It’s approaching ten pm out east and we seem nowhere near hearing the three speakers we most want to hear from tonight at the Democratic National Convention. Last night things got off to a late start because protesters blocked whole lot of buses transporting delegates and a convention hall that wasn’t full would have looked really bad. Then we had speakers go on for too long, and some of them we could have done without. Yes, a couple were cut as was James Taylor’s musical interlude but still by the time President Biden took the stage much of an entire time zone was either asleep or getting ready for bed. Tonight it struck me watching Bernie Sanders go on, and on, and on (I kept shouting STFU asshole at my TV) it struck me as I looked at the clock that it was happening again tonight. He was followed by Illinois Gov. Pritzker who could have made his points in half the time he took – and been more effective in the process.
I get the argument that we have a deep, really deep bench and lots of up and coming stars. But the plain fact is there are only so many hours of prime time when the entire nation is watching. I grew up in the Midwest time zone, and many here on PZ are in the Mountain and Pacific ones. I saw a comment or two here earlier to the effect ‘half the country still got to see President Biden at a semi-decent hour. Lighten up you easterners. To that I say take a look at the freaking map. As in critical states that are in the eastern time zone. WE count too.
Tell me if you are splitting time on your computer and also watching the convention you have been wanting to hear from Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, then Michelle and Barack Obama. Everyone else? Ok, some of them maybe BUT in prime time if we are going to have ‘opening acts’ to rev up the crowd we aren’t getting it. Who the hell thought Bernie freaking Sanders getting such a choice spot, and THEN being allowed to drone on to a mostly lackluster crowd response for well over twenty minutes was a good idea? And then Pritzker who didn’t exactly light a fire under the crowd.
I’m not sure how dynamic Doug Emhoff is giving a speech, but we know, we KNOW Michelle and Barack Obama can both blow the roof off the house. And that energy will jump through TV screens and into living rooms, and more importantly the hearts and minds of viewers all across the country. Except it’s already past ten pm out east and we aren’t likely to see the Obamas until eleven or so. Even in the Midwest it will be getting late enough a lot of folks will be moving into pre going to bed routines. A whole lot of people have jobs to get to in the morning. Or school.
Two popular people with off the charts approval ratings who are both the most gifted orators of the past few decades won’t speak until close to half the country has gone to bed. WTF?
Again, I hate sitting here bitching about what I’m seeing. But convention organizers have screwed the pooch for the second night in a row. Again, I get the need to highlight some candidates like Angela Alsobrooks who’s speaking right now and running for Senate in Maryland. But that’s why they could have and should have done the roll call (which has ALWAYS annoyed me although I know some love it) right off the bat. Because mostly no-name a-holes who just can’t pass up wasting our time by spouting stuff about their state the damned thing takes too long every time. (The GOP has the same problem) It should have been done shortly after the evening session started. I guess there was little choice but to have Schumer speak given his role as Senate Majority Leader but HE got too much time and is about as exciting to hear as listening to paint dry.
And again, Bernie is is OLD NEWS and not even a Democrat wouldn’t STFU.
At least we just saw Senator Duckworth inject some life back into things. Trump has to be major triggered having her call him out as a five time draft dodging coward. For good measure she tossed in her famous “Cadet Bone Spurs” before she was done.
Well, now a video of of Doug Emhoff is finally playing so I guess by ten-thirty pm we’ll see him speak. But the Obamas will be pushed out of prime time. Two nights in a row convention managers have f**ked the schedule.
We simply can’t afford two more nights of this. Some folks who want their moment in the spotlight need to be told no – and have it made up to them with campaign appearances this fall.
Sanders votes with Democrats when it is most important and is entitled to have his voice heard at their convention.
A lot of people love him, me included.
my old wife and I were pretty much glued. we switched between the live stream and the cbs stream because we wanted to see what was going on and not just commercials. Bernie brings a lot to the table for me. for an old jewish guy from all white vermont he relates to the younger crown.
I have to disagree with you completely. this is a home run for everyone. I actually got involved in some of the role call. The only one I didn’t like was gavin newsum hogging the microphone. The oldest and youngest West virginia couple was a breath of fresh air.
The obamas were amazing. stop being a whiny bitch.
We can disagree without being disagreeable. I know many folks love the roll call. I don’t. It’s part of the fabric of conventions however so it doesn’t really matter what I think. I’ll even concede having that DJ guy playing tracks that folks from so many states would groove on (people are proud after all of artists from their own states) was a nice touch. I just wish it had started (and therefore concluded) earlier to make room for speakers, and for those like me who like to watch a lot of the live feed on C-Span some of the videos about the actual stars – as in the candidates) got prime time coverage.
As for Bernie, for both you and Dino above I say his time is past. There’s a new generation that’s taken over the role he played and are more dynamic. AOC last night was terrific and did far better articulating that part of the Party’s view than Bernie did. And in less time than he took.
Bernie lest we forget has indeed caucused with the Democratic Party and been with us on a lot of key matters during his tenure BUT until he decided to run for our Party’s nomination in 2016 pointedly refused to formally become a Democrat. And after that election changed back to independent. If giving him a speaking spot because he threatened to go pissing in the soup happened I get it. I don’t like it but I get it. It’s giving him THAT much time in the heart of prime time I object to. Again, he’s old news and I listened to the crowd reaction. He seldom got much response. He didn’t “read the room” and though he’s seasoned enough to know how to wrap things up insisted on taking up a LOT of time. Bernie got his “big moment” back in 2016. A night of celebration of him and his candiacy and it may well have been part of weakening Hilary with white working class voters in states she should have realized she was vulnerable in. That bell Bernie rang at the convention couldn’t be unrung even though he did make campaign appearances on her behalf.
That was eight fucking years ago. He’s got a younger generation that’s taken up the mantle he’s carried but he seems to me to be demanding some role as the leader of the progressive wing of the Party. Clearly some readers here disagree but from where I sit he needs to accept he’s past his time as a “star”, especially as he won’t even formally affiliate with the Democratic Party! Others were more deserving of the prime time he took up. That’s my opinon and I’m sticking to it.
Some Democrats, actual Democrats need to look seriously at turning over the reins to someone who is both just a capable (if not more so) AND comes across better to the public. Dick Durbin for example (from my home state of Illinois) should have allowed Sheldon Whitehouse to become Chair of the Judiciary Committee. Durbin spoke and again proved how lame he is. I’ve long since lost confidence in Shumer. I’m not sure who I’d pick as Majority Leader but surely we can do better. Both in actual effectiveness but in representing the Party to the public at large. Don’t kid yourself. During the Trump years it was Nancy Pelosi kicking Trump’s ass. Schumer was little more than a sidekick. Bet even Pelosi realized it was time to cede power to someone younger and she chose well with teaching Hakeem Jeffries.
Sanders inspired a new generation of progressives who are the future. He should have accepted that instead of insisting on yet another big moment in the sun. And while I’m at it Pritzker proved why he never got to the short list in the Veepstakes. Given that he’s Gov. of Illinois he was going to get a couple of brief moments in the spotlight with the convention being held in Chicago. He sure as hell didn’t rate a priime prime-time speaking slot either!
I’ll concede the joint was feeling good after the roll call and looking forward to multiple stars including IL’s own Tammy Duckworth who frankly rated more time than SHE got. She kicked ass, and I have to wonder how much more she could have done with just five more minutes. Imagine her teeing off on Trump and Vance of the Medal of Honor stuff, and also defending her fellow National Guard solider Tim Walz? I can’t help but think back more decades than I care to admit and when after my first year of college switched to a local Junior College to both get squared away academically again but also play college basketball. JUCO was serious stuff in that part of the country. In the very first practice it really hits you. EVERY player wasn’t just a starter in high school but one of the best if not THE best player on their high school team. Coaches can’t play everyone, and that means some people get egos hurt because they don’t get much playing time.
That’s just how it is but it’s not little league baseball. You play your best players, the top seven or eight or you LOSE. And the rest have to learn to accept their role and that they won’t get their big moment(s). So it is when you have the the numbers of up and coming Democrats wanting to get featured at a convention. Prime time matters and there’s only so much of it available. You either make the most of it by telling some who want some of that time ‘no’ or you try to appease as many as you can and squander a rare opportunity. I think we’ve done the latter two nights in a row and those calling the shots had best pull their heads out of their asses and adjust accordingly for the final two nights. I have no doubt both Tim Walz and Kamal Harris will rock the house as the final speakers on Wed. and Thurs. nights. I also don’t think the world will end if they finish speaking ten or even fifteen minutes before 11pm eastern time. Except on Fox the pundits will get a head start on noting all the highlights while the freaking balloon drops go on in the background. But the main thing is that the whole country will be able to see them if they want to before turning in for the night.
I’ll shut up. If you want to dismiss me as a whiny little bitch then go ahead. But I feel like we wasted opportunities to highlight our best – two nights in a row. THIS is our chance to truly reset the race and ensure any post convention bump isn’t a bump but rather a new standard for the rest of the race.
look I had too much to drink. I apologize. I regret what I said. please forgive me. best ogd
“We simply can’t afford two more nights of this.” Being a little over dramatic are we? Like the entire Harris/Walz campaign rides on the DNC speaking schedule? It may be just me but I think our campaign is much bigger than the trivialities of convention speaker timing.
We have an incredible wave of enthusiasm happening at the moment. You might consider helping to bolster that instead of making armchair cheap shots at critical Harris campaign supporters.
Look, I’m a secondary writer on this blog. Ursula carries most of the load and after her it’s Murfster so it’s fair to suggest my views are off base. I don’t know if you watched MDNBC tonight after Walz was done speaking. I may not count for jack in your eyes but what about Lawrence O’Donnell (with Maddow and others on the panel agreeing with him) the same points I made? And worrying that having screwed up getting the most important speakers each night on in prime time the same thing will happen with our nominee Kamala Harris?
Maddow even made a suggestion I did – just start earlier if you want to give some of these people a speaking slot. It’s not rocket science. Did we need Oprah taking up damn near twenty minutes, or John Legend taking up well over five? Just cutting that out would have at least let Walz get onstage before prime time was over! Hey, they cut James Taylor Monday night! I LOVE Stevie Wonder, who is more in my wheelhouse (I’m 67 soon) than legend but for both ot them I have the same feeling. When it comes to musical acts put them on earlier when there are no name speakers that aren’t expected to rev up the crowd. Great musical artists can keep the crowd amped up at such times. And if things look like they will run long then yes, some of the unknowns have to deal with the disappointment of getting bumped.
It’s been a great convention but it could have been better by letting a huge part of the country see it at a decent hour instead of either heading to bed or turning off the TV to prepare for doing so. Look at some of the states in the eastern time zone that the DNC blew it with. MOST people aren’t political junkies like me and I suspect you (and others critical of me) and a lot of voters in say Pennsylvania, Virginia (which is no longer light blue), North Carolina where I live, Georgia which is now back in play and even Florida which suddenly might be in play basically got a fuck you from convention organizers.
That’s an awful lot of electoral votes to put at risk to make second and even third tier speakers get their warm fuzzies. And musicians too. Tonight was supposed to be about not just introducing Tim Walz in a major way to the whole country but parking the impression of him deep. The Gov. of Maryland is awesome and we’ll be hearing and seeing more of him in the future, but he spoke late and said damn near NOTHING about his fellow Gov. Tim Walz. Instead he spent most of his time telling us about Biden and also Harris who will be the focus THURSDAY night! Did he not get the memo? Did the convention staff that vetted his speech not say to him ‘hey, it’s cool to praise the current administration over what’s happened to the Key Bridge but how about saying more about your fellow Gov. and Veteran?
Go ahead. Criticize me for nitpicking but I say this matters. MY opinion doesn’t seem to count with you and others. Are you going to sit there and say people like O’Donnell, Maddow and Psaki don’t know shit and should STFU? Because they said pretty much what I said in my article and earlier comments – that the people running the show at the convention have been blowing it. And that allowing three nights in a row of the featured speaker to be shoved OUT of primetime has been a huge mistake and there is no indication the final night will be any different when our nominee takes the stage.
Are you going to contact THOSE people via MSNBC or their social media feeds and tell THEM they are full of shit and shouldn’t be criticizing?
Given the lineups of each campaign…the worst night of the DNC is still far better than the best night of the fascist RNC. Let us all see how things go after it’s done.
I’m a little surprised: the dnc didn’t have any problem with shoving an old man aside when it was the President of the United States. I fail to see why they wouldn’t do the same to old Bernie. If they are targeting younger voters and others thinking President Biden is too old, and all indications point to that being exactly what they are doing, hanging on to an old man from Vermont seems rather silly. Especially when you consider he is generally the bitter old grandpa in the room. Probably not a good look for the dems to wear.
I don’t watch that stuff (conventions / debates) live.
Hell, I “cut the cord” years ago, so unless they’re streaming I couldn’t if I wanted to.
I will probably just catch highlights on YouTube.
None of them will say anything that will change my vote and, even then, I’d rather watch stuff on my schedule, not “when it’s on”.
Interesting take. I prefer Robert Hubbell’s take:
“Second, the Democratic Party has had a sometimes-contentious relationship with Bernie Sanders. But when times have been tough for the Democratic Party, Joe Biden, and the American people, no one has been as loyal and reliable as Bernie Sanders. He deserved to be on the dais tonight reminding the American people (and some Democrats) about the work that remains to be done to lift up all Americans, not just the middle class or upwardly mobile.”
(He’s on Substack if you want to see context.)