If this were the first quarter of a football game, the Democrats would have scored three touchdowns. As has been noted by many observers, the energy was high and positive throughout the evening, from Congressional women on through to the First Lady’s speech.
Deval fired them up with a sense of purpose. Ted Strickland lobbed devastating salvos against Romney and Ryan, here with one-liners, there with Scripture. Tammy Duckworth’s story showed iron courage. Julian Castro deftly wove together an inspiring life and family story while stripping the bark off of a hapless GOP ticket.
This was a party that seemed to have found its voice, its pride, and its purpose. Those are hard-won discoveries, since the timidity, disunity, and political fecklessness of 2010 led to disaster. But the accomplishments remain; and the note of pride was very much in evidence tonight and with pride and accomplishment comes joy. That’s what we felt tonight; that was the story opening-night.
Discuss
10 Comments . Leave a comment below.I thought the Republican convention in Tampa was milk-toasty, but at least they didn’t serve up made-for-attack-ad material like the DNC did with their “The Government Is The Only Thing We All Belong To” video.
Are you kidding me? This is like pitching David Ortiz underhand.
How soon after the video’s showing did Romney tweet “the government belongs to us”? It’s the exact inverse of Clint Eastwood’s silly monologue, and will be replayed relentlessly in the next 60 days. Could progressives have given the GOP a better gift than this stark contrast of political life in America?
My prediction now — it’s all over for Obama by 10 PM on Tue Nov 6th.
Man the lifeboats!
Hmmm … care to make it interesting? LOLzers
Who holds the dough?
In this post, you unfairly switch the definition of “belong” to imply that the video says something it doesn’t.
The phrase “we all belong to” from the video refers to coming from or being part of something. Being a member of an organization, club, church or other group of like-minded individuals. In that sense, government is at least one of the only things “we” (American citizens) all belong to. This is little more than a restating of the philosophical “social contract theory” of government. That citizens form governments and submit to the authority of the government in exchange for protection of their rights.
By contrast, the phrase “the government belongs to us” is inaccurate semantics and uses an entirely different sense of the word “belong.” In this sense, belong is being used to refer to something that is owned by someone. For example, “Who’s coat is this?” “Mine, that coat belongs to me.”
To me, the idea that the governed “own” the government is more convoluted and less informative philosophy than the idea that the governed “are members of” the government. The “members of” philosophy is reflected well in the following well-articulated explanations of American government:
The Founding Fathers (and Lincoln) all theorize here that government is type of organization, created by the people with their consent, and to which all citizens “belong” as members. BUT, none of these familiar phrases suggests that the government “belongs to” the people as owners. Government is “of the people” not “owned by the people.
Republicans simply get it wrong (and play silly semantic games) when it claims that government somehow “belongs to” the governed in an ownership sense. “It’s the people’s seat” (Scott Brown, 2010)) is accurate only in the sense that the people created government and therefore the seat. But the alternative phrasing of “It belongs to the people of Massachusetts” (i.e. Romney 1994 and many right wing supporters of Scott Brown) is not a very accurate way of talking about the Senate seat.
We belong to government, we don’t own it.
If you didn’t think the Kennedy seat versus the people’s seat had a meaningful political difference, then you wouldn’t think “You didn’t built it” and “the government is the only thing we all belong to” also resonate poorly.
You twist yourself into a pretzel trying to explain the theory, but it’s a lot simpler than that, and the Romney team no doubt will make hay highlighting what they think is Obama’s progressive collectivism versus Romney’s liberty-loving individualism.
You may think this is all hyperbole (it is), but it will be manipulated and used against the Dems.
Ronald Regan said “We are a nation that has a government–not the other way around.” America loved this line, spoken in 1981. Knowing that, why would the DNC toss out a progressive softball that the Repubs hit out of the park?
At lleast learn how to spell his name.
The 666 candidate.
But I don’t think any have been struck, yet. Warren and Clinton either veer off that way. He may be out of practice, and she may not have practiced sufficiently yet.
or in this case, a comment by its title. I thought this was going to be a Climate Change denying comment, but not so. Still, icebergs
may not be so plentiful, except as a metaphor
No opportunity for icebergs last night. I saw a bunch of boring people I never heard of, and then fell asleep. I’m kind of annoyed Clinton was on so late. Same reason the World Series is on so late, I suppose. Bummer.
Nothing has happened yet that set me off in a fuming rage. So I guess that is something.
Strickland came closest. As I have noted before, it always sounds oike I’m an “us” when Democrats campaign; it is when they have to implement programs and pay for them that I suddenly become a “them.” I find the tone off-putting.
I dozed through the guys from San Antonio. Patrick seemed to bring the fire and brimstone; I wouldn’t mind it if he tried that with our own Great and General Court once in awhile.
The First Lady’s speech was quite impressive. I was likewise impressed with Ms. Romney’s– it is amazing how the gentlemen contending for high office always seem to have such accomplished wives, isn’t it? But this one was more impressive, indeed one of the better “spouse” speeches I can recall.
In any event, no real fumbles, and a big set-up for Big Bad Bill, whom I am anxious to see for old time’s sake. I do find it interesting to note that the asshats on TV this morning are now trying to deflect whatever Bill has planned– they are still afraid of him– by saying that anything Bill says will just show that Obama isn’t Clinton, so vote for us. Wha…? So they like Clinton now? They change their positions so fast that it is a wonder that their “ditto-heads” know what they believe from moment to moment.
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