The 2024 Democratic National Convention, held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, was one for the history books. Not only was the event a national introduction to a presidential ticket that had only been created a few weeks prior, but it was a record-breaking year for LGBTQ+ representation. DNC LGBTQ Caucus Chair Earl Fowlkes told the crowd that the event included more than 800 LGBTQ+ delegates, up from 635 in 2020 — the most ever.
The four-day event included countless moments of joy, a decidedly hopeful vibe that stood in stark contrast to the doom-fest that was the Republican National Convention in July, and plenty of reminders about why Michigan is on the map as not only an important swing state, but as a champion for the LGBTQ+ community. Here are five moments from the 2024 DNC we won’t soon forget.
1. Dana Nessel blowing the roof off that joint
She stormed the stage in a cobalt blue blazer and took zero prisoners, and that’s only part of the reason we can’t stop reliving this moment. Michigan’s attorney general has always been known for speaking her mind and for living out and proud — despite the clear dangers of doing so in the modern socio-political era. It was only last year when FBI officials reported that the AG had been targeted by a “heavily armed” man, Jack Eugene Carpenter III, who threatened injury and death to Jewish members of the state government.
So it was cathartic — and invigorating — to watch Nessel tear into Republicans who would happily support a return to the days when people like her couldn’t legal marry the partners they love. After loving up on Kamala Harris’ longtime record of defending marriage equality, Nessel concluded her fiery speech with one of the best lines of the night: “By the way, I’ve got a message for the Republicans and the justices of the United States Supreme Court: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand.”
Perhaps this speech was a preview of the attorney general’s future gubernatorial run? A girl can dream…
2. Michigan voting during the state roll call
During the ceremonial roll call, each state (and several territories) got a few minutes of camera time to proudly extol the virtues of their homeland and to informally pledge their votes for the Democratic nominee, with a music intro that tied into the state’s vibe. Clearly, all the roll call votes went to Harris — no surprises here — but it was a charming look at the enthusiasm building around the country for the Vice President. When Michigan got its turn at the mic, you can bet we were glued to the screen.
Michigan chose “Lose Yourself” by Detroit’s own Eminem as its theme song, but we’d like to point out that two other states chose Michigan musicians, including Maryland (“Respect” by Aretha Franklin) and Connecticut (“Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” by Stevie Wonder).
“Good evening from the Great Lakes State,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes began. “Michigan has an incredible story. We put the world on wheels and we built the middle class.” Sen. Debbie Stabenow continued, “We are getting things done in Michigan. In 2022, we flipped our State House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. We are getting it done in Michigan!” Gov. Gretchen Whitmer added, “We cut taxes. We protected freedoms. We brought manufacturing home, and we know how to win!”
Barnes, Stabenow and Whitmer joined up together to cast the state’s vote. “Michigan casts three present, 125 votes for our next president, Kamala Harris!” the three said (mostly) in unison.
3. Gov. Whitmer giving a peek at her future presidential run
It’s a given, right? There’s no way this woman isn’t running one day, and when she does, you can bet we’ll be hanging on every word, especially if this very presidential-candidate speech is an indication of what that ride is going to be like.
In classic Whitmer style, “that woman from Michigan” held no punches, going straight for the guy who gave her that moniker (“that man from Mar-a-Lago”) while maintaining her 100-watt smile and leaning into her trademark Michigan accent. Everyday people, she reminded the audience, are a world apart from former President Donald Trump. Whitmer stressed that he doesn’t understand Americans who have “lived a life like ours.” “You think he’s ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out?” she asked the crowd. “Hell, you think he’s ever been to a grocery store? That’s what the chauffeur is for,” she said.
“Kamala Harris has lived a life like ours, she knows us,” Whitmer said. “Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all. You think he understands that when your car breaks down you can’t get to work? No. His first word was probably chauffeur.” In contrast, Whitmer said, like many regular Americans, Harris served as a caretaker for her mother as she was dying from cancer.
4. Catching glimpses of queer Michigan attendees
The next best thing to being there ourselves was watching live coverage and social media posts for the occasional peek at attendees like Michigan Democratic Party Co-Chair Jason Morgan, Michigan Sen. Jeremy Moss, Rep. Jason Hoskins, Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter, Attorney General Nessel and wife Alanna Maguire, and other out LGBTQ+ Michiganders who made the trip to Chicago.
We were living vicariously through their experiences, whether it was fun behind-the-scenes posts like Moss tweeting “Breakfast with the Buttigiegs” with a shot of a sleepy-eyed Chasten (scroll down for a second shot with Pete in the background):
Or Rep. Jason Hoskins’ Instagram photo gallery straight from the DNC floor:
Thank you, Michigan attendees!
5. Chanting ‘Pete, Pete, Pete’ for days
There was a brief moment after President Biden announced he was no longer running for reelection and presumptive nominee Harris was making her running mate choice when all eyes were on Michigan’s favorite gay dad, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. The Traverse City resident had an impressive run on the Sunday political talk shows, batting down typical Fox News inanity with a deftness not seen since the early days of the first Obama campaign with the calm, focused demeanor of the kind of leader we need in 2024. He’s the adult in the room who makes you feel like everything is going to be OK if we can just move past the stupid culture wars and distractions.
While it was no surprise that Pete’s DNC speech delivered on those same vibes, it was a welcome moment we won’t soon forget. Buttigieg focused his remarks on joy and hope and on his personal journey, after opening with a line that was met with thunderous applause: “I’m Pete Buttigieg, and you might recognize me from Fox News.”
“The makeup of my kitchen table, the existence of my family is just one example of something that was literally impossible as recently as 25 years ago when an anxious teenager growing up in Indiana wondered if he would ever find belonging in this world,” he said in the speech, adding, “I don’t presume to know what goes on in your kitchen, but I know as sure as I am standing here that everything in it, the bills you pay, the shape of the family that sits there, the fears and the dreams that you talk about late into the night compel us to demand more from our politics than a rerun of some TV wrestling death match.”
“Choosing a guy like JD Vance to be America’s next vice president sends a message, all right: doubling down on negativity and grievance. A concept of campaigning best summed up in one word: darkness. That’s what they are selling. But I just don’t think America today is in the market for darkness,” he said.
Buttigieg referenced a 2021 Vance speech, where the future claimed that people without children have “no physical commitment to the future of this country.” “When I deployed to Afghanistan, I didn’t have kids then; many of the men and women who went outside the wire with me didn’t have kids either,” Buttigieg said. “But let me tell you, our commitment to the future of this country was pretty damn physical.”
Buttigieg accused Republicans of casting people of different political viewpoints as enemies. Instead, he said, politics can be “empowering and uplifting.”
“I believe in a better politics, one that finds us at our most decent, and open, and brave,” he said. “This November we get to choose. We get to choose our president, we get to choose our policies, but most of all, we will choose a better politics, a politics that calls us to our better selves and offers us a better every day,” he said. “That is what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz represent. That is what Democrats represent. That is what awaits us when America decides to end Trump’s politics of darkness once and for all.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-02 03:55:00
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