DNC 2020: Michelle Obama gives powerful speech after Bernie Sanders calls on viewers to fight against 'bigotry' and back Biden
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Your support makes all the difference.The Democratic National Convention kicked off with some last-minute guests as the family of George Floyd led a moment of silence to mark the start of the first day, titled "We the People".
Michelle Obama headlined the evening's proceedings, ripping into the president's record saying "you simply cannot fake your way through this job" as she pleaded with Democrat voters not to stay at home or cast a protest vote in 2020. "Joe is not perfect, and he'd be the first to tell you that," Ms Obama says. "But there is no perfect candidate, no perfect president, and his ability to learn and grow, we find in that the kind of humility and maturity that so many of us yearn for now."
Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, said Nero fiddled while Rome burned, but Trump golfs while his actions fanned the coronavirus pandemic to kill more than 170,000 Americans in a nation unprepared to protect its people.
Mr Sanders made a direct appeal to his supporters to unify around Joe Biden, highlighting the candidate's progressive credentials on issues that only a few years ago would have been considered radical.
A running theme through the first night was on restoring the "Soul of America", as Democrats and Republicans alike devoted the majority of the virtual real estate to the current president.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser accused Donald Trump of 'plotting' with his bible photo at St John's Church as the daughter of a Covid-19 victim said her father's only pre-existing condition was a Trump presidency.
Republican leaders including former Ohio governor John Kasich, former New Jersey governor Christine Whitman, and former New York City congresswoman Susan Molinari lent their voices to their one-time rivals.
Democrat establishment figures like Andrew Cuomo, Jim Clyburn, and Amy Klobuchar all gave strong endorsements of their party's presidential nominee, even if some of their jokes and one-liners, aiming for inspirational resonance, seemed to linger without reaction in the virtual void of a Zoom meeting.
Mr Biden, meanwhile, appeared briefly during a round table on racism with Gwen Garner, mother of Eric Garner, Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, and other social justice activists.
Analysis: Kamala Harris' legislative record is about as liberal as it gets in the Senate
For Independent Premium, US political correspondent Griffin Connolly writes that despite nearly four years of mostly unflinching liberal purity in the Senate, the VP hopeful still can’t seem to shake questions about her career as a California prosecutor and attorney general.
Senator Kamala Harris has spent the last three and a half years in Washington cultivating one of the most ideologically pure liberal records of anyone not named Bernie Sanders.
From flagship Democratic bills she has helped author on policing reform and environmental regulations to her voting record on North American trade and Donald Trump's political and judicial appointments, Ms Harris has aligned herself with the principal liberal thrust of the Democratic party.
The California freshman, who was tapped last week to be Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's running mate this fall, has voted with Democrats more than 99 per cent of the time since taking office, according to several different metrics, including the CQ Party Unity score.
Read the full piece at Independent Premium:
Democrat National Convention to begin in next hour -- here's what to expect
The theme is deliberately vague, "We the People," and the lineup doesn't fit neatly into any box. Viewers will hear from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who finished second to Biden in the nominating contest, and Republican John Kasich, the former Ohio governor and 2016 primary rival to Trump.
To underscore the gap: That's a self-identified democratic socialist who wants a "political revolution" and a conservative Republican who was once a budget hawk in Congress and fought labour unions in the Ohio statehouse.
And both will pitch for Biden.
That reflects a key reality of Biden's candidacy: It's always been more of a moral and competency case against Trump than about the particulars of Democrats' policy fights. Hence his campaign pledges to "unify the country" and "restore the soul of the nation."
Yet Biden has spent the last several months trying to shore up relationships with the party's left flank, which remains sceptical about him. He has a lengthy policy slate he touts as the most progressive of any modern Democratic nominee.
The convention's opening night will test how seamlessly the Biden campaign can spend the next 78 days casting such a wide net across a splintered American electorate.
- Associated Press
Bernie Sanders speech -- here's what to expect
The Vermont Senator is one of the top speakers tonight. Here is a preview from his speech on what to expect:
"This election is the most important in the modern history of this country. In response to the unprecedented set of crises we face, we need an unprecedented response - a movement, like never before, of people who are prepared to stand up and fight for democracy and decency--and against greed, oligarchy and authoritarianism."
"My friends, I say to you, and to everyone who supported other candidates in this primary and to those who may have voted for Donald Trump in the last election. The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake. We must come together, defeat Donald Trump and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president. My friends, the price of failure is just too great to imagine."
Former Ohio Governor John Kasich speech -- here's what to expect
Trump fired off at the former Republican presidential candidate today, saying he was a major loser as a Republican and will be a loser as a Democrat.
Kasich is one of several never-Trump Republicans partnering with Democrats, and he will be one of the featured speakers at the first night of the Democratic convention tonight.
In this preview of his speech, Kasich says his party affiliation is secondary to his affiliation to his country.
"I'm a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. That's why I've chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times."
"Yes, there are areas where Joe and I absolutely disagree. But that's OK because that's America. Because whatever our differences, we respect one another as human beings, each of us searching for justice and for purpose."
"We can all see what's going on in our country today and all the questions that are facing us, and no one person or party has all the answers. But what we do know is that we can do better than what we've been seeing today, for sure. And I know that Joe Biden, with his experience and his wisdom and his decency, can bring us together to help us find that better way."
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer -- here's what to expect
In a preview of her speech at tonight's convention, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer highlights Joe Biden's work with Barack Obama to improve the livelihoods of her state's autoworkers, while saying Donald Trump fights his fellow Americans rather than fighting the pandemic.
"President Obama and Vice President Biden saved these autoworkers' livelihoods. Then these workers did their part to save American lives. That's the story of this great country. Action begets action. Progress begets progress. And when we work together--we can accomplish anything," she says.
"Over the past few months, we learned what's essential: rising to the challenge, not denying it. We've learned who is essential, too. Not just the wealthiest among us. Not a president who fights his fellow Americans rather than fight the virus that's killing us and our economy. It's the people who put their own health at risk to care for the rest of us."
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -- here's what to expect
The convention is about to go live in a few minutes, but in the meantime we have a preview of New Andrew Cuomo's remarks.
Staying on theme, the New York governor focuses on Donald Trump and his coronavirus response:
"Only a strong body can fight off the virus, and America's divisions weakened it. Donald Trump didn't create the initial division. The division created Trump; he only made it worse," Cuomo says.
"We saw the negative, but we also saw the positive. As they proved their way failed, we proved that our way succeeded; that America can still rise to the occasion. We can put our differences aside and find commonality."
"Americans' eyes have been opened, and we have seen in this crisis the truth: that government matters and leadership matters. And it determines whether we thrive and grow, or whether we live or die."
'We the People' Democratic National Convention begins
Eva Longoria has started first day of the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Follow along with the DNC live stream.
Small business owners lead convention
Convention moderator Eva Longoria began the convention by checking in with small business owners across the country.
"Our revenue is off about 40 per cent, we have half of the employees we had pre-Covid, and our customers are a little scared, our employees are sometimes afraid to come to work because of the Covid," says small business owner "Scott".
"To be honest with you I'm just frustrated. I don't understand how we got here. We are the greatest nation in the world and it just seems to me that maybe if we just came together on this one issue alone, maybe as Americans and being united we can overcome."
First speakers to begin soon
Amy Klobuchar is expected to be the first speaker of the first night of the convention, followed by Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.
In a preview of her remarks, Senator Masto focuses on mail in voting.
"Despite what the president says, voting by mail has been a secure, proven option for decades: in 2016, 33 million Americans voted by mail. Even Donald Trump has requested an absentee ballot twice this year," she says.
"Mr President: Nevada is not intimidated by you. America is not intimidated by you. We are united by shared values, shared history, and shared rights--including our fundamental right to vote."
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