Something went wrong at the Democratic National Convention yesterday. Due to a change in the weather forecast, they will have to move the final day inside, and thousands of people will be unable to see Barack Obama and Joe Biden speak. I understand their desire to win North Carolina, but I have to say that the Democrats really blew it, when they scheduled the convention in a right-to-work, aka right-to-screw-workers, state in an open air stadium, in the middle of thunderstorm season. Isn’t there a swing state with unions and a dome? That said, that’s the only bad thing I have to say about the convention. On day two, the speakers performed infinitely better than their Republican counterparts. Sandra Fluke, Elizabeth Warren and Bill Clinton combined for a triple play. Here’s complete coverage.
Attorney and women’s rights activist Sandra Fluke is sounding dire warnings at the Democratic National Convention on a range of health issues if the GOP wins the White House.
Fluke inadvertently gained notoriety when talk show host Rush Limbaugh spoke disparagingly of her testimony to congressional Democrats. He subsequently apologized. She had called for requiring her college health plan to cover her birth control.
Fluke referred to Limbaugh’s comments about her during her Wednesday night address.
She said the future could bring a president who won’t stand up to extreme voices in his own party, or it could bring one where women can’t be charged more than men for the same health coverage… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <WLSTV>
Photo credit: IB Times
Actually she went much further documenting the Republican war on woman and Democratic support for women’s rights. Here’s the complete video.
If you prefer, here is the complete text of Sandra Fluke’s DNC speech.
As hard as it was to top that performance, Elizabeth Warren did.
Elizabeth Warren, the White House consumer-protection adviser now running for a U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts, ripped into the tax plan put out by Mitt Romney, the state’s former governor, at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night.
"He wants to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires," said Warren, a former Harvard law professor who served as the Senate watchdog over the 2008 bank bailout. "But for middle-class families who are hanging on by their fingernails? His plans will hammer them with a new tax hike of up to $2,000."
That’s a lot of money to average folks, so let’s take a closer look….
…The $2000 "tax hike" figure that Warren cites is grounded in a third-party analysis that Romney has criticized, but one the authors stand by. The authors also note that their calculations are not precise because they lack some specifics of Romney’s plan.
Inserted from <CNN>
Photo credit: IB Times
Actually she went a lot further in documenting the differences between Republican failed top-down economic policy and Democratic middle-out economic policy. Here’s the complete video.
If you prefer, here is the complete text of Elizabeth Warren’s DNC speech.
Next up was former President Bill Clinton.
Former President Bill Clinton and President Obama hugged onstage Wednesday night after Mr. Clinton delivered an impassioned plea on behalf of Mr. Obama’s re-election, the 42nd president nominating the 44th to a second term with a forceful and spirited argument that Democratic values would restore the promise of the middle class.
The former president delivered a point-by-point rebuttal of the arguments made during the Republican National Convention last week, warning against Republicans taking back the White House and declaring, “We can’t let it happen.”
He offered an equally detailed affirmative case for the re-election of Mr. Obama, saying there was no question the country was in a better position than it was four years ago.
“We simply cannot afford to give the reins of government to someone who will double down on trickle down,” Mr. Clinton said, repeatedly bringing the crowd at the Democratic convention to its feet… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <NY Times>
Photo credit: The Guardian
I understand he had the teleprompter operator’s panties bunched tighter than John “Agent Orange” Boehner is during happy hour, because he spent more time off script than on, but the effect was magnificent. Here’s the complete video.
If you prefer, here is the complete text to Bill Clinton’s DNC speech.
All things considered, the Democratic National Convention to date is as complete a success as the Republican was a failure. Tonight it will be a tall order for Joe Biden and Barack Obama to measure up the what has gone before. Nevertheless, I’m confident that that they will. The big difference between the two conventions is that enthusiasm is far more natural and far more contagious when the speakers really believe what they are saying.
20 Responses to “Triple Play”
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I only tuned in for Bill, and it was an amazing speech. I'll watch Elizabeth and Sandra sometime today.
Of course, I'll be sure to tune in tonight for PRESIDENT Obama and his trust sidekick, Joe Biden.
I agree. I'm not happy about the choice of a stupid southern state. I'm hoping that when Obama is re-elected, they'll all secede again. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm sick of the absolute and utter stupidity of the poor and middle-class of the south allowing themselves to be dupped time and again by the cynical god squad of Republican hypocrites.
With the right-to-work laws, the south (and gullible mid-west states) will find themselves fresh out of workers. Then their agriculture will be the only thing they have to fall back on, but they'll all have those nasty papers-please laws that will keep the Hispanic workers away as well. Let their oranges and peaches rot and fall on the ground unpicked.
Am I mad? F-right I am!
Can't add a THING!!!
Who can blame you for being mad? Their stupidity hurts us all!
Marva – "I'm hoping that when Obama is re-elected, they'll all secede again. Good riddance to bad rubbish. I'm sick of the absolute and utter stupidity of the poor and middle-class of the south allowing themselves to be
dupedscrewed time and again by the cynical god squad of Republican hypocrites."Could not have said it better. I've been a neo-secessionist for several years now.
I hope you were able to see Jen Granholm's great speech – not the truncated one that was immediately on YouTube [the home of trolls]. It was tremendous.
It was a triple play last night I can't wait for tonight. I donot remember being this excited in past yrs for a convention. But the last three days have been great
I fully agree.
I think the God/Jerusalem Platform fiasco has been the biggest fumble (to mix sports metaphors) for the DNC.
Andrew Sullivan has pulled together some pretty cogent views (well, other than the lunacy of Krauthammer) on moving tonight's Main Event inside:
http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/09/why-was-the-speech-moved-indoors.html
I agree. I had not yet learned of that.
At least not as bad as the rest.
Sandra Fluke — "… An America in which our president, when he hears a young woman has been verbally attacked, thinks of his daughters—not his delegates or donors—and stands with all women. …" — The applause was thunderous, and the standing ovation awesome.
"…And six months from now, we’ll all be living in one, or the other. But only one. A country where our president either has our back or turns his back;…"
That was a homerun! Over six minutes of pure power! Sandra brought out not only the women's issues, but the humanity of Mr Obama.
Elizabeth Warren — "American families didn’t have an army of lobbyists on our side, but what we had was a president—President Obama leading the way. And when the lobbyists were closing in for the kill, Barack Obama squared his shoulders, planted his feet, and stood firm. And that’s how we won."
I think that Warren did a good job of countering the Republican/Teabagger "you didn't build that" distortion. She stressed doing things together, with and for each other, for future generations to build upon.
Bill Clinton — "One of our greatest Democratic Chairmen, Bob Strauss, used to say that every politician wants you to believe he was born in a log cabin he built himself, but it ain’t so. …"
"It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics, because discrimination, poverty and ignorance restrict growth, while investments in education, infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase it, creating more good jobs and new wealth for all of us. …"
"Are we where we want to be? No. Is the President satisfied? No. Are we better off than we were when he took office, with an economy in free fall, losing 750,000 jobs a month. The answer is YES. …
No President – not me or any of my predecessors could have repaired all the damage in just four years. …"
"21st century version of the American Dream in a nation of shared opportunities, shared prosperity and shared responsibilities. …"
"Remember, Republican economic policies quadrupled the debt before I took office and doubled it after I left. We simply can’t afford to double-down on trickle-down. …"
"I want to nominate a man who’s cool on the outside — but who burns for America on the inside. "
There was humour, honesty, energy in his speech.
I hope that the enthusiasm that is very self evident continues through 06/11/2012.
Excellent analysis, and you're spot-on!
Sandra Fluke and Elizabeth Warren both gave great speeches, but the star of the night was Bill Clinton. There are two major elements to any speech – content and delivery – and Clinton did a masterful job with both. That man is one of the best public speakers ever. My father used to teach public speaking, and he was pretty good at it himself, but he would have been mightily impressed with President Clinton's ability.
I hear that, John. I used to teach Speechcraft for Toastmasters, and it was ideal.
The misters who choose their sisters are purple-faced furious at the last couple of days. Trolling them on FB has been a joy.
Their whining has gotten more desperate by the day!
I was impressed with all the spekers.. The convention was a hit! The RNC didn't even come close.
No comparison whatsoever!
but I have to say that the Democrats really blew it, when they scheduled the convention in a right-to-work, aka right-to-screw-workers, state in an open air stadium,
I agree with this. It was wrong, wrong, wrong – and this is the kind of thing that Dems do now. I don't get it. I didn't really hear anything at the convention about the attacks on unions and government workers. That's inexcusable.
That should have received more coverage.
Without a doubt, the DNC speakers stood head and shoulders above every speaker the RNC trotted out in their dressage.
For sure!