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Dem Convention Day 1 redacted tweets
DAY 1 of the 2016 DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
met in the Wells Fargo Center: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

by RICHARD E. BERG-ANDERSSON
TheGreenPapers.com Staff
Tue 26 Jul 2016

EDITOR's NOTE: All Tweets below have been redacted (where necessary) within their original sequence.

Reports are that outgoing DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz will *not* be opening the Democratic Convention

The Democrats will be off to something of a rocky start in any event: their Convention will have to be the vehicle re: mitigating this

The Mother Bethel AME Church of Philadelphia, PA choir sings 'The Battle Hymn of the Republic' before the Democratic Convention

Many among the assembled at the Convention join in singing the chorus 'Glory, glory, hallelujah: His Truth is marching on'


Session of Monday 25 July 2016

The 47th Democratic National Convention is called into session at 4:19 PM EDT [2019 GMT] by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: Ms. Rawlings-Blake began walking away from the podium after stating the Convention had been called to order when she was reminded that she had forgotten to bring down the gavel, which she quickly ran back to do [and with much alacrity, to boot!]-- the "timestamp" herein is that for when she actually brought the gavel down

A video presentation about the host city- Philadelphia, PA- is now shown to the Convention

A musical performance from Boyz II Men before the Convention now

Rev. Dr. Cynthia Hale, senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church gives the Invocation

Rev Dr. Hale: "There is tension and dissension in the land: this is not Your Will and we know it"

Cheers attempt to drown out the many 'boo's from the Convention floor as Rev Dr. Hale first mentions Hillary Clinton's name

The 'Bernie!Bernie!' chant is heard as Rev Dr. Hale pleads "Unite us, O God, in one Party"

Presentation of Colors followed by two delegates leading the Convention in the Pledge of Allegiance

Bobby Hill of the Keystone State Boys' Choir sings the National Anthem

The Colors are now retired

The co-chairs of the Credentials Committee present their committee's report before the Convention

A big cheer as Credentials co-chair James Roosevelt declares there are no outstanding credentials issues remaining

A big cheer as Credentials co-chair Lorraine Miller declares "We have the most diverse Convention ever"

Mayor Rawlings-Blake (as acting Temporary Convention Chair) declares Credentials Committee report adopted 'viva voce'

The co-chairs of the Rules Committee present the report of that committee to a rather mixed response (from the floor)

Mayor Rawlings-Blake asks for the 'Ayes' and 'Nays' on the Permanent Officers of the Convention: approved 'viva voce'

Congresswoman Marcia Fudge of Ohio (the Permanent Chair of the Convention) now takes the gavel

rather mixed (vocalized) feelings among the assembled at the Convention as the Clinton/Kaine ticket is first mentioned by Congresswoman Fudge

I am somewhat reminded of Will Rogers' "I belong to no organized Party: I am a Democrat" LOL as I watch the Democratic Convention right now

Seriously: I well recall watching the '68 Chicago Convention-- lots of booing vs. cheering at this Convention but no real comparison (to Chicago)

Fudge: "I will be respectful of you and I want you to be respectful of me: we are all Democrats and we need to act like it- let's do it!"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: this in response to the continuous 'boo'ing, seemingly from many Sanders delegates on the Convention floor, and the attempts- by other delegates in the hall- to "out-cheer" these 'boo'ers... "rocky start", indeed!

Now the Rules Committee co-chairs come back to the dais to put forth the agenda and procedural rules of this Convention

Convention Chair Fudge asks for the 'Ayes' and 'Nays' on the agenda and procedural rules-- declares 'Ayes' have it (rather close, tho')

Former Texas State Senator Leticia Van De Putte (Rules co-chair w/ former Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank) puts forth Unity Reform Commission before the Convention

The Unity Reform Commission intends to be a 21st Century version of the McGovern/Fraser Commission of the 1970s

Wellington Webb (former Mayor of Denver & supporter of Hillary Clinton) speaks before the Convention in favor of the Unity Reform Commission

Webb: "Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are our champions: they both deserve our cheers"

State Representative Diane Russell of Maine (a delegate for Bernie Sanders) speaks before the Convention in favor of the Unity Reform Commission

Russell tells the Convention the Unity plan will "reduce the number of superdelegates by a full two-thirds"

Russell: "We did not do this by selling out, we did it by standing up-- we did it by standing together"

Russell "We are the Party of Democracy, we are the Party of the 99 percent" (many on the Convention floor chant "Not for Sale!")

Russell: "It may be hard and it may be messy but, ladies and gentlemen, this is what democracy looks like"

Russell: "A Donald Trump Presidency will not only hurt our Party, it will also harm our People"

Russell: "We are the Road Ahead-- we are united"

Convention Chair Fudge asks for the 'Aye's and 'Nay's-- declares the Unity Report adopted 'viva voce'

Congressman Steny Hoyer (Maryland), US House Minority Whip, addresses the Convention as its Parliamentarian

Hoyer: "We say: you're not on your own-- we're in this together. Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine and Democrats in Congress are on your side"

The chair of the Platform Drafting Committee- Congressman Elijah Cummings (Maryland)- presents that committee's work to the Convention

Cummings: "When you take away a person's Right to Vote, you take away their ability to shape their own destiny"

Cummings: "Our communities and our law enforcement work best when they work together"

'No TPP!' (expressing opposition to the Trans-Pacific trade agreement) being continuously chanted by some on the Convention floor throughout Cummings' speech

Cummings exhorts the assembled: "Go out there and vote and don't stop lifting up the American People!"

A video presentation about the drafting of the Democratic Party Platform is now shown to the Convention

The co-chairs of the Platform Committee proper now speak before the Convention on the committee report

Paul Booth of D.C. (a Sanders delegate) now comes before the Convention to speak on behalf of the Democratic Platform

Booth: "Our Platform isn't a bunch of slogans... we offer plans, not empty promises"

Booth: "The Republican Platform will not make America great-- the Republican Platform will pull the rug out from under us"

Booth: "The solution America wants and needs is in this Platform: so let's ratify it together"

Former NAACP President Ben Jealous (a Sanders delegate) now addresses the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: NAACP= National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Jealous: "I am proud to support... the most progressive Platform in the history of our Party"

Jealous: "Public Safety strategies, not Law and Order foolishness... makes us safer"

Convention Chair Fudge comes to the dais to ask for the 'Aye's and 'Nay's on the Platform-- declares it adopted 'viva voce'

EDITOR's NOTE: The theme of this evening: United Together

Congressman Robert Brady [Pennsylvania] comes before the Convention to welcome the delegates to "[his] District"

Brady: [on those Missing in Action and Prisoners of War] "We hold them in our hearts every day"

Brady points out there is an empty chair in the PA delegation at the Convention representing the POWs/MIAs

Congressman Brendan Boyle [Pennsylvania] addresses the Convention & welcomes the delegates to "my hometown, Philadelphia"

Boyle: [Donald Trump] "says the American Dream is dead... [he] is wrong"

Congressman Raul Grijalva [Arizona] now speaks before the Convention

Grijalva: "The public good- and not the size of a donor's check- [is] the measure of a good idea"

Grijalva: [Donald Trump is] "trying to make our country more hateful, more divided and more fearful"

Congresswoman Nita Lowey [New York] addresses the Convention

Lowey: "Hillary doesn't just fight the tough battles-- Hillary wins them!"

Lowey: "Donald Trump has devoted his life and career to-- well-- Donald Trump"

Congresswoman Lowey is joined on the Convention stage by current and former New York Democratic officeholders

NY State Senator Adriano Espaillat (candidate for Charile Rangel's US House seat) addresses the Convention

Espaillat notes that, if elected (almost certain), he will be the first one-time undocumented immigrant elected to Congress

Time for the official Photograph of the 2016 Democratic Convention

Oregon House Speaker Tina Kotek and other Democratic legislators come to the Convention stage

Kotek: "We have come so far and we cannot go back.. .I am with Hillary because she is with me"

Kotek: [advances made should not be] "compromised by risky, reckless leadership in the Oval Office"

California State Senator Kevin de Leon now addresses the Convention

de Leon: [if Hillary Clinton is elected President] "our progress will be America's Progress"

de Leon: "Democrats don't alienate, isolate, exclude or demonize: and we don't manufacture fear-- that is a sign of weakness"

Georgia Democratic leader Stacey Abrams next speaks before the Convention

Abrams: [is part of a new American majority] "one that has the courage to work together rather than tear our Nation apart"

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney [Democrat] comes before the #DemConvention and welcomes the delegates to his city

Kenney: "The 'Know Nothing's are back and, this week in Cleveland, they vowed to take their country back but it is *not* their country"

Kenney: "We can't let our anger overwhelm us-- that is what 'Know Nothing's do"

A brief video of 'stuff Donald Trump has said' before Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy comes before the Convention

Malloy: "We must ignore the shouts and taunts of bullies amongst us"

Malloy: "Democratic Governors across this country are leading the way"

Malloy: "You name 'em and Donald Trump has bullied them... the Trump/Pence ticket is like a contest to see who could discriminate more"

A video on Republican gerrymandering in States controlled by GOP Governors & legislators is shown to the Convention

The video's message: elect more Democratic Governors and "help unrig the map"

Convention CEO Rev. Leah Daughtry now speaks

Daughtry: [Hillary Clinton believes] "'We The People' means '*all* the people' [and that] we are always stronger together"

John Podesta, Chair of the Hillary Clinton campaign, speaks before the Convention

Podesta notes he has known Bernie Sanders since Podesta was a staffer for Vermont Senator Pat Leahy (when Sanders was Burlington, VT Mayor)

Another 'Possible Next President?' "stuff Donald says" video is shown to the Convention

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, addresses the Convention

she introduces a video of Latinos/Latinas in Congress next shown to the Convention

Congresswoman Linda Sanchez is joined by her Congresswoman sister Loretta Sanchez on the Convention stage

Linda Sanchez: "My [Mexican-born] parents are the only parents in American History to have *two* daughters in Congress"

Linda Sanchez: "Too many children are learning the wrong lesson from Donald Trump"

Linda Sanchez [to Donald Trump] "America *is* great: it is the country that gave *my* family the chance at a better life"

Linda Sanchez: "Hillary Clinton is bad-ass and she's ready to lead!"

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh addresses the Convention

Walsh: [Hillary Clinton believes in] "not just an America for those with advantages, but an America for those who need a helping hand"

America's Labor Leaders come onto the Convention stage

AFSCME President Lee Saunders addresses the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: AFSCME= American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

Saunders: [in Flint, Michigan] "poisonous policies led to poisoned water"

Saunders: [on Donald Trump] "How can you be pro-worker when you're known by the catchphrase 'You're fired!' ?"

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka speaks before the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: AFL-CIO= American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Unions

Trumka: [to Donald Trump] "You're no tough guy- you're a phony!"

Trumka: "We're building a national movement for a better life"

NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia addresses the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: NEA=National Education Association

Eskelsen Garcia: "[We] need to be focused on education, not deportation"

SEIU President Mary Kay Henry next speaks before the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: SEIU= Service Employees International Union

Henry: "[We must] stop the candidates of hatred and greed"

North America's Building Trades Union President Sean McGarvey addresses the Convention

McGarvey: [Hillary Clinton] "has the boldest infrastructure plan we've seen in generations"

AFT President Randi Weingarten speaks before the Convention
EDITOR's NOTE: AFT= American Federation of Teachers

Weingarten: [on the GOP Convention] "Last week, we saw a festival of Fear"

Weingarten: [Donald Trump is] "manipulating people's fears to enrich himself"

A video 'Hillary's America' is now shown to the Convention re: heroin addiction

Pam Livengood of Keene, NH (whose daughter struggles with opioid addiction) addresses the Convention

US Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire now comes before the Convention

Sen Shaheen: "It will take all of us working together to defeat [controlled substance addiction]"

actress/singer Demi Lovato addresses the Convention before performing a song

A video presentation on the threat of Climate Change is shown to the Convention

US Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon speaks before the Convention

Sen Merkley: [Donald Trump] "is no more a champion of America's workers than a lion is of a gazelle"

Sen Merkley: "We must say 'no' to bad trade deals and that includes the TPP [Trans-Pacific Partnership]"

Sen Merkley: "Let's celebrate voter empowerment and not voter suppression"

A video 'She's With Us' is now shown to the Convention

Francisca Ortiz and her daughter Karla of Las Vegas, NV come before the #DemConvention #DemsinPhilly (Karla Ortiz's parents risk deportation)

video- more "stuff Donald says [and does]"- is shown to the Convention

Astrid Silva of Las Vegas, NV- a DREAMer activist- now addresses the Convention

Silva: "When Donald Trump talks about deporting... he is talking about [breaking up] families like mine"

Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois addresses the Convention

Gutierrez: "I will raise my voice against a bigot who thinks a judge in Indiana can't do his job because his parents were born in Mexico!"

Gutierrez: "Every generation of newcomers [is] met with skepticism... but every generation proves the skeptics wrong"

Gutierrez: [Mass Deportation] "is a sick, hateful fantasy"

Twin brother basketballers Jason and Jarron Collins come before the Convention

Jesse Lipson of Raleigh, NC- Corporate VP of Citrix Systems- addresses the Convention

Lipson: "Where does this losing country [Donald Trump] is talking about come from?"

Lipson: "Republicans may think they're telling people which bathroom to go into but... they're really talking about which markets to stay out of"

Another 'Hillary's America' video (re: standing up to LGBTQ discrimination) is shown to the Convention

Nevada State Senator Pat Spearman now addresses the Convention

Spearman: "I am a veteran, I'm a minister, I'm an African-American and I am a proud member of the LGBTQ community"

Spearman: "[Trump's] worst attack on us was his vice-presidential pick"

Spearman: [Trump/Pence] "fear diversity, we celebrate it"

A video- 'Donald Decoded'- is now shown to the Convention

US Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania next addresses the Convention

Casey: "Why would Donald Trump make products in all four corners of the world but not in Altoona, Erie or here in Philadelphia?"

Casey: "Donald Trump has never made anything except a buck on the backs of working people"

Casey: "Donald Trump wants to make America great but never makes anything in America"

Luke Feeney- Mayor of Chillicothe, Ohio- comes before the Convention

Feeney: "Hillary's dad was a small business owner-- Hillary gets it"

Yet another "stuff Donald says" video is shown to the Convention

US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York addresses the Convention

Sen Gillibrand: "Today, our policies [re: women as employees] are stuck in the 'Mad Men' era"

US Senator Al Franken of Minnesota speaks before the Convention

Franken: "I got my doctorate in Megalomania Studies from Trump University"

Franken: "I am proud to call Hillary Clinton my friend and can't wait to call her 'Madam President' "

Franken: "Starting Friday morning, it's all about work-- hard work: many of you have jobs, many of you have families-- forget about them"

Yet another "stuff Donald says or does" video is shown to the Convention

Anastasia Somoza, a Disability Rights advocate, next addresses the Convention

Somoza: [on Donald Trump] "I actually feel bad for someone with that much hate in their heart"

Sen Al ('I'm With Her') Franken returns to the Convention dais with comedienne Sarah ('Feel the Bern') Silverman

Silverman: "Hillary heard the passions of the people behind Bernie... Hillary is our Democratic nominee and I will proudly vote for her"

Silverman: "I am proud to be part of Bernie's movement and a vital part of the movement is making... Hillary Clinton President of the United States"

Silverman: "To the 'Bernie or Bust' people, you're being ridiculous"

Franken and Silverman introduce singer/songwriter Paul Simon performing 'Bridge over Troubled Waters' before the Convention

A video about the late New York State Governor Mario Cuomo is shown to the Convention

Actress Eva Longoria now comes before the Convention

Longoria (who is from south Texas): "I'm 9th generation American: my family never crossed a border-- the border crossed *us*!"

Longoria introducing Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey to the #DemConvention: "America is pretty great already"

Sen Booker: "Our purpose is not to start a great nation but to ensure that we continue in the best of our traditions"

Booker: "We are an even greater nation, not because we started perfect, but because every generation has... labored to make us a more perfect union"

Booker: "Patriotism is Love of Country-- but you cannot love your country without loving your fellow countrymen and countrywomen"

Booker: "We must be a Nation of Love... Love knows that every American has worth and value"

Booker: "When we are indivisible, we are invincible: this is the understanding of Love"

Booker: "In times of crisis, we don't abandon our values-- we double down on them"

Booker: "We are not a zero sum nation: it is not you and me... it is you and I, together-- interdependent, interconnected"

Booker's mantra: "America, we will rise"

Booker: "We cannot be seduced by cynicism about our Politics because cynicism is a refuge for cowards"

Booker: "Let us declare that... in America, Love always trumps Hate"

A video- 'Donald Exposed'- is now shown to the Convention

Cheryl Lankford, an attendee of 'Trump University', addresses the Convention

Lankford: "This election is not about Democrat vs. Republican, it is about right vs. wrong"

A video about First Lady Michelle Obama is shown to the Convention before she comes forward to speak

Mrs. Obama: "It is hard to believe it's been eight years"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: Yes, indeed, so very hard to believe-- and to think The Green Papers was already in existence 8 years before even that!

Mrs. Obama: "When someone is cruel or acts like a bully, you don't stoop to their level... when they go low, we go high"

Mrs. Obama: [8 yrs ago] "Hillary did not pack and go home because... [she] knows this is so much bigger than her own desires or disappointments"

Mrs. Obama: [Hillary Clinton] "has never quit on anything in her life"

Mrs. Obama: "The issues a President faces... cannot be boiled down to 140 characters"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: It's hard enough just trying to fit many of these quotes into 140 characters!

Mrs. Obama: "I wake up in a house built by slaves [but] my two beautiful daughters [play] with their dog on the White House lawn"

Mrs. Obama: "In this election, we cannot afford to be frustrated and tired and cynical... so let's get to work"

Congressman Joseph Kennedy 3rd of Massachusetts speaks before the Convention

Kennedy [after telling how he didn't know the meaning of 'Assumpsit' in law school]: "I never showed up unprepared for Professor Elizabeth Warren's class again"

Kennedy: [Sen Warren is America's] "gut-check"

Kennedy introduces US Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts who now speaks to the Convention

Sen Warren: "Bernie [Sanders] reminds us what Democrats fight for every day"

Sen Warren: "America is truly a country of opportunity-- truly"

Sen Warren: "America is not going broke: the stock market is setting record highs [but] it isn't trickling down to families like yours"

Sen Warren: "To every Republican in Congress who said 'no', this November the American People are coming for you-- that's right"

Sen Warren: [of Donald Trump] "What kind of a man roots for an economic crash... cheats students, cheats investors, cheats workers?"

Sen Warren: [Donald Trump] "must never be President of the United States"

Sen Warren: "Trump's campaign is just one more late night infomercial... he'll even throw in a goofy hat"

Sen Warren: [Donald Trump says] "the problem with America is your fellow American who [isn't] like you"

Sen Warren: "When we turn on each other, we can't unite to fight back against a rigged system"

Sen Warren: "We are not going to be Donald Trump's hate-filled America-- not now, not ever"

Sen Warren: "When big banks get too risky, break 'em up"

Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota next addresses the Convention

Ellison: "We are united around the most progressive Platform in history... the Platform Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton wrote together"

Ellison: "When they bring the fear, we bring the courage-- when they bring the division, we must bring the unity"

Ellison (a Sanders delegate): "We will make our voices heard in November when we defeat Donald Trump and elect Hillary Rodham Clinton President"

After a short video intro, US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont takes the podium at the Convention
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: to wild cheering and much applause which keeps interrupting his first several attempts to begin his speech.

Sen Sanders: [Michelle Obama] "has made us all proud [with "her incredible service to our country"] "

Sen Sanders: [to the 1,846 delegates pledged to him] "I look forward to your votes on the Roll Call tomorrow night"

Sanders: "I understand that many... are disappointed with the results of this nominating process... no one is more disappointed than I"

Sanders: [his 'political revolution'] "continues: Election Days come and go but the struggle of the People... continues"

Sanders: "This election has never been about... the candidates... who have sought the Presidency"

Sanders: "This election is about the needs of the American People"

Sanders: "It is not moral, it is not acceptable, it is not sustainable that the top 1% owns nearly [what is] owned by the bottom 90%"

Sanders: "I thank President Obama and Vice President Biden... for their leadership in pulling us out of that terrible recession"

Sanders: [We need] "real solutions: not just bombast, not just fearmongering, not just name-calling or divisiveness"

Sanders: "Based on her ideas and her leadership, Hillary Clinton must become the next President of the United States"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: and, thereby, we now have the long-awaited endorsement of Secretary Clinton by Senator Sanders, her rival for the presidential nomination

Sanders: [Donald Trump] "believes in *huuuge* tax breaks for billionaires" and "that States should be allowed to lower the minimum wage"
Mr. Berg-Andersson adds: here making fun of both himself and Donald Trump with his purposely drawn-out pronunciation of the word 'huge'

Sanders: [HillaryClinton's US Supreme Court appointments] "will end the movement toward oligarchy we are seeing in this country"

Sanders: "In these stressful times for our country, this election must be about bringing our people together, not dividing us up"

Sanders: "At the Democratic Platform Committee, there was a significant coming together of the two campaigns"

Sanders: "The Democratic Party now stands for... a 21st Century version of the Glass-Steagall Act"

Sanders: "We must make sure that TPP doesn't get to the floor of Congress during the 'lame duck' session"

Sanders: "Hillary Clinton will make an outstanding President and I am proud to stand with her tonight"

Rabbi Julie Schonfeld of White Plains, NY (Exec VP of the Rabbinical Assembly) delivers the Benediction at the Convention

Convention Chair Fudge returns to the dais to entertain a motion for recess

The Convention recesses at 11:27 PM EDT [0327 GMT]


Until [Tue 26 July] then, folks!

Modified .