On inaugural night of the DNC, party stalwarts flex their pro-worker agenda, unity

On Monday the Democrats kicked off its four-day-long convention with a slate of key party leaders and past and present elected officials. In contrast with the RNC — which stressed a revanchist, antagonistic tone towards the state of the country — the first day of the DNC was colored by a sense of revitalization: Democrats stressed that the passing of the torch by President Joe Biden to Vice President Kamala Harris has created new momentum in the 2024 election. 

Biden, who closed out the night, called his selection of Harris as his VP “the best decision I've made in my whole career.”

"It's been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president," Biden said to a raucous crowd. "I love the job, but I love my country more. All this talk about how I'm angry at all those people [who] said I should step down — that's not true. I love my country more, and we need to preserve our democracy in 2024."

Harris had extended gratitude earlier in the evening when she made a surprise appearance on the convention’s stage, thanking him for his "historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation, and all you will continue to do. We are thankful to you." 

And on the party’s left flank, United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) stressed the Harris-Walz ticket as being exceptionally committed to working families.  

Fain said, "On one side, we have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the working class. On the other side, we have Trump and JD Vance, two lap dogs for the billionaire class who only serve themselves."

"So for us in the labor movement, it's real simple," Fain concluded. "Kamala Harris is one of us, she's a fighter for the working class. And Donald Trump is a scab."

Ocasio-Cortez echoed a similar sentiment during her particularly fiery and impassioned speech. 

"Ever since I got elected, Republicans have attacked me by saying I should go back to bartending," she said. "But let me tell you, I'm happy to, any day of the week, because there is nothing wrong with working for a living. Imagine having leaders in the White House who understand that, leaders like Kamala and Tim." 

If yesterday was any indication, the Democrats may become the true champions of populist politics, one that stays true to the ideology's progressive roots — and transforms the power dynamics that govern this country. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance was asked at a campaign stop in Kenosha, Wis. about his stance on an aspect of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act which would prevent individuals convicted of stalking or those with restraining orders from purchasing firearms. Vance stressed that only those found guilty of stalking should have limits on their gun rights.

“Well, look, I think that we certainly don't want violent criminals to have access to weapons, and that includes people, I think, who have been convicted of stalking, but I think it's important to say convicted,” Vance said during the press portion of his public appearance. 

“I think that's an important distinction here between our approach and the Democrats’ approach. We don't believe in the Republican Party that you should take people's rights away unless they've gone through a court of law.” 

Tim Sheehy worked with lobbyists to kill drone privacy bills in Montana Legislature

By Richard Eberwein

EDITOR’S NOTE (8/20): This article has been updated to include images of the referenced emails.

Montana Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy worked to kill a pair of drone privacy bills in the state legislature while he profited off developing and contracting drone technology to the federal government.

In 2015, Sheehy publicly condemned a bill to regulate drone usage in Montana before it was voted down in the Montana House of Representatives by a vote of 48-49.

In 2017, Sheehy coordinated with a national drone lobbying group to oppose Senate Bill 170, a piece of legislation that would have implemented drone regulations for public privacy. The bill would have established a civil penalty for flying drones over private property below 500 feet and require drones to follow public roads unless otherwise given permission.

In emails obtained by Heartland Signal, Sheehy contacted multiple state senators, asking them to “drop the pursuit of the anti-drone legislation [SB 170] and support the growth of the industry in Montana.” Records show Sheehy referred to the bill as “redundant, ineffective and unconstitutional.”

According to Sheehy’s resume, he served as the president of the Big Sky Chapter of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVSI) from 2017 to at least 2021. A Forbes article from 2014 called the AUVSI one of the drone industry’s largest advocacy and lobbying groups. In an email to the Gallatin County commissioner, Sheehy said that he was “leveraging AUVSI to support” ending the drone bill. Another email from Sheehy’s business partner Lee Dingman appeared to refer to Montana legislators as “yokels.”

“This is a complete waste of everyone’s time,” Dingman’s email reads. “They cannot ‘force’ operators to violate federal FAA altitude restrictions and the FAA’s regs trump anything the yokles cook up.”

SB 170 died in committee in April 2017. The Sheehy campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

Around this time, Sheehy’s wildfire firefighting company Bridger Aerospace had been “gearing up” to introduce drone technology and unmanned aircraft to their fleet. The drones Bridger Aerospace would be using were from the Chinese tech company DJI, which admitted in 2016 that it was complying with the Chinese government to hand over data collected by its drones. Bridger Aerospace now only offers manned aircraft, according to its website.

In 2018, Sheehy’s company Bridger Aerospace was awarded a “first-of-its-kind” federal contract for unmanned aerial wildlife surveillance. Sheehy also owned a company called Ascent, which he used to develop drone technology before he sold if for $350 million in 2020.

In addition to developing and profiting from drones, Sheehy also adopted “tough on China” campaign messaging despite his business dealings with DJI.

Sheehy is looking to defeat incumbent Sen. Jon Tester (D) this November, who is seeking his fourth term in office. Tester is heavily involved in the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and he spearheaded the passage of the PACT Act in 2022 despite Republican opposition.