DNC-Night 1
LIVE from Chicago at 7:00pm ET 4:00pm PT
DNC LIVE from Chicago at 7:00pm ET 4:00pm PT on Twitter and YouTube
Nearly 50,000 attendees, 4,000 delegates, and a whole lot of protesters will be out in full force this week in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention.
“For the People, For Our Future.” is the official theme/tagline for the convention. And while it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, the message is well; on message. At Dirty Moderate, we prefer our mantra;
“It’s Democracy or Trump, you can’t have both.”
We would have happily let the Dems use it, and goodness knows the team over there could use a hand now and then, but here we are.
Never, for a moment, while Adam and I were planning Dirty Moderate’s road to the election over the last almost 3 years now did we imagine that we would not be covering it all together, side by side, and not until 2.5 weeks ago did we imagine a “what if” plan for Dirty Moderate if Adam was unable to continue. But here we are.
The last few weeks were political and personal whirlwinds that none of us could have scripted if we tried. Biden voluntarily stepped down (although of late, we had certainly hoped, and thank you, again, Mr President) A Trump assassination attempt?!!? Kamala actually energizing the party, with a smiling teacher from Minnesota as her wingman? And certainly a vicious brain tumor was on no one’s Bingo card.
But here we are.
We were not big Kamala fans. Not afraid to admit it. One does not have to chug the Kool-Aid in order to do what it takes to fight like hell for democracy. Many should take that note. I said the term “send her home before it’s too late” to Adam more than a few times over the last year in response to the aging Biden conundrum. The thinking was then to let her step back from seeking to run as the VP again early and make room for a more seasoned and electable candidate, hoping this would somehow prevent exactly what the Dem’s did; stumble in-and then out-of a disheveled Biden candidacy like a bunch of drunken amateurs. We agreed that her presence and performance as the vice president was frankly pretty lame. We questioned her ability to lead, and several times turned over the idea of today’s convention perhaps being used as an opportunity to dismiss both Biden and Harris in one fell 19th century-esque swoop. But here we are, and in watching her catch fire, seeing the real, true potential in her to squash Trump like the diseased bug he is, we didn’t hesitate, and officially hopped on Team Harris! Even if it feels uncomfortable voting for a Democrat that we don’t agree with on every single issue, and who until pretty recently, weren’t really sure has the chops. Why?
a. She is not Trump.
b. She is looking pretty good, folks! And we are on board for it.
She needs to establish the platform for her party, which is exactly what this convention is for. We’ll see how she does on Thursday night, when she is scheduled to speak. Fingers crossed. We’ll outline her platform in detail for Thursday’s broadcast. For now, Night 1 is pretty stacked.
Night 1 plan:
The party will outline how they feel they have put the people first under the Biden-Harris administration- cue applause for infrastructure, COVID response, and to Joe Biden himself, for his rich career in service to this country, and yes, for stepping aside. It will be interesting to see what Joe does with his soon to be historical moment in the sun. The elder statesman will likely use this moment to wrap up his legacy by ushering in a new era of American politics. *Hoping for a few really solid Trump slams too. The President will be speaking, along with First Lady Jill Biden, Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton, and (yawn) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Political rock stars from both sides of the aisle will be heading to Chicago over the next few days, like hometown favorites, Barack and Michelle Obama (squeal!) and friend of the show, and the nation, true patriot Rep. Adam Kinzinger!
In addition to the usual talking heads and their network masters, the DNC will be broadcasting on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in an effort to reach younger voters, who can absolutely make a difference if they unplug and get out and vote. This is your friendly reminder to make sure you and everyone you know are registered to vote!
Click here for voting info —> www.vote.org
The next 4 days will be a huge test of the coco for coconuts wave Harris/Walz have been riding since Joe Biden stepped down just 4 weeks ago, and it’s difficult to ignore the ghosts of the 1968 DNC that took place in Chicago, when some 3,000 anti-war demonstrators fought a bloody, open battle with police and Illinois National Guardsmen. The parallels between the intensity of that convention and this one are interesting to note, and we will share some in-depth analysis of that later this week as well. For now, let’s hope the pro-Palestine, Hamas loving marchers there will be peaceful in their abhorrent cause.
All in all, it seems like just another day in the bananas (coconuts?) world of American politics. This is not new, folks. We have been in flux, and at each other's throats since before we became the young, scrappy, and hungry country we are today. And we LOVE it. The country, the chaos, the potential, the ideas, all of it. Look for some incredible Dirty Moderate throughout the broadcast tonight, like this one from Adam sitting down with Steve Schmidt that came right to mind when writing the above paragraph:
Adam and I set out to literally “save democracy one episode at a time” and we meant it. Dirty Moderate will continue to fight like hell for democracy. For the grand experiment that is America, and now for Adam.
Chime in tonight on Twitter or YouTube tonight, Dirty Moderates! Share an Adam story, a hope for democracy, a comment about the broadcast, your favorite Trump insult or whatever moves you.
Stay dirty, stay moderate, and stay safe. -D
