC show “Scandal”.

        A young girl was walking to school one chilly day, and happened upon a viper, in the middle of the road. The viper said to the girl, “please put me in your coat, next to your heart, and warm me. ” The little girl replied “But aren’t you a snake? Snakes bite.” The Viper said, “Yes, I am a snake, but if you would do this for me, why would I bite you?” The little girl thought about it and decided the snake would honor her kindness, picked it up, and put it inside of her coat. As she was walking along, she felt a pain in her chest, and opened her coat to see the viper had latched on to her with it’s fangs. As she realized that the poison was already in her blood, she cried “but, but, you said you wouldn’t bite me!” The Viper replied “I never said that I wouldn’t bite you. Besides, you knew what I was when you picked me up. Don’t blame me.”

      2. Scout

        @Steve Thomas

        I hope there’s more to it, Steve, than “a Republican, voting for a Republican ticket.” Ticket voting is a clear abdication of citizenship obligations. If your coincidental, thoughtful conclusion is that every Republican on the ballot is a better candidate than every Democrat, then have at it. I suspect, however, that the arithmetic odds of that ever being the case are very slim.

  14. During the moment of silence for fallen officers, some low-life had to bellow out “black lives matter.”

    What is the matter with people?

    This incident was right before the families of fallen police officers came on the stage to speak. Many of those families were people of color.

    Their stories are gut-wrenching.

  15. I am mighty proud of Tim Kaine!!!!

    No one is having a better time than Terry MacAuliffe at this convention.

  16. Steve Thomas

    Well, the coronation party is over. Emails were leaked, the hostess sacked, protests held and flags burned, all leading to the first woman nominated by a major party, in history although Jill Stein might argue that she was first. And the best part was Hillary re-re-re-re-re-re-re-introduced herself to the nation.

    But Hillary has climbed most of the way, and now poised to make her summit attempt. I have to wonder if she looked behind her to relish the wreckage strewn about, marking her long and arduous ascent?

    Now she enters what climbers refer to as the “death zone”, that point in the climb were you are literally dying, and the question is can you summit quickly enough, before the lack of oxygen kills you?

    In your top-post, you asked your reader/commentators for their impressions. I’ll admit, I followed the DNC convention much more closely than the RNC’s, and the DNC left a much stronger impression on me but both indicate where we are as a nation, and as a people.

    I don’t plan to be very active at all, this cycle. Got a lot going on personally and professionally, and that’s where my time, talent, and treasure needs to be placed. A friend is running for a local office, and I’ll help there, when I can, but my days of politicing are done. Besides, we can debate and argue here everyday..but we’ve each made up our minds. No one will be swayed.

    As I consider the state of our nation in light of both our major parties and their respective nominees I’d have to describe it as being like watching a clown burn. Funny, yet terrifying and sad.

    Be safe out there.

    1. I will not be active either. My husband has already started. I actually don’t like politics. I think all politicians are whores of some sort.

      I think the major difference in the two parties is outlook. Hope vs no hope. Both parties have their own little personal pocket of AHs. Those AHs have caused a lot of problems. I would like to see the parties both restructure.

      I am glad I am an outsider. Then I can lean whatever way I want. I owe no one an explanation.

      But…watching the convention was fun. I will miss Obama.

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