A few Dem convention thoughts

The best speeches on the final night were Rev. Barber and Khizr Kahn back-to-back. Barber showed that moral decency and demanding equality of rights and opportunity should be American values, but that these days, it is only progressives that follow them. Rev. Barber was further vindicated yesterday when race-based voting restrictions in his home state of North Carolina were struck down, and followed shortly by similar Jim Crow-like suppression getting the boot in Wisconsin.

And when Mr. Khan did this and said “Mr. Trump, you have sacrificed nothing,”…GAME OVER.



Those guys represented and spoke to the America I believe in, and know that we can become, if we have the guts to choose it.

Hillary’s speech was really good, especially once she got out of the wonky weeds and drew the contrast between GOP hate and Dem inclusion. And also drew the contrast between her steadiness and intelligence, and Drumpf’s weakness, stupidity and horrible temperament. Drumpf and his pathetic followers are now on an island, and look like the diminished, shriveldicked fools they are.

Sure, this thing’s not over- catastrophes could hit that drive up the fear prospect which makes people vote foolishly (Drumpf’s only chance), but the Dems couldn’t have run things better and set themselves up better, given how things looked at the start of this week. They have now taken command of military competence and done so with an inclusionary message of respect and hope that fits the 21st Century- what Reagan Republicans claimed to be 30 years ago (even if they never really lived up to it).

My biggest complaint- WHERE WAS THE MESSAGE TO VOTE DOWNTICKET? The biggest problem with the DNC and the Party in general for the 2010s is too much concentration on DC and the Presidency, and not enough attention to more local races. They should have hammered Congressional GOPs for their obstruction, and ripped GOP governors for their failed policies and hateful fundie social laws (did you hear about North Carolina’s “bathroom bill” or the anti-public education policies of ALEC? I didn’t). Where’s the message of “Give us a Democratic Congress, and put Democrats in charge at the state level, and you will see this country move ahead.” I didn’t hear enough of that.

But it still was a great event if you support Dems or if you’re frightened by the prospect of a Drumpf Administration ending this country’s democracy, and it feels like things are more in control and settled down in this country than they were last week. But being complacent is nowhere near good enough- we need Dems to DOMINATE in the elections and slam Republicans into dust, if we truly want to take a big leap forward after 2016. And that goes far beyond merely putting Hillary Clinton in the White House.