JULY 27, 2004
From Where I'm Sitting
By Stephanie Hiller
Editor of Awakened Woman
Thoughts on the Democratic Convention
Day Four - July 29, 2004
Hope, Hope -- Hooray!
Finally -- John Kerry.
Kerry's speech, though not as brilliantly executed as Clinton's, was compelling. He was at his best, I thought, when taking on family values:
"Values spoken without actions are just slogans" and
"It's time for people who talk about family values to start valuing families."
He vowed to "restore truth to the White House," challenging Bush without directly attacking him. "Saying there are weapons of mass destruction doesn't make it so, and saying mission accomplished certainly doesn't make it so."
Doing the candidate thing, he made dozens of promises for jobs, education, and healthcare, and promised to develop alternative energy, declaring his investment in "an America that relies on ingenuity and imagination, not on the Saudi Royal family."
And his best line, I thought, was Abraham Lincoln's. "I don't want to claim that God is on our side. I want to pray humbly that we are on God's side."
But then, there was the call for more troops to get the job done in Iraq and "end the back door draft of the National Guard and reservists."
With a front door draft?
And the promise to supply the troops with the best modern weapons.
Depleted uranium rounds?
In sum, the Democratic candidate, like the convention as a whole, conveyed a sense of return to normalcy, a Constitution upheld, honor and decency restored.
Remembering that the honorable and decent Bill Clinton bombed Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo, we can assume that Kerry's America will still be an empire struggling to maintain its power in a churning sea of conflict.
No great leap forward, that -- but a welcome step back from fascism.
Day Three - July 28, 2004
"Hope is on the way!"
… but only if you're an American
John Edwards delivered a heartwarming, optimistic, energetic message for America's future under a new Kerry-Edwards administration, promising to fund education and healthcare by removing tax cuts to corporations that do their business overseas as well as tax cuts to the rich, twanging heart strings with tales of Americans struggling to make ends meet &endash; the mother sitting at the kitchen table unable to pay her bills leaps to mind &endash; and rousing the crowd to peak exhilaration at the prospect of a new America.
It was spine-tingling stuff: and it was all for us.
"Because we are at war," he added solemnly, when the convention's enthusiasm was at its peak. And to Al Qaeda, he had this to say: "You cannot run, you cannot hide. We will destroy you!"
It brought the house down. But the way he said it, the ferocious gleam in his eye, the timbre of his voice, reminded me too much of George W.
I am not one to support violence of any kind, and the crude, cruel violence of terrorism is no joke.
But who are these terrorists? (Do they not bleed?)
And why are they willing to destroy themselves in order to destroy us?
What drives them to their insane rage against America, and what is John Edwards going to do to build peace?
He's going to build a stronger, better military. He's going to protect and guard "our weapons of mass destruction."
He's going to win the war against the bad guys.
If war is the bottom line in this election, then the only difference between these two parties when it comes to the bottom line is that our vets, when they come home contaminated with depleted uranium, will get better healthcare.
Because it's all about us &endash; all about our prosperity, our education, our quality of life, our healthcare, our jobs &endash; our future.
Could that be why the rest of the world, laboring under grueling poverty in a globalized economy that is good for you and me, hates us?
John Edwards stirred the crowd with his passionate belief that racism needs to be overcome "everywhere! Everywhere!"
He's got the words "nice guy" written all over his face, and I believe him.
But until we get leadership that recognizes the needs of people on the other side of the world, that recognizes the injustice of America's inflated consumerism, and that finds a different way to take the fire out of terrorism, we're going to be hated, and we're going to be at war.
No real alternative there!
Day Two - July 27, 2004
It's getting better -- or maybe the planned positivity of the Demo Convention is sucking me up in its warm assurance of hope for a revived America under the kindly leadership of Kerry and Edwards.
Never a great fan of Convention platitudes and hyperbole, I was already getting tired of hearing the procession of speakers make the same packaged promises. OK, OK, Kerry is brave, Kerry volunteered for the military during the Vietnam war, Kerry will make healthcare available to all Americans...
I was waiting for Barack Obama and Teresa Heinz Kerry.
Looking over the transcript of Obama's talk, I don't find much to get excited about. It's the usual platitudes about democracy with a nice touch, that there is no other country in the world where his family could enjoy the opportunities they encountered here. But when delivered, the speech, which was received with great enthusiasm, was enlivening and encouraging.
Another interesting highlight of the day's proceedings was the choice of embryonic stem cell research as a unifying issue in this campaign. Ron Reagan's plea for this research, which has been blocked by the Bush Administration, was compelling. Although the whole field of biotech is controversial, and frightening in its most radical applications, the use of this knowledge to cure horrible diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's is certainly promising and not to be disregarded. And the issue highlights the extreme ideological dogma of the Christian right without naming it. Quite clever, I thought.
The highlight of the evening was definitely Heinz Kerry's speech. Following her son Chris' tender introduction, Teresa arrived with her hand on her heart, and her entire delivery was marked by a heart-felt sincerity that stood out from the usual campaign fare.
Outstanding was her defense of her right to speak as a woman, "to be what some have called opinionated.
"Women, who have earned their rights to their opinion, instead of being called opinionated, will be called smart and well-informed, just like men.
"It is time for the world to hear women's voices, in full and at last."
Teresa defined patriotism the way we want it defined: "True patriots are those who dare speak truth to power."
Her voice for the environment is also loud and clear. " We can, and we will, create good, competitive, and sustainable jobs while still protecting the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the health of our children, because good environmental policy is good economics."
And her call for a restoration of real morality to government was inspired. "The Americans John and I have met in the course of this campaign all want America to provide hopeful leadership again. They want America to return to its moral bearings. It is not a moralistic America they seek, but a moral nation that understands and willingly shoulders its obligations; a moral nation that rejects thoughtless and greedy choices in favor of thoughtful and generous actions; a moral nation that leads through the power of its ideas and the power of its example. We can and we should join together to make the most of this great gift we have been given, this gift of freedom, this gift of America."
Her speech was delivered softly, without polemics, her brown eyes melting with warmth. And it even reads well on the page. She has my vote all the way -- and I'm tempted to feel that if she likes John so much, he must be a pretty decent fellow.
The real choice the Democrats are offering at this convention is a return to normalcy after a nightmare that threatens to derail everything America stands for, with a reassuring blast of the ordinary decency most Americans believe to be our hallmark.
Even if that simple decency is not without stain, it certainly would be wonderful for this nation to emerge from the underworld where it has been lingering these three and a half years into the light of day, where the problems we face could be honestly confronted and solutions explored.
Relief from despair would be most welcome! If the Democratic campaign is to restore hope for America, I'd be the first to move out of the realm of phantoms and back on to more solid ground.
I'm looking forward to what John Kerry has to say.
Day One &endash; July 26, 2004
I loved the first day of the Convention, with its fine entertainment, enthusiasm for America's future and insights into the democratic platform.
Bill Clinton's speech had me cheering and weeping, even applauding from my chair in the Camp Meeker woods, watching my great digital-tv reception.
By far the most electric moment of the day's proceedings, in my opinion, was the appearance of the nine women democratic senators, and the speech of senior dem senator Barbara Mikulski.
The energy sparkling from this handful of women standing tall in the halls of power was received and reflected with tremendous enthusiasm from the audience that rippled out to my sympathetic heart.
We need women's leadership now!
Sorry to say McCloskey's moving speech does not appear in the transcripts at the demo website.
Nor does the moving talk by the woman whose daughter, son-in-law and unborn grandchild were killed on their way to a wedding when their plane crashed on 9-11.
She said, When the towers fell, we knew that we were one. We must bring back that feeling of unity.
In our hearts we are unified. As Clinton said, it's a question of how we want to reach that unity. The Neocons used 9-11 to divide the nation. The Demos have another plan.
I do believe it is true that Kerry as President will do more for women's rights, workers, healthcre, the environment, and the general welfare of ordinary Americans than we can expect from the Neocons. But will it be enough? In this time of utter crisis on so many fronts, the platform doesn't seem to have the fiber to prevent the inevitable rupture of grossly inflated American empire.
It was great to see a woman chaplain utter the closing benediction. Even though she prayed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, her passion for the divine was evident and deeply felt by those who joined in prayer.
But when you pulled back the veneer of promising rhetoric and (apparently) naïve patriotic idealism, you had to ask what did the Demos do during these tragic four years to push and implement their stated agenda for the nation?
And the answer, alas, is nothing.
They did not oppose the war in Iraq, they have not opposed the Patriot's Act, the illegal detention of immigrants, the torture of prisoners, the absurd mandates on behalf of Homeland Security, nor the use of depleted uranium in warfare.
They did not stop the ongoing exploitation of developing countries by the very global economy Clinton did much to install.
They did not insist on a bundle of peaceful and democratic programs to support the new government of Afghanistan after the war in pursuit of the (largely non-Afghan) Al Qaeda, and they are averting their eyes from the mess in Iraq.
What are the chances that even if elected and installed with powerful majorities in Congress, this party will tackle those tough issues with a radically different approach to policy in a global society?
The sell-outs tell us there's not much hope even for the dissidents in the party.
Barbara Lee looking elegant evaded questions about her own fervent opposition to the war by saying, Kerry will have to do what's in his heart. Ohhh-k, but are you pushing for him to do what you feel is right?
And Dennis Kucinich cashed in his courageous pro-peace agenda in support of party unity just two days before the convention began.
So what have we got?
A slim hope for the future in a grim time.