The DNC started with a bang but quickly descended into a whimper. While the convention itself has been full of policy details—something completely lacking from its Republican counterpart—it’s been short on something the RNC was overflowing with: emotion. Aside from a few younger speakers—especially disabled activist Anastasia Somoza and Karla Ortiz, the daughter of undocumented immigrants—the first hours of the primetime segment of the DNC were a snooze.
Until Sarah Silverman went on stage, that is. Silverman’s speech hit a note speakers have struggled to so far: She spoke convincingly and earnestly about having supported Bernie Sanders and converted to Hillary Clinton. It woke the crowd up—both the Clinton supporters and the Bernie diehards. Which meant that the chanting started almost immediately, prompting Silverman to make her off-the-cuff response.
For what had been a quiet night, it showed that tumult may be lurking just under the surface at this DNC.