Democrats: Trump is lying, sexist, bigot

Speakers emerged to the familiar chords of “Come Together.”

The delegates sang along with Paul Simon, as he performed “Bridge Over Troubled Water.”

“Bridges not walls!” shouted some in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on July 25. They were attending the first night of the four-day Democratic National Convention that would culminate with Hillary Clinton accepting the party’s nomination for president of the United States.

Overhead, nets held thousands of red, white and blue balloons for the history-making celebration July 28, after WiG went to press.

Clinton officially would become the first female to lead a major U.S. party ticket.

The message to delegates and other party faithful gathered in the City of Brotherly Love: If Clinton is to shatter the glass ceiling in the Oval Office, the party must unite — unite behind the nominee and running mate Tim Kaine, unite behind the most progressive platform in the party’s history and unite in the campaign to defeat Donald Trump and take back Congress.

Key to unity will be bringing together the loyalists who backed Bernie Sanders during the long primary season.

On July 25, before delegates assembled at the hall, Sanders emailed supporters and said the credibility of the movement they built would be damaged by “booing, turning of backs, walking out or other similar displays.”

The afternoon was marked by a massive demonstration for Sanders in downtown Philadelphia and another rally for Sanders near the Wells Fargo Center.

Then, in the first hours after the convention was gaveled to order, some Sanders delegates did boo, chant and turn their backs on speakers — including other Sanders delegates and advocates.

Comic Sarah Silverman, who was a vocal Sanders supporter, was booed when she said she proudly will vote for Clinton.

As delegates chanted “Bernie” and others chanted “Hillary,” an exasperated Silverman said, “To the ‘Bernie or Bust’ people: You’re being ridiculous.”

Sanders closed that first night of the convention. An early preview of his speech led to speculation Clinton might join him onstage. She didn’t, but Sanders made clear his support for the ticket and outlined “what this election is about.”

The election, said Sanders and many other convention speakers, is about addressing the income gap, the decline of the American middle class and Wall Street greed; reigning in campaign financing; enacting immigration reform; dealing with climate change; improving access to college and health care; protecting reproductive freedoms; and building a united Uniting States.

“In these stressful times for our country, this election must be about bringing our people together, not dividing us up,” Sanders said. “While Donald Trump is busy insulting one group after another, Hillary Clinton understands that our diversity is one of our greatest strengths.”

Sexist, egotistical, hypocritical bigot

Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination on July 21 in Cleveland, concluding a rocky convention that revealed a still-fractured party. Several also-rans addressed the convention, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who endorsed Trump, and Ted Cruz, who refused to do so.

In his speech, Trump promised to be the champion of disaffected Americans — mostly older white voters — with a campaign against minorities and women, the impoverished and the immigrants.

Speaker after speaker at the Democratic convention condemned the billionaire’s business practices and offensive rhetoric as delegates waved signs reading “Love Trumps Hate.”

Delegates, too, focused on Trump’s hateful words and lack of policies.

Democrats set the stage for a general election campaign that will reveal Trump as a living model of the Frank Hart character in 9 to 5: a “sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.”

Sexist: “How do you tell your kids not to be a bully if their president is one?” Jarron Collins, former pro basketball player, said. “How do you tell your kids to respect their heritage if their president disparages it? How do you tell your daughters they are empowered if their president reduces women to their physical appearance?”

Egotistical: U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York addressed delegates and said, “Hillary Clinton’s life’s work has been defined by one question: ‘How we help those who need it most?’ Donald Trump’s has been defined by a very different question: ‘How can I help myself most?’”

Lying: Cheryl Lankford of Texas said she invested about $35,000 to get an education at Trump University and has nothing to show for it. “Donald Trump made big promises about Trump University,” Lankford said. “And I was fooled into believing him. Now he’s making big promises about America. Please don’t make the same mistake.”

Hypocritical: U.S. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, referring to Trump’s outsourcing of labor, said, “Where are his ‘tremendous’ Trump products made? Dress shirts — Bangladesh. Furniture — Turkey. Picture frames — India. Wineglasses — Slovenia. Neck ties — China. Why would Donald Trump make his products in every corner of the globe but not in Altoona, Erie or here in Philadelphia?”

Bigot: “Donald Trump believes that Mexican immigrants are murderers and rapists,” U.S. Rep. Linda Sanchez said from the podium. “But what about my parents Donald? Let me tell you what my parents are. They are the only parents in our nation’s 265-year history to send — not one — but two daughters to the U.S. Congress.”

Meanwhile, speakers and delegates shared stories and impressions of Clinton as a compassionate and intelligent dedicated to helping others. And also, more than one speaker said, she’s badass.

First lady Michelle Obama, in a celebrated speech, said, “What I admire most about Hillary is that she never buckles under pressure. She never takes the easy way out. And Hillary Clinton has never quit on anything in her life. And when I think about the kind of president that I want for my girls, and all of the children, that’s what I want. I want someone with the proven strength to persevere. Someone who knows this job and takes it seriously.”

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, in a rousing speech, said, “Hillary Clinton knows what Donald Trump betrays time and again in this campaign: that we are not a zero sum nation, it is not you or me, it is not one American against another. It is you and I together, interdependent, interconnected with one single interwoven American destiny.”

Members of the Wisconsin delegation waved an American flag at the end of Booker’s speech.

The flag went up again during Al Franken’s address, when the U.S. senator from Minnesota urged Democrats to action.

“Now, we’re going to have a lot of fun this week,” Franken said. “But when we wake up Friday morning, there will be just 102 days left until the election. And what you — yes, you — do in those 102 days could determine who wins. I mean that literally. I won my first race for the Senate by 312 votes.”

Wisconsin delegate Frank Long of Madison, who volunteered for the Clinton campaign in Iowa and then Wisconsin, is ready.

“It’s incredibly exciting and exhilarating,” he said of the convention. “There’s a lot of passionate people here, a lot of energy. … We really are strong.”