National Elections

Speakers are still being added to those speaking at the 2016 DNC Convention in Philadelphia, but here is a recent summary from Newsday. Democratic convention schedule: Clintons, more speakers and dates:

Here is the planned schedule of events for the 2016 Democratic National Convention at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center, where Hillary Clinton will be the presumptive presidential nominee. More details will be added as they become available.

MONDAY, JULY 25

3 p.m.  Convention opens. Monday’s theme is “United Together.” First lady Michelle Obama, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Astrid Silva, a Dreamer who came to the United States as an undocumented child immigrant, will focus on “putting the future of American families first” and building an economy that works for all.

A number of “everyday Americans” will also be speaking throughout the convention on various themes, including immigration and gun violence. On Monday, Francisca Ortiz, an undocumented immigrant, and her daughter Karla Ortiz, an American citizen, will be among the speakers.

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The Washington Post’s editorial page has a rare full page editorial arguing that Donald Trump is a unique threat to American democracy:

DONALD J. TRUMP, until now a Republican problem, this week became a challenge the nation must confront and overcome. The real estate tycoon is uniquely unqualified to serve as president, in experience and temperament. He is mounting a campaign of snarl and sneer, not substance. To the extent he has views, they are wrong in their diagnosis of America’s problems and dangerous in their proposed solutions. Mr. Trump’s politics of denigration and division could strain the bonds that have held a diverse nation together. His contempt for constitutional norms might reveal the nation’s two-century-old experiment in checks and balances to be more fragile than we knew.

Any one of these characteristics would be disqualifying; together, they make Mr. Trump a peril. We recognize that this is not the usual moment to make such a statement. In an ordinary election year, we would acknowledge the Republican nominee, move on to the Democratic convention and spend the following months, like other voters, evaluating the candidates’ performance in debates, on the stump and in position papers. This year we will follow the campaign as always, offering honest views on all the candidates. But we cannot salute the Republican nominee or pretend that we might endorse him this fall. A Trump presidency would be dangerous for the nation and the world.

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The GOP’s alleged boy genius, Ayn Rand fanboy Paul Ryan, the nominal Speaker of the House and GOP convention chairman (for now), was a holdout in endorsing the short-fingered vulgarian con man, Donald Trump.

This led Trump supporters to call for his ouster as GOP convention chairman. Ryan demonstrated his usual lack of intestinal fortitude when confronted by the wingnut “wacko birds” in his party. Paul Ryan will skip chairing convention if Trump asks.

No worries! Today the GOP’s Flimflam Man capitulated to a master con man, and surrendered the GOP to Donald Trump. R.I.P. GOP. Paul Ryan: I’m voting for Trump:

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday said he will vote for Donald Trump for president after weeks of withholding a formal endorsement of his party’s presumptive nominee.

The article noted that when asked whether Ryan was endorsing Trump, a Ryan aide gave an unclear response: “He said he’ll vote for Trump in the piece. That speaks for itself, in our view.”

Ryan aide Brendan Buck followed up moments after the article was published, tweeting, “We’re not playing word games, feel free to call it an endorsement.”

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April 16, 2016 Presidential Caucus Information

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Registration Open only 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.

Precinct Committee persons will caucus by Congressional District

and presidential preference to elect delegates to the

Democratic National Convention.

Speeches and Voting begin at 10 a.m.

Maricopa County Caucus Instructions and Information – click here

Congressional Districts 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 will caucus at the Phoenix Convention Center South Building, 100 N. 3^rd Street in Phoenix.

Pima County Caucus Instructions and Information – click here

Congressional Districts 2 and 3 will caucus at the University of Arizona Center for English as a Second Language, 1100 E James E Rogers Way in Tucson. The old address for this building was 1100 East North Campus Drive.

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