BANGOR – Energized by former President Donald Trump’s felony convictions this week, Democratic leaders told a crowd of about 1,100 people at the state convention at the Cross Insurance Center on Saturday that the stakes are high in this fall’s election and that the choice before the voters is clear. .
Speakers ranging from Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who appeared in her personal capacity on behalf of the Biden campaign, to Gov. Janet Mills and state constitutional officials framed the upcoming election as a choice between a compassionate and capable incumbent who respect the rule of law and individual rights and a selfish former president seeking revenge on his political rivals.
Mills said the choice between the two candidates is clear.
“One of those people is a convicted felon,” said Mills, a former prosecutor, to the delight of the crowd. “God bless the jury system. I believe in that.”
The convention, whose theme was “Leading Maine Forward,” came just days after Trump, who is the presumptive Republican nominee in 2024, was found guilty of 34 felonies related to hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 elections.
The Maine Republican Party held its own convention in late April; It was well attended by Trump supporters and the candidates frequently referred to their support for the former president.
While that convention came before Wednesday’s verdict, Republicans at the state and federal levels have only reaffirmed their support for Trump.
Haaland told Democratic convention attendees that the future of reproductive freedom across the country is at stake this fall and urged Democrats to give Trump all the credit he seeks for overturning Roe v. Wade. The June 2022 US Supreme Court ruling has led to a series of abortion restrictions and bans in Republican-controlled states.
“We cannot afford to allow them to implement their sweeping abortion bans across the country or prevent women from getting the full spectrum of reproductive health care they need,” she said. “If Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans return to the White House, they are committed to demolishing women’s health, economic justice, racial justice and all the progress we have made.”
Much of Saturday morning passed without any direct reference to Trump or the verdict. That changed when Secretary of State Shenna Bellows took the stage to a standing ovation.
Bellows referenced “a decision” required by Maine law over the winter that attracted a lot of media attention, referring to his controversial decision to exclude Trump from the ballot, only to be overturned by the ruling of the nation’s highest court. in a similar case.
Bellows, who remains a target of Maine Republicans, also called on Democrats to show courage amid the rise of violent political rhetoric on the far right, saying that “courage is 12 ordinary Americans,” referring to to the jury that convicted Trump this week.
Both comments drew standing ovations.
“Make no mistake, there is a small and incredibly vocal minority who are exploiting violence and attacks on the rule of law for political gain,” said Bellows, who along with his staff and family faced a number of threats after his ruling. that Trump was ineligible for the state ballot due to his role in the January 6 attack on the Capitol. “Courage is knowing the risks and doing the right thing anyway.”
Several speakers addressed concerns about Biden’s age and said he comes with experience and knowledge. They said his strong stewardship through the pandemic and economic recovery, as well as passing important legislation investing in infrastructure and clean energy, shows the 81-year-old can still do the job.
They also compared Biden’s empathy to what they said was Trump’s disdain for the American people.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said she saw Biden’s compassion firsthand when she visited Lewiston after the mass shooting that killed 18 people and injured 13.
“He met with people who were heartbroken, and he did it in a way that only he can,” Pingree said, noting that Biden met individually with families for hours. “I witnessed the genuine affection he feels for all other human beings. He is a president like no other in that sense, and it is a great contrast to the opposing candidate we are facing.”
Saturday morning was spent highlighting Democrats’ state legislative victories over the past two years and passing a platform.
Democrats, who control both chambers of the Legislature and the Blaine House, touted their legislative accomplishments, including expanding access to abortion, protecting providers of legal abortion and gender-affirming care, enacting family leave and paid medical services and the passage of gun safety legislation, including a 72-hour waiting period for firearm purchases.
But Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, said he is “haunted” by what Democrats failed to do with their trifecta, including approving tribal sovereignty, closing the pay gap for state workers and doing more to help unions and veterans.
“The only way we can build a better tomorrow is if we are honest about the challenges and realities we face today. We are driven by solidarity with that vision of a future that we have been passionate about, not only to win majorities in November and beyond, but also to do something with them when we achieve them,” Jackson said.
Democrats adopted a platform that reaffirms support for reproductive rights, social justice, civil rights, clean energy, affordable health care and safeguarding democracy. He also expresses support for tribal sovereignty and prison reform, among other things.
At their April convention, Republicans reaffirmed their opposition to abortion and gender-affirming care and focused on the rights of parents in raising their children.
Rep. Dan Sayre, D-Kennebunk, chairman of the platform committee, said the party’s vision of values represents “words by which to win and goals by which to govern.”
“This platform makes clear the choice voters will face in November,” Sayre said. “The cult of personality or the rule of law. The politics of exclusion, division and grievance, or the commitment to do the hard work of shaping the rules by which we live so that we can each pursue happiness in our own way and provide support to those who struggle.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the choice before us is between the rule of a reckless strongman or the sovereignty of an empowered people.”
The first day of the convention was disrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters, with dozens of activists and delegates protesting Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, and the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
In a news release, the group, which included Jewish Voice for Peace, Health Care Workers for Palestine and Maine Students for Palestine, called out Golden, who did not attend the convention because he was out of state for a family event, but spoke comments via recorded video – as “one of the strongest supporters in Congress of Israel’s brutal military campaign in Gaza, which the UN says has killed 35,000 people in eight months, two-thirds of whom are women and children”.
A spokesperson for the Maine Democratic Party said “the right to peaceful protest and freedom of expression are a fundamental part of democracy.” Some of the protesters were asked to leave.
“Congressman Golden has consistently made clear his position that the return of all prisoners, including the eight Americans still held captive by Hamas, must precede any ceasefire,” Golden’s spokesman Mario Moretto said Saturday.
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