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Aug 23, 2024
Gabby Giffords, gun violence victim, speaks
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After a rather sombre discussion about gun violence, one of the victims of that violence, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, came onto the stage, accompanied by her husband, the senator and former astronaut Mark Kelly.
Ms Giffords was shot, and suffered a severe brain injury, in an assassination attempt.
The crowd loved it when, recounting her biography, Ms Giffords quipped that she “fell for an astronaut”, and gave her husband a kiss.
“On January 8, 2011, a man tried to assassinate me. He shot 19 people, he killed six. Terrible, terrible day. I almost died, but I fought for my life and I survived,” she said.
“I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk again, one word at a time. So many people helped me as I worked hard to recover, including a decent man from Delaware who always checked in. He still does. Thank you Joe Biden, thank you for everything.
“Joe is a great president. My friend Kamala will be a great president. She is tough. She has grit. Kamala can beat the gun lobby, she can fight gun trafficking. Kamala stood up to Wall Street and the drug companies. She will protect abortion access. She will defend our freedom.
“Join me in voting for Kamala Harris.”
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Aug 23, 2024
P!NK sings, her daughter wows
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The musician P!NK just performed alongside her daughter, Willow, who appears to have inherited her mother’s amazing voice.
They sang What About Us. All very nice. But again, as an amateur listener with an incredibly lame Spotify playlist, I think the main takeaway will be Willow’s talent.
After that, Senator Kelly returned to the stage, this time without his wife. He spoke mostly about foreign policy, which is generally a bit of an afterthought at these conventions.
“Trump thinks that Americans who have made the ultimate sacrifice are ‘suckers’ and ‘losers’. If we fall for that again, and make him the commander-in-chief, the only suckers would be us,” he said.
“Kamala Harris knows that standing with our allies means standing up for Americans. She’ll keep modernising our military to support our troops, and to support our veterans.
“The world laughs at Trump, literally. But folks, it is not funny. When he was president, that meant the world was laughing at us. The threats we face are too serious. The alliances we have spent decades building are too critical. That is what’s at stake now.
“The choice is not even close. But in Arizona, and nationwide, this election will be.”
(Donald Trump has long denied calling America’s fallen soldiers from World War One suckers and losers, a claim that comes from his former White House chief of staff, General John Kelly.)
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Aug 23, 2024
Gretchen Whitmer mocks Trump
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who is herself spoken of as a potential presidential candidate, took a few quite sassy shots at Donald Trump.
“In Michigan, they call me governor. In Detroit, they call me ‘Big Gretch’. Donald Trump called me ‘that woman from Michigan’. As an insult,” Ms Whitmer said, motioning as though brushing something off her shoulder.
“Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honour. Like women from across America, we just get stuff done,” she continued.
“Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all. You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you can’t get to work? No! His first word was probably ‘chauffeur’.
“You think he’s ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out? Heck, you think he’s ever been to a grocery store? That’s what the chauffeur is for.
“But Kamala Harris gets us.”
Ms Whitmer proceeded to ask people whether they wanted Mr Trump to be the person in charge, should a crisis affect their family.
“What if it’s him? What if it’s that man from Mar-a-Lago?” she asked, calling back to her earlier remark.
“In a crisis, we need someone strong enough to come up with a plan, to tell the truth, and to bring people together. Right now, before the crisis, is when we get to choose. Why wouldn’t we choose the leader who’s tough, tested, and a total badass?”
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Aug 23, 2024
Actress Eva Longoria speaks
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Actress Eva Longoria, a longtime, vocal supporter of the Democrats, told the crowd she had known Kamala Harris for “more than a decade”.
“We were both raised knowing that no one was going to hand us anything, especially as women. That we were going to have to touch every rung of the ladder to get ahead,” Ms Longoria said.
“She worked at McDonald’s. I worked at Wendy’s. And look at us now!”
Ms Longoria brought up a saying from the latino community: “Si, se puede.” It translates to “yes, you can”, which is a callback to Barack Obama’s famous slogan.
“I’m here to tell you: yes she can,” she said.
“Our voices, our vote. We’re going to decide this election. And let me tell you, the energy tonight isn’t just here in Chicago, it’s all across the country.
“Let’s get to work, let’s turn all of this enthusiasm and joy into action.”
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Aug 23, 2024
'A weak man': Republican eviscerates Trump
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Former Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger, a longtime critic of Donald Trump, came on stage after Eva Longoria.
“I am proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes awkward alliance that we have, to defend truth, defend democracy, and decency,” Mr Kinzinger said.
“I was just a kid when I was drawn to the party of Ronald Reagan, to his vision of a strong America. I was a Republican for 12 years in Congress, and I still hold onto that label. I never thought I’d be here.
“But I’ve learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret: the Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do. And they are as eager to defend American values, at home and abroad, as we conservatives have ever been.”
The usual “USA! USA!” chant broke out at that point.
“I discovered something about my party too. Something I couldn’t ignore,” he continued.
“The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself.
“Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. He is a small man pretending to be big. He’s a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He’s a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim.
“He puts on quite a show, but there is no real strength there. As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in protecting the vulnerable, in defending your family.
“Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party. His fundamental weakness has seeped through my party like an illness.
“We must put country first. And tonight, as a Republican speaking before you, I’m putting our country first. Because the fact is, I do belong here. I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law and democracy.
“Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison to those matters of principle, of decency, and of fidelity to this nation.”
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Aug 23, 2024
Kamala Harris accepts Democratic nomination
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Kamala Harris had to deal with an awkward little period after taking the stage as the crowd refused to stop cheering. There were a great many “thank yous”.
“We’ve got to get to some business. Thank you, thank you. Please. Thank you. OK, let’s get to business,” she eventually said.
“First, let me thank my incredible husband, Doug, for being an incredible partner to me, an incredible father to Cole and Ella.
“To our President, Joe Biden: when I think about the path that we have travelled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show.
“And to Coach Tim Walz: you are going to be an incredible vice president.
“The path that led me here was unexpected. And I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.”
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Aug 23, 2024
Harris pays tribute to her mother
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Ms Harris began her speech by paying tribute to her parents – and also, helpfully, revealing a bit of her life story to viewers who wouldn’t have known about it already.
“My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer,” she said.
“When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage. But as fate would have it, she met my father.
“They fell in love, and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me.”
She went on to describe her childhood.
“My early memories of our parents together are very joyful ones. A home full of laughter and music.
“At the park, my mother would say ‘stay close’. But my father would say ‘run Kamala, run, don’t be afraid, don’t let anything stop you’. From my earliest years he taught me to be fearless.
Ms Harris said the “harmony” between her parents did not last, and they split up when she was in elementary (primary) school. The future Vice President ended up, with her mother, in a “beautiful working class neighbourhood”.
Her mother worked hard, so we was cared for by a wide group of people – “none of them family by blood, but all of them family by love”.
“Family who loved us, believed in us, and told us we could be anything, and do anything,” she said.
“They instilled in us the values they personified: community, faith and the importance of treating others as you would want to be treated. With kindness, respect and compassion.
“My mother was a brilliant, five-foot tall, brown woman with an accent. As the eldest child, I saw how the world would treat her. My mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health, and she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle (Obama) mentioned the other night. She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it.
“That was my mother. She also taught us: ‘never do anything half-assed’. That is a direct quote.”
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Aug 23, 2024
Kamala reflects on 'pivotal' life moment
Kamala Harris told the crowd that, when she was deciding what area of law to pursue in her career, she reflected on “a pivotal moment” in her life.
“When I was at high school, I started to notice something about my best friend,” she said.
“She was sad at school. And there were times she didn’t want to go home. So one day I asked if everything was all right, and she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather. I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did.
“This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor: to protect people like Wanda, because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity, and to justice.”
When she prosecuted assault cases, Ms Harris said, she charged it “not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people”.
“In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us,” she said.
“I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them that no one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. And every day, in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: ‘Kamala Harris, for the people.’
“And to be clear, my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.”
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Aug 23, 2024
'An unserious man': Harris attacks Trump directly
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After formally accepting the Democratic nomination, Kamala Harris launched an extended salvo against Donald Trump, contrasting her career record with his.
“Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward,” she said.
“Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self.
“I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. And always fights for the American people.
“As a young prosecutor in Oakland, California, I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them. As attorney-general of California, I took on the big banks. I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges. For workers who were being cheated out of their wages. For seniors facing elder abuse. I fought against the cartels who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings, who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities.
“These fights were not easy.”
There’s the bio. Now for the part of the speech linking it to the current election.
“This election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation,” said Ms Harris.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.
“Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol.
“When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse.
“And consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens. Consider the power he will have, especially after the Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself.”
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Aug 23, 2024
'Out of their minds': Kamala attacks Trump on abortion
Kamala Harris went on to bring up “Project 2025”, the blueprint for a second Trump term which the candidate himself claims to know “nothing” about. She said it had been “written by his closest advisers”, which is a half-truth – it’s a document produced by conservative thinktank The Heritage Foundation, and its authors are largely former Trump staffers.
“Its sum total is to pull the country back to the past,” Ms Harris said.
“We are not going back.
“We are charting a new way forward. Forward. To a future with a strong and growing middle class.
“Building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.
“This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from. My mother kept a strict budget, we lived within our means, yet we wanted for little. And she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us, and to be grateful for them. Because, as she taught us, that opportunity is not available to everyone.”
What followed was a laundry list of ambitious goals, some of which may be less than easily achievable. And then she transitioned to another attack on Donald Trump.
“I think everyone here knows, he doesn’t actually fight for the middle class. He doesn’t. Instead he fights for himself, and his billionaire friends,” said Ms Harris.
“Instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans.
“I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matter of heart and home. But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions.
“Let’s be clear about how we got here. Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now he brags about it. In his words: ‘I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.’
“Doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients. Couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments. Children who have survived sexual assault, potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand, he is not done.
“As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and impose a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress.
“He plans to create a national anti-abortion co-ordinator and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions. Simply put, they are out of their minds.”
I believe Mr Trump would dispute some of the above.
