The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age

    DNC CONVENTION - OPEN THREAD - WATCH AND POST

    By Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 6:09pm |

     

    Let's review and discuss, compare to RNC if you must....... 

    Comments

    Cory Booker is on fire and has 'hit on' everything from education, gay marriage and class warfare assertions.  So far very positive.  CNN calling it powerful and rousing.  Standing ovation and even tears from some. 

    He said Obama has cut taxes 18 different times for small businesses.

     “When your country is in a costly war with our soldiers sacrificing abroad and our nation is facing a debt crisis at home, being asked to pay your fair share isn’t class warfare. It’s patriotism.”

    ..."in order to be the number one economy in the world, we have to be the "number one educator."

    "It is not about partisanship, it's about pragmatism,"  "It's not about left or right, it's about moving America and our economy forward."

    "It is plain that our platform and our president are not interested in petty political arguments," he said. The platform, "sets forth an emboldened pathway toward the historic hope that has driven generations after generation of Americans forward."

    Booker said no matter who you are, if you are a citizen, "Who is willing to work hard, play by the rules and apply your God-given talents, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills."

    "So this November with the reelection of president Barack Obama," Booker said, "This generation of Americans will expand upon the hope, the dream, the truth, the promise of America."


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:01pm

    I got nothing from the RNC.

    Oh you were not listening, they say.

    What is so very funny is that 90% of our budget goes to corporations.

    SS has nothing to do with the budget. We put in our 7-13% (depending upon whether or not you ran a business) and we are entitled to Social Security.

    Medicare runs 1%?

    I am interested in what will be declared over the next three days in NC.

    I think there will be less code and less fluff and less God Bless Americans Who Are Like Us.

    Let us pray instead of prey!


    by Richard Day on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:09pm

    Amen dd.  

    The Mayor from San Antonio is being called the Latino Obama and will be delivering the keynote tonight (before Michele).  He is supposed to 'take it to the GOP', I just hope it's not as tacky and dishonest as 'they were' towards DNC. 


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:19pm

    OMG - DNC tribute for Edward Kennedy is moving and includes a brilliant piece of tape on the debate between Romney and him during Senate race, on the abortion issue (remember, when Myth was for pro choice) and some follow up of Kennedy 'schooling Romney' on process. 

    Very well done.

    Lots of talk about the energy level being so much greater than at the RNC's convention.  There is passion and oh yeah, even hope!

    Barney Frank and others, in conversations without vitriol, noted McConnell's infamous words on day one that their goal was to make Obama a one term POTUS and how they have indeed been the party of NO. 

     

     


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 7:59pm

    Harry Reid calls out Mitt on taxes:

    Never in modern American history has a presidential candidate tried so hard to hide himself from the people he hopes to serve. When you look at the one tax return he has released, it's obvious why there's been only one.

    We learned that he pays a lower tax rate than middle-class families. We learned he chose Swiss bank accounts and Cayman Island tax shelters over American institutions. And we can only imagine what new secrets would be revealed if he showed the American people a dozen years of tax returns, like his father did.

    Mitt Romney says we should take his word that he paid his fair share. His word? His word? Trust comes from transparency, and Mitt Romney comes up short on both. This is about more than just a piece of paper. This isn't personal. This is about leveling with the American people and creating a level playing field for them.

    If we don't know how Mitt Romney would benefit from the policies he proposes, how can we know if he's looking out for us or just himself? The American people are still asking, "Who is Mitt Romney?" But the American people know Barack Obama. He is the leader who says we should, we can, we will. He is the leader who doesn't search for the easy path for himself, but takes the right one for us.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 8:32pm

    okay - maybe it's the place i'm in right now, but i can't stop tearing up.  First it was President of NARAL Pro-Choice America Nancy Keenan.  If you don't get up and get Obama and the Democrats elected, I don't know what will - that is if you are a liberal. 

    Then there wasTammy Duckworth, Former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and U.S. House Candidate for Illinois's 8th congressional district.  Freakin' powerful.  Says it all about why I am a Democrat.

    Then came Stacey Lihn, the mother whose daughter was born with a congenital heart disease.  Here are her words

    Governor Romney says people like me were the most excited about President Obama the day we voted for him.

    But that's not true. Not even close.

    For me, there was the day the Affordable Care Act passed and I no longer had to worry about Zoe getting the care she needed.

    There was the day the letter arrived from the insurance company, saying that our daughter's lifetime cap had been lifted.

    There was the day the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare.

    Like so many moms with sick children, I shed tears and I could breathe easier knowing we have that net below us to catch us if we fall, or if, God forbid, Zoe needs a heart transplant—Obamacare provides my family security and relief.

    But we're also scared. Governor Romney repealing health care reform is something we worry about literally every day. Zoe's third open-heart surgery will happen either next year or the year after.

    If Mitt Romney becomes president and Obamacare is repealed, there's a good chance she'll hit her lifetime cap.

    There's no way we could afford to pay for all the cares needs to survive. When you have a sick child, it's always in the back of your mind and sometimes in the front of your mind.

    On top of that, to worry that people would let an insurance company take away her health care, just because of politics?

    One in 100 children is born with a congenital heart defect. President Obama is fighting for them. He's fighting.

    For families like mine.

    And we need To fight for him.

     


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:20pm


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:24pm

    I cried with pride and thanks for Tammy and after Keenan the tears are flowing, from compassion for the family and gratitude for Obama's vision and fortitude.

    I have to say that this convention is making me proud and more committed to working to ensure he is re-elected. 

    Thanks so much for posting pic and telling their story.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:35pm

    As a man, I don't want to speak for women, but unless you are women under the sway of some fundamental religion, I can't understand how one can vote for Romney or any republican at this point.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:39pm

    And now Lilly Ledbetter...


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:40pm

    "...and may 23 cents doesn't sound a lot to someone with a cayman bank account..."


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:45pm

    As a woman, I just can't understand it either.  Looking forward to Michele's speech!


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:42pm

    Chris Savage (Eclectablog) and his wife, Anne (now an official White House photographer), are at the Convention and he's sending behind-the-scenes photos.  Fascinating.  Anne took a beautiful portrait of Nancy Pelosi. 


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:27pm

    Ramona, thanks - Ah, women standing up and speaking out - perfect.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:40pm

     

    Is Lily Ledbetter great, or what?  Love her!


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:45pm

    Indeed. 

    Kudos to Rahm too.  He reminded us all of all the promises Obama has fulfilled.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:48pm

    the dems are doing an excellent job of differentiating themselves from the republicans.  not only are they embracing who they are, they are highlighting how the republicans hid from really saying who they were during their convention.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:36pm

    So far it's absolutely grand.


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:44pm

    In some ways, I think Dems are more defining themselves this election than they were in 2008.  In the previous election it was about how Obama (ala Dems) was not Bush (ala Repubs).  Now it is about how Dems (ala Obama) are not Repubs (ala Romeny Ryan Aikan etc).


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:48pm

    Deval Patrick nailed it: let us all get a backbone and win it. 


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:52pm

    Patrick is incredible!  WOWSA.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:52pm

    Those Orchard Garden children are our children.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:56pm

    Deval Patrick!  I am just STUNNED!


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:58pm

    He just put himself on the next level.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:06pm

    I think the word "Obama" has been said more tonight than the word "Romney" was said during the entire RNC.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:54pm

    And with a hell of a lot more passion and verve!


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 9:58pm

    and one comes back to Eastwood's endorsement of R&R.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:05pm

    FYI - Erick Erickson tweets

    @EWErickson

    First night of the Vagina Monologues in Charlotte going as expected.

     


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:07pm

    That says it all.  And if one needed a reason to get out the vote (an esp shout out to those in MA where Brown is still in the race...go figure)


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:08pm

    Wonder if CNN will suspend him - they should.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:09pm

    They should have him explain for fifteen minutes exactly what he meant by the comment


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:15pm

    Cute.  Nobody cares.


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:17pm

    The difference between RNC2012 and DNC2012?  With us, it's "We", not "Me."


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:06pm

    Castro is very good.

    Here's quote from Strickland's speech that's getting lots of play:

     “Mitt Romney has so little economic patriotism that even his money needs a passport,” Strickland said. “It summers on the beaches of the Cayman Islands and winters on the slopes of the Swiss Alps. In Matthew, chapter 6, verse 21, the scriptures teach us that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. My friends, any man who aspires to be our president should keep both his treasure and his heart in the United States of America.”


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:24pm

    Castro made a comment how money in a Caymen account doesn't help educate our kids.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:32pm

    I have to say, I'm just bursting with pride.  And now I'm crying along with Michelle Obama.  Whew!


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:29pm

    all this and then her speech...


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 10:30pm

    I can honestly say that I have never seen a speech like that from a First Lady.  Ever.  She could be president someday herself.  She is truly amazing.

    And now I'm done.  I'm wiped out. 

    Did I say amazing?


    by Ramona on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:08pm

    she hit out of the ballpark...first lady-wise and otherwise.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:10pm

    I'm exhausted too.  But can't wait for tomorrow and of course, Thursday night.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:12pm

    emotionally exhausted, yes indeed.


    by Elusive Trope on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:22pm

    Thanks for sharing this time with us, hope you do same rest of week.


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:25pm

    Never better.  She is the most remarkable woman and the best first lady ever.

    Don't remember a more impassioned speech from any first lady that was really all about Americans. Simply terrific.  (Why am I so teary?)


    by Aunt Sam on Tue, 09/04/2012 - 11:10pm

    Michelle was great. Showed us who Obama and she are if we were unsure, and how different their values are than the likes of Rmoney. On PBS even the NYT right wing apologist David Brooks looked stunned with her performance, agreeing she was fantastic.

    I also like the 'even his money needs a passport' from Gov. Strickland, and the 'our President needs to have his heart and his treasure in the USA'. The evening was orders of magnitude above the RNC in honesty, compassion and true American spirit.


    by NCD on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 12:45am

    Hi folks! Please keep live-blogging this week! I can't watch live, because it's on while I'm at school and the teachers and students would think it a bit weird if I loaded up MSNBC and alternated giggling, fist pumping, and tearing up. But reading it after the fact was kind of like being there. 

    My two  cents: Michelle Obama's speech--now that was something.


    by Orlando on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 9:51am

    After hours and hours of the convention, I am feeling hopeful. THIS is the dem party I am proud of! I know we are very far from perfect. We run from our core beliefs more than we wear them proudly. But when we do wear them, it's a wonderful thing.

     


    by stillidealistic on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 12:52pm

    Rest of second day on Tropes thread!


    by Aunt Sam on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 8:25pm

    thanks for setting the precedent of the open thread on the convention


    by Elusive Trope on Wed, 09/05/2012 - 8:29pm