Democratic National Convention
The 2016 DNC, equally as overthe-top at the RNC, took place over
four days (July 25th through July
28th) at the Wells Fargo Center in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The
timing of the DNC was a calculated
choice by the Democratic Party to
provide a timely response to the RNC.
But unfortunately for the Democrats,
the appearance of competency was
shattered before the convention began.
A huge revelation occurred the day after
the conclusion of the RNC that would
instantly wipe away any appearance
of unification in the Democratic party.
Wikileaks, a website that hosts stolen
government documents, published
hacked emails from accounts of DNC
officials, showing clear bias among
officials towards candidate Bernie
Sanders in favour of Hillary Clinton.
And while there is no evidence that the
nomination process nor the Democratic
Primaries had been tampered with
or fixed, the leak did shake the
confidence of many Democrats in
their party. DNC Chairwoman Debbie
Wasserman Schultz was forced to
step down over her involvement,
and was replaced by Marcia Fudge
right at the start of the DNC.
The first day brought the approval and
adoption of the 2016 Party Platform
– the most progressive platform in
the party’s history. The platform
includes support for raising the
national minimum wage from $7.25
an hour to $15.00 an hour, ending the
privatization of prisons, abolishing
of the death penalty, removing
marijuana from the list of Schedule 1
Controlled Substances, and a two-state
solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
prominent and vocal Sanders supporter,
called his supporters refusing to
support
Clinton,
“ridiculous.”
On Day 2, Clinton became the party’s
official nominee, and made history
as the first female nominated as
Presidential candidate for a major
party. Also, former Virginia Governor
Tim Kaine accepted the nomination as
Vice Presidential candidate. But the
highlight was Bill Clinton’s speech in
support of his wife, which mentioned
him neeting his wife in law school
and being awed by her, even then.
The third day of the Convention was
jam packed with many important
speakers including Mayor Bill de Blasio,
Vice President Joe Biden, and President
Barack Obama. Obama gave rousing
speech advocating for Clinton in which
he said that she is the most qualified
candidate in history. He also responded
to Sanders supporters who were audibly
upset when he mentioned Trump
by telling them, “don’t boo, vote!”
On Day 4, Clinton gave her acceptance
speech, after being introduced by
her daughter, Chelsea, who talked
about how proud she is of her mom.
Clinton’s speech was well received,
and there was a 7% favourable bounce
in polls for Clinton after the DNC.
Besides the usual speeches by
politicians
and
activists
and
advocates, there were also speeches
and performances by celebrities
during the Convention. Performers
included Demi Lovato, Alicia Keys,
Lenny Kravitz, and Katy Perry.
2016 Republican Party presidential primaries
(Total delegate results)
125
123
484
1725
Trump
Cruz
Kasich
Rubio
2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries
(Total delegate results)
1865
2842
Clinton
Sanders
Other highlights of Day 1 include an
epic speech made by the current First
Lady Michelle Obama who talked
of her support of Clinton from the
perspective of being a woman and
a mother, and hit hard at Donald
Trump without even mentioning his
name. The day also included a moment
where actress Sarah Silverman, a very
SEPTEMBER 2016
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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