(Be gentle when you see MAGAts today. That brown around their mouths indicates the sadness of eating shit all night.)
Last night's final DNC gathering was a tour de force, as opposed to the RNC's tour de farce. Long before the balloons and confetti rained down, the night was filled with rousing speeches, heartbreaking stories from survivors of mass shootings and the parents who lost children to them, vocal performances by two of the biggest acts going - P!NK and The Chicks, a Republican speaking daggers directly into the hearts of Republican'ts, and confident deliveries from young candidates in important swing states.
Watching each evening this past week, it is mindboggling to think how everything about this convention was rejiggered, reformatted, and brought together in just about four weeks time. The cohesiveness of message was there throughout. The excitement and palpable joy was apparent. And the rhythm of it all - not the music, although that has been a testament to which side the artistic community believes in - but the flow.
The flow has been steady, strong, and increasing with each passing night. Last night saw the tsunami realized. If emotions were water, Chicago would have been at the bottom of the Exuberance Sea.
Admittedly, some of the build-up yesterday and into the night had to do with what has proven to have been erroneous information. It was early afternoon when typically reliable sources began sharing information that there was a block of time in the schedule that was for a mystery guest, then a mystery musical guest. It was not helped that White House political director tweeted a single bee emoji - think Beyhive for Beyonce. (She later updated that her child had taken her phone.)
The natural and excited assumption was Beyonce'. After all, she has given the campaign permission to use her rousing anthem Freedom, and is a staunch supporter of Kamala. Additional speculation this week has been Taylor Swift - who long ago went on the record about her feelings for the Orange Beast. Lord knows that between those two iconic women, they could bring forth voting numbers as yet unseen, and deliver the final blow to what has been a laughable campaign on the right.
As the night wore on, the speculation grew into near certainty as those inside the arena began tweeting that "Beyonce was now in the United Center." And let's be honest, we could all imagine how it would play out. The opening strains of Freedom, Beyonce' hits the stage and performs as the perfect introduction for Kamala Harris to begin speaking. That we still held out hope she would be accompanied by Taylor Swift? Well, excitement does what it does - it allows our imaginations to carry us away.
And that's not a bad thing. If anything it kept us riveted to our TVs throughout the night.
Through Elizabeth Warren receiving such a sustained welcome from the crowd that she visibly teared up. It was beautiful.
Through Reverend Al Sharpton's direct words and his welcoming to the stage four of the members of the Central Park Five, now the Exonerated Five. It was a powerful rebuke of the racist demagogue on the right who took out a full page, $85,000 ad in the New York Times in 1989 calling for their deaths when they were just teens. They served a combined total of 41 years in prison before DNA evidence in 2002 exonerated them all.
Through fellow prosecutors and attorneys who know Kamala, who know her strengths in and out of the courtroom.
Through the impressive speech by the youngest member of the House, Maxwell Frost of Florida. He is going places. As are Colin Allred of Texas and Ruben Gallego of Arizona. I was so happy to see the DNC elevate them nationally as they take on Ted Cruz and Kari Lake respectively.
Through the beautiful acapella version of the National Anthem by the Chicks - the original victims of Republican cancel culture for having called out George W Bush's war.
Through the tear inducing words of Abbey Clements, a Sandy Hook teacher, Kim Rubio, a bereft mother of a slain Uvalde daughter, Melody McFadden, the daughter of a mother shot to death by a live in boyfriend when she was 17, and the aunt of another young woman shot to death on a beach vacation, and a young man - Edgar Vilchez - who witnessed the drive by shooting of a classmate. I cannot imagine the memories they must contend with each day, each second of each day. And their message was clear - we can stop it. We must stop it. There is simply no way to go about life thinking it could never happen to you or someone you love.
Through Gabby Giffords - my God, that woman - aphasia from her shooting may have hobbled her - but it has not stopped her. She was firm, resolute, determined, and ALL IN.
Through P!NK touching our hearts with an acoustic version of What About Us. Just her backup singers, her amazing daughter Willow, a single guitar, and her soaring vocals. She may fly through the air in her concerts, but her voice needs no cables to soar and take us up with her.
Through Leon Panetta, former US Secretary of Defense, delivering body blow after body blow against a Trump administration wholly unqualified, uneducated, and unable to secure our safety through isolationism, let alone represent on the world stage. He lauded Harris's record on foreign policy, security, her reputation around the world, and her steadfast alliance with our military. It was one of the strongest speeches of the night.
Through Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer who could one day lead this party just as strongly as Kamala. She is a powerhouse of a politician, speaker, human. That emotion you men like to deride in females as a way of putting us down, negating our ability to lead? Well, unlike you, we have had to fight for everything we have, every right, every advance, our own credit cards and bank accounts, names on leases. We push human beings out of our bodies, lads. And we put up with your patriarchal bullshit. We are stronger than you, and the reality is you know it. Which is why people like Whitmer scare the bejesus out of you. Whitmer embodies all of it.
Through Adam Kinzinger, Republican and former Illinois rep in the House. He spoke directly to Republicans about putting country first, and made it very clear that: The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do. And they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been.
He went after Trump, calling him "a weak man." (He is.) And then delivered these very important words to the party he once called home. As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable. It’s in protecting your family. It’s in standing up for our Constitution and our democracy. That—that is the soul of being a conservative. It used to be the soul of being a Republican. But Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party. His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness, sapping our strength, softening our spine, whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values.
Through it all, I kept reviewing the schedule of speakers and knew we were within two of Kamala taking the stage. Which surely meant we were within two of being serenaded by one, if not two, of the biggest musical stars in the world. Maya Harris, Kamala's sister, spoke eloquently of their mother, her strength, their upbringing. And then Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina took the stage to speak in glowing terms of the woman he calls friend, colleague, champion for the people. It was a rousing speech that led to the moving film about Kamala Harris.
And it was moving. It introduced facets of her you may not have been aware of. Spoke of her upbringing, her background, her tenacity, her resilience, her climb - and no, MAGAts, not on her knees as you like to crassly accuse, but on her merit.
As the film ended and she was welcomed to the stage, Freedom played. Anyone else thinking that surely Beyonce was just offstage singing live and would be revealed? Whatever, I got lost in the cheering, the swelling in my chest, the tears forming in my eyes at the sight of yet another woman at the top of our ticket. It should have been Hillary in 2016 - seriously, think of how different our country, the world would be today. How many of our fellow citizens would still be above ground, not dead at the hands of a completely inept, greedy, unprepared administration as COVID took hold.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda...
As the crowd finally quieted down, she began to speak. And it was an uplifting, powerful, wide ranging, barnburner of a speech.
(At this point, we were thinking, hmmm, ok, it would make sense for Beyonce' to finish the evening AFTER this speech.)
Harris prosecuted Trump as the unserious man he is. As the felon, the adjudicated rapist, the instigator of January 6th. She spoke of his plans should he snake his way back in, especially in light of the Supreme Court ruling in his favor about immunity. And she dropped this very chilling, but very true line: Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.
As she spoke of Project 2025 and what would be eradicated by it, she banged this refrain, echoed back by the crowd: We are not going back. We are not going back. We are not going back.
She drove home the intrusive policies that have already taken hold in states eradicating bodily autonomy from so many women, Trump's pride in being the one to overturn Roe v Wade. This is what's happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. And get this. Get this. He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator, and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions.That last part is accurate. As if anyone has any right to intrude upon the excruciating emotional pain that is a miscarriage, or any business being anywhere near the decision making and reasons for someone else's abortion.
And then, in a speech full of incredible lines, she delivered one of the most pointed.
Simply put, they are out of their minds.
She talked about border control and the need to overhaul our immigration programs; of NATO, our alliances; of the dangers of people like Putin and Kim Jung Un and why they want a weak, easily manipulated man like Trump back in office. And then she spoke very clearly, plainly, forcefully about Israel and Palestinians, Hamas and Gaza.
Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on October 7th.
Including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for
safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination.
And while I am well aware that protesters will poke holes all over it, and people who still do not have an interest in educating themselves about the hurdles our political system put in place decades ago in terms of Israel - choosing horror porn instead - this was a statement of determination and dedication to see a resolution to it all.
As she wound things up, she, as did her sister, spoke of her mother. Of one of the most important lessons she taught her daughters:
Our opponents in this race are out there, every day, denigrating America. Talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.
America, let us show each other—and the world—who we are. And what we stand for. Freedom. Opportunity. Compassion. Dignity. Fairness. And endless possibilities.
We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love.
To fight for the ideals we cherish. And to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth. The privilege and pride of being an American.
So, let’s get out there and let’s fight for it.
Let’s get out there and let’s vote for it.
And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.
Thank you. God bless you. May God bless the United States of America.
The cheers rolled like happy thunder. I cannot imagine what it must have sounded like, felt like, to be inside that arena. Confetti began to swirl, friends and family rushed up on the stage, balloons cascaded down. It was momentous. It was balm on the aching heart of a nation so beleaguered from the years of Trump, of MAGA cultishness, of extremism, of white nationalism. It was ROARING EXUBERANCE.
And through my tears, the smile that was so wide my face ached, I realized there was not going to be a Beyonce'. And there did not need to bey. There are still 74 days for the Swifties and the Beyhive to see their heroines step forward. But last night? Last night beylonged to all of us. We are the ones we have been waiting for all along.
(Footnote for MAGAts: Yes, we all saw you eating shit online during and after last night's DNC event. We saw your naked emperor endlessly, mindlessly, ALL CAPS posting on Truth Social. We heard him call into FOX and Newsmax where the talking heads cut him off as he was rambling, fumbling with the buttons on his phone, WAY out of it. We see your postings this morning deriding the DNC, speakers, Kinzinger for daring to call you out. You are spinning wildly because while you may not be the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree (and Kamala will still allow you to say Merry Christmas), even you are smart enough to know what you are seeing. You are seeing your aging, meandering, mindless, mealy mouthed candidate and his incredibly inept VP candidate continually step in their own shit. You can see the writing on the wall.
I would encourage you to come on over. Get right with your god, your conscious, your patriotism and vote for a future that is inclusive, not just of LGBTQIA people, people of all colors, religions, no religions, but of you. Yes, you. Despite your abhorrent behavior the past decade, this party will be working to protect your rights, your social security, your healthcare, your future.
Come on over. Not just because we have the most relevant, popular music acts, or the top people in TV, film and theater. Although there is a reason they are part of our party - because our party looks like them - all colors, creeds, genders, orientations. Come over because our ideas don't all orbit around hurting other people. Including you. Be part of something real, not part of something really heinous.
The door is open. The right side of history is waiting for you to do the right thing. Just wipe your mouths before you come in.)
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