Demo Delegates Sat Back, Let Bill Do The Talkin’

Sorry for the week’s delay in this scatter shooting of observations from the Democratic National Convention. So here goes: Arkansas sent a mix of high ranking state Senate and state House leaders and other “friends of the Clintons” and a mix of Bernie Sanders’ hard-core supporters to Philadelphia for the Democratic National Convention.

Mostly Arkansans understand the difference in a “friend of Bill,” and a “friend of the Clintons,” but some apparently don’t.

FOB or “Friends of Bill,” were the political movers and shakers in Arkansas who could count on Bill Clinton as Attorney General, Governor and later President of the United States. This is an ultra-loyal friend- ship, kinship with the man, himself, and all he stood for in the various offices he held.

A “Friend of the Clintons” is a smaller, more intimate circle. This also includes an ultra- ultrasmall circle of “Friends of Hillary,” a very unique and close knit group who has deep, deep emotional and almost spiritual bonds with Hillary.

Most of the “Friends of Hillary” are women. Strong women in Arkansas who are both strong politically, strong in the arts and strong in the movements (such as children’s rights) that Hillary Rodham Clinton has always championed.

Such friends also have long memories as witnessed by state Sen. Keith Ingram, D-West Memphis, who has seen many political conventions, but none like the fractured event held in Cleveland by the GOP.

“It’s time for the Democrats to unify,” he told the state’s largest newspaper prior to the convention.

But there were some who recalled that the last time Hillary Rodham Clinton and her delegates went to the DNC the result was not so happy.

Former State Rep. Kathy Webb, D-Little Rock, and a well-known fighter for social causes remembers unhappy times.

In 2008, the HRC delegates lost to Barack Obama. But as Democrats generally do, she supported the ticket back then.

“I rallied, like others, around Barack Obama and I worked hard for him and I hope we highlight the sharp differences between Hillary Clinton…” she said.

The DNC put on more of the show of the reasons to be a Democrat than in recent years. The speech by former President Bill Clinton, while not a fiery one filled with rhetoric, did the job of introducing the nominee. His line of “… I met a girl…” stole the show.

From the arena, CNN did a pre-convention piece on Hillary Clinton featuring Fayetteville attorney and former chief counsel for Tyson Foods, Jim Blair. The snippets from Blair’s interview were succinct and direct.

Lisa Whitaker of Fayetteville, a DNC delegate, told the press she, like a lot of others, fears for the nation if Republican Donald Trump wins in November.

“It scares me to death,” Whitaker, a director of pharmacy at an area hospital said to the newspaper. “I shudder to think. I really do.”

She is the wife of threeterm state Rep. David Whitaker, of Fayetteville. David was along for the convention trip, posting on Facebook and visiting many area Philadelphia landmarks.

The real shutterbug of the delegates was Fayetteville’s Denise Firmin Garner who clicked hundreds of photos, some really quite professional photographer quality, while being a delegate for Hillary. Best seats: The Arkansas Delegation was seated near the stage, not only as an alphabetical anomaly, but for the sheer support of the nominee.

Other long-time friends of HRC, Ann and Dr. Morris Henry and Missy Kincaid did post a photo of themselves from a sky-box suite in the arena. The Henrys have been friends of the Clintons since their days of teaching at the UA Law School. Kincaid was a personal travel aide to the First Lady for several years at the White House.

Missy is also the daughterin-law of Hillary’s late friend Diane Blair of Fayetteville.