I am so proud to be a Democrat.
The open-air event at Invesco Mile High Stadium in Denver was a show of Democratic unity and values.
The best way to understand this is to take the time to watch Obama’s magnificent speech.
I can’t anything to improve on what the man said. Please look at his amazing speech. Do it twice. These are words to remember.
For those of you who want even MORE depth, look at Al Gore’s speech. It rocks!
Remember: The most important thing is to Elect Barack Obama and a Democratic Congress. There is SO much damage from the Bush administration to repair.
Future Blogging
Writing this blog and communicating with the hundreds of you who read it has enhanced my experience of the Convention. I am grateful for the comments I received both directly and posted on the blog. Thanks to you all.
I'm going to stop for a while, but will resume when I return to Holland.
To stay reasonably brief (and to let me get to bed before 4 a.m.!) I omitted a lot of the things that happened.
For example:
At Democrats Abroad breakfasts we were honored to have speeches from two terrific members of Congress: Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Democrat from New York (who happens to represent my home district in Manhattan), who founded the Americans Abroad Caucus in Congress, and Senator Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well a being the ranking member on the Helsinki Commission for security and cooperation with Europe.
Senator Cardin’s best quote: The Bush administration has trampled on our civil rights, and destroyed our fiscal responsibility” We MUST elect Baraka Obama to repair this damage.
At the LGBT Caucus, we were addressed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome, who started doing same-sex marriages in San Francisco in defiance of then state law.
The Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Gov. Howard Dean, also spoke to the LGBT Caucus. He is the best friend we could have. As Governor of Vermont, in 2000 Governor Dean signed the first legislation in the United States permitting same-sex civil registration.
Being a Delegate to a Democratic National Convention was a great experience, which I recommend to anyone.
I realize Obama seeks to be President of the entire country, and not just the Democratic Party. But I regret the Convention’s references to religion, and repeatedly to “America’s Warriors”.
Those are not my values. Religion should be kept out of politics. I yearn for secular, civil government, where no particular religion, or religious belief in general, is held above those who believe differently. And our military might must be used rationally, and only where needed. I admire and support those brave men and women who risk their lives for America. We disrespect them when we use them wrongly.
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.org
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Convention Day 3 - Obama by Acclamation!
They did the deed! And they did it beautifully. Barack Obama is the candidate of the Democratic Party for the Presidency of the United States, and Joe Biden Obama is the Vice Presidential candidate.
It’s a dynamite team. Obama inspires. Biden fights. Both are brilliant. This is going to be good.
And it happened by acclamation. That means no vote was needed. The entire convention voiced (well, shouted) its approval as one. As if to show the complete unanimity of the support.
And the acclamation was a surprise act of grace and generosity by Hillary Clinton.
You can see this extraordinary moment (with a bonus blip of me in the picture).
The event was so thrilling, that I’d like to explain how it worked for those of you who like these fascinating details. Everybody else should stop reading.
The Acclamation:
First, Senator Nancy Pelosi, the Secretary of the Convention, called the usual role all. When we got to Democrats Abroad (right after Delaware), our Chair, Christine Schon Marques, made a great little speech about the 6-7 millions abroad whom we represent, and then cast our measly 12 votes. The contrast between population and votes was clear.
Almost every state voting had massive votes for Obama. This confused me, because I didn’t recall his winning by such huge margins. Someone told me that since 1980 candidates are not “really pledged” any more, so many Clinton candidates have shifted their votes to Obama.
When we got to California, they “passed”. That huge number of votes was not counted! I was confused, but we decided that California probably wants to vote last, so as to “make the difference.” Ah, well.
When we got to New Jersey, the state cast its entire 127 votes for Obama. All their Clinton people had defected. Massive cheering followed.
When we got to New York – here’s the clincher – things changed. Hillary Clinton came out from behind the delegation, walking slowly down the aisle to where the New York State delegation was sitting. The house erupted into cheers and applause. That took five minutes. When she finally reached her destination, her aide handed her a paper, which she read out loud:
“With eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country let’s declare together in one voice, right here and right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate, and he will be our president."
“Madame secretary, madame secretary, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote. All votes cast by the delegates will be counted, and that I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of" the United States.”
Nancy Pelosi called for a “second” to the motion, as the rules require, and thousand cheered. She then called for a vote on the motion. And thousand cheered again.
The deed was done!
I later learned that the reason California probably passed was to allow this acclamation to happen. The states are called alphabetically, and if the California votes had been counted, Obama would have had enough votes to win before the voting got to New York.
Biden, too!
Then Joe Biden was ALSO nominated by acclamation. He gave a terrific speech, too. Heart-warming, tough, intelligent.
Bill Clinton’s Speech – The best.
For me, the highpoint was Bill Clinton’s speech, the last of the evening. When he stepped on the stage, we all remembered that at one point or another, we have loved Bill Clinton. He was the finest, wisest President since Kennedy. His administration accomplished so much, and left the country in better shape than it has ever been. It is a tragedy that the Bush Administration has trashed these advances, leaving behind huge debt, trade deficits, war, poverty, and social dislocation.
In his second sentence, Bill Clinton praised Barack Obama, said he was “ready” to be President, and said, “Hillary and I will support him fully in his campaign for the Presidency” (I paraphrase). This was an historic statement. It can change the future of the world.
Obama’s surprise visit.
Obama then walked on the stage. A surprise visitor! The house – which could not have gotten much more excited – went wild. Cheers, followed by a warm and short speech by Obama.
The evening ended with the Obama family and the Biden family (including numerous children, spouses and cute grandchildren) coming out on the stage for massive ovation.
The new age begins…
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.blogspot.com
It’s a dynamite team. Obama inspires. Biden fights. Both are brilliant. This is going to be good.
And it happened by acclamation. That means no vote was needed. The entire convention voiced (well, shouted) its approval as one. As if to show the complete unanimity of the support.
And the acclamation was a surprise act of grace and generosity by Hillary Clinton.
You can see this extraordinary moment (with a bonus blip of me in the picture).
The event was so thrilling, that I’d like to explain how it worked for those of you who like these fascinating details. Everybody else should stop reading.
The Acclamation:
First, Senator Nancy Pelosi, the Secretary of the Convention, called the usual role all. When we got to Democrats Abroad (right after Delaware), our Chair, Christine Schon Marques, made a great little speech about the 6-7 millions abroad whom we represent, and then cast our measly 12 votes. The contrast between population and votes was clear.
Almost every state voting had massive votes for Obama. This confused me, because I didn’t recall his winning by such huge margins. Someone told me that since 1980 candidates are not “really pledged” any more, so many Clinton candidates have shifted their votes to Obama.
When we got to California, they “passed”. That huge number of votes was not counted! I was confused, but we decided that California probably wants to vote last, so as to “make the difference.” Ah, well.
When we got to New Jersey, the state cast its entire 127 votes for Obama. All their Clinton people had defected. Massive cheering followed.
When we got to New York – here’s the clincher – things changed. Hillary Clinton came out from behind the delegation, walking slowly down the aisle to where the New York State delegation was sitting. The house erupted into cheers and applause. That took five minutes. When she finally reached her destination, her aide handed her a paper, which she read out loud:
“With eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country let’s declare together in one voice, right here and right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate, and he will be our president."
“Madame secretary, madame secretary, I move that the convention suspend the procedural rules and suspend the further conduct of the roll call vote. All votes cast by the delegates will be counted, and that I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by this convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party for president of" the United States.”
Nancy Pelosi called for a “second” to the motion, as the rules require, and thousand cheered. She then called for a vote on the motion. And thousand cheered again.
The deed was done!
I later learned that the reason California probably passed was to allow this acclamation to happen. The states are called alphabetically, and if the California votes had been counted, Obama would have had enough votes to win before the voting got to New York.
Biden, too!
Then Joe Biden was ALSO nominated by acclamation. He gave a terrific speech, too. Heart-warming, tough, intelligent.
Bill Clinton’s Speech – The best.
For me, the highpoint was Bill Clinton’s speech, the last of the evening. When he stepped on the stage, we all remembered that at one point or another, we have loved Bill Clinton. He was the finest, wisest President since Kennedy. His administration accomplished so much, and left the country in better shape than it has ever been. It is a tragedy that the Bush Administration has trashed these advances, leaving behind huge debt, trade deficits, war, poverty, and social dislocation.
In his second sentence, Bill Clinton praised Barack Obama, said he was “ready” to be President, and said, “Hillary and I will support him fully in his campaign for the Presidency” (I paraphrase). This was an historic statement. It can change the future of the world.
Obama’s surprise visit.
Obama then walked on the stage. A surprise visitor! The house – which could not have gotten much more excited – went wild. Cheers, followed by a warm and short speech by Obama.
The evening ended with the Obama family and the Biden family (including numerous children, spouses and cute grandchildren) coming out on the stage for massive ovation.
The new age begins…
Where on earth will you vote? See www.votefromabroad.blogspot.com
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