Democrats… You supported Amy Klobuchar, or Pete Buttigieg, or another “more centrist” candidate in the primaries; now voting for Biden… You consider yourself a moderate; thoughtful, empathetic, perhaps fiscally conservative yet socially liberal; you were attracted to the intelligence of Pete, or Amy’s “seriousness”, but believe that at this point, they would want you to vote for Biden, too.   […]

As the last days of the longest summer in history mercifully wind down, we enter the teeth of the “silly season”–that time every 4 years when the thoughts of many are consumed by campaigns, debates, and elections. And with the stakes being higher than ever before, the silliness has never been more ridiculous. Case in point: Pundits from across the […]

Amid all the murky and dramatic national conversations about the disaster that is our current healthcare system, one sometimes stumbles upon a moment of potential clarity. This is one of those moments… At a social event the other night, I met a person who worked for a large regional health insurance company. The conversation, naturally, came around to the topic […]

Amy’s a mean boss. Elizabeth checked Native American on an application. Pete’s got problems with African Americans. Joe voted for a war. Bernie’s a socialist. No candidate is perfect. And each of the “problems” listed above is far more complicated and nuanced than it appears. For example… If Sen. Klobuchar was a man, her management style would be common, expected…and […]

Because I am on the White House Press email list, I get the embargoed Weekly Address every week on Friday, embargoed until 6 a.m. the next morning. I have posted a few of them over the years but, generally, I didn’t make too big a deal about them. But, oh, man. I didn’t anticipate how sad it would make me […]

As you likely know by now, Donald Trump, addressing a group of veterans, let them know that he believes soldiers returning to the USA with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) aren’t strong and “can’t handle” being in combat: When people come back from war and combat, they see things that maybe a lot of the folks in this room have seen […]

This afternoon, Vice President Joe Biden announced that he will not be running for the Democratic nomination for the 2016 presidential election. His speech made me a bit weepy when I read it. Then I watched the video and got teary-eyed again. While I think he ultimately made the right decision, I have nothing but admiration and affection for Joe […]

At a national gathering of healthcare advocates, I saw the heart and soul of healthcare reform. There’s no stopping us now. If you could have seen what I saw at the Health Action conference, you’d be as confident as I am about the future of healthcare in America. Every year, Families USA brings together healthcare advocates and experts at their […]

A rare opportunity

The Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner is the biggest fundraising event of the year for most state Democratic Parties and Michigan is no exception. Named after Presidents Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, these events draw big name speakers and candidates for office.

This year, the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) has scored a real coup: Vice President Joe Biden will be the keynote speaker. The dinner is on the evening of Saturday, April 20th at the Cobo Center in Detroit. It kicks off at 6 p.m. Tickets are available HERE.

More after the jump.

Olympic Boxing gold medalist Claressa Shields, before introducing Vice President Joe Biden, spoke to a crowd of Obama/Biden supporters during a campaign stop at Renaissance High School in Detroit on Wednesday, showing her support for President Obama and Vice President Biden. After that, Vice President Biden gave a rousing speech.

Photos and quotes after the jump.

“Being a teacher is not what I do, it’s who I am.” – Dr. Jill Biden

This past weekend, the American Federation of Teachers held what can only be described as an energizing, empowering and successful national convention in the Cobo Center in Detroit, Michigan. During the four-day event which concludes today featured such luminaries as Sandra Fluke (women’s reproductive rights activist) and Walmart plaintiff Betty Dukes (both of whom received AFT Women’s Rights awards), Diane Ravitch (education historian, writer), David Hecker (AFT Michigan), Charles Blow (New York Times op-ed columnist), Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony (Detroit NAACP), Bob King (UAW), Karla Swift (Michigan AFL-CIO), Chris Michalakis (Metro Detroit AFL-CIO), U.S. Rep. Dale Kildee, Dr. Jill Biden and Vice President Joe Biden.

One of the highlights of the week was the keynote speech by AFT president Randi Weingarten who unveiled a new approach for AFT she dubbed “solution-driven unionism”. During her speech, Weingarten talked about the “new normal” facing Americans today in face of severe budget cuts jeopardizing public education, healthcare and other critical services; families losing more than 30 percent of their wealth during the economic crisis; and more than 100 bills introduced in state legislatures to demonize and attack public employees and undermine public services

Much more with lots of photos and quotes after the jump.