memeorandum: No Applause, No Crowds: Democrats Begin a Most Unusual Convention (New York Times)

9:50 AM ET, August 18, 2020

Top Items:

On Democratic convention's first night, speakers blame Trump for America's woes — The virtual event showcases dozens of testimonials, culminating in an indictment from Michelle Obama — Democrats kicked off their virtual nominating convention Monday with a focused denunciation of President Trump …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, Political Wire, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Bloomberg, Slate, The Week, The Daily Beast, The Guardian, Breitbart, Washington Times, HillReporter.com, The Hill, Axios, Fox News, New York Post and Daily Kos

Matthew Boyle / Breitbart:

Exclusive — GOP Convention Speakers to Include Nick Sandmann, Gov. Kristi Noem — Covington Catholic high school student Nick Sandmann, who was viciously smeared by the establishment media and has won settlements from the Washington Post and CNN, will speak at the Republican National Convention …

Discussion: The Guardian, The Hill, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Times

New York Times:

No Applause, No Crowds: Democrats Begin a Most Unusual Convention — Driven online because of the coronavirus crisis, Democrats presented a program that spanned the ideological gamut from socialists to Republicans, all hailing their nominee, Joseph R. Biden Jr.

Discussion: Politico, Washington Post and Althouse

CNN:

Transcript: Michelle Obama's DNC speech — Michelle Obama's DNC speech: Full video — (CNN)Read former first lady Michelle Obama's speech from the 2020 Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery: — Good evening, everyone. It's a hard time, and everyone's feeling it in different ways.

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Beast, Reason, Daily Kos, Washington Post, The Week, NPR and Althouse

Associated Press:

Five takeaways from first night of the Democratic convention — In another profound way that the coronavirus pandemic has upended American life, the Democratic National Convention started Monday with no convening. Instead, Democrats opted for the first virtual convention as the party begins …

Discussion: Washington Post and Reuters

Christopher Bedford / The Federalist:

Day 1 Of The Digital DNC: A Night Of GOP, Moderate Outreach Falls Flat — After months of riots assaulting the Founders, America-was-never-great speeches, and national anthem protests, the convention went another direction, kicking off with the Constitution, then the Pledge of Allegiance.

Discussion: Columbia Journalism Review, Slate and Vanity Fair

Robin Givhan / Washington Post:

Michelle Obama's speech was like an eloquent neighbor expressing sorrow for what our country has become — Michelle Obama returned to the political stage looking like the first lady that she was rather than the cultural celebrity that she has become. But as soon as she began to speak …

CNN:
St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters to speak at Republican convention

Discussion: Washington Post, The Week and Washington Times

New York Post: De Blasio says he didn't know Democratic National Convention was this week

Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Democratic Party chair wants to end presidential caucuses

Discussion: The Hill, CNN, Breitbart, FOX 5 San Diego, Just The News, Fox News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Nation and Bloomberg

John Podhoretz / New York Post: Low-energy virtual Democratic Convention fails to inspire

FiveThirtyEight: DNC, Day 1: Live Updates And Analysis

Charlie Mahtesian / Politico:
Bernie Sanders, Michelle Obama close out first night for Dems: Live analysis

Discussion: Reuters, The Hill, New York Times, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Daily Beast, Axios, The Gateway Pundit and The Week

John Whitesides / Reuters:
Joined by some Republicans, Democrats tout Biden's leadership as convention opens

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Associated Press and Fox News

Eli Yokley / Morning Consult: Biden Leads Trump in Wisconsin as Democratic Convention Begins

Jacob Bogage / Washington Post:

Senate will hold Postal Service hearing with DeJoy on Friday, as mail delay fears grow — Postmaster General Louis DeJoy will testify at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Friday about the U.S. Postal Service's vote-by-mail financial requirements, according to two people familiar with the decision.

Discussion: National Review, Vox, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Mashable

David Rothkopf / NBC News:

Trump's USPS defunding efforts prove 2020 fix is already in. Democrats need to act like it. … These are times unlike any other we have faced in our lives. A pandemic is ravaging our population, 1 in 5 households in the U.S. are food -insecure, and tens of millions of our neighbors worry that they will not be able to pay the rent.

Discussion: Mother Jones and The Root

Roger Sollenberger / Salon: DeJoy donated big to GOP senators up for re-election; they're still silent on USPS

NBC News:
Former USPS board member to brief House Democrats this week

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, FactCheck.org, Raw Story and American Prospect

New York Times:
DeJoy Earned Millions From Company With Financial Ties to Postal Service

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, BuzzFeed News and The US Sun

National Review: No, the Postal Service Isn't Stealing the Election

Josh Gerstein / Politico:

Roger Stone drops appeals of felony convictions — Longtime Trump confidant Roger Stone has unexpectedly dropped the appeal of his seven federal felony convictions for seeking to thwart a House investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. — Stone's lawyers submitted …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Reuters and Political Wire

Roger Stone / Stone Cold Truth:

WHY I DECIDED TO WITHDRAW THE APPEAL OF MY UNJUST CONVICTION IN THE MUELLER WITCH HUNT — On the strong advice of my attorneys and after giving the decision considerable thought, I have reluctantly decided to dismiss the appeal of what I believe to be a wrongful conviction in a trial tainted …

Discussion: Fox News, CNN, Just The News and The Hill

Hillel Italie / Associated Press:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo book on COVID-19 response out in October — NEW YORK (AP) — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has gained a national following through his management of the coronavirus pandemic, is writing a book that looks back on his experiences, and includes leadership advice and a close look …

Discussion: Axios, Political Wire and Spectator USA

Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump campaign ad attacks Biden's mental faculties

Discussion: New York Times, The Hill, Washington Post and TheBlaze

Lauren Egan / NBC News:
Woman whose father died of COVID: ‘His only pre-existing condition was trusting Donald Trump’

Discussion: Axios, Slate, KNSD-TV and Breitbart

Andrew O'Reilly / Fox News:
Sanders claims America threatened by ‘authoritarianism’ in dire convention speech

Discussion: Associated Press

Jeff Hampton / Virginian-Pilot:

‘The mystery is over’: Researchers say they know what happened to ‘Lost Colony’ — BUXTON, N.C. — The English colonists who settled the so-called Lost Colony before disappearing from history simply went to live with their native friends — the Croatoans of Hatteras, according to a new book.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice

Rebecca Traister / The Cut:

Sixty Seconds to Self-Sabotage The DNC's choice of who to feature speaks volumes about the party's inability to see its own future. — When the Democratic National Committee released its schedule for its big socially distanced convention this week, we learned that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez …

Discussion: Washington Post, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News and The National Interest

Henry J. Gomez / BuzzFeed News:
Why John Kasich, A Lifelong Republican, Is Helping Launch Joe Biden's Democratic Party

Discussion: Washington Post, CBS News, TheGrio, USA Today, Fox News, New York Times, Townhall, Vanity Fair, Talking Points Memo, The Daily Caller and The Week

Tim Elfrink / Washington Post:

Trump warns of a ‘big surge’ of coronavirus in New Zealand, which had just recorded nine new cases — While the novel coronavirus continues to surge through the United States, President Trump noted on Monday that other countries have also seen recent rises. Case in point, he told supporters at a Minnesota airport: New Zealand.

Discussion: Bloomberg and Political Wire

Miles Taylor / Washington Post:

At Homeland Security, I saw firsthand how dangerous Trump is for America — Miles Taylor served at the Department of Homeland Security from 2017 to 2019, including as chief of staff. — After serving for more than two years in the Department of Homeland Security's leadership during …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, ABC7, CNN, ABC News, IJR, ImmigrationProf Blog, Fox News, The Week, TalkLeft, The American Independent, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice and HillReporter.com

Maggie Haberman / New York Times:

On Centennial of 19th Amendment, Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony — President Trump's pardon of the famed suffragist Susan B. Anthony comes as women celebrate the 100th anniversary of their right to vote, and Joseph R. Biden Jr. benefits from a yawning gender gap.

Yoav Gonen / THE CITY:

Chirlane McCray Nearly Doubled Her Official Staff Payroll With Undisclosed Taxpayer-Funded Hires — The city's First Lady officially has eight employees who support ThriveNYC and other projects. But at least 14 people on the government payroll work on her team, ahead of a potential Brooklyn borough president run.

Christian Britschgi / Reason:

Donald Trump and Ben Carson Go Full NIMBY in The Wall Street Journal — Few political transformations have been more remarkable to witness than Ben Carson's constant ping-ponging on housing policy. The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary can't seem to make up his mind …

Discussion: Power Line and Los Angeles Times

Marc Fisher / Washington Post:

Fed up with anti-maskers, mask advocates are demanding mandates, fines — and common courtesy. — Susan van Vonno has strong feelings about masks. At 82, with a compromised immune system, she has little patience for bellicose anti-maskers who refuse to cover their faces because they believe it infringes on their personal liberty.

Chris Strohm / Bloomberg:

William Barr Disdains Election Deadline With Plan to Report on FBI Probe — DOJ guidelines warn about public comments 60 days before vote — Barr says deadline is moot because Biden, Trump aren't focus — Attorney General William Barr is promising more revelations from a probe …