DNC Day 1 Recap – A Strong Call For Unity

The Democratic National Convention opened yesterday amid controversy and anger and ended on a full-throated call for unity from heavyweights in the Democratic party. The email leaks from the DNC that showed some rather pathetic efforts to sway voters against Bernie Sanders, including a reprehensible suggestion (that was not acted on) to use his religion against him in certain states, infuriated Sanders’ supporters and forced DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to relinquish her post after the election. But a morning meeting with her own Florida delegation made it clear that her position was untenable as she was almost literally booed off out of the room not only by the Sanders’ delegates but also by Clinton delegates who outnumbered Sanders’ nearly two to one in that delegation. Within minutes, Wasserman Schultz was out as DNC chair and her profile during the convention will be non-existent. This was followed by a campaign rally outside the convention hall where Bernie Sanders was actually heckled by his own supporters as he tried to rally his troops for Hillary, a response that seemed to catch even Sanders by surprise. Sanders later sent out a text message pleading with his supporters not to engage in any kind of protest on the convention floor. And all this happened before the convention really even started.

In an attempt to quell the anger of Sanders’ supporters and delegates, the order of speeches was flipped as Sanders took the keynote slot and the originally scheduled keynote speaker took Sanders’ slot. But, as the convention opened, there was clearly a vocal minority of delegates who were still angry and booed whenever Hillary’s name was mentioned. It is important to note that this group was even a minority of Sander’s delegates but they were still disruptive and a clear sign of that Hilary has not been able to bring all Sanders’ supporters into the fold. Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey, gave a stem-winder of a speech reminiscent of Obama’s 2004 convention address and he even he was heckled at times during his speech, totally inappropriate behavior that will further alienate African-American voters from Sanders and his campaign. Al Franken and Sarah Silverman did a little comedy routine but finally Silverman, a die-hard Bernie fan, told the protesters, “Can I just say to the Bernie or bust people, you’re being ridiculous.” That helped tone the protests down somewhat.

Michelle Obama followed with what was generally recognized as the best speech of the night and probably one of the better convention speeches ever given. Focusing on her children and the children of America, she simultaneously not only subtly undermined her husband’s critics but also made the case for Hillary Clinton as the ultimate public servant and natural successor to the Obama Presidency. The highlight of her speech was the comment, “When they go low, we go high”, drawing a thunderous ovation from the crowd.

Elizabeth Warren had the misfortune of following that incredible speech but still gave a ringing endorsement of Hillary as well as delivering some sharp attacks on Donald Trump, detailing “what kind of man” he was.

That left the floor to Bernie Sanders whose speech talked about continuing the “political revolution” that he has started and repeatedly made the point that supporting Hillary was the way to help continue that revolution. He raised the many issues in his campaign where he and Hillary had reached agreement and stressed that Trump was not acceptable. There was no doubt that this was a strong and full endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President.

So, a day that had begun in anger, chaos, and disruption ended with a strong united front for the Democratic party.  Yes, the press will focus on the small group of Sanders’ supporters who still find Hillary unacceptable but they are a clear minority even with that group. Polls show that over two-thirds of Sander’s voters are already planning to vote for Hillary and that will likely grow even larger as time goes on. There are certainly many die-hard Sander’s supporters, some who still believe that Sanders can win the nomination with some sort of miracle on the night of the nomination, but, as Paul Waldman point out, many of these die-hard Bernie supporters are new Democrats in the sense that they are new voters who have been brought into the process by Sanders’ revolution. Another thing to remember is the Democratic party is always “not unified” because it is a much more diverse party. The number of minority voters who spoke just in the first day at the DNC was probably significantly more than those that attended and spoke at the entire RNC.

The press is doing its usual false equivalency in stressing the “disarray” among Democrats. I heard it on NPR last night and you can see it in today’s headline in the NY Times. But it is just that, a false equivalence. The major challenger to the nominated candidate did not get on stage and say, “vote your conscience”. Rather, he said vote for Hillary. The full lineup of Democratic political heavyweights all solidly endorsed Clinton. Tellingly, the NY Times also has a story on page A13 detailing the fact that there are so many A-list speakers who want to address the convention and endorse Hillary that the convention does not have enough prime-time speaking slots for all of them. Compare that to the Republican convention and the difference is striking – there were no Scott Baios there last night; there are not dozens of party lawmakers who are skipping this convention because they have “other things to do”. This is clearly NOT a party in disarray and riven with divisions. In fact, it is probably more unified than ever.

Warren and Sanders represent the progressive wing of the Democratic party. Sander’s pointedly noted in his speech that the Democratic platform was probably the most progressive it has ever been. Both at least appear to be willing to get out and continue to campaign for Hillary long after the convention is over. And both seem to recognize that the progressive movement will advance only if Hillary wins the election. Sanders’ more rabid supporters will hopefully come to that realization as well. If progressives want to destroy all the progress that has been made in the last few years by not supporting Hillary forcefully, they will rue the day. We have already endured the disaster of George W. Bush because progressives decided to vote for Nader. We can not afford to endure Trump because progressives vote for Jill Stein or don’t vote at all. If that happens, Democrats will never let progressives see the light of day for a very long time.

One last note, if you want to see how Hillary Clinton deals with a crisis, take a look at yesterday. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was sent packing and Sanders was given the keynote speaking slot. Elizabeth Warren showed her dedication by dropping out of the keynote slot with no complaint. And Clinton’s floor managers made no attempt to muzzle the Sanders’ hecklers, letting them vent their anger which dissipated over the course of the day and evening. Compare that to Trump who rammed through the rules over objections and whose delegates were highly abusive to those that disagreed with Trump. Two distinct leadership styles were on display. We’ll soon find out which one the American people prefer.