Democratic National Convention

What An Inspiring, Emotional Night At The Democratic National Convention!

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It was hard not to be emotional about the speeches at the Democratic National Convention this evening.

There were so many good speeches, that it is hard to rank them, as they all hit home!

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro all did a magnificent job in their speeches!

Many of the above can be seen as potential future rivals for the Presidency in 2016 or beyond, with particular attention given to Booker, Castro, and O’Malley. There is a lot of “fresh blood” in the Democratic Party to follow Barack Obama, along with the “Establishment” figures, including Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden!

And First Lady Michelle Obama gave the best public speech ever delivered by a First Lady, including Hillary Clinton, and she made us all proud, that we are fortunate to have such a talented, brilliant First Lady available to help her husband when he needs advice, counsel, or just a friendly pat on the back or a hug, in difficult times!

Tammy Duckworth: Heroic Veteran Who Should Be Elected To Congress To Replace Despicable, Disgraceful Congressman Joe Walsh Of Illinois!

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Tammy Duckworth, a candidate for a Congressional seat in Illinois, and war hero, who lost both legs in Iraq, gave an inspirational speech tonight at the Democratic National Convention.

Duckworth is needed in Congress, to replace the despicable, disgraceful Joe Walsh, a Tea Party lunatic, who has said and done all the wrong things in his one term in Congress, including the ridicule of Tammy Duckworth’s sacrifice in war.

Walsh owes back payments for child support to his former wife, and has insulted constituents, and ranted and raved at public meetings, and he is an embarrassment to the House of Representatives, and is on the short list of the Democrats to be kicked out of Congress, if at all possible.

All Americans should be proud of Tammy Duckworth, and it is hoped she will be serving in Congress in 2013!

Great Tribute To Senator Ted Kennedy At Democratic National Convention

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It was a very emotional moment when the Democratic National Convention paid tribute this evening to Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, who passed away three years ago, but only after giving his full throated support to Barack Obama’s victory as President in 2008, and starting the long, hard fought struggle for national health care in 2009.

Kennedy served longer in the Senate than all but two fellow Senators in American history, and is regarded as one of the most significant, influential Senators of all time.

Despite his earlier recklessness and immaturity, and being regarded as a lightweight, Kennedy developed into a hard working, devoted public servant who did many great deeds in his nearly 47 years as a US Senator.

All who care about the issues that Ted Kennedy made his lifetime work will continue to mourn his death in 2009, and will keep him in their memories!

The Presentation Of Future Democratic Presidential Possibilities At The Democratic National Convention

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Tonight, as the Democratic National Convention opens in Charlotte, North Carolina, we are seeing the presentation of future Presidential possibilities, giving them a chance to be noticed and judged by political observers and fellow Democrats.

Among those speaking are Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker; San Antonio, Texas Mayor Julian Castro, who is giving the keynote address; and Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley.

Also speaking are former Florida Congressman Robert Wexler; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid; Independent Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former Chief of Staff to President Obama; Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick; Lilly Ledbetter, the woman who is mentioned as the name on the Equal Pay Act for women; the brother of Michelle Obama and the sister of President Obama; and finally, the distinguished First Lady herself!

It will be an exciting evening for Democrats, and Independents alike!

The Capture Of The Republican Party By Right Wing Zealots: A Threat To America’s Future!

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Sadly, as has been stated in many posts on this blog, the Republican Party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, and even Ford, Reagan, and the Bushes, has been taken captive by right wing zealots, who have managed to make Mitt Romney follow their lead, and add ideologue Paul Ryan to his Presidential ticket for 2012.

The fact that Romney and Ryan are peddling propaganda, lies, and myths at an extraordinary rate, and managing to fool millions of Americans to think that the party represents their interests, is mind boggling.

This week, at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, we have an opportunity to explode the myths that have been built up by the GOP, and to show just how dangerous the party has become, as it has left the mainstream and become a party no one with intelligence and a sense of history could possibly endorse.

There is a need to purge the evil elements of the party, in order to save it for the future competition for power, or else a new party will have to replace it sometime soon!

When a party can allow religious conservatives to control a woman’s future even on the subject of rape as suggested by Missouri Congressman Todd Akin, and to demand vaginal probes before an abortion will be allowed, as Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia promoted, then we know that the party has been seized by the extremism of Tony Perkins and the Family Research Council.

And the Family Research Council, judged a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for its extreme promotion of hatred toward LGBT people, and lacking concern for teenagers harassed for their sexuality to the point of suicide, adds concern for the future of tolerance and open mindedness in America.

The growing influence of a supposed historian, David Barton, who is rewriting the history of America as a “Christian” nation, and has been denounced by reputable historians for his distorted views of all kinds of personalities and issues, is having an effect on the Texas schoolbook adoption of standards of what is taught, which affects the whole nation. Barton has no credentials to be called an “expert” on the truth and reality of American history, but carries a lot of weight in GOP circles, nevertheless.

Meanwhile, Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State, has gained a lot of influence in promotion of anti immigrant legislation, including the laws in Arizona and Alabama. He has also been a leader in voter suppression activities, action against gay rights, support of no limits on guns, and has also promoted hysteria against so called “Sharia” or Muslim religious laws, which actually have no effect or impact, but are talked about to stir up insecure citizens to think we are about to be taken over by Muslims.

Additionally, Dick Armey, former GOP House Majority Leader in the 1990s, has worked to promote Tea Party takeover in the House and Senate, and is actively involved now in the races that led to Richard Mourdock, Debbie Fischer, and Ted Cruz winning Senate nominations in Indiana, Nebraska, and Texas.

Additionally, the no tax increase crowd, no matter what the circumstances, continues to hold sway with the power and influence of Grover Norquist of Americans For Tax Reform, as his group is called.

The dangers represented by what Bob McDonnell, Todd Akin, Tony Perkins, David Barton, Kris Kobach, Dick Armey, and Grover Norquist promote is massive, and Americans need to understand the threat to our social, economic and political future represented by the right wing zealots in the Republican party that has fallen on difficult times, and needs to be cleansed!

Barack Obama’s Greatest Asset: Michelle Obama

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President Barack Obama’s greatest asset, as he moves into full campaign mode this week at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, is his wife, the First Lady, Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama has shown true grace, dignity, and class as First Lady, and has added much to the stature of that unelected office.

Highly intelligent, dedicated and committed to her husband and the issues she cares about, and warm and genuine to all she meets, Michelle Obama has played a role under her husband matched only by a few First Ladies—including Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Ford, and Hillary Clinton.

Michelle Obama will start off the convention tomorrow night with the first major speech, and she will set the stage for what is to come, including the keynote speech by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro; the nominating speech by former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday night; and the acceptance speeches of Vice President Joe Biden and President Obama on Thursday evening.

This convention will be a time to celebrate all of the great accomplishments of President Obama, and for making a case to give him a second term in office to continue and complete the work he has begun, and add to his contributions to the American people and nation!

The Democratic Party And Human Rights Asserted Again!

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The Democratic Party is the party of most of the great social, political, and economic reforms of the 20th century, and going into the 21st century. A small number of Republican political leaders, whether governors, senators, or congressmen, joined the cause, and at times Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon joined in, but the Democrats were still the vast majority of those who promoted reforms we think we can now take for granted, but which conservative and Tea Party Republicans today wish to reverse!

The Democratic Party outside the South had to struggle against the right wing conservatism of most of its Southern members, including governors, senators, and congressmen, but in 1948, led by Mayor Hubert Humphrey of Minneapolis, they came out for civil rights in the national convention platform.

The Democrats came out for women’s rights, including the right to control their own bodies, in the 1970s after Roe V. Wade.

And now the Platform Committee of the Democratic National Convention of 2012 is moving toward adoption of a plank in the platform, backing gay rights and gay marriage explicitly!

This is a great victory, and follows in the tradition of the Democratic Party, being the party of openness, tolerance, and human compassion!

A Future Presidential Race? Texans Ted Cruz (R) Vs. Julian Castro (D)?

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With news on Tuesday evening that former Texas Solicitor General Ted Cruz has won the Republican nomination for the US Senate with the backing of the Tea Party Movement; and also the news that Mayor Julian Castro of San Antonio has been selected to give the keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention in the first week of September, suddenly we must pay attention to the Lone Star State, as we may be witnessing a potential future race of these two Texans, both Latinos, who could not be more different, competing for the Presidency of the United States in 2020 or after!

Cruz is almost guaranteed to win the Senate seat to replace Kay Bailey Hutchison, even though Texas Governor Rick Perry supported his opponent, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst. He would become one of the Tea Party activists in the US Senate, joining Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Rand Paul of Kentucky, and Marco Rubio of Florida, and would become a rival of Rubio to be the first Hispanic Republican to seek the Presidency, but with the difference being that Rubio is Cuban, and Cruz is Mexican. Do not forget that Mexican Americans are nearly two thirds of all Hispanics in America, while Cubans are only about three percent of the Hispanic population! Of course, the majority of Mexican Americans tend to vote Democratic, but in theory, Cruz might be able, long term, to change that reality. Being only 41, the same age as Rubio, who is about five months younger, a definite rivalry for Hispanic Republican support can be seen as in the making!

But at the same time, with the announcement that San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, also Mexican American, and only 37 and very photogenic, will be delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, is an event to pay attention to, as many see him as the Mexican American version of Barack Obama in the Democratic Party, with a possible future in the party beyond the mayoralty of the seventh largest city in America, including a possible run in the future for the Presidency!

To imagine a theoretical race between Cruz and Castro in the future may be an illusion, but who can say that it will not happen?

With Cruz being 41 and Castro 37, we may be hearing about both in American politics for the next few decades!

Bill Clinton To Nominate Barack Obama For Second Term As President, While George W. Bush Will Avoid Republican Convention!

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President Barack Obama will be formally nominated for reelection at the Charlotte, North Carolina Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, September 5th, by former President Bill Clinton, once his most bitter rival during the battle for the Democratic Presidential nomination conducted by Senator Hillary Clinton.

But Barack Obama and Hillary and Bill Clinton have become fast friends, and Hillary Clinton has been one of the greatest Secretaries of State in American history, a master stroke by Obama to nominate the New York Senator, as Abraham Lincoln chose his most bitter rival, Senator William Seward of New York, to be his Secretary of State, who went on to conduct brilliant foreign policy, keeping Great Britain and France neutral in the Civil War, rather than recognizing the Confederacy!

At the same time, former President George W. Bush is not even attending the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, the last week of August. And as of now, neither former Vice President Dick Cheney nor former GOP Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin are planning to attend either! But even if either one does, they will certainly NOT play a major role in the convention as Bill Clinton will at the Democratic National Convention!

Vice President Joe Biden: The “Pit Bull” Of The Presidential Campaign Of 2012!

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Vice President Joe Biden has been in the news more than usual in recent weeks.

Biden spoke up on endorsement of gay marriage two weeks ago, and this led to an earlier assertion of support from Barack Obama than might have occurred otherwise, although it seems clear that Obama would have endorsed the concept before the Democratic National Convention in September.

And now Biden, always a vigorous campaigner throughout his career, has come out like a “pit bull”, going after Republican nominee Mitt Romney with a vengeance in the “swing” states, attacking Romney for claiming that he would take some credit for the revival of the auto industry, and also criticizing how Romney acquired his great wealth at Bain Capital, double the assets of all the eight Presidents from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush combined!

Biden knows how to hit the jugular vein, how to “punch and jab”, and reminds many of the fighting spirit of President Harry Truman, who gave the Republican opposition “Hell” during the 1948 Presidential campaign.

Some have thought of Biden as a negative for Obama, but in actual fact, he is a tremendous asset, and reminds people that despite the fact he will be 70 shortly after the election is resolved, that he should not be dismissed as a possible Presidential candidate to succeed his boss in 2016, when he would be 74 years old!

Don’t ever count Joe Biden out in any form or fashion!