Democratic National Convention Day Two: Bill Clinton tells the story of ‘the real’ Hillary Clinton on historic day

Join us for Day Three of the Democratic National Convention over here. Our team will capture every moment.

If you missed anything from the second night, catch up below, or watch the convention in less than 3 minutes.

×

Day Two of the Democratic National Convention in less than 3 minutes. Full coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

Read More

The Secret Service issued a statement late Tuesday night saying four people had attempted to climb a fence outside the Democratic National Convention and breach a protected area.

All four were promptly arrested before they could enter the stadium.

The full statement:

It was a night for reexamining history as former President Clinton took center stage to reintroduce the nation to his wife, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

While Clinton walked viewers through a romantic retelling of the couple’s relationship and Hillary Clinton’s record, Republican officials and commentators attempted to tear off the rose-tinted glasses.

Sean Spicer, the Republican National Committee’s chief strategist and spokesman, poked Bill Clinton for skipping some of the blemishes on the Clintons’ collective record.

The GOP’s Twitter account retweeted Politico editor Susan Glasser, who noted similar omissions.

Republican Party Chairman Reince Priebus called Hillary Clinton “the most scandal-plagued & disliked candidate in the history� of the Democratic Party, while his party’s Twitter account tried to get followers to sign a petition to “Keep the Clintons out of the White House … again.�

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign also tried to leverage conservatives’ long-held distrust of the Clintons, texting followers: “New election — same ole Clintons. But we won’t be fooled. Contribute and keep ‘em out of the White House.�

For his part, Trump stuck to attacking Bill Clinton, the media and the Democrats’ set. Later in the night he again called Hillary Clinton “crooked,� linking to a story about Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s comments Tuesday about the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Asked by Politico whether Clinton will work to approve the trade deal once in office, McAuliffe said, “Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed.�

Clinton came out against the deal during the primary election.

One Republican, Laura Ingraham, had kinds words for Bill Clinton — with a caveat.

Robin Tyler and Diane Olson of North Hills had gathered up most of the night’s placards around their electric scooters.

“We’ve come out of the feminist movement, the anti-war movement, the LGBT movement. We’ve come out of so many movements and we know who the real thing is, and Hillary Clinton isn’t making up her background. She has worked for decades on behalf of people, for decades to change things,� said Tyler, 74.

Tyler and Olson sued to challenge California’s same-sex marriage ban in 2004, after being repeatedly denied at the Beverly Hills courthouse. A California Supreme Court judge ruled in their favor, and when Tyler and Olson married in 2008 they were the first same-sex couple to do so in Los Angeles County.

“I don’t have to convince my friends to vote for her because they all know that the alternative, even the Bernie people know this, is Donald Trump and the Supreme Court,� she said. “You’re not just voting for Hillary Clinton, but you are voting for the next 50 years of a progressive Supreme Court.�

Olson, 63, said she didn’t need convincing.

“I like everything about her,� Olson said.

“In the spring of 1971, I met a girl,� Bill Clinton said Tuesday evening.

That was the first clue: This would be a Bill Clinton speech like few others. Bill Clinton is the Democratic Party’s acknowledged master of political persuasion. After his electrifying speech defending Barack Obama’s economic policies in 2012, Obama joked that he needed to name Clinton his “secretary of explaining stuff.�

But this speech was different. This time, Clinton was acting as a character witness for his wife.

Instead of policies and arguments, he rolled out a series of family stories: How Bill had to ask Hillary to marry him three times before she said yes. How she raised Chelsea, almost single-handedly, while he concentrated on running for – and being – president.

And, unlike most other families’ stories, how she has worked doggedly for civil rights, children’s rights, universal healthcare and other progressive priorities.

“She’s the best darn change maker I ever met in my entire life,� he said.

That was the point, of course: to make Hillary sound like change, not the status quo. In case anyone missed it, thousands of printed signs reading “Change Maker� instantly popped up on the convention floor.

A single speech won’t convert every skeptic. Republicans will point out that Clinton’s speech skipped over the late 1990s entirely – the unhappy period when Bill nearly wrecked his marriage to Hillary and his presidency at the same time. The word “Benghazi� was never uttered. People who didn’t trust Bill Clinton before won’t trust him now.

But this speech wasn’t aimed mainly at Republicans. It was aimed mostly at Democrats – especially Bernie Sanders Democrats – who have either forgotten about Hillary Clinton’s early years or, more likely, never knew that part of her story.

After a rousing speech from her husband and a musical flourish from Alicia Keys, along came the nominee.

She appeared via video stream, figuratively breaking through a montage of all 44 male presidents.

“I can’t believe we just put the biggest crack in that glass ceiling,� Clinton said from New York. “This is really your victory, this is really your night.�

Despite the late hour, she added a message for some of the younger viewers who stayed up to watch the night’s proceedings.

“I may become the first woman president, but one of you is next,� she said, as the camera panned out to show her standing alongside a young girl.

Clinton isn’t scheduled to appear at the convention in person until Thursday. But in 2008 and 2012, President Barack Obama made cameos in the arena after the final speeches on the convention’s third night — Joe Biden’s in 2008 and Bill Clinton’s in 2012.

×

Hillary Clinton makes a cameo at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

At the opening of his Democratic National Convention speech, former President Bill Clinton mourned the death of Mark Weiner, a major Democratic fundraiser, Hillary Clinton supporter and provider of merchandise to the Democratic National Convention. Weiner died Tuesday in Rhode Island.

Weiner, 62, died in Newport as he prepared to head to the convention in Philadelphia, former Providence Mayor Joe Paolino said. He had wanted to see the former president, his longtime friend, address the convention Tuesday, Paolino told the Providence Journal.

Read More

In 2012, Bill Clinton arguably helped put President Obama on a path to reelection with a convention speech testifying to his stewardship of the nation out of recession, and on a path to economic recovery.

On Tuesday, the former president did away with the wonky-yet-folksy analysis that earned him the moniker “secretary of explainin’ stuff� and opted for a far more personal, yet still folksy, account of his wife’s lifetime of public service.

In a speech of typical Clintonian length to end a more harmonious second day of the convention, Clinton began with the story of how he and Hillary Rodham first met, as law students at Yale. After dating, it took several proposal attempts until “I married my best friend.�

Calling her “the best darn change-maker� he’s ever known, Clinton focused on how often his wife produced results for people even without an official title. His wife “introduced me to a whole new world of public service by private citizens,� he told the audience.

As first lady of Arkansas, she helped lobby in favor of a sales tax increase to fund improvements in a state school system that had been rated the worst in the country.

“Looks to me like we elected the wrong Clinton,� the former president recalled one lawmaker saying at the time.

He largely breezed through the 1990s and his own presidency, but for mention of the children’s health insurance program she helped pass in partnership with Republican Tom Delay, typically a Clinton antagonist.

And he touted her work as a senator and secretary of State, playing a role in big decisions like the daring raid that ultimately killed Osama bin Laden to things far fewer noticed, like increasing funding for AIDS treatment in Africa.

Ultimately, he did address the elephant in the room: his wife’s low polling numbers on issues of trust. How does all her work square with what Republicans say about her?

“One is real,� he said. “The other is made up.�

“They’re running against a cartoon.�

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright on Tuesday delivered a scathing indictment of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, arguing that he has already made the United States less safe because of his incendiary rhetoric and positions.

“Many have argued that Donald Trump would harm our national security if he were elected president. The fact is he has already done damage, just by running for president,� Albright said at the Democratic National Convention. “He has undermined our fight against ISIS by alienating our Muslim partners. He has weakened our standing in the world by threatening to walk away from our friends and our allies — and by encouraging more countries to get nuclear weapons. Donald Trump also has a strange admiration for dictators.�

Albright and Clinton are two of three women who have served as secretaries of State, which Albright looked back upon as she cast another barb at Trump.

“We also know what it’s like to step off that plane with the words ‘United States of America’ on it. She knows that safeguarding freedom and security is not like hosting a reality TV show,� Albright said. “It is a complex, round-the-clock job that demands not only a steady hand and a cool head, but also a big heart. You are not just representing yourself, you are there for all of us.�

Albright made the remarks as Republicans castigated Democrats for not mentioning the threat posed by Islamic State during their convention Monday night. On Tuesday, several speakers spoke of the threat posed by the terrorist group, including Albright, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

Read More

Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assailed Donald Trump on Tuesday night, questioning his foreign policy credentials.

“Many have argued that Donald Trump would harm our national security if he were elected president,� Albright said. “The fact is, he has already done damage just by running for president.�

×

Madeleine Albright, former secretary of State, speaks at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

As President Obama prepares to address the Democratic National Convention, he seems to be putting the party on notice: Donald Trump can win.

“Anything is possible,� Obama told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie in an interview to air Wednesday. “It is the nature of democracy that until those votes are cast and the American people -- you know, have their say-- we don’t know.�

It’s a different message than one Obama has been delivering with some consistency this year.

Asked about Trump’s candidacy in February, for instance, just as the first votes were being cast in the nomination fights, Obama insisted Trump would never come close to the Oval Office.

“I continue to believe Mr. Trump will not be president,� he said at a news conference from the Sunnylands retreat. “And the reason is because I have a lot of faith in the American people, and I think they recognize that being president is a serious job. It’s not hosting a talk show or a reality show. It’s not promotion. It’s not marketing.�

So what’s changed in five months?

“You know, as somebody who has now been in elected office at various levels for about 20 years, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy stuff happen,� Obama told Guthrie this week. “I think anybody who goes into campaigns not running scared can end up losing.�

Speaking on the national stage Tuesday night was a woman who first came to the United States as a teenager, looking for a better life.

Ima Matul, who was born in Indonesia, was stuck in an arranged marriage and ran away from home as a teen. She was lured to Los Angeles in 1997 at the age of 17 with the promise of a job as a nanny that would pay $150 a week.

“Instead, I spent the next three years in domestic servitude being abused,� Matul said.

Matul touted Hillary Clinton’s work fighting human trafficking, saying, “Before there were laws to identify and protect victims, even before I escaped my trafficker, Hillary Clinton was fighting to end modern slavery.�

She worked 18 hours a day, seven days a week. Her traffickers became violent, she said in a YouTube video, grabbing her and throwing her against a wall. After one particularly bad beating, Matul had to go to the emergency room.

It took three years for Matul to work up the courage to slip a note to a fellow nanny next door, she told KPCC in 2014. The note read, “Please help me.�

The neighbor took her to the Los Angeles-based Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking, where Matul received services and was placed in a shelter.

Matul later became a passionate advocate for the organization.

She was honored by President Obama at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2012.

×

Mothers of African Americans killed by gun violence speak at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

Read More

In addition to our live coverage, we have a number of enterprise stories from our team on the ground in Philadelphia. You can always find our best work here, or check out these headlines:

Historic nomination: Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to lead a major-party ticket

What’s at stake in the Democratic and Republican family feuds

An asset or a disruption? What the White House might look like with Bill Clinton in the East Wing

Don’t miss a moment. Sign up for the free daily Essential Politics email newsletter.

Read More

Bill Clinton is speaking tonight on behalf of his wife, Hillary Clinton, now the Democratic nominee for the presidency. President Bill Clinton’s own presidency was characterized by his consistently high approval ratings. Even in the midst of political turmoil — his highest approval ratings came during impeachment hearings in 1998 — he remained one of the most popular modern presidents. Unprecedented economic growth helped sustain his popularity even after leaving office.

Clinton’s tenure was largely characterized by the importance he placed on economic growth. His time in the White House led to the longest economic expansion in American history — a period of 115 consecutive months of economic growth, and the lowest unemployment rates in 30 years.

Clinton was the only president to have a near-perfect period of job growth, adding over 22 million jobs, the most ever created under one president.

Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean revived the infamous “Dean scream,� which some believe ended his presidential aspirations more than a decade ago, as he campaigned for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.

“This race is going to be won on the ground, and it’s going to be won in Colorado, and in Iowa, and North Carolina, and Michigan, and Florida, and Pennsylvania, and then we’re going to the White House!� said Dean, his voice swelling louder and his smile growing wider with every state.

The audience at the Democratic National Convention applauded wildly at the obvious reference to Dean’s headline-making speech after he came in third in the Iowa Democratic caucuses in 2004.

Dean’s appearance was also notable because he pushed a progressive agenda, drawing vast support from young people and fundraising online, similar to this year’s runner-up, fellow Vermonter Bernie Sanders.

With friends like these …

Hillary Clinton’s longtime friend Terry McAuliffe, the governor of Virginia and a prolific fundraiser for Democrats, just made her difficult job of pulling the Democratic Party together even tougher.

As Clinton assures restive Bernie Sanders voters that they can trust her to fight against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the massive trade deal that Sanders helped galvanize a large share of the electorate against, McAuliffe just gave them good reason to doubt her.

Asked by Politico whether Clinton will ultimately work to approve the trade deal once in office, McAuliffe said, “Yes. Listen, she was in support of it. There were specific things in it she wants fixed.�

Before Clinton came out against the deal during the primary, she had praised it. Her running mate, Tim Kaine, was also a big fan of an agreement until only recently.

McAuliffe’s comments undermined reassurances earlier in the day from Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, that Clinton was determined to scrap the whole trade deal, known as the TPP.

“She’s been clear, and I think Sen. Kaine has been clear, that they are against it before the election, and they will be against it after the election,� Podesta said at a gathering of reporters sponsored by the Wall Street Journal. “We are not about renegotiation. We are not interested in that. We are about a new approach.�

Podesta solidified his stance in a tweet a few minutes ago.

Hundreds of protesters, many of them supporters of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, coalesced and marched near the Democratic convention hall Tuesday night.

Some carried signs that called the Democratic National Committee “corporate dictators� and others touted banners depicting Sanders next to the words “Not For Sale,� a common campaign rallying cry for his supporters.

The seemingly disparate groups of protesters eventually combined and began marching toward the convention hall, picking up even more demonstrators along the way.

Two Hollywood actresses drew hoots and cheers Tuesday as they slashed at GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump during the Democratic National Convention.

“We know what you’re all thinking — why should you care about what some television celebrity has to say about politics. We feel the same way, but he is the Republican nominee so we need to talk about him,� said Lena Dunham of “Girls� fame, who added that Trump would probably rate her body “a two.�

“The unfunny fact is this man would have you believe that our differences are more important than what unites us,� Dunham said.

She was joined by America Ferrera of “Ugly Betty,� who said Trump likely thinks she is a rapist because of her Latino heritage. When Trump announced his presidential bid, he said Mexico was sending rapists and other criminals to illegally cross the border.

Ferrera spoke of her immigrant Honduran parents, attending public schools and occasionally tapping the free-lunch program for the poor.

“I am profoundly grateful for the access and opportunity that exists in this extraordinary nation,� she said. “Not everyone looks at [the children of struggling families] and sees an investment, but Hillary has spent the last 30 years proving what she sees in us — not our color, gender or economic status, but our capacity to grow into thriving adults capable of contributing great things to this country.�

The women urged voters to text a campaign phone number before proclaiming jointly: “And let’s declare: Love trumps hate.�

Speaking to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night, Sen. Barbara Boxer focused on describing the woman she’s known for more than 20 years rather than going after the Republican presidential nominee.

“I personally saw the light in her eyes when she became a grandmother, and her fight for a better America became more personal and even more urgent,� Boxer said. “During this campaign, we have seen something else: her toughness, and I know a little bit about toughness. The right wing has thrown everything at Hillary – not only the kitchen sink, but the stove, the refrigerator and the toaster too. And you know what, she’s still standing.�

Many of the convention’s prime-time speakers have focused on Republicans or uniting Democrats around a single candidate. Boxer wanted people to see Clinton through her eyes.

Boxer and Clinton have known each other since Boxer’s first Senate bid in 1992, when Clinton campaigned for female Senate candidates while supporting her husband’s presidential bid.

Boxer’s daughter went on to marry Clinton’s brother in a White House ceremony in 1994, and while the marriage lasted just a few years, it produced a grandson for Boxer and a nephew for Clinton.

“I know her as the loving aunt who helped plan my grandson’s birthday parties when he was just a little toddler,� Boxer said. “I saw her rush over after a busy day at the State Department to cheer him on at his high school football games.�

Boxer prompted Clinton to run for the Senate herself less than a decade later after the Clintons left the White House. When President Obama asked Clinton to become secretary of State in 2008, Boxer encouraged her friend to take the job.

Boxer has said repeatedly that electing Clinton is a priority before she leaves Congress.

She mentioned Republican nominee Donald Trump by name twice, the second time contrasting the candidates’ stances on access to abortion.

“Well, I have a message for Donald Trump and Mike Pence: We are not going back to the dark days when women died in back alleys. We are never, ever, ever going back!� Boxer said.

Watch the full speech:

×

Sen. Barbara Boxer Of California speaks at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide.

Madeleine Albright in 2012.

( (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune))

Months ago, Madeleine Albright faced harsh criticism for introducing Hillary Clinton at a campaign stop by saying “there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other,� a dig that Bernie Sanders’ female supporters did not appreciate.

She won back another crowd in May, when she spoke to graduates at Scripps College in Claremont. Students and professors there had protested her appearance and denounced her as a “white feminist� and “war criminal.�

Referring to the comments that had spurred the controversy, Albright said, “Rest assured, there’s a special place in heaven for anyone who speaks truth to power.�

It’s anybody’s guess how Albright will be received Tuesday night in the convention hall, which has been packed for two days with fervent Sanders supporters, some of whom have led a chorus of boos against Clinton.

Albright, secretary of State under Bill Clinton, was the first woman to hold that post. She also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and was a member of President Clinton’s National Security Council.

She was born in Czechoslovakia and fled with her family to Britain during World War II, and then to the United States.

Albright has been credited with helping negotiate nuclear proliferation agreements, mediating peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians and is one of the highest-ranking U.S. officials to have met with the leader of North Korea.

(Mark Lennihan / Associated Press)

Among the Mothers of the Movement members who gave emotional statements about their children’s deaths Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention as they endorsed Hillary Clinton, one high-profile name was missing.

Samaria Rice, the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who died in November 2014 after being shot by police in Cleveland while he played in a park with a replica pellet gun, has declined to endorse Clinton.

Though the Republican National Convention took place in her hometown, she was also absent from the RNC and has not endorsed Donald Trump.

No candidate is “speaking my language about police reform,� Samaria Rice recently told Fusion, saying she wants “a lot on the table, not a little bit of talk, a lot of talk about police brutality, police accountability, making new policies, taking some away, and just reforming the whole system.�

Rice added that no presidential candidate appeals to her yet.

She has also been critical of President Obama.

“He may mention something about it, but he’s not really going to go into details about it and hold the government responsible for killing innocent people,� she said in the same interview.

A man who plays a president on television spoke out on Tuesday about the woman who wants to be president in 2017.

Actor Tony Goldwyn, who plays President Fitzgerald Grant on “Scandal� and is a longtime backer of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, took a serious turn as he introduced the Mothers of the Movement, whose African American children were killed, many in interactions with police.

“They understand we must reach out to each other because of our diversity, because we are stronger together,� he told thousands of people gathered at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. “You know, Hillary says we can’t hide from these hard truths about race and justice in America. We have to name them and own them — and then change them. That’s what she’ll do as president.�

Goldwyn noted that he works with the Innocence Project, which works to free the wrongly imprisoned.

“I have never heard them speak of anger or outrage, only their desire to reform the system so that others might be spared their suffering,� he said.

The Democratic National Convention has no shortage of star power.

Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep will speak after former President Bill Clinton and will introduce a film about him.

A performance from singer-songwriter Alicia Keys is to follow the film.

Before that, Erika Alexander, who has appeared on “The Cosby Show,� “Living Single,� and “Last Man Standing,� will be on stage.

She has been a surrogate for Hillary Clinton and has campaigned in Atlanta for her with Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

She will introduce speaker Ryan Moore, who has spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia dwarfism and has known Clinton since 1994 when she was spearheading a healthcare reform effort that ultimately failed.

“Will & Grace� actress Debra Messing will introduce Joe Sweeney, a former New York Police Department detective who on Sept. 11, 2001, helped dig through the rubble looking for survivors.

Messing will also introduce Lauren Manning, who suffered severe burns in that terrorist attack and spent more than six months in the hospital recovering, according to the Democratic National Convention website.

On Tuesday night, Mothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers who lost their children to gun violence or at the hands of police, will take the stage at the Democratic National Convention. While not all the women are officially a part of the Black Lives Matter organization, the death of their children spurred the protest movement that has focused on police reform and gun violence prevention.

The nation remains divided in its perception of Black Lives Matter and its effectiveness, according to the Pew Research Center.

Support and understanding of Black Lives Matter is starkly divided by race

Both blacks and whites are skeptical of the movement’s overall effectiveness, with just 20% of black respondents saying they believed the cause would effectively help achieve racial equality.

Four out of 10 black adults say they strongly support Black Lives Matter

Survey respondents were asked to rank their support for Black Lives Matter along a spectrum ranging from “strongly support� to “strongly oppose.� For white adults, support for Black Lives Matter is even more divided among party lines, with just 4% of white Republicans expressing strong support for the movement.

Strong divisions remain along party lines and ethnicities on the importance of how minorities are treated

One of the primary goals of Black Lives Matter is achieving equality for black Americans. According to the Pew Research Center, a little over half of white respondents said that the treatment of minorities was important to their vote in this election, compared with 82% of black respondents.

Republicans on Tuesday pounced on the Democratic Party for not once mentioning Islamic State during the first night of its nominating convention.

“It is extraordinary to think that yesterday in Philadelphia, 61 speakers came to the podium and none of them named ISIS by name,� Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence told thousands at a Veterans of Foreign Wars conference, using an acronym for the Islamic State terrorism group. The Indiana governor then turned to his running mate, presidential nominee Donald Trump. “This man will name our enemies without apology and he will defeat them.�

Pence’s remarks echoed statements by the Republican National Committee and Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort.

PolitiFact, a nonpartisan fact-checking organization, ranked the statements as true.

The Clinton campaign chided Trump for failing to articulate how he would defeat the Islamic State and said the Democratic nominee has been steadfast in her proposals.

“Donald Trump’s secret plan to defeat ISIS is so great he can’t tell us anything about it. The American people won’t buy that,� said Jake Sullivan, a senior policy advisor to Clinton. “Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, believes Americans deserves real solutions, and so she has outlined a real, comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIS and global terrorism.�

Earlier in the day, Democrats noted that the focus of the convention Monday night was the economy, not foreign policy. And Clinton has repeatedly raised the specter of Islamic State terrorism on the campaign trail, most recently on Monday when she spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars conference.

×

Elizabeth Banks enters the stage at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

Actress Elizabeth Banks entered the stage on the second night of the Democratic National Convention to Queen’s “We Are The Champions� in parody of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s unusual entrance a week earlier.

On the first night of the Republican National Convention, Trump came onstage amid a cloud of back-lit fog:

“You know, I don’t usually say this about Donald Trump,� Banks began. “But that was over the top.�

Jelani Freeman made headlines when he graduated from Howard University Law School in 2010.

It was an improbable journey for the onetime foster child who was abandoned by his mother while his father was in prison.

Freeman credits many people with helping him succeed in life, including Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, whom he talked about Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention.

Clinton cited him as an inspiration in the 2006 edition of her book, “It Takes A Village.�

Freeman, who interned in Clinton’s Senate office, says she inspired him to go to law school. He told the Washington Post in 2010 that the future Democratic nominee even talked to him about his career plans.

“I sort of see this as a collective achievement,� Freeman, then 29, told the Post. “People say encouraging things to other people because it’s the nice thing to do. But she was sincere. She helped me believe it.�

Freeman is one of many character witnesses Democrats are rolling out to talk abut Clinton’s role in the lives of the less fortunate.

When Mothers of the Movement members speak at the Democratic National Convention tonight, it will be one of the most visible platforms yet for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Their appearance provides a window into how the Hillary Clinton campaign is responding to pressure to address race relations and police reform while acknowledging the dangers police officers face after a series of deadly shootings around the country.

Featured will be mothers of black Americans whose deaths have spurred hundreds of demonstrations across the U.S. over the last four years and raised the pressure on both major political parties to deal with the issue of gun violence and racial disparities.

Who are they?

Read More

Jule Sandoval, a volunteer at the convention, was delivering copies of speeches in the media tent when Bernie Sanders supporters marched in and started protesting.

She stood on a chair with a cutout picture of Hillary Clinton to show her support for the woman who had just become the Democratic nominee.

“Can we celebrate a little bit for our woman here?� she said.

Sandoval, 46, said she understood the frustration of Sanders supporters and defended their right to speak out, but she felt disappointed by their protest.

“The timing couldn’t be worse,� she said. “It’s a pivotal moment for women.�

Cecile Richards, a passionate advocate for women’s reproductive rights and head of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, will address the convention Tuesday, part of a lineup aimed at bashing Donald Trump’s record on women.

Richards will speak in between a video featuring insults Trump has lobbed at his female adversaries and appearances from Lena Dunham and America Ferrera, who have been vocal Clinton supporters helping with outreach to millennials.

Richards, 59, faced a firestorm of criticism last year after secretly recorded videos released by antiabortion activists claimed to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing the “illegal trafficking of aborted fetal parts.�

The organization released a statement calling the videos heavily edited and part of a “smear campaign� against women’s reproductive rights.

Richards appeared before a Republican-controlled congressional oversight committee to defend the organization.

“Planned Parenthood has been in the news recently because of deceptively edited videos released by a group that is dedicated to making abortion illegal in this country,� Richards told the committee. “This is just the most recent in a long line of discredited attacks.�

×

Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards defends her organization.

Ultimately, Planned Parenthood announced that it would continue harvesting fetal tissue for research purposes, but would no longer accept payments to reimburse their costs.

(The two antiabortion activists, David Daleiden, 27, and Sandra Merritt, 63, faced criminal charges, the last of which were dropped on Tuesday.)

Before joining Planned Parenthood, Richards was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and founded a network of voter outreach and education organizations.

The Richards family has a long-running friendship with Bill and Hillary Clinton.

In 1992 Richards’ mother, the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, was rumored to be on the shortlist for potential running mates for Bill Clinton’s first presidential run, until she removed herself from consideration.

As Clinton faced impeachment over the Monica Lewinsky affair, Ann Richards said, “Clinton isn’t the first man I’ve had to forgive and he probably won’t be the last.�

The elder Richards lost a 1994 gubernatorial reelection fight to George W. Bush, who she famously said was “born with a silver foot in his mouth.�

When Ann Richards died in 2006 at the age of 73, the former president escorted her casket into the Texas state Capitol and called her “spontaneous, unedited, earthy, hilarious.�

(Chris Megerian / Los Angeles Times)

Just after Bernie Sanders asked the convention to name Hillary Clinton its nominee, dozens of Sanders supporters marched out of the convention hall and into one of the tents next door where members of the news media are working.

Cameras and reporters surrounded the protesters, who chanted “This is what democracy looks like!� and “We are the people!� Many of them sat on the floor of the tent in silence as they defied Sanders’ call to support Clinton.

Sandra Williams, 54, a Washington delegate, said Sanders supporters felt dismissed and vilified. “All along the way, we’ve been treated like what we had to say and how we felt didn’t matter,� she said.

Williams complained that the convention was “already a done deal� when delegates arrived. Asked why Clinton shouldn’t get the nomination after winning the popular vote and more pledged delegates, she said, “that’s up for debate,� citing allegations of voting problems during the primary.

It was Williams’ first time at a convention.

“I hate politics immensely. The only reason I stepped into politics is because I was so impressed by Bernie Sanders,� she said. “I will never ever do this again.�

Another protester, Majid Al-Bahadli, 49, was serving for his third time as a delegate from Washington at a Democratic convention.

He said tensions were running high on Tuesday,

“Bernie lit a fire in our hearts,� he said. “You can’t just turn the light off, you can’t – not even if you have just a small ember.�

Al-Bahadli castigated the Democratic Party for the “hypocrisy� of courting big donations.

“It’s all corrupted – all corrupted,� he said. “We don’t want to be part of this process in any way.�

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Times photographers are capturing the important moments on the floor of the Democratic National Convention.

Following the resignation of DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, interim party Chair Donna Brazile is taking over some of the duties, including addressing the convention delegates Tuesday night.

She is vice chairwoman of the DNC for voter registration and participation, and will now replace Wasserman Schultz as interim chair through the election.

Over the weekend, as controversy swirled around a trove of leaked internal Democratic Party emails, Brazile tried to calm tensions between Bernie Sanders supporters and those of Hillary Clinton.

Appearing on CNN and ABC, Brazile said she had personally gone to the Sanders campaign to apologize for the emails.

“I think the allegations, the emails, the insensitivity, the stupidity needs to be addressed and we are going to address it,� Brazile said.

In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Brazile called some of the words in the emails “harsh� and “toxic.�

Brazile is a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns since the 1970s, including Bill Clinton’s campaigns in 1992 and 1996.

In 2000, Brazile served as Al Gore’s campaign manager.

But Brazile has not shied away from straight talk when it comes to the Clintons. In 2008, after Bill Clinton was criticized for attacking Barack Obama as he campaigned for his wife in the heated primary, Brazile cautioned that his statement “sounds like sour grapes� and that the former president “shouldn’t take out all his pain on Barack Obama.�

“Hillary is a person I can trust. Hillary has my back and my future. I tell people that because she will protect Social Security, Medicare, public education ... which I think is an issue for all of us,� said retired elementary school teacher Jimmie Woods-Gray, 74, of South Central L.A.

Twenty-six years to the day after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed, Democrats opened the second day of their national convention with a focus on the rights of disabled Americans.

Former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin came out to teach the DNC audience how to say “America� in sign language, waving his hands in a circle.

“It is a beautiful sign. Think about it, we are all together, no one is left out in this constant circle of life that is America,� he said.

“That is the America that we all want. Disabled and nondisabled alike, it is the beautiful America that Hillary Clinton will fight for, for every person,� he said.

On Monday Democrats heard disabled rights activist Anastasia Somoza speak early in the day to attack Donald Trump for his comments he made mocking New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski.

“Donald Trump has shown us who he really is, and I honestly feel bad for anyone with that much hate in their heart,� she said. “Donald Trump doesn’t see me, he doesn’t hear me, and he definitely doesn’t think for me.�

This post has been updated. A previous version said Harkin taught the crowd to say “circle� in sign language. In fact he taught them how to say “America.�

Hillary Clinton just made history as the first woman ever nominated to lead a major party ticket into the fall campaign for president. She easily topped her sole rival, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in a roll-call vote of states at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

During the raucous vote, the anger that suffused the convention’s opening day seemed to fade, at least inside the hall.

Read More

×

Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia nominate Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland officially nominated Hillary Clinton on Tuesday.

Lewis, who in the 1960s marched alongside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for equal rights for blacks, was a staunch supporter of Clinton throughout the Democratic primary.

Mikulski was first elected to the House in 1977 before she became the first female Democrat to win election to the Senate in 1986. She is the longest-serving female senator and is retiring.

Ruth Musser-Lopez, 63, of Needles, Calif., was rushing through the California delegation seating area, shaking hands and hugging random people.

“Finally, finally it’s happening!� she said, tears streaming down her face.

Musser-Lopez said she didn’t believe it would really happen until Gov. Jerry Brown read the vote tally.

“I was so nervous. Oh, no, is this whole group all going to just turn to Bernie today? Is this going to melt in front of my eyes and Hillary is not going to be nominated? What if that could happen? And then it did not happen and all the Hillary people came out and the room is full. It’s fantastic,� Musser-Lopez said.

“It’s the most historic event of the century, of two centuries. A woman for president! A woman for president!� Musser-Lopez said.

At last, air conditioning.

This week’s pro-Bernie Sanders street protests in the insane heat had beaten me down, so I wandered into an event called “Truth to Power� where some of the powerful had come to speak.

The voting advocacy nonprofit Rock the Vote has sponsored a three-day pop-up event in a Philly art gallery, which was billed as a space for activists and artists “to elevate and illuminate the most pressing issues facing young people today.� But compared with the ragtag Sanders protest scene outside, it was a jolt.

Here be Democrats. Career ones.

Read More

×

Larry Sanders casts his delegate vote for his brother at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

An emotional Larry Sanders cast a vote for his younger brother, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention, invoking the memory of their parents, Eli and Dorothy Sanders.

“They did not have easy lives and they died young,� he said. “... They loved the New Deal of Franklin Roosevelt and would be especially proud that Bernard is renewing that vision. It is with enormous pride that I cast my vote for Bernie Sanders.�

Bernie Sanders was brought to tears as he watched from his seat.

(Colleen Shalby / Los Angeles Times)

Geraldine Jerry Emmett was born six years before American women received the right to vote with the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920.

On Tuesday night, she was an honorary member of Arizona’s delegation at the Democratic National Convention, and she cast the state’s votes for Hillary Clinton, the first female candidate for a major political party.

She joyously called her “the next president of the United States.�

In an interview, Emmett said, “I feel wonderful but I cried after talking. I said God let me live long enough to live through the convention. I was so happy when they asked me to make the speech.�

Emmett says the first vote she cast was for Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She’s been a longtime supporter of Hillary Clinton, and started a fan club for her before Bill Clinton was elected president.

Some of the California politicians present for the roll-call vote:

• California Atty Gen. Kamala Harris
• California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León
• Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood
• California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
• Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland
• Rep. Karen Bass of Los Angeles
• Rep. Julia Brownley of Westlake Village
• Sen. Isadore Hall of Compton
• Sen. Ben Allen of Santa Monica
• Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez of Echo Park
• Assemblyman Luis Alejo of Salinas

For the second day of the DNC, play bingo here.

Rep. Jackie Speier of Hillsborough, Calif., has had the words of the song ‘Defying Gravity’ stuck in her head all day as she thinks about a woman receiving the nomination from a major political party for the first time.

“What’s happening this week is we are defying gravity,� she said. “It is a truly significant moment in time.�

Speier said she heard Broadway performer Idina Menzel perform the song from “Wicked� at the Democratic National Convention event Tuesday.

Speier brought her 22-year-old daughter, Stephanie Sierra, along to Philadelphia and canceled her participation on a panel about influential women so they could physically be on the convention floor together to witness the roll call.

“I want to imbue in her and all young women that they have so much at stake, not just in this convention but in this election, and they have to speak up,� Speier said.

×

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.) speak about gun control at a rally in Philadelphia.

Democrats in Philadelphia today addressed the shootings in San Bernardino, Dallas and Orlando, Fla., ahead of speaking about gun violence on the Democratic National Convention stage.

Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, Connecticut Sen. Christopher S. Murphy and other Democrats joined families of gun violence victims and advocates of gun safety at a small rally on Tuesday.

Richard Martinez, whose son Christopher was killed in the Isla Vista, Calif., shooting in 2014, addressed the audience before Giffords led everyone in a chant of “fight, fight, fight.�

Civil rights activist Lewis, who led House Democrats in a sit-in over gun regulations last month, spoke directly to Giffords and told the crowd that he was “sick and tired of gun violence.� Giffords was shot in the head during a 2011 attack that killed six people and wounded 13.

Read More

A civil rights icon, the longest-serving woman in Congress and an Iraq war veteran are set to officially nominate Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee.

U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia and Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland will be joined by Na’ilah Amaru in officially nominating Clinton on Tuesday night, according to her campaign.

The historic moment at the Democratic National Convention will mark the first time a woman will hold the title of presidential nominee of a major party.

Lewis, who in the 1960s marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. in the fight for equal rights for blacks, was a staunch supporter of Clinton throughout the Democratic primary.

Mikulski, who was first elected to the House in 1977 before moving over to the Senate in 1987, has been lauded by Clinton for her work in Congress. The two served together when Clinton was in the Senate from 2001 to 2009.

Amaru, according to the campaign, won an online contest among supporters and is an immigrant and adjunct professor who served in Iraq. She was adopted by a lesbian couple.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Barbara Boxer will both speak during prime time tonight from the convention stage.

Pelosi is working on winning the 30 seats Democrats need to regain control of the U.S. House. She’ll speak for the Democratic women serving in the House, starting shortly after the roll call ends tonight.

Boxer, who has known presumptive nominee Hillary Clinton for decades, is expected to make the case for why the country should support her longtime friend and colleague.

Terry McAuliffe, whose roles over the last two decades span from prolific fundraiser to now the governor of Virginia, has long been a close confidant of the Clintons.

During Bill Clinton’s time in the White House, it was McAuliffe who darted around the country diving into the pockets of wealthy donors for the president. In a 1999 New York Times profile, McAuliffe boasted of having raised about $275 million for Clinton during his two terms.

And his support for the political ambitions of Hillary Clinton has been just as strong. He helped raise money for her 2000 New York U.S. Senate race, and served as campaign chairman for her 2008 presidential bid.

On Tuesday, McAuliffe will address the Democratic National Convention after its roll-call vote, which will mark a historic moment as Hillary Clinton becomes the fist woman to become a major-party nominee.

The prime speaking spot ensures that McAuliffee will be — as he often has been — at the center of a special moment for the Clintons.

For all his support of their political ambitions, the Clintons have offered their unyielding support of his own political career. The Clintons were key figures in helping him become chairman of the Democratic National Committee for a brief stint.

And in 2013, when McAuliffe ran for Virginia governor, Bill and Hillary Clinton held fundraisers and hit the campaign trail for their friend, who narrowly won the open race against Ken Cuccinelli, then the state’s attorney general.

Recently, McAuliffe, whose swing state has 13 electoral votes, has come under intense scrutiny for campaign contributions to his gubernatorial campaign. Federal investigators are probing whether he received illegal contributions from a foreign national. McAuliffe has told reporters he’s “shocked� by the ongoing investigation and has denied any wrongdoing.

When asked by reporters in May if the probe would affect Hillary Clinton’s campaign, he said it would not.

“I don’t think it will affect Hillary Clinton at all,� McAuliffe said at the time, adding, “It won’t affect me at all. If you haven’t done anything wrong what should you be worried about?�

(Paul Sancya / AP)

It is well known that one of the biggest struggles the Hillary Clinton campaign faces is getting voters to trust her. The electorate has serious reservations about Clinton’s honesty.

Campaign chairman John Podesta talked to reporters Tuesday about the campaign’s efforts to put them at ease.

“She doesn’t like hearing it but she hears that people have issues with her,� Podesta said at a lunch hosted by the Wall Street Journal. “Sometimes it is hard to hear. Sometimes it is hard to even understand.� The campaign is hopeful that once voters’ memories are refreshed about all she has been involved in — things other than investigations into her email server and response to the Benghazi attacks — their views will change.

“What we’re going to do is lay out in our convention why people can trust her to do what she’s been doing her whole life, which is to fight for women and families,� Podesta said. Then he quoted Tim Kaine. “He said if you really want to know something about a politician, look at what their causes were before they got into politics,� Podesta said. “Were they passionate about something they stuck with?�

The campaign has been working to reintroduce the passionate side of Clinton since she entered the race. But will the guarded, wonky approach she takes to campaigning be an impediment against her unpredictable and theatrical rival?

Podesta acknowledged that when it comes to Donald Trump’s style, “some people like it. It works on reality TV.� But ultimately, he said, it is not the style voters are going to choose for the job of commander in chief.

“Having a temperament that is quick to anger, discounts study, is impetuous, [has] probably never been thought of before as a qualification for putting your finger on the nuclear codes,� Podesta said. “While it has certain appeal for certain people who are entertained by him, I think it is quite dangerous.�

If nothing else, the opening day of the Democratic National Convention showed that family feuds are not solely the province of the Republican Party.

Party stalwarts arrived onstage only to be treated dismissively — loudly so — by many of the delegates. That followed a second day of protests by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, the second-place finisher, who was booed by many of his own backers for suggesting they should cast their November ballots for the winner, Hillary Clinton.

That followed Florida delegates yelling at the party’s outgoing chairwoman, Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, on Monday morning, contributing to her decision to cancel her convention appearances.

“Brothers and sisters, this is the real world that we live in,� Sanders had implored his supporters as they booed.

Real world or not, it should come as no shock after the campaign season America has witnessed that chaos has been visited upon both political parties as they seek to put their best faces forward in four-day television extravaganzas.

But the lines of division are not the same in each party.

Read More

(Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

Sen. Bernie Sanders made an unscheduled stop by the California delegation’s breakfast Tuesday in an effort to calm some of the most active disrupters in the convention center.

“As goes California, so goes America, so I know that you know that you have an enormous responsibility and in many ways you are living up to that responsibility,� Sanders said.

Throughout Monday’s speeches at the convention dozens of Sanders delegates around the arena booed any mention of Hillary Clinton’s name. By the end of the evening, many of those still shouting — including over Sanders’ speech — were in the California seating section.

“We must stay focused on the major concerns of the American people and in the process have the guts to say yes, we are going to transform this country,� he said.

Sanders said that means working to elect Clinton.

Some delegates began to boo and yell over him, but Sanders raised his voice to be heard.

“It is easy to boo, but it’s harder to look your kids in the face who would be living under Donald Trump,� Sanders said. “Trump is the worst candidate for president in the modern history of this country.�

Victoria Thompson, 56, of Citrus Heights, said she was glad Sanders came to speak to delegates, but she’s not swayed to vote for Clinton in November.

“I can’t vote for her. I will not vote for her,� Thompson said. “If Bernie’s not an option I’ll vote Green [Party].�

Bruce Jones, 53, of Half Moon Bay, said Monday’s speakers didn’t respect that delegates hadn’t actually cast their vote yet, and that was part of Sanders supporters’ displeasure.

The 551 California delegates began casting their votes Tuesday morning, ahead of the roll call on the convention floor Tuesday afternoon.

“We thought they were disrespecting the fact that we had yet to cast our delegate votes,� he said. “The tone of the presentations in the California room is much more progressive today and much more respectful of Sanders delegates. I think we are much happier and a little bit more unified as Californians today.�

He didn’t know yet if he’ll support Clinton in November.

California Democratic Party Secretary Daraka Larimore-Hall, the highest-ranking party official to endorse Sanders, closed the breakfast by urging delegates to have private conversations about how to come together in the long run, saying he understands that neither side feels heard.

He asked Sanders supporters to recognize that they are a part of the Democratic Party’s conversation now.

“You fought and you won a seat at the table. We have to act like we have that seat, and using it and using our power and stop acting like we’ve been shut out,� he said.

When Bill Clinton walks onto the stage at the Democratic convention on Tuesday — the night his wife officially wins the Democratic nomination for president — the couple will rest on the edge of history. Never before has the spouse of a former president become a major party’s nominee for the post.

If Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, obvious questions arise. Among them: How would power flow in a new Clinton White House and how would a Vice President Tim Kaine fit into a very crowded West Wing? Would the former president’s undisciplined nature prolong his more orderly wife’s decision-making? Would Bill Clinton’s philanthropic activities conflict with the couple’s public responsibilities?

Those questions arise because of Bill Clinton himself: a man capable of offering his wife unique counsel — but also capable of blundering into controversy.

Read More

A group of delegates backing Bernie Sanders but unaffiliated with the campaign is running out of cards to play at the Democratic National Convention.

They were unable to put forward an alternate idea for a vice presidential candidate, blaming party officials for not providing them with the appropriate forms. The organization, the Bernie Delegates Network, said it had a candidate willing to be considered as an alternative to Hillary Clinton’s choice, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, but declined to name the person.

The members have asked fellow Sanders delegates whether they would protest Kaine’s acceptance speech – a little more than half of the roughly 300 asked said yes – but they have no plans to organize a demonstration.

Besides, Sanders himself has asked his supporters not to disrupt the proceedings on the convention floor.

Now they are looking forward to Tuesday night’s roll call, which would allow every delegate to cast votes for either Sanders or Clinton.

“It’s essential to have a full roll-call vote,� said Norman Solomon, a leader of the Bernie Delegates Network. “It’s a principle. All votes must be counted.�

The Clinton campaign has never objected to having a roll-call vote, saying it was in keeping with its view that all votes should be counted.

Campaign chairman John Podesta, speaking at a breakfast hosted by Bloomberg News, would not say whether Sanders might play a role similar to Clinton’s in 2008 when she cut short the state-by-state announcement of delegate totals to move that the convention nominate Barack Obama by acclamation.

“Everyone is going to get the chance to vote, and then she is going to make history – the convention is going to make history by nominating the first woman to lead a major party [ticket],� he said.

Although Solomon wanted Sanders to be the Democratic nominee, he has no plans to support a third-party candidacy such as the Green Party’s Jill Stein.

“It’s a blind alley. It’s a dead end,� he said. “It doesn’t help grow social movements.�

Times staff writer Michael A. Memoli contributed to this report.

Speaking to thousands of veterans here, Donald Trump railed at Hillary Clinton on Tuesday as incompetent and dangerous for the military and the nation’s security.

“The other candidate in this race, you know her name – crooked Hillary Clinton. And believe me, folks, she is crooked,� Trump said, and the crowd at the annual Veterans of Foreign Wars convention roared with approval. “She recently said of the VA scandal that it’s not as widespread as it’s been reported to be. It’s like she’s trying to sweep it under the rug, which, by the way, politicians have done for years and years and years. It’s going to be four more years of the same if she ever got in, but that’s not going to happen.�

“We know how she takes care of the veterans – just look at her invasion of Libya, at her handling of Benghazi, a disaster,� Trump said. “Or look at her emails, which put America’s entire national security at risk.�

The crowd responded by chanting, “Lock her up! Lock her up!�

Clinton had addressed the gathering the previous day. Several members of the audience said the response to the presumptive Democratic nominee was muted compared to the raucous cheers and standing ovations Trump received.

Many are still smarting over Clinton’s remarks in 2015 that while the wait times and delays at the Veterans Administration did exist, the problem was not as widespread as media accounts portrayed, and that Republicans were using the scandal to try to privatize the VA.

On Monday, Clinton told the gathering that she was “outraged� by the delays, which she called “inexcusable.� She said the Department of Veteran Affairs must be reformed, but not privatized.

“She just said she wouldn’t privatize the VA. Well, that doesn’t tell us anything. What are you going to do to fix it?� asked Blackhawk Fornelli, 65, of Webster, N.C., a veteran who served in Vietnam and Desert Storm. “I get treated by the vets, and sometimes it’s 90 days.�

(Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times)

Last night, my campaign-trail paranoia flared up again as I walked back from the first night of the Democratic National Convention, with little else than a broken umbrella to shield me from the horizontal sheets of rain suddenly blasting the streets of Philly.

Thankfully, the rain felt purifying. My clothes were already soaked with sweat from following Bernie Sanders protesters around for hours in blistering heat, so the walk gave me time to think about what felt like one of the weirdest demonstrations I had ever seen.

Read More

When Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was facing a contentious caucus against Hillary Clinton in Nevada, 55-year-old Pomona resident Yolanda Gonzalez spent every weekend in Las Vegas, canvassing miles of homes to support him.

She rose at 4 a.m. nearly every Saturday to make the journey, holding phone banks and debate watch parties back in California during the weekdays.

When Sanders lost the Nevada caucus, Gonzalez cried, vowing that, “No matter what happens, Bernie’s message has to be followed through.�

She brought that gospel to the Democratic National Convention as a delegate for the Sanders campaign.

When Sanders supporters shouted down and booed speakers at the California delegation breakfast Monday morning, the first public event for Golden State delegates, Gonzalez led the way.

Broadcasting from the breakfast on Facebook Live, Gonzalez said, “The machine is unabashedly disgusting,� and shouted “Bernie! Bernie! Bernie!� as San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke.

“This whole election was so rigged, so stolen from Bernie,� Gonzalez continued. When a speaker drew comparisons between Donald Trump and House Republicans, Gonzalez shouted, “Hillary is a Republican!�

Read More

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean sent a message to the committee Tuesday — you really messed up.

“I am shocked and incredibly disappointed,� Dean told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe� in reaction to leaked emails showing staffers favoring Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary, despite pledges to remain neutral.

The Democratic National Committee must stay impartial, Dean argued. When he sat as chair from 2005 to 2009, he didn’t even vote in the Vermont primary, he said.

“You cannot have this kind of dialogue at the DNC,� Dean added.

If leaked emails show the Russian government trying to influence an election here, the U.S. faces a serious problem, Hillary Clinton’s campaign manager said Tuesday.

“The idea that a foreign state could be trying to influence our electoral process, influence who becomes our president of the United States, that’s a very serious situation,� Robby Mook said on NBC’s “Today.�

Mook said the FBI has not contacted him in its investigation into whether Russian hackers got into Democratic National Committee emails and leaked thousands last week. Some emails showed DNC staffers favoring Clinton over primary rival Bernie Sanders despite public vows that the organization would remain neutral in the nominating contest.

On Monday, Mook suggested that the Russian government leaked the emails “for the purpose of helping Donald Trump� in the general election.

Trump and several advisors denied the allegations.

So what did Bernie Sanders make of all the booing on his behalf Monday night?

Give his supporters time, Sanders told reporters at a Bloomberg Politics breakfast Tuesday. Most have never been involved in politics before. They are still working their way through the stages of grief.

“We have beautiful supporters, passionate supporters,� he said. He figured some 90% of the delegates representing him “had never been to a convention before.�

Sanders reiterated that he is going to campaign aggressively for Hillary Clinton. But don’t expect him to stay a committed Democrat after that. He ran for the Senate as an independent, he said, and he will be serving out his term as one.

The senator also hasn’t grown any more fond of the media after a year in which he was in the headlines and cable news spotlight daily.

“I think you have a right to ask the question, dumb that it may be,� he said — kind of joking, but kind of not — to a reporter who asked whether Sanders feels he can trust Clinton. Sanders said reporters should have been asking about climate change and healthcare. “You are asking me about trust, so we can have a big article about controversy.�

“Did anybody ask me about climate change?� he said. “Is it of some significance to anyone at this table?�

The senator also had some thoughts about the conspicuous display of special-interest money throughout the Democratic convention.

“It should be an embarrassment,� Sanders said. Then he looked around the posh neoclassical conference room where he he was breakfasting with reporters. “Who is sponsoring this?�

Moderator Al Hunt joked that one of his colleagues was picking up the tab. Then he decided best to be clear. “We are, by the way senator — to be serious — we don’t have any outside funder,� Hunt said.

(Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times)

There are those who believe, or claim to, that there is no difference between the two major American political parties, but no one who wandered onto the convention floors in Cleveland at the beginning of last week or Philadelphia on Monday could have mistaken one for the other. They were different in tone and substance, in form and content, in intention and energy – not perfect mirror images, but with opposing moods and visions: dark/light, fear/hope, me/us.

Oddly, where the Republican National Convention had been expected to be a “television show� from top to bottom and beginning to end, given the resume of its nominee, it was the Democrats who put on the high-watt special.

Read More

Tuesday is former President Bill Clinton’s night to speak at the convention.

If Hillary Clinton is elected, what kind of role will the 42nd president have in her administration? And what will the White House be like with him back in it?

Cathleen Decker explored those questions in a piece on today’s front page.

Vehicle access around the Wells Fargo Center is restricted during the convention. In addition, the FAA has put in airspace restrictions over the area, and the city of Philadelphia and its surrounding communities will be off-limits to drones. The Coast Guard has established security zones on the nearby rivers.

Democratic delegates will officially nominate Hillary Clinton today, but not until after a roll call vote that will allow Bernie Sanders’ supporters to show their support for the runner-up in the primary.

The choreography has been carefully considered in hopes of pleasing Sanders delegates while also providing a show of unity for Clinton.

The roll call comes on a night when former President Bill Clinton will speak to the convention.

Also taking the stage Tuesday will be mothers of black boys and men who have been shot and killed. They’ve supported Clinton and her push for tougher gun control laws and police reforms.

For more on today, and to catch up on the first day’s events, check out today’s Essential Politics newsletter.

(AFP/Getty Images)

Rep. Brad Sherman (Porter Ranch) said the five hours of yelling and frustration on the convention floor Monday was “cathartic� for the party.

“The coming together was through the evening and what you saw during the invocation was not what you saw during Bernie’s speech. This morning Bernie was booed by his own people at his own rally for saying they should vote for Hillary Clinton, here you heard the cheers,� Sherman said.

“I think it began to dawn on people we can’t afford to be divided,� Sherman said. “Right now we’ve got to take care of business.�

The congressman said some of the most passionate Sanders supporters were either protesting outside the convention hall or were inside as delegates. He said he expects people will come together to support Clinton when they realize how close the race could be.

“Bernie voters are going to come along,� Sherman said. “It will dawn on this country in October that this is a real race.�

Rosa Russell, 65, of Los Angeles, a Clinton supporter, said she liked the Sanders delegates’ enthusiasm but got frustrated because their jeers drowned out the voices of the speakers.

“It’s OK, it’s a free democracy, but you would like to hear some of the speeches,� Russell said.

First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the crowd on the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

With a graciousness that impressed critics and brought supporters to tears, Michelle Obama on Monday night gave a perfectly pitched convention speech that was a ringing endorsement of Hillary Clinton, a backhanded slap at Donald Trump, and a powerful reminder of the historic nature of her husband’s presidency.

Obama praised Clinton, her fellow Democrat, as the only qualified candidate in the race for the White House. But she also managed to deftly answer those who have attacked her husband, while assailing the bleak world view and coarse tone of the Republican presidential nominee.

She did this all with an overarching theme of what it is to be a parent living in the White House, and the challenges of keeping things as normal as possible for her two daughters, “the heart of our hearts.�

She shared a touching story about the first day she sent her children off to school in January 2009, after the Obamas moved into the White House:

Read More

Demi Lovato at the convention.

(Win McNamee / Getty Images)

Compare the lineups. Republicans: Former “General Hospital� actor Antonio Sabato Jr., “Duck Dynasty� star Willie Robertson and “Happy Days� vet Scott Baio.

And the Dems? Paul Simon, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga, Lena Dunham, Sarah Silverman and Chloe Grace Moretz are just some of the celebs poised to turn up in Philly this week. J.J. Abrams produced the video introducing Michelle Obama before her Monday night speech.

Despite the starry roster, however, the first Hollywood presence at the Democratic National Convention -- R&B group Boyz II Men -- on Monday was roundly mocked on social media.

Read More