Chelsea's Mom Has Got It Going On

While drinking beer on Tuesday night, I glanced at one of the televisions on the tavern's walls and saw footage of Chelsea Clinton in the audience at the DNC. Coincidentally, the DJ who accompanies the Trivia Night MC was playing a clip of the comical indie pop smash Stacy's Mom, and I suddenly had 'Chelsea's mom has got it going on' running through my head. Well, tonight, Chelsea's mom pretty much knocked it out of the park, presenting a vision of America fundamentally different from that of Donald J. Trump. The assertion that we are stronger together is a direct rebuke of Donald Trump's assertion that he alone can fix America's problems. It's the democratic repudiation of Trump's strongman assertion.

I think Hillary's opening, talking about her family, was a good one- despite all the vitriol thrown at them for many years (including heinous jokes about young Chelsea), the Clintons have stuck together while the 'family values' Republicans like Newt Gingrich and Mark Sandford have had their own adultery scandals. The pivot to the Obama administration, her running mate, and her principal opponent was a good move- stressing party unity before transitioning into the bulk of her speech, which largely concerned national unity.

Hillary reminded listeners of the legacy of the Democratic Party, invoking the words of FDR: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” She countered the fearmongering of her opponent and the GOP at large, offering shared effort as the solution to the problems that our country faces. Hillary is aware of her historic status and made clear that feminism helps everybody, not just women:


Tonight, we've reached a milestone in our nation's march toward a more perfect union:

the first time that a major party has nominated a woman for President.

Standing here as my mother's daughter, and my daughter's mother, I'm so happy this day has come.

Happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between.

Happy for boys and men, too – because when any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone. When there are no ceilings, the sky's the limit.

So let's keep going, until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves.


Later, she joked about criticism of her appeals to female voters:


We're going to help you balance family and work. And you know what, if fighting for affordable child care and paid family leave is playing the “woman card,” then Deal Me In!

Let's see the misogynistic troglodytes try to counter that one!

Much of her speech was a point-by-point takedown of GOP positions- the anti-science, anti-environmental, anti-immigrant, and anti-worker policies. She leavened the speech with an occasional zinger, with this being my particular favorite:


Now, you didn't hear any of this from Donald Trump at his convention.

He spoke for 70-odd minutes – and I do mean odd.

And he offered zero solutions. But we already know he doesn't believe these things.


Hillary listed her policy solutions for our problems, she took Donald Trump to task for his bombast, mendacity, and foolishness. She was funny at times, no mean feat for someone widely seen as a bit of a wonk. Listening to her speech, my Tuesday night earworm came unbidden to mind: Chelsea's mom has got it going on!


Chelsea's mom has got it goin' on
She's all we want and we've waited for so long
Chelsea, can't you see your mom rocked the DNC?
She'll make the nation strong so cast a vote for Chelsea's mom.