Links to the Must-Watch DNC Night 2 Speeches, Ad-Free (with Bonus Roll Call Playlist)

When they go low, we make crowd size jokes without regret

Due to popular demand (as in like 5 readers but hey, I’m responsive!) I’ve put together links to the best of the speeches from night two of the DNC convention in Chicago.

See Night One Links Here

This party’s got everything: Republicans endorsing Democrats! Longtime Trump staffer spilling tea! National dance party! Jewish grandma jokes! Calls to action! Obama! The other Obama! Small penis jokes!

7 years later, still relevant

I will admit this is a particularly rewarding series of speeches for those of us who tried “go high” until it was clear that refusing to dignify the words and actions of the bribe-accepting, pathological lying, coup-attempting, violence-provoking, traitorous, predatory, self-enriching, twice-impeached convicted felon and rapist…was not as effective as it could be.

In addition to the speeches, I highly urge you to watch the entire “roll call”, which is one hour and sixteen minutes of pure national pride in all the best ways.

Think: The Olympics opening night Parade of Nations, only with delegations from all US states and territories.

I’ve also heard it called a Black Bar Mitzvah and you know? It kind of has that energy. It’s just missing good pies and the Cha Cha Slide.

If it was not yet evident before last night, I am now officially that person who is jumping around cheering for each state at home, yelling YES ALABAMA! GO GET ‘EM NORTH DAKOTA! YOU FIGHT THAT VOTER SUPPRESSION, GEORGIA! REPRESENT, NEW YORK!

(Fortunately for me, Jon finds this charming and not at all insane, and is willing to stay in the room with me, even when I start dancing to “Turn Down for What” along with Lil’ Jon and the Georgia delegation. “This is your Super Bowl!” he said.)

Watch here.

The New York State Delegation doing the right thing. (Forgive me for that one, I’ll make it up to you)

I also urge you to watch “This is my Dad, Doug,” the short film introducing Doug Emhoff, narrated by his son Cole, and produced by Doug’s ex-wife Kerstin. It is just lovely.

The film was followed by Doug’s own funny, authentic, relatable speech about how he came to meet Kamala and create a family together, and how they support each other. I teared up, and Jon and I held hands.

Blended families are American families, and we don’t tell those stories often enough. Hearing theirs is profoundly moving and meaningful to a lot of us. Divorce doesn’t just “break up families,” like the GOP would have you believe; sometimes it helps us put new, stronger, healthier ones together.

Doug: Consider this your official invitation to hang with us any time. Bring your wife, but we imagine she’ll be pretty busy for the next 8 years.

Now onto the speeches!

Free and without commercial interruption thanks to PBS Newshour:

Watch Stephanie Grisham here

Watch Malcolm Kenyatta here

Watch Tammy Duckworth here

Watch Ana Navaro here

Watch John Giles here

Watch JB Pritzker here

Watch Bernie Sanders here

Watch Doug Emhoff here

Watch Michelle Obama here

Watch Barack Obama here

Who’s gonna tell him the job he’s been seeking might just be one of those ‘black jobs?’ - Michelle Obama

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We do not need four more years of bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse. America’s ready for a new chapter. America’s ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.  And Kamala Harris is ready for the job.
- Barack Obama

BONUS: Here is a list of the roll call song choices by state with a little info on each (NPR), and the actual 2024 DNC Roll Call Playlist on Spotify sent to me by

Morra Aarons-Mele

. It’s a good one to listen to while sending postcards to voters.

One more Call to Action from Michelle Obama: “This election is going to be close. In some states, just a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner. So we need to vote in numbers that erase any doubt. We need to overwhelm any effort to suppress us. Our fate is in our hands. In 77 days, we have the power to turn our country away from the fear, division and smallness of the past. We have the power to marry our hope with our action. We have the power to pay forward the love, sweat and sacrifice of our mothers and fathers and all those who came before us. We did it before y’all, and we sure can do it again. Let us work like our lives depend on it, and let us keep moving our country forward”

What did you think of night two? Any highlights for you? Any songs stuck in your head today?

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