Clinton’s turn: Guide to the Democratic National Convention
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., hugs his wife Anne Holton during a with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Florida International University Panther Arena in Miami, Saturday, July 23, 2016. Clinton has chosen Kaine to be her running mate.
WASHINGTON >>
It’s Hillary Clinton’s turn.
The Democratic National Convention opening Monday in Philadelphia is Clinton’s chance to hit reset after a vigorous primary against Bernie Sanders and the unlikely movement that formed behind the Vermont senator.
Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, has endorsed Clinton, but many of his supporters have not. Some of them were dismayed by her choice of Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., as her running mate.
Last week’s Republican National Convention in Cleveland exposed deep, lingering reservations about Donald Trump from within his own party. The Democratic gathering is expected to be a more smoothly choreographed display of unity among Clinton, Sanders and Democratic lawmakers and voters.
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THE POINT
Both parties use their national conventions to formally nominate candidates for president and vice president. Party leaders showcase their nominees, and the prime-time speeches by the candidates and prominent politicians win some of the largest television audiences of the campaign. That makes the convention a critical opportunity for a party to introduce its candidates to the country.
Democrats also will adopt its platform, which lays out policy principles but has no binding effect.
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THE LOCATION
The Wells Fargo Center, home to the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, is the convention site. The arena has been transformed with stages, platforms, cameras and lights. Democrats are hoping that city’s historical role in the founding of American democracy will serve as a powerful backdrop for the themes they’ll highlight.
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WHO’S GOING
More than 5,000 delegates are among the 50,000 people set to be in Philadelphia. They include alternates, lawmakers, special guests, journalists and protesters. Among the delegates, about 15 percent are superdelegates, mainly members of Congress and members of the Democratic National Committee.
At the GOP convention, a striking number of prominent Republican lawmakers and party leaders were nowhere to be seen, including the party’s previous two presidents and its two most recent presidential nominees. In contrast, bold-name Democrats have been eagerly vying for a chance to speak in Philadelphia. Most Democratic senators and House members are expected to attend.
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THE SCHEDULE
First lady Michelle Obama is set to speak Monday. That’s also when Sanders will give his speech — a closely watched moment for signs of whether his loyal supporters will line up behind Clinton, as he’s asked them to do.
Former President Bill Clinton, the candidate’s husband, is the speech to watch Tuesday. A day later, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden come to Philadelphia.
On Thursday, the final night, Chelsea Clinton will introduce her mother for her speech accepting the Democratic nomination.
Kaine, who made his debut as Clinton’s running mate at a joint appearance Saturday, will give a speech introducing himself to the country. Officials haven’t yet said when, but the running mate typically speaks Wednesday.
Other scheduled speakers are Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
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THE ENTERTAINMENT
Shoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Lenny Kravitz and Cyndi Lauper will appear in Philadelphia during the convention. Fergie will perform at The Creative Coalition’s gala.
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THE ROLL CALL
States will get a chance to announce how their delegates are voting in the formal roll call Tuesday. It’s a high point for Sanders delegates; they’re pushing to have their votes fully tallied.
In 2008, Clinton halted the roll call midway through to call for then-Sen. Barack Obama’s approval by acclamation, or unanimous vote. Sanders says he favors a state-by-state roll call, but he hasn’t indicated exactly what he will do.
There’s a total of 4,763 delegates. It takes 2,382 to win the Democratic nomination.
Clinton arrives in Philadelphia with 2,814 delegates to Sanders’ 1,893, according to an Associated Press count. That includes the superdelegates, who can vote for any candidate they choose. This year, those superdelegates overwhelmingly backed Clinton. The remaining 4,051 are pledged delegates, won by the candidates based on the results of state primaries and caucuses.
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THE PROTESTS
If there are any fireworks in Philadelphia, expect them to come from Sanders supporters. They have said they plan to show up in full force.
Philadelphia officials estimate between 35,000 and 50,000 people will demonstrate across the city each day. Activists have put the estimate higher, at roughly 100,000.
Among the groups planning to demonstrate are gun control advocates, the group Occupy DNC Convention and Trump supporters from Pennsylvania.
17 responses to “Clinton’s turn: Guide to the Democratic National Convention”
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Will be interesting. I guess Gabbard will be happy that DNC chair Wasserman Shultz will not preside or speak since the email scandal within the committee. Pay back from when she didn’t allow Gabbard to attend the debate.Schults should resign from that position as well as those involved. Schultz should be banned from any position in the committee.Might get ugly during the convention between Sanders supporters and Clinton supporters.Bet Trumpy and his gang will be glued to the tube.
it’s amazing that the female felon is about to be anointed yet has refused to hold press conferences since the beginning of this year to avoid questions about her serial sexual offender husband who will speak at the convention. epstein’s victims of human trafficking are suing to have court records released that will expose clinton foundation donors who were rewarded with frequent flights on epstein’s lolita airlines. the records will also reveal bill clinton’s penchant for epstein’s nubile flight attendants.
Yeah and she should release her tax returns too! What’s she trying to hide? Oh wait, she did release her tax returns, six years worth.
Will Debbie Wasserman Shultz and Bernie Sanders be attending? Haaaaaaaaa! Man I’d like to see those two go at it, now that that those emails of the DNC was released ,via Wikileaks.
I told you so , Bernie Sanders was a “Shoe in” from the get go!
Candidates like Chafee, O’mally and Webb? They were merely dressing on the cake. To create an Illusion an Illusion that these were real competitors? They weren’t. Which btw,came down to money.
But what went unexpected was Bernie Sanders.Who gave Hillary a run for her money! lol.
The Donald nailed that one ,when he said the system is RIGGED…… Sad day for Bernie Sanders supporters.IMUA
Schultz may be attending but it already has been announced that she has been removed from her role as DNC Chairperson. If she attends, she will be sitting on a bench on the side line.
Well, it looks like Tulsi Gabbard made another ethical decision in the face of scathing criticism that was ultimately shown to be correct.
The corruption and collusion between Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the DNC has been laid bare and damaged their reputation among millions of previously faithful Bernie Sanders voters.
But let’s look on the bright side. By following her conscience, Tulsi Gabbard once again was right. We need more representatives like her.
A broken clock is correct twice a day. 🙂
Doesn’t take a genius to see that everything Clinton touches is totally corrupted. That said, Tulsi should get credit for not being just being another brain-dead party apparatchik.
The dems are eating their own. Sit back and enjoy the show. Hang in their Bernie. Bye bye Debbie Does Dallas. Tulsi riding high.
Bon apetite!
I must say that this is one of the times you are correct. The Democratic Party seems to be trying to “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” This should have been a slam dunk but now, I’m not quite so sure.
Show Hilly the money! Easily the most corrupt candidate since Manuel Noriega.
Not speaking as a Democrat or Republican or whatever new party is being created, the “super delegate” system that we have seems very unfair when a nominee despite the votes of the people. In this case, in Hawaii, Sanders won the vote but yet Clinton is chosen. So despite winning in Hawaii Sanders loses due to the votes from these “super delegates”. It seems very unfair and makes it pointless to even bother voting as you might as well just have the “super delegates” do all the voting as ultimately they can choose whomever they want regardless of whom the people have voted for. The system is gamed by the party and it should be changed. Whoever wins the state, wins the state. It strikes me as elitism at its worst. It seems unconstitutional as it gives one person more power as a voter than the populace. Isn’t this country about being “created equal”? If a Federal worker committed the same acts as Clinton with the use of a private server, he or she would be in jail. But when we look across the aisle we have a candidate that has ripped off and conned people to amass his fortune, including the victims who built his Vegas palaces only to find themselves losing money and business as a result. A dishonest man, one who would be considered a pariah in any other circumstance, is now the Republican candidate.
Yes, I agree. It seems that the Super Delegate system was created solely to ensure that the entrenched elites could keep a lock on power and influence. (That said and in the most collegial manner possible given the circumstances. Speaking as someone who has had to deal with numerous child abuse cases over the decades, I find that your screen name his hands-down, the most offensive and tasteless one on this forum and I can’t imagine how it got past the moderators.)
Where are the party loyalists. Why aren’t they dancing in the streets. This is the moment they were waiting for.
It seems that in this election cycle both parties have tried their best to implode. Perhaps the election will be decided by which party was most successful in self-destructing. Not a pretty sight.
They are scattering like rats on a sinking ship. Now they have to play defense. Should be fun.