National Elections

Day two of the DNC Convention began with Bernie Sanders going from state delegation to delegation asking his delegates not to disrupt the convention as they had on day one. Sanders tells California delegates it’s ‘easy to boo’ but harder to stop Trump:

Throughout Monday’s speeches at the convention dozens of Sanders delegates around the arena booed any mention of Hillary Clinton’s name. By the end of the evening, many of those still shouting — including over Sanders’ speech — were in the California seating section.

“We must stay focused on the major concerns of the American people and in the process have the guts to say yes, we are going to transform this country,” he said.

Sanders said that means working to elect Clinton.

Some delegates began to boo and yell over him, but Sanders raised his voice to be heard.

“It is easy to boo, but it’s harder to look your kids in the face who would be living under Donald Trump,” Sanders said. “Trump is the worst candidate for president in the modern history of this country.”

Sanders’ pleading with his delegates appeared to be effective with the vast majority of his delegates during the roll call of the states in the afternoon, which was well managed by both the Clinton and Sanders camps.

There were some touching moments during the roll call. Bernie Sander’s brother Larry Sanders got emotional while casting vote for his brother and brought many to tears. Bernie Sanders, who was watching from the gallery, was cheered by all delegates.

Arizona delegate Geraldine “Jerry” Emmett, who is 102, born before women gained the right to vote, was given the opportunity to announce Arizona’s votes for Clinton. I have known Jerry for a long time, and I know how much this honor meant to her. “I cried! I never cry,” Emmett said afterward. Born before all women could vote, Prescott woman, 102, reports AZ delegates for Clinton.

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Day one started out with the New York Times reporting that In Hacking, Russia Accused of Playing in U.S. Politics:

Proving the source of a cyberattack is notoriously difficult. But researchers have concluded that the national committee was breached by two Russian intelligence agencies, which were the same attackers behind previous Russian cyberoperations at the White House, the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff last year. And metadata from the released emails suggests that the documents passed through Russian computers. Though a hacker claimed responsibility for giving the emails to WikiLeaks, the same agencies are the prime suspects. Whether the thefts were ordered by Mr. Putin, or just carried out by apparatchiks who thought they might please him, is anyone’s guess.

As Greg Sargent of the Washington Post says, “Let’s be clear about this: the fact that Russia is trying to swing the outcome of an American presidential election is about a million times more important than the fact that some DNC staffers talked trash about Bernie Sanders in emails to one another.” Charles Pierce of Esquire added, Donald Trump’s and Vladimir Putin’s Shared Agenda Should Alarm Anyone Concerned About Democracy.

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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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