Democratic National Convention Megathread! Day 1 - Monday 8/19

jordanlund@lemmy.worldmod to politics @lemmy.world – 71 points –

Here we go again! 8/19 to 8/22

Guide here from the BBC of all places:

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c80ey324neeo

"President Biden will headline the convention on Monday night. The crowd will also hear from First Lady Jill Biden, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and other Democratic leaders.

On Tuesday, former President Barack Obama is expected to deliver remarks. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Ms Harris’s husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, will also address the convention on Tuesday.

Wednesday’s line-up reportedly features former President Bill Clinton and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, among others.

Ms Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will give the prime-time speech that night after his nomination.

The most important night of the convention is Thursday, when Vice-President Harris will take the stage. She will formally accept the presidential nomination and give her speech on the final night of the convention dedicated "For the Future."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former First Lady Michelle Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will also take the stage at some point during the week."

All sorts of streaming info here:

https://demconvention.com/news/press-releases/how-to-watchdemocratic-national-convention-announces-streaming-partners-and-first-ever-vertical-streaming-platforms/

Day 1 Schedule, all times are Central, so +1 for Eastern, -1 for Mountain, -2 for Pacific.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/dnc-chicago-2024/who-is-speaking-at-the-dnc-tonight-full-speaker-list-and-schedule/3525559/

Remarks The Honorable Kathy Hochul Governor of New York

Remarks Shawn Fain President of the United Automobile Workers

Remarks The Honorable Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York

Remarks The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Former United States Secretary of State

Remarks The Honorable James E. Clyburn Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, South Carolina

Remarks The Honorable Jamie Raskin Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Maryland

Remarks The Honorable Jasmine Crockett Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas

Remarks The Honorable Grace Meng Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York

Joint Remarks Amanda and Josh Zurawski, Texas Kaitlyn Joshua, Louisiana Hadley Duvall, Kentucky

Remarks The Honorable Andy Beshear Governor of Kentucky

Remarks The Honorable Reverend Raphael G. Warnock United States Senator, Georgia

Remarks The Honorable Chris Coons United States Senator, Delaware

Remarks Dr. Jill Biden First Lady of the United States

Introduction Ashley Biden

Remarks The Honorable Joe Biden President of the United States

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Biden is doing a damn good job so far.

Edit: No, he's doing a fucking great job. This is a really good speech, and he's clearly fully recovered from COVID-19.

Edit #2: This is an amazing speech. This is Joe at his absolute best.

Edit #3: Calling out Trump's insults to veterans and WWII soldiers who lost their lives.

Edit #4: "I love the job. But I love my country more."

Final edit: That might very well have been the best speech of Joe Biden's life.

I know more leaders of the world by their first name just because I'm so damn old.

- Joe Biden

Trump did too... Theresa England, Angela Germany, Emmanuel France, Tim Apple, Vladimir Putin.

It isn’t as though I’ve been around long enough to see them all, but I’d have to agree with your edits that he gave the speech of his life tonight.

30 years ago, Joe wouldn’t even recognize himself. I think my favourite line was in reference to all of the Democrats that have spent decades arguing for economic liberalism in vain. It felt like he included himself. As so many love to say, those that seek power often don’t deserve it; Joe reminded us tonight of how he’s spent his entire life redeeming himself.

Ashley and Jill did pretty well too - but Biden is also delivering solidly.

So far, I feel like the speeches have ranged from good to fantastic. No bad ones. And they've all been substantive.

God, what a difference from the shitshow of the RNC.

Joe's little crack at himself was funny.

"I know every leader of every nation because I'm so damn old"

When they kept chanting "We love Joe!" I half expected him to go "C'mon guys, if you keep this up we'll be here all night and it's already past my bedtime..."

That was my joke to my partner "Please just let the old man speak already - he can't stand there forever."

Damn Raphael showing his preacher roots lol.

This is one hell of a speech!

Warnock is seriously hitting it out of the fucking park.

I want that Trump is a Scab shirt lmao

Might be something the Union whipped up for him, I don't see it out there anywhere, even for donations.

Give it a day. LOL.

Hillary is out of fucks to give and this is the best speech she's had in years.

Especially after AOC. She wasn't bad, but she didn't have good pacing, so it seemed rushed. She also was clearly trying to bring energy, but instead of it seeming incredibly passionate, it seemed like someone trying to make it seem passionate. Hillary just knows how to deliver a speech to a large crowd and handle the reaction of the crowd well in her timing.

If she'd been like that in 2016, she'd be finishing her second term right now.

If she was like that in the 2016 primaries and hadn't felt the need to use pressure to end that contest early she very well may have. Alternatively, it may be the end of a Sanders second term... instead, she helped get us Trump.

It’s so hard to watch, especially talking about the glass ceiling. She should be finishing her second term.

If she had spoken like that in 2016 she would have.

Note the key difference... 2016 Hillary was all about her. This speech was all about Harris.

Every time they cut to Walz it looks like he's going to cry! Somebody give that poor man a hug!

As a deeply emotional manish person I feel it... especially the survivors of anti-abortion laws brought me to fucking tears.

The erupting cheer of "Union Joe" is extremely wonderful to hear.

Substance is already night and day compared to the garbage at the Republican convention.

Also I hope these protesters realize that Democrats will not risk getting ahead of the polls, so if they want to influence Harris and Biden more, then they need to spend their time not attacking Biden or Harris, but convincing their fellow Americans. Continue to shift the polls and you'll continie to see a shift in policy as we've already seen.

It would be really hard to convince fellow Americans to end support for Israel's genocide without mentioning who it is that's refusing to end support for Israel's genocide.

I'm not sure I buy that because explaining to your fellow Americans the genocide Israel is committing does not even require raising the current administration once. Once more Americans recognize the blatant atrocities Israel is committing and how Netanyahu has perpetrated around 40 x October 7ths not counting longterm damage to civilian infrastructure, then polls change; then policy changes as a reflection of said polling.

Whether we like it or not, the administration is carefully weighing different groups in different states, and over-committing to one may lead to net-losses from the others for the election. Hence their delicate toeing the line with not abandoning Israel but sympathizing with the civilian plight in Gaza.

Forget the fact that there is massive risk to withdraw military aid to Israel, where Bibi just so happens to ignore more intelligence of an impending Hamas attack. Then Israel accuses the Democrats of antisemitism and leaving them defenseless against terrorists. If it wasn't obvious, this sinks Democrats and leaves the door open for a far more pro-Israeli administration.

"Look at how bad this is, get mad!"

"Ahhh, i'm mad!! Now what do I do?!"

"Well certainly don't go bothering the democrats with it"

Lmao. The shapes we twist ourselves into by trying to acknowledge our convictions without letting go of partisanship. You do you bud, but I think protesting the democrats into action is the best thing to be doing right now.

lol man, these strawmen are simply out of hand if not bad faith. I really don't know if you have the prerequisite reading comprehension to engage with.

Please come back when you can actually respond, with substance, to the points I've made instead of petty deflections. Thank you.

"Sit down and shut up about genocide!"

Who said that? Certainly not me.

To the contrary, with a bit of reading comprehension, I'm saying quite the opposite.

stop asking politicians to represent your wishes and educate the powerless instead.

Solid plan bro

Boy I could protect my whole field of corn with all these strawmen!

It’s literally what you’re saying though. Don’t bother the politicians (by protesting) and ‘educate’ other voters.

How else would you like to describe what you’re encouraging people to do?

It's literally not, and I think I know what I'm saying better than you... You know — since I wrote it.

  • Advocacy for a cause to politicians is fine.
  • But recognizing a failed strategy is also good.

I mean, it's like if I said what you wrote is this:

I don't care if these protests wedge-drive democrats and lead to the other side who is far more sympathetic and pro-genocide to get in power!

Further read my comment here for more context.

I'm on your side. Your strategy just sucks and if anything is self-defeating.

It would be really great if you elaborated on what you mean by "advocacy for a cause to politicians" that somehow does not 'wedge drive' democrats that do not agree

It honestly sounds like you want there to be people advocating for Palestine, but not so loudly/effectively that the democrats have to actually address it (because addressing it would put the democrats in a bad position).

Once more Americans recognize the blatant atrocities Israel is committing...

then polls change; then policy changes as a reflection of said polling.

Americans recognise the attrocities and approve, because when haven't they overwhelmingly approved bombing Palestinians?

https://news.gallup.com/poll/611375/americans-views-israel-palestinian-authority-down.aspx

Views are largely unchanged by the bombing of Palestinians, though younger Americans are more likely to be sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people.

Your claims of how to effect change are unfounded, go against reality, and ignore that protest is and always has been the... second most effective form of lobbying. The first being outright corruption.

You make my point.

  • Democracy is a reflection of the will of the people.
  • Most leaders don't lead from ahead, but rather lead from behind where the current polling is — especially true in an election year. Too much risk otherwise.
  • So the BEST way to change policy direction is to change where the electorate is at.
  • Otherwise, you again make my point: Protest all you want, it will do nothing until public position changes.
  • So spend your time not arguing with me who fucking sympathizes with Palestinians and detests Netanyahu and also stop putting the cart before the horse and divert your attention to American Pro-Israeli crowds who DO support what Israel is doing and actually do the hard work of convincing THEM and the undecided. This is so obviously step fucking number one.
  • By the way, Sympathy != Expressing approval for what Israel is doing in Gaza, necessarily, or which there has been change. If you don't believe me, here's another Gallup source from March.
  • Your source is woefully out of date, as well. That link is from March (itself out of date), but the data is from February...

If I take your argument at face value, given the apparent swing in polling (and I do appreciate more up to date data, I didn't properly check that), then the sheer lack of change in the Democratic line proves you wrong.

Polls have swung and still the Democrats won't stop supplying and supporting Israel.

That points to Democracy not being a reflection of the will of the people... or at least the current US democracy not being representative.

Well for me that begs the question — has there been a lack of change in Democratic lines and action? Hear me out:

  • In the week following October 7th, Biden literally went to Bibi and hugged him on the tarmac, said they're lockstep with Israel: "The United States has Israel's back. We're with Israel. Let's make no mistake."
  • The administration went from vetoing in the UN dropping their and pushing aid into Gaza.
  • Biden held up shipment of bombs to Israel following his line in the sand on invading Rafah.
  • The administration went from giving Israel carte blanche on how they responded to Hamas, to now saying they needed to practice restraint and take effort to minimize casualties.
  • Behind the scenes there are clear reports that Biden is extremely pissed off at Netanyahu.
  • Meanwhile Harris made some of the most publicly-vocal comments on Bibi and Israel following her own meeting with Netanyahu, demanding that Israel follow through with the ceasefire.

These may sound like small things, but this is a monumental shift in US-Israeli diplomacy that we haven't seen in decades. This of course follows a reflection of the polls I noted earlier.

To me this all signals that following the election and scrutinizing different political groups (namely weighing Muslim communities in the mid-west versus the 7 million Jewish-Americans, some of whom in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and more sympathetic to Israel), then I think it's likely a Harris administration would immediately change its tune in regard to Israel. Hence why the likes of Netanyahu (and Putin) are doing everything they can to get Trump elected.

I absolutely agree that Putin and Netanyahu want Trump elected, there is no arguing facts.

None of these 'steps' actually stopped Israel.

Biden held up shipment of bombs to Israel following his line in the sand on invading Rafah.

Tell me what happened to Rafah next?

At no point have a majority, or even notable minority of Democrats stated clearly that a genocide is occurring, which is both reality and a growing sentiment amonst voters in swing states based on more recent polls.

the 7 million Jewish-Americans, some of whom in key battleground states like Pennsylvania and more sympathetic to Israel)

Interestingly based on what I can find, US Jews disapprove of Netanyahu and his administration, so that might be an own-goal on the Democrats part.

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/24/middleeast/us-jews-israel-smotrich-mime-intl/index.html

demanding that Israel follow through with the ceasefire.

Until the US stops supplying bombs that is a ridiculous demand. Want a ceasefire and Israel won't agree? Well it's hard to bomb people without the bombs.

The administration went from giving Israel carte blanche on how they responded to Hamas

Tacit approval of the genocide from the start says everything really. The Democrats are on board, they just don't like that their own voters are against it and the Republicans voters are for it. Again, pointing towards a failure of representative democracy.

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Has Joe stumbled at all? This was worth waiting for, good speakin’ Joe

I figure he's over his COVID-19, he's not dealing with the stress and exhaustion of trying to be president and run for president at the same time, and he's genuinely having fun.

The "I'm so damn old" line was hilarious.

This is a fantastic speech.

He's had a few fumbles, and it feels like the crowd has been coached to chant "We love Joe" to cover for him. But nothing like the debate performance.

The few fumbles looked like it was just his stutter showing up. Not at all like the way he seemed on debate night, especially at the beginning.

When they wheeling out Biden? Someone go wake him up. He's got a plane to catch to Santa Barbara.

He's the closer. A-B-C. Always be closing. ALWAYS BE CLOSING. A - Always, B - Be, C - Closing. ;)

Yeah, but we still have Warnock, Coons, Dr. Jill, a musical performance, Ashley Biden... and then Joe.

It's gonna be like like 45min from now at best. So much for being given a "prime-time speech." It'll be pushing midnight on the east coast at this rate.

Awfully late for basically every swing state. At least it'll be before 9 for most of the west coast I guess.

Hes gonna roar out in his Stingray with a Jean jacket, jeans, snake boots, and raybans. He'll flash a smile, crack a keystone light, then he's gonna give a speech that will bring the house down, get all the panties wet, all the dudes hard, then roar out of the place blasting Journey's Any Way You Want It.

would be more interesting to view the protest happening outside the convention where there would be people actually fighting for a better future

It's still not clear (well, TO ME at any rate) how close the protests will be allowed to be to the convention.

I'm expecting some sort of George W. Bush "Free Speech Zone" bullshit.