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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Kilgore: Day One’s Aggressive Attack Sets Stage for ‘Epic GOTV’

Aside from Michelle Obama’s rave reviews, the first day of the Democratic Convention included an unusual number of solid speeches and a more aggressive than usual opening strategy, as TDS managing Editor Ed Kilgore, a veteran Dem convention insider, explains at the Washington Monthly:

..the first day of the Democratic convention exhibited two things some observers weren’t sure to expect: (1) a robust defense of Obama’s governing record, especially (and unexpectedly, as Ezra Klein notes) ObamaCare; and (2) a direct, uninhibited assault on the GOP generally and Mitt Romney specifically. On the latter front, Deval Patrick gave what might have been remembered, had Michelle Obama not blotted out the sun, as the best first-night speech. And “keynote” speaker Julian Castro provided a hefty combo platter of Latino solidarity with Obama; an implicit contrast with the laissez-faire oriented Latino outreach of the GOP convention; some good shots at Romney; and an appeal to younger voters.
As a veteran of the 2004 convention, when the word came down that speakers were not to criticize Republicans at all (based on some focus groups of independents expressing hostility to partisanship), this was all pretty amazing…

Read the rest of Kilgore’s post right here.

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