Bill is (or at least was) a sexual predator. He was a decent president but in this post Me Too age there’s no way he should be given a prominent voice. I am astounded (and a bit disappointed) that there is not more criticism from Democrats on this.
I have more empathy for Hillary. In a better world she’d be president and we’d have a sane plan for countering COVID. She deserves a role but she is just too toxic. Her voice is akin to throwing chum in the water and waiting for the sharks to follow. Once we get past November 3rd she can be brought back into the light, maybe even on Biden’s cabinet.
I would tend to agree that having them show up is just going to be controversial. But I don’t know how you can really exclude a generally beloved former President, and a Senator, Secretary of State and Presidential candidate?
I think I’d just invite them to be present, but not have them give keynote speeches or anything like that.
Might work at a standard convention but it’s not as though the cameras can pan over them in the audience when it’s a bunch of speeches, either pre-recorded or being given from around the country.
I kinda agree with this, but having the Clintons as some sort of presence will be a major distraction for the Republicans, not the Democrats. They may draw some fire and energy away from Biden and Harris’ messages. The Clintons still loom large in the Alt Right misinformation bubble - there is probably a way to use them to our advantage. Maybe this has already been explored.
OTOH they may drive some moderate conservatives away - they may tune-out at the sight of Hilary. We need these people.
I disagree strongly. The convention isn’t for the very woke. Bill will remind people of the good times in the 1990s, a far cry from the disaster of the current Trump Covid economy.
I agree with bump’s take. You can’t really not invite them, but there’s no reason you need to give them any more focus than any of the other myriad people you’re inviting.
Hillary is only toxic to those who’ve swallowed right-wing propaganda. That is, the Clintons are perfect for trolling them. Let the Trumpists shout about them some more, while Joe and Kamala can talk about making things better, instead of arguing about the past.
YouGov has Bill Clinton as the 5th most popular Democrat in America. Assuming their polling is accurate, not only do I not see how you exclude him, but I say you give him a prominent spot at the convention. Especially as I would imagine that among Democrats, his popularity is no doubt higher, but I didn’t find a current poll on this. As for Hillary, she is down the list a bit, and given the memories of what happened in the last election, I suppose I’d be more inclined to give her a much less prominent spot, but she too should be there, just to keep those who still admire her (as do I, for the most part, but that’s another thread) happy.
It’s not like the speeches go Clinton, Clinton, Biden, Harris. It looks like there’s over 50 speakers. The Clintons don’t look to be giving any major speech and neither are on the final night.
I don’t think the right strategy for the Democrats is “Don’t do anything that Fox News would complain about.”
You should have known better than to believe that Democrats were outraged about sexual predators. That was just something to criticize Trump about, now that they have moved on to other criticism, sexual predators are no big deal.
The DNC is not about trolling conservatives. It’s pulling together people to get behind Biden and Harris. It’s pushing the agenda. Being a sexual predator is not part of that agenda.
Regarding what “we,” care about, I guess I’m not part of the we. I like statues of limitations and thought there were better ways to oppose the Kavanaugh nomination than alleging teenage crimes.
As for Bill Clinton, he was – quite unlike Kavanaugh – disbarred and heavily fined. I consider President Clinton to have suffered significant penalties and paid his debt.
Ok, sure, I can agree with that. We still don’t need to put him on stage at a major political party. It sends the wrong message. Either we’re serious about sexual conduct towards women or we’re not.
