The Democratic National Convention 2024

Greetings humans.  Neither Jim nor I have ever watched a political convention, ever.  Yet, there we were, every night, paying attention.  We didn't love all of it, like the roll call with the really loud music, but I guess that's generational.  What we did love was VP Harris' acceptance speech.  It was stupendous.  The speech itself was very well written and her delivery was perfect.  There was video clip of her talking to some teenage girls who wanted to know how she spoke so well in public. She said it's not about you, or what you're wearing, it's about the fact that you know something and you want the audience to know it as well.  She used being on the Titanic and being the only one who knew the ship was sinking.  You know, they need to know.  Her rapport with little kids and teens is just amazing.

So these are snippets that I want to keep and remember.  It's not that interesting of a post, but it's for me.

Tim Walz:
“When Republicans use the word — freedom — they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers,” Walz said. “But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love, freedom to make your own health-care decisions and, yeah, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.”“When Republicans use the word — freedom — they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers,” Walz said. “But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love, freedom to make your own health-care decisions and, yeah, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall.”

Michele Obama:
But there are six words in that stretch that extend well beyond Trump. Obama used a phrase that succinctly and elegantly reframes the ongoing debate over inequality in the United States and how it might be addressed: “the affirmative action of generational wealth.” 

Secretary Buttigieg:
"I'm thinking of dinner time at our house in Michigan, when the dog is barking and the air fryer is beeping and the mac and cheese is boiling over and it feels like all the political negotiating experience in the world is not enough for me to get our three year old son and our three year old daughter to just wash their hands and sit at the table. It's the part of our day when politics seems the most distant, and yet the makeup of our kitchen table, the existence of my family, is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago. … I don't presume to know what it's like in your kitchen, but I know as sure as I am standing here, that everything in it, the bills you pay at that table, the shape of the family that sits there, the fears and the dreams that you talk about late into the night there, all of it compels us to demand more from our politics than a rerun of some TV wrestling death match."

Oprah Winfrey:
"And despite what some would have you think, we are not so different from our neighbors. When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion. We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out too."  The full transcript is here.

It was great.  It was not boring, most speakers were good or excellent.  They brought in content creators and influencers who are broadcasting via social media; the mainstream media is offended by that.  Piss off.  Read more here.

If you can, contribute to your local Democratic candidates.  It's not enough to hold the White House, we need both houses of Congress, too.