Today was the first day of the Democratic convention, and the theme of the convention was unity. It didn't happen for the most part. I have to wonder how tone deaf the democrats are, because they don't understand Sanders supporters at all. They pushed the same old out of touch focus group crap that they've been pushing, and it went over like a lead balloon.
The day started off with Debbie Wasserman Schultz being booed by her own state's delegation. She ended up turning down her opening of the convention role, and gave it to another tone deaf woman who was flagrantly anti Sanders much like Debbie. This lasted about a half hour, before they chose a third person, who also said negative things about Sanders. They just kept replacing anti Sanders people with more anti Sanders people. There was significant protesting outside, and even Sanders himself got booed to heck when he encouraged people to support Clinton.
The fact is, the democratic party is tone deaf. They don't really want unity. They want submission. And most of their "concessions" to us are surface concessions. Much like DWS getting replaced by other anti Sanders people. Speaking of DWS, you realize she got hired by Clinton not long after being let go by the DNC? Yeah that happened. Also, a lot of people in the convention had their Bernie signs taken away from them under the threat that if they didn't agree they would be stripped of their credentials tomorrow. So yeah, the democratic convention is, expectedly, a Clinton coronation, and while Sanders supporters are trying to make their opinions heard, they are largely getting looked down upon for not falling in line. Despite the discussion being on unity, I haven't seen much unity. Most speeches are about Trump being a meanie and Clinton caring about people Trump hates. The closest I've seen to getting to a discussion on unity was Franken and Silverman's comedy act, and while the tone started off good, Silverman ultimately ended up stirring up the hornet's nest by telling Bernie or Bust people they're 'ridiculous." Way to almost attempt to bridge the gap and then end up pissing us off. Seriously.
Beyond that, outside of a few good speeches my opinion of the night was fairly blase. There were tons of speeches from people of Hispanic origin pandering to the Latino vote, including one of a little girl on stage being worried of her parents being deported. There was a speech by a disabled woman. There are a lot of anti-Trump hate, and a lot of the speakers above were often used to bash Trump. There was a lot of focus on Clinton's human element, and the big focus was on families. Clinton cares, Clinton wants families to succeed, blah blah blah. Again, very boring and uninspiring. On economics, there was likely a good speech or two here and there, but ultimately, it just came off as boring and uninspiring, because most were by centrists who just have a more left wing version of trickle down economics. Michelle Obama's platitudes didn't really connect with me, even though the crowd loved it.
The only really good speeches were Warren and Sanders. Warren really channeled what I'm about, like unrigging the system, and pushing progressive ideas. She was a heavy hitter who did a good job in arguing for Hillary. The only problem with her speech is...she was arguing for Hillary. Considering the backdrop of the emails scandal, the otherwise "fall in line" mentality of the democrats, her words rang hollow. Warren reminded me of what the democratic party is SUPPOSED to be about, and what attracted me to them to begin with, but honestly, what Warren doesn't understand is Clinton is part of the rigged system she railed against. I love Warren. I hope to see her run for president in a future election. She's probably my second favorite politician besides Bernie. I would easily vote for either one of these guys. But the democratic party made a horrible mistake with the choices they made this election. They backed the wrong horse, and that horse is not a representative of progressive values, no matter how you try to dress her up.
Bernie was on fire tonight. He was at the top of his game. He thanked his supporters, thanked his delegates, and said he was looking forward to tomorrow roll call. He really did have a unifying message, and focused on the issues. He talked about the political revolution and the fact that we need to fix the problems with America such as poverty and a rigged economy. He talked about what he and the democratic party stand for in the best possible light. This is what the democratic party needs to be about moving forward. Quite frankly, the only problem with his speech, much like Warren, is that he was ultimately selling Clinton, not himself. And I simply don't believe Clinton represents the same values. He makes it tempting though, I admit that. He's made the strongest case for Clinton I've ever heard and put it in terms I can understand and empathize with. This is the positive case for Hillary I've been looking for all election. If I didn't know anything about her, I would be sold. But considering everything that's happened. Considering the email hacks, considering her moderation, considering her relations with the 1%, I can't do it. It's gonna take a lot more than simply Warren and Sanders making her case for her. She has to make it herself, which she has utterly failed to do. And even then, she has a serious sincerity problem as well. To an extent the problem is Clinton is just too tarnished for the job.
Honestly, I hope the democrats learned something today. You can't screw with Sanders supporters. You can't tell us to fall in line. You can't push sterilized focus group inspired speeches on us. You can't bully us. You need to offer a positive vision like Warren and Sanders did. They were the only two in the convention who "got it." The other guys were largely boring, and the convention tonight was largely a joke. But those two really channel the best the party has to offer. One of them is still running for president. I hope the DNC superdelegates reconsider what horse they want to bet on. One path leads to a positive vision for the party and unity. The other path leads to a negative vision based on fear and division. Sanders will bring the democratic party to victory. Clinton may not.
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