Former First Lady Michelle Obama: Screen shot
By Glynn Wilson –
In a world upended by the coronavirus and resulting economic recession, Democrats are taking to the internet this week and scrambling to reach out to all Americans willing to listen to offer a sane alternative to Donald Trump in the White House and Republicans in the United States Senate with a show carrying a theme of unity: We The People.
Prevented for the first time in history from holding a national convention in a hall full of delegates with in-person drama, rousing crowd responses to speeches, red, white and blue confettis and balloon drops, the Democratic Party found a way to bypass interruptions and commentary from television news pundits and commentators and produced a compelling show with pre-recorded speeches, interviews and music.
Of course every TV news show on all channels and every newspaper left standing to cover this event talked about former First Lady Michelle Obama stealing the show with her keynote address at the end of the first night on Monday.
“Let me be as honest and clear as I possibly can: Donald Trump is the wrong president for our country,” Mrs. Obama said, offering a potent closing argument to a packed online program. “He has had more than enough time to prove that he can do the job, but he is clearly in over his head. He cannot meet this moment. He simply cannot be who we need him to be for us. It is what it is.”
Closing it out, she said, “If you think things cannot possibly get worse, trust me, they can; and they will if we don’t make a change in this election. If we have any hope of ending this chaos, we have got to vote for Joe Biden like our lives depend on it.”
Because, well, it probably does.
The Democrats are talking about the need for health care for all, the need to address economic justice for all and to fight racism and police violence.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders made a direct appeal to his supporters to get onboard with voting for the Biden-Harris ticket by making the case, like only he can, on why it as an imperative to defeat Trump to stop authoritarianism from taking over our country for the first time.
“Many of the ideas we fought for that just a few years ago were considered radical are now mainstream,” he said of his campaign, which he said is still a movement that will not end with this election. “But let us be clear. If Donald Trump is re-elected, all the progress we have made will be in jeopardy.”
“At its most basic,” he added, “this election is about preserving our democracy.”
“Together we must build a nation that is more equitable, more compassionate and more inclusive,” Mr. Sanders said. “I know that Joe Biden will begin that fight on Day 1.”
Mr. Sanders made an explicit appeal to those who supported candidates other than Mr. Biden during the primary race, warning that “the price of failure is just too great to imagine.”
“My friends, I say to you, to everyone who supported other candidates in the primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election: The future of our democracy is at stake,” Mr. Sanders said. “The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake.”
In between two-minute pre-recorded speeches, including several from Republicans who no longer support Trump, there were interviews with COVID-19 victims, health care workers, family members of George Floyd, and music from the likes of Bruce Springsteen.
The choice of “The Rising” was interesting.
Can’t see nothin’ in front of me,
Can’t see nothin’ coming up behind …
I make my way through this darkness,
I can’t feel nothing but this chain that binds me.
Lost track of how far I’ve gone
How far I’ve gone, how high I’ve climbed …
On my back’s a 60-pound stone
On my shoulder a half mile of line
Sky of blackness and sorrow (dream of life)
Sky of love, sky of tears (dream of life)
Sky of glory and sadness (dream of life)
Sky of mercy, sky of fear (dream of life)
Sky of memory and shadow (dream of life)
Doug Jones of Alabama Gets Two Minutes On Opening Night
Ignored by most of the mainstream national news networks and newspapers, however, there was an interesting 10 p.m. address from Alabama.
U.S. Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat from Birmingham, was chosen for a two-minute speech on opening night — probably because of his ground-breaking defeat of a conservative Republican in a Deep South red state in 2017 and his record of bipartisanship. He is running for reelection on a theme of #OneAlabama, which on the face of it seems impossible, but it fits in with the national Democrat’s theme of unity.
“The great John Lewis would often quote the old African proverb,” he said: “‘When you pray, move your feet,’ and then challenge us to do just that,” he said. “As a nation, if we care for the Beloved Community, we must move our feet, our hands, our resources to build and not tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. In the final analysis, we are one people, one family, one house – the American house, the American family.”
Full text of the two minute speech:
I’m Senator Doug Jones from the great state of Alabama.
Growing up in the South meant growing up in the midst of stark divisions. But it was here in Alabama where Rosa Parks helped ignite a movement by refusing to give up her seat on a bus. Where Freedom Riders of different races came together in pursuit of equality. And it was here, in Alabama, where John Lewis marched across a bridge toward freedom.
From a young age, I knew the hope that comes from seeing good people work to heal our divisions. It’s what led me to become the United States Attorney, where I convicted two Klansmen who murdered four young Black girls in a 1963 Birmingham church bombing—and delivered long-overdue justice.
Alabama has shown me that even our deepest divisions can be overcome. Because each of us wants the same thing: To be treated fairly and given the same opportunities—and the freedom to live with dignity and respect.
Now, some politicians try to pit us against each other. But I believe that Americans have more in common than what divides us. And in November, we have a chance to elect a president who believes that, too.
I’ve known Joe for more than 40 years. I met him as a wide-eyed law student, and he’s been my friend and champion ever since. The Joe I know is exactly the leader our country needs right now. He can bring people together to find common ground while standing up for what he believes is right. After years of bitter partisanship, he can unite our country and get things done for working families—and everyone looking for a better future.
Because it’s not about what side of the aisle we’re on. It’s about whether or not we’re on the side of the people.
The great John Lewis would often quote the old African proverb – “When you pray, move your feet,” and then challenge us to do just that.
“As a nation,” he said, “if we care for the Beloved Community, we must move our feet, our hands, our resources to build and not tear down, to reconcile and not to divide, to love and not to hate, to heal and not to kill. In the final analysis, we are one people, one family, one house – the American house, the American family.”
Vice President Biden understands that. And he is who we need as our next president.
Convention Schedule
The convention continues Tuesday night. Check out the schedule below, and try watching it online without interruptions from TV commentators. If you watch it on Facebook live, you can follow the comments and post comments of your own, on the official feed and with a separate window or tab, on your own Facebook page or those of your friends.
Democratic National Convention Schedule
