Hillary Clinton accepts the Democratic nomination, becomes first female presidential nominee
by Lauren Dow
Journalism Intern
Hillary Clinton accepted the Democratic Presidential Nomination Thursday night in Philadelphia, becoming the first woman to be nominated by a major party. After her daughter’s heartfelt introduction and the deafening applause at her entrance, Clinton thanked the crowd profusely.
Hillary Clinton, like her husband and daughter, focused on the importance of her family on her career and her success. Her speech sought to draw the convention together. She thanked Bernie Sanders and his supporters, telling them that, “I want you to know, I've heard you. Your cause is our cause. Our country needs your ideas, energy, and passion. That’s the only way we can turn our progressive platform into real change for America. We wrote it together – now let's go out there and make it happen together.”
She went on to outline her platform and remind the crowd that the world in which she is President is one where, “love trumps hate.” She said that was the future and the country that “fighting for” and working toward. She accepted the nomination, with “humility, determination, and boundless confidence in America’s promise.
Hillary Clinton’s speech showed her personality, and the person that is dedicated to human rights and service to others. She explained her values and history when she said, “my job titles only tell you what I've done. They don't tell you why. The truth is, through all these years of public service, the ‘service’ part has always come easier to me than the ‘public’ part.”
She went on to tell the audience, “I get it,” acknowledging that her personality is often misunderstood. She said, “The family I'm from . . . well, no one had their name on big buildings. My family were builders of a different kind. Builders in the way most American families are, they used whatever tools they had – whatever God gave them – and whatever life in America provided – and built better lives and better futures for their kids.”
The vision of a better future was the engine of her speech. She described her early work with children and family. Hillary then defined her platform in great detail, touching on: immigration, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, racism, free college tuition and common sense gun control.
Her largest focus, however, was the family and job growth. She said, “In America, if you can dream it, you should be able to build it. We're going to help you balance family and work. And you know what, if fighting for affordable child care and paid family leave is playing the ‘woman card,’ then deal me in.”The crowd shouted the words with her, and broke out into applause.
Clinton plans to pay for her platform by making sure that, “Wall Street, corporations, and the super-rich are going to start paying their fair share of taxes. Not because we resent success. Because when more than 90% of the gains have gone to the top 1%, that's where the money is.”
Hillary asked the crowd to look at her record, citing her ability to work with both democrats and republicans despite gridlock. She promised the convention that she practice the same politics as their President.
The crowd began chanting “Hillary” as she moved on to the topic of national security and told the convention that, “You want a leader who understands we are stronger when we work with our allies around the world and care for our veterans here at home. Keeping our nation safe and honoring the people who do it will be my highest priority.”
She said of these efforts, “It won't be easy or quick, but make no mistake – we will prevail. Now Donald Trump says, and this is a quote, ‘I know more about ISIS than the generals do….’ She paused, looked directly into the camera and with force said, “No, Donald, you don't.”
Clinton went on to point out that Donald Trump was not an opponent, but someone who should never be president. She said that the party and the nation must “defend all our rights – civil rights, human rights and voting rights… women's rights and workers' rights…LGBT rights and the rights of people with disabilities!”
She told the audience, “he's offering empty promises. What are we offering? A bold agenda to improve the lives of people across our country - to keep you safe, to get you good jobs, and to give your kids the opportunities they deserve. The choice is clear.” The final moments of her speech implored her supporters to continue the fight, “you have to keep working to make things better, even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce.”
Presidential Nominee Hillary Clinton closed her speech, and said, "‘ though we may not live to see the glory,’ as the song from the musical Hamilton goes, ‘let us gladly join the fight.’ Let our legacy be about ‘planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.'" She went on to explain that the founding fathers taught us the idea of building a nation not for selfish purposes, but with, “selfless passion to build something better for all who follow. That is the story of America. And we begin a new chapter tonight. Yes, the world is watching what we do. Yes, America's destiny is ours to choose.”
Copyright - The Gayly - 7/28/2016 @ 11:33 p.m. CDT