Lesser-known DNC speakers discuss their experience While San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro , women's health advocate Sandra Fluke, and Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren all formally introduced themselves to the national audience at the 2012 Democratic National Convention , they were not the only figures to do so. Small business owner Bill Butcher, firefighter Doug Stern, and mother Stacey Lihn were among the "everyday people" the party invited to address the convention and the nation. Wikinews reached out to these three to learn more about their DNC experience and the process of the convention. Port City Brewing Company owner Bill Butcher. Butcher, owner of Port City Brewing in  , , says he received the invitation after the Democratic Party found him online while searching for someone who had started a small business during the administration and benefited from its policies. Butcher was able to establish Port City Brewing after obtaining a loan through the , part of the 2009 (The Stimulus). In preparation for his speech, Butcher worked with Obama speechwriters and rehearsed the morning before. Though he admits to being nervous, he discovered that fellow speakers backstage felt similarly. To break the ice, Butcher opened his speech with a joke, apologizing to the audience for not handing out free beer. He then turned to policy, defending Obama as "a president who's on my side ... [who has] kept middle class taxes low...[and] has fought for small-business owners". According to Butcher, the speech was received positively, even among his Republican friends, who felt it "cool" that their buddy had addressed the DNC. upFire fighter Doug Stern. Like Butcher, Stern, a firefighter and member of the (IAFF), also received bipartisan praise for his speech. As a union advocate for the repeal of , which limited the rights of  's public employees, Stern feels the party selected him due to his visibility. Because he received word of the invitation just days before the event, Stern did not have much time to prepare. Rather, he viewed YouTube videos of Presidents Obama, Clinton, and  to find the right style for delivery. Nevertheless, according to Stern, the best input came from his twelve-year-old son, who advised him that delivering a DNC speech was not such a big deal, since "you give speeches all the time." Stacey Lihn with her daughter Zoe at the Democratic National Convention. Similarly, for Lihn, the night held a special significance due to her family. Lihn, a mother of two daughters one of whom, Zoe, suffers from a congenital heart defect, previously worked with the Obama campaign in March to produce a video documenting how the  (Obamacare) had helped her family pay for her daughter's medical expenses. Looking for someone to discuss health care reform at the convention, the video's producer called Lihn and invited her to speak. Like Butcher, she rehearsed her speech in the morning prior, finding this to be more emotional than the actual delivery itself. In the heartfelt speech delivered with her husband and daughter onstage, Lihn articulated her appreciation of Obamacare and the fear that the election of Mitt Romney and possible repeal of Obamacare would prevent needed care for her daughter. After the speech, Lihn embraced First Lady Michelle Obama in what she fondly recalls as "a genuine hug — mother to mother." Others appreciated the speech as well. Ed Pilkington of  wrote that it was not only "one of the most moving moments of the Democratic national convention ... [but] possibly of the entire 2012 presidential race".
Lesser-known DNC speakers discuss their experience While Mayor , women's health advocate Sandra Fluke, and Law professor Elizabeth Warren all formally introduced themselves to the national audience at the 2012 , they were not the only figures to do so. Small business owner Bill Butcher, firefighter Doug Stern, and mother Stacey Lihn were among the "everyday people" the party invited to address the convention and the nation. Wikinews reached out to these three to learn more about their DNC experience and the process of the convention. Port City Brewing Company owner Bill Butcher. Butcher, owner of Port City Brewing in Alexandria, Virginia , says he received the invitation after the Democratic Party found him online while searching for someone who had started a small business during the administration and benefited from its policies. Butcher was able to establish Port City Brewing after obtaining a loan through the , part of the 2009 (The Stimulus). In preparation for his speech, Butcher worked with Obama speechwriters and rehearsed the morning before. Though he admits to being nervous, he discovered that fellow speakers backstage felt similarly. To break the ice, Butcher opened his speech with a joke, apologizing to the audience for not handing out free beer. He then turned to policy, defending Obama as "a president who's on my side ... [who has] kept middle class taxes low...[and] has fought for small-business owners". According to Butcher, the speech was received positively, even among his Republican friends, who felt it "cool" that their buddy had addressed the DNC. upFire fighter Doug Stern. Like Butcher, Stern, a firefighter and member of the (IAFF), also received bipartisan praise for his speech. As a union advocate for the repeal of , which limited the rights of Ohio 's public employees, Stern feels the party selected him due to his visibility. Because he received word of the invitation just days before the event, Stern did not have much time to prepare. Rather, he viewed YouTube videos of Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Ronald Reagan to find the right style for delivery. Nevertheless, according to Stern, the best input came from his twelve-year-old son, who advised him that delivering a DNC speech was not such a big deal, since "you give speeches all the time." Stacey Lihn with her daughter Zoe at the Democratic National Convention. Similarly, for Lihn, the night held a special significance due to her family. Lihn, a mother of two daughters one of whom, Zoe, suffers from a congenital heart defect, previously worked with the Obama campaign in March to produce a video documenting how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) had helped her family pay for her daughter's medical expenses. Looking for someone to discuss health care reform at the convention, the video's producer called Lihn and invited her to speak. Like Butcher, she rehearsed her speech in the morning prior, finding this to be more emotional than the actual delivery itself. In the heartfelt speech delivered with her husband and daughter onstage, Lihn articulated her appreciation of Obamacare and the fear that the election of Mitt Romney and possible repeal of Obamacare would prevent needed care for her daughter. After the speech, Lihn embraced First Lady Michelle Obama in what she fondly recalls as "a genuine hug — mother to mother." Others appreciated the speech as well. Ed Pilkington of The Guardian wrote that it was not only "one of the most moving moments of the Democratic national convention ... [but] possibly of the entire 2012 presidential race".
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While San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro
While Mayor
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Harvard
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Democratic National Convention
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Alexandria, Virginia
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,
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Ohio
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Ronald Reagan
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Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
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The Guardian