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As you all likely know, last night was the one-and-only Vice Presidential debate, held at Longwood University in Farmville, Virginia. First, it’s always instructive to look at who gets invited as the special guests to an event like this. Here’s Tim’s list (from the “NBC Out” section of nbcnews.com):
- Civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson;
- former Virginia State Sen. Henry Marsh, a civil rights attorney and mentor to Kaine;
- Lily Habtu, a survivor of the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting;
- Okianer Christian Dark, a law professor who Kaine represented in a fair housing case; and
- Carol Schall and Mary Townley, plaintiffs in the successful challenge to Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage, and their daughter, Emily Schall Townley.
I watched much of the debate (thanks, C-Span.com) and frankly don’t know what to make of it or how to describe it. That seems to be a common reaction. Pence was more forceful but lied more and abandoned (and contradicted)Trump and routinely went over his allotted time; Kaine was less effective than we’d hoped, had trouble countering the lies manufactured in the right-wing alternative universe, and interrupted way too much, but made the debate mostly about Trump; both men ignored the moderator, changed the subject, and talked over each other so much it was hard to follow. Here’s an early list of debate-related diaries, and there will undoubtedly be many more:
Also worth a read: Scan’s assessment at HillaryHQ.com. The early consensus seems to be that (like most VP debates) this was unlikely to sway voters in either direction, although it may make for some amusing ads and GIFs matching up Pence’s “He never said X” with Trump saying “X.” There is also rumbling that Pence’s vigorous and repeated criticism of Russian expansionism is not playing well in much of Trumplandia.
While Tim was cramming for his big exam, the rest of the Clinton team was out in full force around the country. I’ll give some of the highlights, not full reports on each event, because I want you all to be able to read to the end before noon and write some good comments.
Hillary did two public events yesterday in Pennsylvania. First, she, Chelsea Clinton, and actress Elizabeth Banks spoke at a “Family Town Hall” in Haverford, home of the Quaker-founded Haverford College, on the rather posh “Main Line,” and as a New York Times reporter notes, “the kind of Philadelphia suburb that could decide this critical state.” (Scan has a fuller report, including full video.) Once again, Clinton showed the potent effect of her listening to, publicly affirming, and amplifying the voices and life-experience of women from a wide range of backgrounds. Here are a couple of clips. This was the first question of the day — how brave is this young woman?
Hillary then spoke at a voter registration event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's capital.
Future First Dude Bill Clinton was in Ohio (with The Bus), promoting voter registration, early voting, and of course Hillary. His first stop: Ohio University in Athens (SE of Columbus), where he was joined by OH-Sen. candidate Ted Strickland.
Bill’s second event was in Steubenville, on the OH-WV border north of Wheeling.
This morning Bill is holding a breakfast-and-voter-registration event in Youngstown, OH. And the campaign has just announced that President Obama will be speaking in Cleveland on Friday.
Yesterday Michelle Obama spoke at two rallies in North Carolina, reinforcing her Convention reputation as a fantastic speaker and advocate. (Talking Points has a full report.) Watch the mic tap moment here:
Bernie! was also on the road for Hillary yesterday, this time in Minnesota, where early voting has already begun. First was a GOTV rally at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis campus, where he was preceded by (among others) Rep. Keith Ellison (MN-05) and Ilhan Omar, a feminist and social justice activist who is hoping to become the first Somali member of the MN House.
He then did an evening rally in Duluth.
Elizabeth Warren was in the crucial state of NV stumping for Hillary — and for (and with) NV-Sen. candidate Catherine Cortez Masto:
NV State Senator Pat Spearman has a powerful message about the importance of voting:
A note about campaign donations: We’re probably all sick of getting fundraising emails. But I saw a comment in another diary saying in essence, “She's so rolling in dough that she doesn't need any more.” Wrong. As Chris Reeves has pointed out in his “Nuts and Bolts” diaries, this final month is crucial, and money makes a big difference. Think about what it took just for today’s multiple large rallies — airplanes, staff support on the ground, press support, hotels, renting the venues, signs — and for the radio and TV ads that are helping in crucial states. We have the people doing the work, but without adequate funding, they will be hampered. (One of the emails said they’ve cut back how many busloads of CA volunteers they’re sending to knock on doors in NV, one of the many places where more money = more GOTV.) So even if you’ve given, and given again, let’s all see if we can dig in one more time. Here’s an idea: Bill said October 11, right after the next debate, is their 41st wedding anniversary. Maybe we can do a $41 blitz on the 10th-11th.
I’m going to end with Michelle, on why every vote matters:
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Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States. Please considering supporting the HillaryHQ GoFundMe appeal to enable Scan to continue his independent journalism ad-free through the November election.