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Democratic convention live: Sarah Silverman tells Bernie or Bust: 'You're being ridiculous'
Democratic convention live: Sarah Silverman tells Bernie or Bust: 'You're being ridiculous'
(35 minutes later)
3.04am BST
03:04
Now here’s a video about Michelle Obama produced by JJ Abrams. It’s kids talking about Michelle Obama (who speaks next), and lots of shots and video of Michelle Obama dancing and exercising with kids.
Prepare to hill a fairly rousing round of applause in the hall. Kids + first lady + hugs = happy Democrats.
3.02am BST
03:02
Next up is Cheryl Lankford, whose husband, an army sergeant major, died in Baghdad in 2007.
The Democrats air a video of Lankford telling the story of being taken for $35,000 by Trump University.
Now she steps out to tell her story. She says that in addition to losing her husband she never thought she would “be the victim of a scam.
You just saw what happened to me. How Trump University cheated me out of the money I received after my husband’s death. How they broke their promises. How they stopped taking my calls. How the whole thing was a lie…
Conning me out of the money the military gave me after my husband died, I felt he was disrespecting my husband’s memory...
He made millions of dollars off of people like me. Millions. ...
Here’s a guy who was born rich and who has all the money in the world, and there’s nothing wrong with that... but then he decided to make himself even richer by cheating working people who had nothing to spare. What kind of man does that?
She’s applauded.
I’m here because America deserves to know the truth. This election isn’t about Democrat versus Republican. It’s about right versus wrong.
Donald Trump made big promises about Trump University. And I was fooled into believing him. Now he’s making big promises about America. Please don’t make the same mistake.”
2.58am BST
02:58
This is Booker’s famous We Will Rise speech, as perhaps it will become known.
Isn’t that a Jeb Bush super Pac?
Booker’s refrain is “America, we will rise.”
Booker, who’s been not totally arresting throughout, hits it out of the park at the end. His first mention of “love trumps hate” draws a very large applause. And at the end he has them chanting along to “we! will! rise!”
Here’s the end:
Here in Philadelphia, let us declare again that we will be a free people. Free from fear and intimidation. Let us declare that we are a nation of interdependence, and that in America love always trumps hate. Let us declare, so that generations yet unborn can hear us. We are the United States of America; our best days are ahead of us.
We will rise!
2.54am BST
02:54
Good spot! What came of the plane ticket negotiation?
Spotted in the hall - a few rows behind Bill Clinton in a skybox: Debbie Wasserman Schultz #DNCinPHL
Also spotted in the hall: Bill Clinton and... Bernie Sanders.
2.47am BST
02:47
Booker mounts a bit of an attack on Trump’s record in Atlantic City, not included in the advance excerpts:
[Trump] got rich while his companies declared multiple bankruptcies... he took out a lot of cash, but he stiffed contractors... we in America have seen enough of a handful of people growing rich at the cost of a nation, sending it into crisis.
2.45am BST
02:45
As Booker speaks, we’re going to take up Businessweek’s Joshua Green on this old college football footage:
We have advance excerpts of Booker’s speech. They’re a bit - well let’s assume the electricity will be in the delivery. Here they are:
“This is the high call of patriotism. Patriotism is love of country. But you can’t love your country without loving your countrymen and countrywomen. We don’t always have to agree, but we must empower each other, we must find the common ground, we must build bridges across our differences to pursue the common good. We can’t devolve into a nation where our highest aspiration is that we just tolerate each other. We are not called to be a nation of tolerance. We are called to be a nation of love…”
“We have a presidential nominee in Hillary Clinton who knows that, in a time of stunningly wide disparities of wealth in our nation, America’s greatness must not be measured by how many millionaires and billionaires we have, but by how few people we have living in poverty.”
“Hillary knows when workers make a fair wage, it doesn’t just help their families, it builds a stronger, more durable economy that expands opportunity and makes all Americans wealthier.”
“She knows that in a global knowledge-based economy, the country that out-educates the world will out-earn the world, out-innovate the world, and lead the world.”
“She knows that debt-free college is not a gift, it’s not a charity, it’s an investment. It represents the best of our values, the best of our history, the best of our party: Bernie’s ideas, Hillary’s ideas, our shared ideas. Our shared values.
“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.”
2.36am BST
02:36
Longoria finishes: “Guess what Donald? It turns out America is prety great already.”
Here comes New Jersey senator Cory Booker. Guess what? He looks happy to be there. He’s Cory Booker.
2.35am BST
02:35
Silverman: 'you're being ridiculous'
2.35am BST
02:35
Now Eva Longoria, actress and activist. She says she’s so proud to say “I’m with her!”
At this point in the night, the line is vigorously applauded.
Have the Democrats put their boos behind them?
Longoria:
When Donald Trump calls us criminals and rapists, he’s insulting American families. My father was not a criminal or a rapist. In fact he’s a United States veteran.
Hillary’s been fighting for us for decades. Now it’s time to fight for her!
2.29am BST
2.29am BST
02:29
02:29
Paul Simon sings Bridge Over Troubled Water. Democrats sway. Many smile.
Paul Simon sings Bridge Over Troubled Water. Democrats sway. Many smile.
Maybe he’ll come back for America when Sanders speaks? We’re dreaming aren’t we.
Maybe he’ll come back for America when Sanders speaks? We’re dreaming aren’t we.
2.28am BST
The combined themes of this convention: An old guy who Millennials love, but who was more popular in the 1990s
02:28
Updated
Paul Simon will be introduced by Sarah Silverman, the comedienne, joined by Al Franken, who’s coming back for seconds. Stage-hog.
at 2.30am BST
“I’m Sarah Silverman and this past year I’ve been feeling the Bern,” she says. “Relax, I put some cream on it.”
Franken: What did you say?
Silverman: I put some cream on it.
“Oh Al, you’ve still got it,” she quips. Then she kicks him out of the camera shot so she can speak:
Some of you my know I support Bernie Sanders and the movement behind him. And Bernie’s already succeeded in so many ways.” She singles out opposition to Citizens United. “I’m very glad
You know my shrink says, we don’t get what we want, we get what we think we deserve. And Bernie Sanders has shown us that all Americans deserve quality health care and education, not just elites.
“As a pretty kick-ass woman once said, it takes a village,” she says.
She says the Democratic primary was so grown up, with omission of details like hand-size or “if they go to the bathroom.”
Silverman continues: “Hillary is our Democratic nominee and I will proudly vote for her.”
Thunderous applause. And for each one of these lines:
“It’s so inspiring. Just a few months ago she was a secretary and now she could be president!
“She’s like the only person to be overqualified for the job as the president. So I tell you this, I will vote for Hillary with gusto.
“I am proud to be part of Bernie’s movement. And a big part of that movement is to make absolutely sure that Hillary Clinton is elected president of the United States.”
There it is: The first time of the night, a spontaneous “Hillary! Hillary! Hillary!” chant.
Then Silverman grabs the mic again. “To the Bernie or Bust people, you’re being ridiculous!”
The crowd loves her. She’s the first person – after Demi Lovato – to really light them up. The first person to really light them up.
Franken and Silverman have to vamp a bit while Paul Simon gets ready. Thank goodness it was them and not... Nita Lowey?
2.10am BST
02:10
Next up onstage: Paul Simon.
What’s he going to sing?
2.09am BST
02:09
Here now is Anastasia Somoza, who, along with her twin sister, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia when she was born and is an advocate for Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Somoza, who first met President Bill Clinton in 1993 at a town hall meeting for kids, is a former Hillary Clinton intern.
“I first met Hillary as First Lady on a visit to the White House,” she says:
I was 9 years old and I listened to her and my mom discuss healthcare and early intervention for children with disabilities. Over the past 23 years, she has continued to serve as a friend and a mentor… Championing my inclusion and access to classrooms, higher education and the workforce.”
Somoza says that Clinton’s opponent “shouts, bullies and profits off of vulnerable Americans.” She continues:
Donald Trump has shown us who he really is. And I honestly feel bad for anyone with that much hate in their heart. I know we will show each other, and the world, who we really are in November – when we choose genuine strength and thoughtful leadership – over fear and division. Donald Trump doesn’t see me, he doesn’t hear me, and he definitely doesn’t speak for me.
“I am confident that as president Hillary Clinton will do everything in her power to support the rights... and humanity of all Americans.”
The crowd is applauding Somoza, who is speaking from a wheelchair, with great warmth.
A sanding ovation for Somoza.
2.03am BST
02:03
Zero arrests, 55 ticketed, 17 hospitalized in heat
Philadelphia officials say 41 people have been treated for heat-related issues or other injuries during protests related to the Democratic convention, the AP reports. Seventeen of those treated have been taken to hospitals to be evaluated.
Additionally, Philadelphia police said 55 people have been cited for disorderly conduct after demonstrators tried to climb barricades near the Democratic convention.
Police say no one was arrested in the crowd of largely pro-Bernie Sanders protesters.
2.01am BST
02:01
Franken says that work by people to register voters in Minnesota is “the reason I am giving this speech here and not into my bathroom mirror.”
He continues:
This week is about passion. Starting Friday morning, it’s all about work. Hard work.
Many of you have jobs. Many of you have families. Ignore them.
Let me tell you something. Kids love it when their parents aren’t home. They love it!
An eight-year-old kid knows how to use a microwave oven. And let me tell you something else. And 8-year-old kid can teach a 4-year-old kid how to use a microwave oven.
It’s a chucklefest.
1.57am BST
01:57
Franken notes that Trump has claimed his business experience qualifies him for the presidency. And “if you believe that, I’ve got some delicious Trump steaks to sell you.”
Ba-dum-bum.
“I think rather than voting for someone who’s never done anything other than himself, maybe we should vote for a candidate” who’s devoted her life to improving the lives of other people, Franken says.
“I am proud to call Hillary Clinton my friend and I can’t wait to call her madam President.”
Pretty good applause there from Franken.
1.55am BST
01:55
Franken returns to comedy to grill Trump
Here now is Minnesota senator Al Franken.
His introduction is built for a laugh, unlike anything he says in the senate:
I’m Al Franken. Minnesota Senator and world renowned expert on right wing megalomaniacs: Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and now, Donald Trump…”
Franken then eases into a standup routine:
I got my doctorate in megalomania studies from Trump University,” Franken says. “As a proud alum of Trump U, I think we may be misunderestimating Mr Trump. Sure he’s scammed a lot of people, but did you know that Mr Trump’s school of ripping people off is ranked second in the nation? Right behind Bernie Madoff University. ...
It’s also about learning from success experts like Scott Baio, Mike Tyson and of course a life-sized cardboard cutout of Mr Trump himself.
1.51am BST
01:51
Here now is New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand.
She’s talking about Clinton’s work on behalf of children and families – that’s verbatim the theme of the night, Hillary Clinton’s work on behalf of children and families.
“You see, Hillary Clinton’s life’s work has been defined by one question: ‘How we help those who need it most?’” Gillibrand says, continuing:
Donald Trump’s has been defined by a very different question: ‘How can I help myself most?’”
Donald Trump actually stood on a debate stage and said that wages are “too high”. Hillary knows that in the richest country in the world, it’s unacceptable that a mom with two kids working full-time still lives in poverty.
Donald Trump says that when it comes to paid family leave, “you have to be careful of it.” Hillary knows that it’s long past time for guaranteed paid family leave.”
The paid family leave line gets a bit of clapping. Gillibrand continues:
Donald Trump thinks that women should just work harder because – and I’m quoting – “You’re gonna make the same if you do as good a job.” Every woman in America knows that’s not true! Hillary believes that women deserve equal pay for equal work.
“The choice in this election couldn’t be clearer,” the senator concludes. Her call for support for Hillary Clinton is applauded with moderate warmth.
1.45am BST
01:45
1.42am BST
01:42
"How's the convention going, honey?" pic.twitter.com/gSyix4kiLG
