Democrats Skip Convention Keynote for 17 Mini-Tributes by Rising Stars

[TomCADem]

Source: Bloomberg

The second night of the Democratic National Convention opens Tuesday with a collage of 17 keynoters, each given just enough time to voice support for Joe Biden before a virtual roll call of states will make his presidential nomination official.

Rather than the traditional convention keynote that can fuel one star’s rise -- then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton had the keynote in 1988 and speaks again Tuesday as a former two-term president -- Biden’s team chose an array of Democrats to share the coveted duty on Tuesday. All reflect his center-left philosophy.

* * *
The speakers include Representatives Colin Allred of Texas and Representative Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania, both political moderates who flipped Republican seats after Donald Trump was elected president. Others were Biden supporters during the Democratic primary season: South Carolina State Senator Marlon Kimpson, Nevada State Senator Yvanna Cancela and Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta.

The highest-profile figure among the keynoters will be Stacey Abrams, who narrowly lost her 2018 bid for governor in Georgia, which would have made her the first Black woman to lead a Southern state. Abrams didn’t endorse a presidential candidate during the primaries, but Biden considered her as a running mate, and the two share a pragmatic approach to politics. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a star of the party’s progressive wing, also will get to speak -- but only for about a minute, a limit her supporters have complained about. Trump is portraying Biden as a captive of what he calls the party’s “Radical Leftists.”


Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-18/democrats-give-17-rising-stars-mini-keynotes-to-praise-biden

[bucolic_frolic]

1. i think it's a good adjustment to fit the virtual convention format

and it has microtargeting appeal to the big tent coalition. Keynote addresses usually set a tone and build a case and declare who we are at this moment in time, but this year - we know all that. So far I'm very impressed with the presentations.

[onetexan]

5. +1 K&R! Agree, format so far has been excellent. Wonder if Eva L is MC'ing still or is someone else?

[Budi]

2. Thanks! Will be looking for Rep Tx - Colin Allred

He is the coolest guy & man of the people in his Distrist & his State.

In 2018, civil rights attorney and former NFL player Colin Allred won a heavily contested primary for the Democratic nomination, and defeated Republican incumbent Pete Sessions in the November 6 elections. The district, like most suburban districts in Texas, had long been considered solidly Republican.

💙

Watch for him & give him your time, please.

----------

[iluvtennis]

3. Like this change!! nt

[badhair77]

4. I'm good with this concept. My attention span is shortening.

It’s nice to mix it up.

[TomCADem]

7. I Actually Appreciate Giving Numerous Rising Stars A Chance to Shine

Yes, if you give a young Barack Obama a keynote speech, he may ride it to the Presidency. However, you never know how a person will develop. John Edwards ended up being scoundrel, rather than the parties' future. Tulsi Gabbard began to crave the attention of attacking the party to the point that she became a Fox News and Russia Today favorite.

I am glad that several rising starts are getting a chance to be heard and recognized.

[badhair77]

8. Absolutely. You summed it up well.

[chriscan64]

6. I had to listen on the radio on the way home from work.

NPR felt compelled to announce the name of each speaker which which took the same amount of time as their line in the speech. I will have to go back and watch all of it anyway, so no big loss. I am impressed with how the party has been creative in uncharted waters. I imagine next week will mainly be a hastily slapped together hit job on Biden with bogus claims about how Trump created the greatest economy in the history of the world sprinkled in.

[DeminPennswoods]

9. Three from PA

Conor Lamb, who is going to have a tough fight because Parnell is polished and telegenic. The voters in Mt Lebanon and environs are going to have to turnout in big numbers for him to overcome the R vote here in the other part of his CD17.

Brendan Boyle, who represents NE Phila, though, is someone to watch. After I retired I worked p/t in retail. There I met his younger brother (currently a PA state house rep) and a good friend of the brothers. These two brothers have had their eyes on the prize and a plan to get it since they were in their early 20s, maybe earlier. They've built their support brick by brick, knocking on every door in the district. The Boyles are comparable to Sen Casey. Of the brothers, Brendan is probably the more center-left, younger brother seems a bit more liberal. But I've been pleasantly surprised. I don't know what the next step for Brendan might be, but perhaps a Senate run is in future.