Today's Must-Read: The DNC Kick-Off

Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention. The whole thing is at Bark Bark Woof Woof. Here's the beginning:

Good evening, everyone. It’s a hard time, and everyone’s feeling it in different ways. And I know a lot of folks are reluctant to tune into a political convention right now or to politics in general. Believe me, I get that. But I am here tonight because I love this country with all my heart, and it pains me to see so many people hurting. I’ve met so many of you. I’ve heard your stories. And through you, I have seen this country’s promise. And thanks to so many who came before me, thanks to their toil and sweat and blood, I’ve been able to live that promise myself. That’s the story of America. All those folks who sacrificed and overcame so much in their own times because they wanted something more, something better for their kids. There’s a lot of beauty in that story. There’s a lot of pain in it, too, a lot of struggle and injustice and work left to do. And who we choose as our president in this election will determine whether or not we honor that struggle and chip away at that injustice and keep alive the very possibility of finishing that work.

Read the whole thing. It's a beaut.

Today in Disgusting People: What Took Them So Long?

I've been waiting for this to happen:

A pair of right-wing provocateurs are being accused of attempting to recruit young Republican men to level false allegations of sexual assault against Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg.

The details of the operatives’ attempt emerged as one man suddenly surfaced with a vague and uncorroborated allegation that Buttigieg had assaulted him. The claim was retracted hours later on a Facebook page appearing to belong to the man.

A Republican source told The Daily Beast that lobbyist Jack Burkman and internet troll Jacob Wohl approached him last week to try to convince him to falsely accuse Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, of engaging him sexually while he was too drunk to consent.

The source who spoke to The Daily Beast said Burkman and Wohl made clear that their goal was to kneecap Buttigieg’s momentum in the 2020 presidential race. The man asked to remain anonymous out of a concern that the resulting publicity might imperil his employment, and because he said Wohl and Burkman have a reputation for vindictiveness.

Buttigieg should go after them for defamation. I realize there are limits on that, given that Buttigieg is a "public figure," but I have a feeling those limits wouldn't apply in this case -- there is quite obvious malice involved here, and a brazen attempt to ruin Buttigieg's reputation.

Mustang Bobby at Bark Bark Woof Woof seems to be following my line of thinking:

This isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last of the attacks against him — we’ve already seen the phony religious grifters going after him — and you can always count on rating points if you bring up sex.

Speaking of religious grifters, he has a post on this from John Pavlovitz:

Dear Franklin Graham,

Recently you tweeted about Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, writing that the Mayor “says he’s a gay Christian.” You then immediately implied that he isn’t—as if his sexuality somehow disqualifies him.

I know that you’ve been sequestered within in the gilded gated community of your privilege and guarded by sycophants and yes-men for so long that you’re unaware of your catastrophic hubris here, so let me help you:

You’re wrong.

Pete Buttigieg is a Christian because he has chosen to follow Jesus. Full stop.

His sexual orientation is irrelevant to the matter—as is your evaluation of him because he is a gay man.

He doesn’t need your permission, doesn’t require your blessing, and isn’t waiting for your approval.

It goes on, and it's merciless.

It really is going to get worse, as long as Buttigieg is in the running.