DNC Convention: Thoughts and Highlights from Last Night

Being a political junkie, I was glued to my TV last night watching the DNC Convention on MSNBC. Here are a few highlights and thoughts about what I saw:

 

Senator Cory Booker- Wow! What an amazingly powerful speaker. He emphasized love and unity. Although his speech set the room on fire, it was void of any real substance.

He motivated the crowd with catchy phrases like, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” He also called Trump a “twisted hypocrite” who would never let another man treat his wife and daughter the way he treats women. Overall, I think his speech was a success.

 

Sarah Silverman- What can I say? Sarah did not look comfortable onstage last night. Her jokes were forced and she could not hide her obvious contempt for the Bernie or Bust faction in the crowd. She broke down and told the Bernie or Bust faction that they were being ridiculous.

Al Franken attempted to ease the tension by using a goofy line about building bridges, but Sarah was visible irritated and was removed from the stage. Not a great move by Sarah when the overall theme of the DNC Convention is “unity.”

 

Rep. Joseph Kennedy III- I just have to say that I was surprised at Rep. Kennedy’s complete lack of charisma or speaking ability while onstage. It was awkward watching him introduce Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

 

Sen. Elizabeth Warren- Her speech was very toned down compared to the other speakers. (Although she did make fun of people who wear hats) I think that the most important take-away from her speech was her repeated use of the phrase, “rigged system.” I know that she was using it in the context of our economic system, but some part of me felt like she was calling out the DNC and the rigged primaries.

 

First Lady Michelle Obama- I will have to admit that there were a few moments when the First Lady almost brought tears to my eyes. I really liked how her focus was on children and the future.

To me, her most powerful message came when she said that she realized that “She wakes up every morning in a house that slaves built.” She went on to mention how her daughters played on the White House lawn. It was a strong and passionate statement of how far America has come.

Unfortunately, First Lady Obama attempted to talk about how much Hillary loves and supports children. She forgot to mention that Hillary called for the deportation of children from Central America. I am not buying the whole “Hillary loves children” talking point.

 

Bernie Sanders- I am a Sanders supporter. Secretly, I was holding out hope that Bernie would shock the World and withdraw his support for Hillary. I was hoping that he would announce that he was running against her in the general election in November.

But…I understand reality. Bernie has been doing this for a long time and he knows what is best. I was happy to hear that Hillary worked with Bernie to adopt many of his political ideas.

He announced that their plan is to allow children from families who make under $120,000 per year to attend 4-year public universities tuition-free! He also said that their plan would drastically reduce student debt.

He discussed the public option for healthcare and the $15 minimum wage platform. I was impressed because he was the first politician to actually discuss specific plans while onstage.

He did have a few moments that made me cringe (including when he said, “I’m with Her). He said that Hillary was going to work to implement a new Glass-Steagall Act. It seems that he may have forgotten that Hillary’s husband, Bill, was the one who repealed it in the first place.

Also, Bernie talked about how Hillary was going to go after Wall Street and big banks. Let’s be real! Hillary is supported by big money and her daughter is married to a hedge fund manager (they own an entire city block on Madison Avenue in NYC). I respect Bernie, but I do not appreciate being treated like a fool. Hillary will never go after those entities.

I will miss the Bernie campaign and I have strong doubts that the revolution will continue after November. I enjoyed Bernie’s detailed speech, but I cannot help but think of what an amazing President he would have made.

 

MSNBC- I am not naïve. I know that the media loves Hillary Clinton and MSNBC is not an objective news source. Yet I cannot help but laugh at how silly they are. Here are a few moments that had me shaking my head:

  1. After Bernie’s speech, MSNBC decided to “interview” a few Bernie supporters. All 3 of the women said that they would not vote for Hillary. The commentator’s were so condescending towards these young women and said that they should check back with them in a few days. Way to belittle young, intelligent women MSNBC!
  2. One reporter told a young woman that she had to pick either Trump or Hillary…she only has 2 choices. The young woman said that there were more than 2 choices and she was going to vote for the Green Party candidate (Jill Stein) MSNBC commentators quickly responded that Bernie did not support Ralph Nader when he was the Green Party candidate.
  3. MSNBC attempted to turn the rumor that Russia was behind the DNC leak into a fact based story. Even though WikiLeaks creator Julian Assange denied that there was any proof that Russia was the source of the leaks, MSNBC cited nameless “cyber security” experts who support the Russia rumor. What would Mr. Assange have to gain by lying about Russia? Why didn’t MSNBC interview a few of these so-called “cyber security” experts? CONSPIRACY THEORY: Is mainstream media using this Russian non-story to cloud over the fact that the Democratic Primaries were rigged?

 

The DNC Convention is a show and it will go on. As one of the young women stated, it is a “Hillary Clinton Love Fest!” Please feel free to share your thoughts or opinions about the Convention or this article. Also, feel free to click on the links to watch parts of the DNC speeches!