The Party's Over; Time to DO Something!

 

Kamala Harris and Tim Walz accepted the nominations of their party at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Although the procedural aspects of the week's schedule followed usual norms, many others did not. And when compared with the almost funereal aspect and negative vibes from the Republican convention in Milwaukee a few weeks earlier, this event was raucous and hopeful. Obviously, I was not at either event, but you could see the differences in so many ways. While the Delegates in Milwaukee brandished signs calling for Mass Deportation, those in Chicago waved signs saying Freedom.

First, at the Democrats event, previous presidents spoke, and there was representation from the families of John Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Previous officials and cabinet members addressed the gathering. Former Senator Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate in 2016 (who won the popular vote against DJT, but lost the Electoral College tally) proudly endorsed Kamala Harris, noting that the glass ceiling is becoming moot. Absent from the Republican Convention was DJT's former Vice-President, Mike Pence, (whom he almost got killed), and multiple former cabinet members-except for former trade official Peter Navarro, who was recently released from prison. Navarro was convicted of refusing to respond to a subpoena from the Congressional Select Committee.

The speakers before the Democrats were also diverse in age, ethnicity, and geography.

Hillary Clinton's speech was one of many given by women throughout the week, and was quoted in Time Magazine: 

 "It still takes a village to raise a family, heal a country, and win a campaign. And America needs every one of us, our energy, our talents, our dreams. We're not just electing a President. We are uplifting our nation. We're opening the promise of America wide enough for everyone. 

Together, we've put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, it is so close to breaking through once and for all. 

I want to tell you what I see through all those cracks and why it matters for each and every one of us. What do I see? I see freedom. I see the freedom to make our own decisions about our health, our lives, our loves, our families. The freedom to work with dignity and prosper, to worship as we choose or not. To speak our minds freely and honestly. I see freedom from fear and intimidation, from violence and injustice, from chaos and corruption. I see the freedom to look our children in the eye and say, "In America, you can go as far as your hard work and talent will take you," and mean it."

And Michelle Obama gave a speech (departing from the "When they go low, we go high" speech of 2020) that will long be remembered when she noted the effects of privilege and historic enmity toward others like herself:

You can find the entire speech or snippets here on YouTube. Some of the speech is quoted below.

"Look, Kamala knows, like we do, that regardless of where you come from, what you look like, who you love, how you worship, or what's in your bank account, we all deserve the opportunity to build a decent life. All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued. Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American. No one. Kamala has shown her allegiance to this nation. Not by spewing anger and bitterness, but by living a life of service, and always pushing the doors of opportunity open to others.

She understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth. If we bankrupt a business — if we bankrupt a business or choke in a crisis, we don't get a second, third, or fourth chance. If things don't go our way, we don't have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. No. We don't get to change the rules, so we always win. If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top. No. We put our heads down. We get to work. In America, we do something.

For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us. See, his limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hard-working, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black. I want to know — I want to know — who's going to tell him, who's going to tell him, that the job he is currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs?

Look, I don't care how you identify politically, whether you are a Democrat, Republican, independent, or none of the above. This is our time to stand up for what we know in our hearts is right. To stand up not just for our basic freedoms, but for decency and humanity. For basic respect, dignity, and empathy. For the values at the very foundation of this democracy. It's up to us to remember what Kamala's mother told her: Don't just sit around and complain, do something.

So if they lie about her, and they will, we've got to do something. If we see a bad poll, and we will, we've got to put down that phone, and do something. If we start feeling tired, if we start feeling that dread creeping back in, we've got to pick ourselves up, throw water on our face, and what? [Crowd chants back: "Do Something!"]

On the final night of the convention, Vice-president Kamala Harris accepted the party's nomination. Her speech was about 35 minutes in length (much shorter and more coherent than her opponents' previous remarks). A full transcript can be found here in the New York Times.

On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.

But we never gave up. Because the future is always worth fighting for. And that's the fight we are in right now — a fight for America's future.Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences — but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.Consider — consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the U.S. Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite — he fanned the flames. 

And we know, and we know what a second Trump term would look like. It's all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers. And its sum total is to pull our country back to the past. But America, we are not going back. We are not going back. We are not going back.

We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and child care for our children. America, we are not going back.And we are charting — and we are charting a new way forward. Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America's success, and building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.

So, fellow Americans. Fellow Americans. I — I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go — everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward. Ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America.I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world. That here, in this country, anything is possible. That nothing is out of reach. An America where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us. That none of us — none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed."

VP Harris concluded her remarks with:

"It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. So let's get out there, let's fight for it. Let's get out there, let's vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you."

 

So the Democrats were given their mission to get out there, knock on doors, call voters, persuade voters, and VOTE!

 

Til next week-Peace!