“If I could turn the pages
In time? Then I’d
rearrange
Just a day or two.
(Close my, close my, close my) Eyes.
But I couldn’t find a way;
So I’ll settle for one day?
To believe in you.
(Tell me, tell me, tell me) Lies.
Tell me lies!
Tell me sweet little lies!
Tell me lies!
Tell me, tell me lies!
Oh no, no –
You can’t disguise!
You can’t disguise –
No you can’t disguise!
Tell me lies!
Tell me sweet little lies!” …
--------------------
I am still working on the recap of “House of Wings”’s
acceptance speech. I hope to have it up
by tomorrow.
But in the meantime, since time marches on, no matter what
we do …
--------------------
There were precisely three solid to almost great speeches
last night in Philadelphia. One of them was totally expected. One of them I’m
guessing maybe one out of every seventeen people who read this, actually
caught. And the third came from a man
who I believe Secretary Clinton is going to really regret passing over for the
Vice Presidential slot.
But a lack of high-quality speeches in and of itself, isn’t
a problem for the DNC and the Democrat candidate this year. In fact, I’d argue it’s a blessing in
disguise. Let’s face it, Secretary
Clinton is just not a good public speaker.
She runs a very real risk of being overshadowed every night at her
convention. The only person who even
approached a level of greatness last night was First Lady Michelle Obama, who
gave one of …
… (stevo sighing in disgust at even having to say this) …
Look it. If you
cannot take a step back – regardless of your politics – and appreciate a great
speech when you see it, then why bother to watch any speech? I would never vote for Mrs. Obama’s
husband. But that was a tremendous
speech she gave last night. If you
cannot take a step back, and realize the power of one paragraph she spoke:
“That is the story of this country, the story that has
brought me to this stage tonight, the story of generations of people who felt
the lash of bondage, the shame of servitude, the sting of segregation, but who
kept on striving and hoping and doing what needed to be done (sk: I’m adding
italics for the money shot) so that
today? I wake up every morning in a
house that was built by slaves. I watch
my daughters – two beautiful, intelligent, young black women – playing with
their dogs on the White House lawn!”
If you cannot appreciate the power of that one statement of
truth, then go bury your head back in the sand, or crawl back under whatever
rock you’ve been living under. I noted this eight years ago, and given the incredible and inspiring progress made for
true equality in the Obama years, it deserves to be hammered home even more
just how much for the better this nation has become in the last fifty years –
when Mr. Obama was born? It was illegal
for his parents to marry. Today? You are free to marry the legal spouse you
love, free and clear from indwelt discrimination from the government, and
ideally from any of your fellow citizens.
Mrs. Obama also was seemingly the only person *, out of the
sixty one who spoke last night, who actually focused on the enemy the party
faces. The enemy isn’t Bernie Backers;
the enemy isn’t Clintonistas like myself.
The enemy isn’t the DNC, it isn’t the incompetent Debbie
Wasserman-Schulz, it isn’t the super delegates.
The enemy, fellow Democrats, is Donald J. Trump “House of
Wings”. Period. Mr. Lincoln once famously noted that “a house
divided against itself, cannot stand”.
It is absolutely ridiculous ** that the First Lady was apparently the
only person in the palace once known as “Comcast Country” ***, who gets it.
--------------------
(*: I gotta admit, Sarah Silverman actually made me laugh last
night. I have never found her to be
funny before, in any role or capacity. I
was laughing out loud during most of her time at the podium.)
(**: second best line of the night, Ms. Silverman to her
fellow Bernie backers: “you look ridiculous!”)
(***: now called Wells Fargo Center. Only the Democrats would hold a convention in
an arena named for a major banking institution … when one of the key planks of
the platform, is the destruction of the major banking institutions.)
--------------------
The most powerful speech of the night, was amongst the
first, and came on almost at the same time as I got back to the Casa de Stevo
and fired up CSPAN on the screen. An
eleven year old girl from Nevada, a legal United States citizen, who was born
here to two illegal immigrants, pleading with the nation to come to its senses
and have mercy on her and her family.
She noted the fear, the pure fear, she feels knowing that she might get
home from school one day, to find her parents have been deported.
I personally strongly favor a path to permanent status for
every illegal immigrant in this country that isn’t wanted by law enforcement
for anything other than their illegal status.
I do NOT favor citizenship for that grouping of persons, but I do favor
a permanent residency status, to prevent tragedies like needlessly tearing
families apart. On this point, I also
loved Eva Longoria’s comment that “My family didn’t cross the border; the
border crossed us!”, referencing the fact that Texas and most of the Southwest
used to be a part of Mexico.
There has to be a common sense middle ground to the issue of
illegal immigration. You won’t get that
common sense middle ground out of “House of Wings”. You at least have a chance to get it, out of
Secretary Clinton.
It figures that in an election in which both sides cannot
descend into the sewer fast enough, it takes an eleven year old, to address the
Captain Oats in the room.
Because of course an eleven year old, would act like the
grown-up, in a 007 slapper fight between “House of Wings” and “Crooked”
Hillary.
--------------------
The other speech I loved – and I mean loved – last night,
was Senator Booker’s, which led into the First Lady’s comments.
Some are arguing against its effectiveness, given that he
got pretty, uuh, fired up at times. To
which I say, so what? What’s wrong with
showing a little passion? God forbid you
speak like you believe in what you’re saying!
I know when I get into a discussion about something I’m passionate about
– especially if I’m presenting my side of said something, and the person I’m
speaking to disagrees with me? I tend to
get animated. I tend to get loud. I tend to get agitated.
Cory Booker last night, was agitated. And it was awesome.
Because like it or not, Mr. Booker NAILED where this idea
known as “American Exceptionalism” comes from:
“In this city, our founders put forth a Declaration of
Independence, but let me tell you, they also made a historic declaration of
interdependence. They knew that if this
country was to survive and thrive, we had to make an unusual and extraordinary
commitment to each other.
Look, I respect and value the ideals of individualism and
self-reliance. But rugged individualism
didn’t defeat the British! It didn’t get
us to the moon! It didn’t build our
nation’s highways! Rugged individualism
didn’t map the human genome! We did that
together!
(sk: I’m adding italics for the money shot)
And so this? Is the high call of patriotism. Patriotism is love of country. But you can’t love your country, without
loving your countrymen and countrywomen.
Now, we don’t always have to agree, but we must be there for each other,
we must empower each other, we must find the common ground, and we must build
bridges across our differences to pursue the common good!”
This, readers and readettes, is the one gigantic, fatal
mistake “House of Wings” made last week, and I suppose it is to Secretary
Clinton’s credit that she’s been hammering on his one letter / one word mistake
ever since.
And that mistake?
Is the word “I”.
Nowhere in “House of Wings”’s speech did he reference “us”. Did he reference “my fellow Americans”. It was always “I”. I will do this. I will do that. I will fix this. I will repair that.
Most people above the age of three have figured out, no man
is a messiah, and noone can go it alone and succeed. “House of Wings” thinks he can solve 230
years of national issues by himself.
Good luck with that. Because you
can’t do it, anymore than George Washington could, anymore than Abraham Lincoln
could, anymore than FDR or LBJ or Ronald Reagan or Barack Obama could.
I loved Mr. Booker’s speech.
I just really wish it had been given about forty eight hours later, than
it actually was.
--------------------
What surprised me the most last night, was how utterly
ineffective Senator Warren was. She wasn’t
“holy sh*t, Paul Simon is LOADED!!!!!!” **** ineffective, but that was the
biggest dud of the night, bar none.
There was no passion, there was no drive. She was just … there. I expected better.
I thought we got out of Crazy Drunk Uncle Bernie exactly
what we expected – a total sellout and betrayal of his voters. You don’t mess with the Clinton’s, pal. Ask Vince Foster. Ask Ron Brown. Ask Bob Torticelli. Ask any of Bill’s “youthful indiscretions”. If there are two people in this country you
don’t f*ck with, it is William Jefferson and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Although there was a hysterical moment, when the camera
panned the floor, and it focused in on Susan Sarandon, who looked about as
happy to be there as I look when I’m forced to go to Mass once a year for
Christmukkah. (Namely, looking anything
other than “just happy to be here”, in the words of Stevo’s Site Numero Dos’
Color Commentator Emeritus, Dan Dierdorf.)
Overall, for night one, it wasn’t bad. Just like the Republicans on Night One, the “powers
that be” managed to hold the rebellion to a minimum, and to pretty much confine
it to the afternoon cession, when nobody is paying attention anyway.
Now comes the real challenge – there’s no more cow-towing to
Bernie and his bums. There’s no more
peace offerings being offered. They were
given most of night one. They’re not
getting nights three or four.
And with former President Clinton as your keynote tonight
(along with Clintonista loyalist Governor Terry McAuliffe of Virginia – which is
THE state that will decide this election, 104 days out)? They’re not getting night dos either.
So congrats, you Bernie bums. Your “revolution” got you exactly one night
at a national convention. It did NOT get
you a nomination for either major slot.
It did NOT get you the elimination of “super delegates”, it did NOT get
you damned near anything you wanted into the party platform, it got you literally
nothing. You sold your soul, your
integrity, your everything, not only to a man who stabbed you in the back when
the moment mattered? But you have
literally NOTHING to show for your efforts, save for one semi-coherent speech
in which your messiah literally threw you under the bus, for the one thing you
professed to hate above all others.
That magical place formerly known as “Dustyland”? Has never been defined more perfectly – you Bernie
bums sold everything, to get nothing in return!
Other than the loss of everything you swore mattered to you.
“Tell me lies! Tell
me sweet little lies!”
“Oh no, no! You can’t
disguise! No, you can’t disguise!”
You’d better come home to the base this fall, Bernie
bums. Us PUMA Democrats, for the most
part, swallowed hard and choked down the last eight years. Now it’s your turn.
And if you think failing Secretary Clinton come November isn’t
going to be remembered forever, by Secretary Clinton and her supporters (of
which I am a die-hard one)?
Then kids?
Let me tell you about a former Secretary of State by the
name of Ron Brown …
--------------------
(****: he was beyond sh*t faced drunk last night. Sorry. It happens.)
--------------------
Three last points:
1. I think tonight is THE biggest mistake either side has
made to date. America does not want to
see a bunch of mothers of murdered criminals and thugs on their television
screens. And sorry, Black Lives Murder
Matter, but “The Gentle Giant” was shot after robbing a convenience store. Freddie Gray died because he resisted arrest
after a credible crime, and last time I checked, your movement is OH FOR FOUR
at getting a conviction (and deservedly so). Trayvon Martin
beat the sh*t out of George Zimmerman, before Mr. Zimmerman did what any person
with an IQ above the pavement his head was bouncing off of, would do.
NOBODY wants to hear this, other than the race-baiters and
people looking for a reason to loot and/or riot.
(Which reminds me, I need a new TV. Feel free to riot on South Blue Ridge
Boulevard tonight, folks! In the words
of the late Jack Buck: “go crazy folks!
Go crazy!”)
(And which also reminds me, sweet Jesus, do NOT take that
previous () seriously. In the perfect
words of Ms. Silverman last night: “stop being ridiculous”!)
2. I also think having Bill go tonight, is a GIGANTIC
mistake. I get wanting Chelsea to
introduce Hillary on Thursday, if only because it counters the incredible
fellating Ivanka gave her father a week ago.
But let’s be honest here – who do you truly want introducing
Hillary Rodham Clinton to the nation, as our potential next President? Her daughter … or the (at worst) second
greatest President of most of us reading this’ lifetimes?
And finally ...
3. 61 speakers last night. Not ONE mention of "evil in our time", aka ISIS. I fear this is going to turn into 2004 again -- especially after a solid Night One last night. You remember 2004? When for three days and a few hours, my party successfully convinced the country it was still September 10, 2001. Then Senator Kerry "reported for duty", and spent an hour laying out foreign policy as his major selling point. I still remember, I turned to "The Voice of Reason" when that speech was over and simply said "he just sh*t all over his convention. He's going to lose."
(Other than that whole Aaron Rodgers or DJ debate with "Mr. Reason" from Draft Day 2005? That might be my finest moment in prognosticating. Also, there's at least a 22.46% chance I remembered that night in August 2004 wrong, and it was "Mr. Reason" who noted Mr. Kerry just took a gigantic squat on his convention. Either way, we were both right on that one -- Mr. Kerry lost the election because of that speech. I fear Hillary is going to make the same mistake forty eight hours from now.)
I’ll be back at some point tomorrow to recap Night Dos. I am dreading this night like few convention
nights ever. This is going to be an
utter disaster … at least until the networks resume coverage at 9pm CT, and what passes as "The Voice of Reason" in the modern Democrat Party takes the podium to close the night down …
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