Watching the Democratic National Convention
Tim Bean
9/4/2012
In light of the fact that I will be watching the Democratic National Convention tonight, and then writing my take on the speeches given there, today’s post is deliberately going to be light. That isn’t to say that there aren’t things going on, because there are always things going on. I’d rather like to think of it as me getting my “game face” on, because trust me, there are a million other things I would rather do with my time than sit for hours on end watching what amounts to a cross between infomercial and a pep rally (I said that about the GOP convention too, so I am not picking sides).
The Democratic Party has approved and released its platform, you can read it here, and upon giving it a cursory once over, it is full of a bunch of feel good stuff meant to motivate the party base – just as the GOP’s; which you can read here. I don’t put too much credit in either party’s platforms because often times those representatives, who fly whichever party banner, actions are contradictory to what is stated in these platforms, but I am a cynic, so take that into account.
Tonight’s scheduled speakers for the Democratic Convention are as follows:
- Representative Barbara Lee, D-Calif.
- Lieutenant General Claudia Kennedy
- Mayor of Newark, New Jersey Cory Booker
- North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue
- International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Mary Kay Henry
- Ryan Case, American Voices
- Representative Charles Gonzalez. D-Texas
- Representative Nydia M. Velázquez, D-N.Y.
- Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn
- Cincinnati, Ohio Firefighter Doug Stern
- Candidate for the US Senate and Former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine
- Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina Anthony Foxx
- Democratic Majority Leader Senator Harry Reid, D-Nev.
- Ken Salazar
- Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Massachusetts Joe Kennedy III
- Former Representative Robert Wexler, D-Fla.
- Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota R.T. Rybak
- Representative Jared Polis, D-Colo.
- President of the National Abortion Rights Action League – Pro-Choice America (NARAL) Nancy Keenan
- Nate Davis, American Voices
- Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Illinois Tammy Duckworth
- Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee
- Representative James E. Clyburn, D-S.C.
- Stacey Lihn, American Voices
- Representative Xavier Becerra, D-Calif.
- Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland
- Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius
- Mayor of Chicago, Illinois Rahm Emanuel
- Actor/Producer Kal Penn
- Brother of Mrs. Obama and Sister of President Obama Craig Robinson and Maya Soetoro-ng
- Women’s equality leader and namesake of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act Lilly Ledbetter
- Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick
- Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley
- Candidate for the US House of Representatives, Texas Joaquin Castro
- Mayor of San Antonio, Texas Julián Castro
- First Lady Michelle Obama
So invite over your pals, fire up the grill, and get ready for a 5 hour blast of bluster, misstatements (yes, I believe the Dem’s are as capable of misstatements as the GOP) and big promises. For the record, I will only be writing about the general tone, and message of all of these speakers combined tomorrow, with an occasional nod to a specific speaker here or there, just as I did for the Republican speaker. Wednesday and Thursday I will focus on the key note speakers.
