My notes on the 2024 Democratic National Convention: I watched on the YouTube live stream (and on the saved recordings) almost the entirety of the four nights of evening programming of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, a chance to hear from those raising their voices to support good causes in the ways that most make sense to them. It was a morale boost and tonic for me, mostly. I posted my notes on two social media sites but thought I’d gather the notes here for reference.
First night highlights
I started watching a little before 7 pm, and I quickly moved to Dem convention’s youtube live stream because I wanted to hear what was actually said, not anyone else’s opinion or political predictions or bad faith commentary.
I was immediately moved by the many nods to the history of civil rights, including the issue of inclusion in the Democratic Party—history matters 🙂 I especially teared up at the sight of Jesse Jackson silently waving at the crowd.
I was interested in all the speakers just to learn more about who they were and what they chose to say (lots of good stuff), but my favorite moments came from the speeches of Maxine Waters, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Hillary Clinton, three women telling their personal stories of the grave dangers of abortion bans, US Representative Jasmine Crockett, Senator/Reverend Raphael Warnock, and President Joe Biden. For me, it was often moving, inspiring, included a few good laughs, and overall provided an almost cathartic experience to hear people saying what needed to be said.
For the record, I think Joe Biden has been an amazingly effective President. His ability to work with Congress to pass sweeping legislation has few modern parallels. He understands what it means to be an ally, both as an individual and as a nation. He has been playing a long game, working on long term solutions that gradually build, so his accomplishments don’t fit neatly in bite-sized sound bites and sometimes require an understanding of how legislation works in our country, as well as the role of the President (at least one who supports the Constitution). His competence, his empathy, and his absolute commitment to causes greater than himself stand in stark contrast to the mind-boggling amount of incompetence, selfishness, and recklessness offered by the other side. And, I have been a huge fan of Kamala Harris since watching her in hearings as a Senator. I always knew her to be an ace in the hole for Biden, that I never had to worry about aging-related risks because I knew she was there, too.
Turns out I was right. Can’t wait to cast my vote for Harris/Walz. LFG
Notes on the second evening
So many good moments. Day 2 featured rising voices among the Dems and echoes from the past. A new voice for me was Malcolm Kenyatta from the Pennsylvania House, especially his answer to his grandmother, when she told him, “I’m so sorry, I thought my generation had fixed this, and here you are, fighting the same battles.” And he said, “It’s just our turn.”
So true—there is an understandable but misleading expectation that the most important challenges we face should be “fixable” with a single vote or policy, and if those problems don’t vanish completely, then the vote, the policy, or the politics failed. But democracy and the related goals of justice and peace are not destinations, but processes, actions not outcomes. We’re never done. We may lose ground, and sometimes even hope, but we have to keep finding a way forward.
I enjoyed the roll call vote hearing from each state, including North Carolina’s live wire state chair Clayton Anderson.The DJ show for the vote was pretty cool. https://www.npr.org/2024/08/21/g-s1-18188/democratic-national-convention-roll-call-music-state
For me, it was comforting to glimpse so many committed people because the actions that make us a democracy require all of us to, ahem, do something. Which reminds me, if you can only watch one speech from day two, watch Obama’s (and her husband’s speech was pretty good, and of course, Doug Emhoff is adorable).
The bar for her speeches was already high, but this felt like the best I’d ever heard from Michelle Obama, parts resembling spoken word performance. Her words resonated from start to finish, but especially, for me, when she spoke first of hope and then of grief, perhaps because that also speaks to where I am at this point of my life, watching these speeches and remembering the loved ones I’ve lost, too, the ones who first made me care so much about our democracy. If they were still here, my father would have been glued 24/7 to the coverage, and my mother would have watched only parts, in between making calls for local Democrats and writing letters to tell other women why she believed it was so important to get out and vote.
Michelle Obama is right that we must not squander the hard work of our elders. Kenyatta is right that the work goes on. It’s just our turn.
Notes on day 3 of DNC 2024
I’m starting to be overwhelmed because there’s no way I can touch on everything worthy of comment. This was a star-packed day, but the early evening presentations worked to articulate critical issues— such as what it means to take action on immigration and infrastructure, rather than just complain. There was a painful but important reminder of the violence of Jan 6 insurrection and the assault on voting rights and election workers, including searing words from former lieutenant governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan whose family faced threats of violence because he honored the vote of Georgians—he is still a Republican but says a vote for Kamala Harris is a vote for democracy. A sober report and warning from Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz: “Don’t let them do to America what they did to Florida”
The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American citizen taken hostage on Oct 7 (321 days ago), spoke movingly of the suffering of the hostages, their families and across the region: “In a competition of pain, there are no winners…. We must save all of these universes.” Agreed.
I especially enjoyed Nessel, Polis, Ellison, poet Amanda Gorman, Buttigieg, and as for Governor Wes Moore of Maryland—Wow!
Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz, his family, former students, and former football team warmed my heart. One quote I loved: “Never underestimate a public school teacher.” And I took note of this line: “Health care is a human right, housing is a human right.” Yes.
A few notes on the final night of DNC (just to wrap this up!)
You know I was moved at the sight of my favorite Elizabeth Warren tearing up at the sight of so many dedicated volunteers in the crowd. A line I liked: “Kamala Harris can’t be bought, and she can’t be bossed around.”
Elissa Slotkin, U.S. Senate candidate from Michigan, brought credentials and fire: “Don’t back down from traitors who wrap themselves in the flag and spit on what it stands for.”
And…words fail: The exonerated five spoke, and yep, I cried. Frankly, there are so many reasons that disqualify the GOP candidate, but still, the man lobbied for innocent young boys to be sentenced to death. And a helpful reminder that the government gathered extensive evidence that his company refused to rent apartments to Black people.
John Russell of More Perfect Union said, “We, in West Virginia, know well they called us rednecks back in the 1920s because striking workers from all different races wore red bandanas around their necks as they fought and died for respect and a living wage.”
Hearing that story just reminds me of how I already feel when people use that word as an insult. Let me say this—I beg everyone to criticize people for being bigots but do not confuse that with how they look or how they speak or whether they seem like your kind of person. Please, please, please, don’t allow what I know is righteous anger against those who intend harm to lead you to use bigoted language that won’t bother bigots but could inflict collateral damage on salt-of-the-earth people who won’t know you didn’t mean them.
Maxwell Frost from Florida was a wow for me. I enjoyed the Chicks’ rendition of the national anthem, and Pink with her 13-year-old daughter singing “What about us.” Governor Whitmer was impressive, and Governor Roy Cooper is always nice, but seeing him in Chicago made me worry what our unhinged Lt. Governor might do in his absence here in NC (gentle reminder that it is so important to vote for Josh Stein for Governor now that Cooper’s term is ending).
If you only have time to listen to one speech from the convention, though, it should be Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech. Every speech that evening was efficient and effective, but hers was next level in terms of saying everything that needed to be said, covering so many bases with skill and insight.
We can’t take for granted even one single vote this election, but having Kamala Harris and Tim Walz out there making the case is reason for hope and joy.
reader. writer. 