Hillary Clinton to DNC: "Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line"
19 August 2020
Hillary Clinton plans to say in her address to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night that to all those who have expressed regret at voting for President Trump or not voting at all in 2016, this November "can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election," according to excerpts of her remarks.
Why it matters: Clinton will use her return to the (virtual) convention stage after her devastating loss in 2016 to urge dejected Americans not to give up, and to "vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are."
What she'll say: "For four years, people have said to me, “I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.” “I wish I could go back and do it over.” Or worst, “I should have voted.” Well, this can’t be another woulda coulda shoulda election.
- "If you vote by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.”
- “100 years ago yesterday, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It took seven decades of suffragists marching, picketing, and going to jail to push us closer to a more perfect union. 55 years ago, John Lewis marched and bled in Selma because that work was unfinished.”
The bottom line: “There’s a lot of heartbreak in America right now – and the truth is, many things were broken before the pandemic," Clinton will say. "But, as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone, and afterward, many are strong at the broken places. Joe Biden knows how to heal, unify, and lead, because he’s done all of that for his family and his country."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.