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Thu Sep 06, 2012 at 04:35 PM CDT
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| Greetings from Charlotte! It's early on the delegation, but the crowd is already up on their feet clapping along to Mavis Staples. Energy is running high, and the arena looks mostly full even though President Obama isn't set to speak for almost five hours. The most notable Texan in the program tonight is Eva Longoria, who joins a star-studded lineup of people eager to see President Barack Obama re-elected. Those of us in Charlotte will be posting photos and tweeting from the floor, while our friends back in Austin will update us from the watch party there.
 Update 5:14 p.m. University of Texas student and national president of College Democrats of America Alejandra Salinas (pictured at right) took the stage to outline the many ways that President Obama has helped young voters, from health insurance reform to student loan reform to support for LGBT rights. Great job, Alejandra!
Update 7:13 p.m. The arena is now at capacity and closed. No one else is getting in or out. The seats are full from the floor to the rafters, and empty space is hard to find. The halls are full too -- and don't get me started on the line for the hamburger stand! Despite the crowded quarters, however, folks seem in good spirits as we await the President's big speech tonight.
Update 7:31 p.m. Eva Longoria gave a shout-out to Corpus Christi in her speech and outlined a narrative of American opportunity, in which everyone has the chance to make the most of their dreams and talents. It's a story she and President Obama both embody, and another sharp contrast between one percenter Mitt Romney, who has had every advantage in life and now wants to take away the few opportunities regular Americans have left.
"We're lucky our president understands the value of American opportunity, because he's lived it! And he's fighting to help others achieve it. He's fighting to make college more affordable! He's cut taxes for every working American. He's helping small businesses get loans and has cut their taxes eighteen times. Eighteen times!
That's important-small businesses create two out of every three new jobs in America. It's the suburban dad who realizes his neighborhood needs a dry cleaner. It's the Latina nurse whose block needs a health clinic-and she knows she's the one to open it! It's the high school sophomore who is building Facebook's competitor. They are the entrepreneurs driving the American economy, not Mitt Romney's outsourcing pioneers. He would raise taxes on middle-class families to cut his own-and mine. That's not who we are as a nation, and here's why: The Eva Longoria who worked at Wendy's flipping burgers-she needed a tax break. But the Eva Longoria who works on movie sets does not." |
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