The Democratic Party Convention
by Eduardo del Buey.
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The Democratic Party Convention
The Democratic convention was a love fest that brought together the past and the present to celebrate Kamala Harris’ march towards the future.
Here is a summary of my impressions on what I saw.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton fired up the audience on the first night, saying that she has looked beyond the cracked glass ceiling and sees Kamala Harris on the other side as the 47th president of the United States.
Oft times a critic of the Biden administration, leftist Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio also came out in favor of Ms. Harris, hopefully bringing with hermore radical Democrats.
The Democrats also embraced their past, with former candidates Hillary Clinton and Al Gore coming on strong with forward looking speeches in support of Ms. Harris. Indeed, despite the fact that these two speakers lost in their bid for the presidency, the Democrats appear proud of their party’s history in contrast with Republicans who seem keen to reject theirs.
This coming together of Democrats for Ms. Harris underscores the objective of Ms. Harris’ campaign strategy.
She is seeking to demonstrate that she can bring this diverse, sometimes divided party together serving as a signal that she can also bring the country together.
Ms. Harris has many challenges ahead.
She must set out a sensible yet appealing course for the future.
Her strategists must remember that Mr. Trump attacks and lies constantly.
Donald Trump has proven that one of the major fallacies of political strategies is that policies matter.
The only way to counter Mr. Trump’s personality is to fight back as hard as she and Vice-Presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz have done to date.
They must continue their two-pronged approach of ridiculing Trump on the one hand and pursuing a positive and forward-looking campaign on the other.
A major mistake in the lead-up to the convention was her announcement of price controls to address perceived price gouging in grocery prices. This gave the Republicans an entrée into painting her as a “communist”. Being branded a communist and advocating increased government control in business is a very damaging for mainstream America.
Ms. Harris needs to stick to the center. Playing to the fringe will cost her dearly.
She should focus on positive messages that underscore her achievements as a prosecutor, Attorney General and Vice President.
Ms. Harris should remember that “sunny ways” got Justin Trudeau elected in Canada in 2015 and Tony Blair in the U.K. in 1997.
It provides a sharp contrast to Mr. Trump’s constant dumping on the country and his politics of negativity and insults.
Throughout the convention, Ms. Harris and her allies shifted from the traditional Democrat playbook in describing Mr. Trump.
Instead of portraying him as a dangerous villain, racist and threat to democracy, they chose to describe him as a buffoon who is playing a long con on the American people depicting him as a fake working man’s populist.
Finally, on her nomination night, Kamala Harris delivered a strong and stirring speech, weaving her life story into a policy narrative that set out her campaign objectives of hope and joy, unity and progress.
Her husband, Douglas Emhoff, summed up the night in the most graphic way for her supporters. He noted that they had won nothing yet. The real comntest is in November. She and her followers should not succumb to premature optimism such as Hillary Clinton and her campaign did in 2016.
Donald Trump, for all his personal faults, is a formidable political opponent who can never be underestimated.
So, for Kamala Harris the fight begins, and it will be a daily slog as both candidates vie for supremacy in battleground states.
She must keep in mind that what counts is not poll position but, rather, Electoral College votes.
She and her supporters must always focus on the fact that previous Democrat candidates Hillary Clinton and Al Gore won the popular vote but never made it to the White House.
A sobering thought indeed.
Good summary of a very encouraging event in American politics. It is a great source of inspiration. America is endowed with talent. I am optimistic, the joy and energy to move forward will prevail over the negative postures and attitudes by the narcissist!
It was a beautiful convention. Alot of different voices showed up to support Harris. It was impressive. I am sold on her integrity, and that she’s forward looking, and very energetic.