Consider this an appetizer as we prepare for the second night of the Republican National Convention and our live blogging tonight. David Strom becomes our benevolent despot of the live commentary tonight, with Beege and myself pitching in our observations and looking for highlight moments to post along the way.

Last night's program featured a string of impressive speeches, especially from North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Rep. Wesley Hunt, and Senator Tim Scott. The final speech of the evening from Teamsters president Sean O'Brien demonstrated the GOP's (and Trump's) desire to broaden the tent and to address blue-collar issues, even if O'Brien's agenda may have had some of the delegates and donors squirming at times.

In the moment, I thought that O'Brien's speech might have delivered a body blow to Democrats still posing as the champions of the working class. And it still might, but Van Jones' argument about a speech delivered by rapper and Slut Walk founder Amber Rose presenting a devastating argument about Democrats in her brief address caught my eye:

It appears that CNN really loved Amber Rose’s speech pic.twitter.com/OJSvIdmvpN

— Acyn (@Acyn) July 16, 2024

VAN JONES, CNN: That was probably the most dangerous speech for the Democratic coalition. That is a young woman of color.

She's describing the experience a lot of people have, feeling that maybe if you're around too many liberals you might get criticized too much, or you might not be able to speak your mind. And she spoke to it really well. And she's way more famous than any of us up here. I'm going to tell you that. Way more famous. And so to the extent that these guys are trying to bust up our coalition, that was a bunker buster right there.

The rest of the panel expressed their admiration for Rose's skills, too. The video above is worth watching for all of the commentary, but Jones provides the clearest admission that Rose is speaking honestly about the experiences of young voters, and for that matter older voters who also get intimidated into silence over their political views. 

This speech has the power to open eyes and shift votes, CNN's panel warns. Do you agree? If you missed it last night, here it is again: