Not many surprises among these political speeches, but we caught a couple of good lines.
The 2020 Democratic National Convention has begun: Online.
In 2016, the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) was present at the conventions for both of the major political parties, where we talked about manufacturing and trade politics. We held a roundtable on those issues at the Philadelphia Museum of Art during the Democratic gathering. And in Cleveland among the Republicans we helped put a life-size Donald Trump bobblehead on display.
This election season, we’re all at home like everybody else – as were many of the convention’s speakers, who spoke directly to the camera from their living rooms. And because there are no big crowds to deliver these speeches to, it's hard to recreate the energy of a live event. So it was instead kinda like watching a big, political infomercial.
But that’s life in the United States during the pandemic! And so, despite the circumstances, the Democrats are doing their best this week to make the case for replacing Donald Trump with Joe Biden in the White House. On the first night of their online convention they called on a diverse cast of characters to do so – including some of Biden's former rivals, a woman who has lost her father to COVID-19, and even recognizable Republicans like Meg Whitman and John Kasich. Then they closed it out with Michelle Obama, who implored viewers to get out and vote for the former vice president.
There wasn’t a lot of policy talk during these speeches. They're convention speeches, after all; they're deeply political by definition. AAM doesn’t endorse candidates, so you’ll have to take the rhetoric for what you will.
But I caught a couple of interesting quips. A few good lines here and there!
Like Amy Klobuchar staying true to form with a corny joke about the Post Office:
Trump will have to send a change of address to USPS in January!
Lol Amy! pic.twitter.com/ARYrhOCNZQ— Stray Political Cat (@StrayPolitical) August 18, 2020
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pointing out that the Obama administration, in which Biden served as vice president, saved the American auto industry from collapse in 2009.
‘Action begets action, progress begets progress’ — Gov. Whitmer on Obama and Biden saving the auto industry pic.twitter.com/8daD3h0W83
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 18, 2020
And Bernie Sanders, being blunt:
Trump has attacked doctors and scientists trying to protect us from the pandemic, while refusing to take strong action to produce the masks, gowns, and gloves our health care workers desperately need.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned; Trump golfs. His actions fanned this pandemic resulting in over 170,000 deaths and a nation still unprepared to protect its people.
Day Two of the Democratic National Zoom call is Tuesday. We’ll be keeping an eye on it.