Philadelphia 2016- The Democrats’ National Convention Opens
With the height of summer’s heat beating down on the City of Brotherly Love, the Democrats opened their 2016 national convention today at the Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Amidst a growing scandal- yet another e-mail scandal, no less– the Democrats will spend this week trying to hold together an increasingly-fractured coalition that is breaking down into two camps- one for the presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, and the other for her erstwhile challenger, Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Sanders, who spent much of his campaign noting the “rigged system” of super-delegates already lined up and in the tank for Mrs. Clinton, has received a great degree of validation for these claims, based upon thousands of e-mails, released at the end of last week by WikiLeaks, indicating that the Democratic National Committee was all in for Hillary Clinton well before the primary and caucus season even began. So egregious and so over-the-top was this collusion between the Clinton Campaign and the Democratic National Committee, that DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) has been forced to resign her position as DNC Chairwoman, effective at the conclusion of this week’s convention. She will be replaced by another “Clintonista”, one Donna Brazile, whose own e-mails have revealed a strong level of contempt for the Vermont senator’s campaign.
Meanwhile and not surprisingly, the Clinton campaign and the presumptive nominee herself, Hillary Clinton, have claimed to be completely unaware and out of the loop on this collusion, but interestingly have not condemned this collusion, either. Instead, Hillary Clinton has appointed the soon-to-be-departing Debbie Wasserman-Schultz to be honorary Chairwoman of the Hillary 2016 Campaign Committee, presumably as a token of appreciation for all that Wasserman-Schultz did to ensure Hillary’s nomination- which included limiting the number and scope of the debates between Hillary and her Democrat rivals, and curtailing the times to which they were aired on television. With a super-delegate system put into place by the Democratic National Committee and led by Wasserman-Schultz, there was no way that Bernie Sanders could have been nominated, despite his very strong showing during the primary and caucus season, and his legions of Sanders supporters who vehemently oppose Hillary Clinton’s nomination.
Yet another “Clintonista,” one Tim Kaine (D-VA), was selected on Friday to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate in the fall campaign, much to the chagrin of Bernie’s supporters who were hoping for a far-more liberal choice in Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). As of this writing, it is rumored that Bernie’s supporters will stage a walk-out during Kaine’s address to the convention on Wednesday, due to their disdain for both Kaine’s selection and the means by which Hillary was able to snare the nomination, herself.
The highlights of the DNC convention include Monday’s speeches by Bernie Sanders and Michele Obama, Tuesday’s speech by former President Bill Clinton, Wednesday’s speeches by presumptive vice-presidential nominee Tim Kaine, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, and Thursday’s addresses by Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, and the candidate herself, Hillary Clinton. Other notable speakers during this week’s convention will include former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Whether the convention will be burned by the scorching heat of Philadelphia’s weather, or by further e-mail releases by WikiLeaks, or if they will “feel the Bern” from Sanders’ supporters, one thing is for certain- it will be a hot time in Philadelphia, this week.
-Drew Nickell, 25 July 2016
© 2016 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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