The Democratic National Convention culminated Thursday night with a speech from presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Vermont Democrats are emboldened by the four-day meeting celebrating the vice president’s campaign.
Before she left for the Chicago Democratic convention, first-time Vermont Delegate Samantha Sheehan expected it to be “the most historic and unusual national convention ever.”
“Oh my G-d there were so many just totally surreal moments and there were so many deeply moving moments, so many speeches and sentiments shared that made me really excited and really proud to be a part of the Democratic Party and really fired up about the next 74 days, I think, until the election. And it was so fun. You know, I did not have Lil Jon rapping in the middle of roll call on my bingo card, but it happened,” Sheehan laughs.
Sheehan recalls that one of the favorite topics of conversations each night was determining which speech was best.
“Hilary Clinton’s speech was sort of a watershed moment for me. Michelle Obama’s speech, the room was absolutely electric.” Sheehan was also intrigued by speakers who didn’t make the prime time schedule. “There were some lesser known speakers every night. One was actually the former communications director for Melania Trump. She spoke really bravely about the lack of character of Donald Trump. That was a moment that stuck with me.”
This was the third convention for Vermont House Speaker Jill Krowinski.
“The Democratic energy at this convention has been incredible and to be in the room hearing Michelle Obama speak, hearing President Obama speak, to hear Hilary Clinton speak,” recalls Krowinski. “And then, oh my gosh, the last night with Vice President Harris. For me being a woman in her own leadership role and supporting other women it’s just incredibly special. I really can’t describe that moment seeing her, hearing her words giving that speech. I will hold that moment with me forever.”
Former Governor Howard Dean is a former chair of the Democratic National Committee. While he was not at the convention, he watched the proceedings and was enraptured by Harris’ acceptance speech Thursday.
“I’m debating in my own mind, since this would be my 12th convention, whether this may have been the best acceptance speech I ever saw including Barack Obama who is a noted terrific speaker,” Dean ponders. “But I was just astonished.”
“Why?” asks Bradley.
“Because she did everything right,” Dean replies. “She put the issues in ways that were guaranteed to continue to appeal to people who wanted unity who were not in the hall and particularly independents. And the delivery was extraordinary. She just didn’t make any mistakes. So I just thought it was an amazing speech. Obviously it had an effect on the crowd. The speechcraft was incredible. I had no idea she could do that.”
Governor Dean said the contest to give the best roll call vote provided an atmosphere of fun and was necessary because it was already known what the result would be.
“I thought it was great. The meta-message was this is the party of joy, not a party of hate. And that’s really what this election is about,” asserts Dean. “Do you want us to come to vote for a party whose platform is basically hate and anger or do you want to vote for a person who is tough but you can have a little fun along the way.”
Harris and her running mate Tim Walz face Republican Donald Trump and his vice presidential pick JD Vance on November 5th. A new Green Mountain State Poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center shows Harris leading Trump, 67 percent to 27 percent, among likely voters.
