Moving FORWARD With The Democratic National Convention 2012

The Democratic National Convention successfully kicked off it's first day.
 
Eagerly sitting in anticipation, I wondered who all would address the nation this evening. It was a surprise to see so many working class Americans speaking last night, but it makes perfect sense. What better way to show the American people that President Obama's effort is working, then to produce physical evidence of it!

Watching the Kennedy family, show love and support for their dad and grandfather the late great Ted Kennedy, was so emotionally inspiring as they displayed a video that spoke of his many achievements, and heartfelt love of America. I became misty eyed watching the legacy of a great man, who helped pave the way for the American dream's existence.

You never know how much effort is put into moving this country forward until you're reminded by a video, a photo, an audio clip, or word of mouth; that video of Ted Kennedy will remain engraved in my memory.

It was powerful watching Maria Ciano speak as she was once Republican -- now converted to Democrat, after researching how Mitt Romney planned to take women back to the 1950's era. This was a strong message sent by the President  to the state of North Carolina, which was that a Republican woman from this state realized she was voting against her own self-interest, until she became educated with the real facts. I loved it!

Tammy Duckworth, a military professional who's currently running for the Illinois senate, gave one of the most empowering speeches of the night.

This woman bravely told her near death experience with such brilliance and detail that I followed her journey in my head; watching her struggle while flying a black hawk helicopter in combat, as a grenade blew up in her face destroying both of her legs and causing her to administer an emergency landing. 

This amazing woman although dismembered and disfigured, never stopped flying the helicopter that held herself and her military team. She flew everyone to safety and when they were on the ground, her team members made sure to return the favor by carrying her to safety.

Tears welled up in my eyes, and my chest grew with pride for our American military. The unexplainable capacity of what a human being can tolerate is absolutely extraordinary! And she's a woman! So proud!

Stacey Lihn another working class American, spoke about how the Affordable Care Act helped her daughter who suffered from (CHF) or congestive heart failure. Her daughter had two major heart surgeries all under the age of one year old.

Mrs. Lihn stated that if it weren't for Obamacare, her family couldn't have received the care they needed for their daughter who's alive and doing extremely well. It was touching when Mrs. Lihn exclaimed the day she received message that her daughter was approved for surgery, which just so happened to be the same day that the Affordable Care Act was upheld by the Supreme Court. How amazing is this story?!

Lily Ledbetter came on the scene strong, aggressive, and on a mission.

If you're not aware of who the infamous Lily Ledbetter is I'll fill you in. She's the woman that worked on a job for almost 20 years, only to discover that men who held the same job title as her, even men that she trained for jobs -- they all made more money than her in the same position.

It took Ms. Ledbetter nineteen years to figure this out, but once she did she took immediate action to solve this problem. President Obama became aware of this injustice and stepped in, making his first piece of legislation signed into law the 'Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act', so that no other woman would ever have to experience pay scale inequality. High five for justice! I love the last name of this woman; Ledbetter or "led better".

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, lit the stage up with his tempered intense rhetoric that got the audience fired up and ready to go!

Mr. Patrick was firm and stern with the audience, almost as if he were reprimanding us to "get some backbone" and stand up for what we believe in. The audience replied to the reprimanding positively though, by jumping out of their seats and waving their American flags back and forth.

Mr. Patrick was the first governor to make same-sex marriage legal in the state of Massachusetts, as his own daughter is an out and proud lesbian. He took the oath of office after Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who made his exit after only serving one term. 

Governor Patrick gave a break down of Mitt Romney's record as governor, and rightfully he should have! It felt good to get first hand information from a person who actually witnessed and saw with his own eyes, how Mitt Romney performed as a public servant of the people.

Patrick stated that Romney left office with an overwhelming deficit, crumbling roads, highways, bridges, and many cuts to education that put Massachusetts, in the 47th place out of 50 regarding job growth across the nation!

The Massachusetts Governor stated that, "Mr. Romney seemed more interested in having the (governor's) job, than doing the job!"

Governor Patrick is officially one of my favorite politicians.

Newcomer to the political arena or at least too national media, Mayor Julian Castro took to the stage highlighting President Obama's achievements, while making it very clear that he has arrived and doesn't plan to go anywhere anytime soon. 

This Mexican American stunner presented himself as presidential material, and we all should keep a watchful eye on Mr. Castro who's currently running for Congress.

Military mom of five son's Elaine Brye, made a short introduction about how proud she is of all her son's who have careers in the Navy, the Air Force, the Military, and the Marines. She's hoping her 5th son enrolls in the Coast Guard. 

Mrs. Brye received the honor of introducing the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.

I could break down Mrs. O's speech and tell you what I think, but I'll do one better and just post the link. After you watch it the feeling that you get afterwards is the same feeling I got.

I LOVE MY FIRST LADY AND PRESIDENT! OBAMA 2012!

2012 LA