Closing out the Democratic National Convention, VP Kamala Harris officially accepted her party’s nomination for president and delivered an address that – while hitting all the high notes on lofty goals – would have been better suited to a political neophyte. The viewing audience was treated to a mix of two parts hagiography and three parts emotional outreach with a dash of questionable hyperbole thrown in for flavor. And yet, as her maiden speech atop the ticket, Harris delivered just what her fans in the crowd and the media wanted: An unburdening of association with the last three years.
To borrow rhetoric from Mark Antony, she came not to bury Joe Biden but to praise him – the coincidental internment was merely icing on the convention cake for a candidate seeking to distance herself from her record in office.
A New Way Forward
The overall message was that Kamala Harris, as President of the United States, would set the nation on a different path. She said:
“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.
“We will provide access to capital for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and founders. And we will end America’s housing shortage and protect Social Security and Medicare.”
It was red meat stumping that the party faithful know well. They should. After all, it was the rubric that guided Joe Biden’s stint in the Oval Office. She also touted her foreign policy and National Security credentials, saying, “We must also be steadfast in advancing our security and values abroad. As vice president, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances and engaged with our brave troops overseas.”
Critics in the press noted that the global situation has deteriorated rather than blossomed under her watch, specifically with regard to the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal that left 13 US servicemembers dead and more than $7 billion of weaponry and equipment in the hands of the Taliban, not to mention two bloody wars in different global theaters that seemingly have no end in sight.
Kamala Smoothly Navigates the Israel Question
The war in Israel has very much been a third-rail topic during the DNC, with speakers trying to juggle calls for peace without enraging the pro-Palestinian protestors who had camped outside the convention for the duration. Ms. Harris managed to balance her messaging well in this area, making a “both sides” argument that could be interpreted as an “all things to all people” stance. She said:
“With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done.
“And let me be clear. And let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.”
Supporters of Israel will be thrilled with her acknowledgment of the sexual violence that took place during the heinous attack. But she then followed up in a tentative outreach to those who are more sympathetic to the Palestinian side, noting, “At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.”
It was a smooth bit of politicking that threaded the proverbial needle.
Abortion Front and Center
In what will surely be the spark that launches a thousand memes, when Harris announced that she would “proudly sign” legislation that would make on-demand abortion the law of the land, the DNC footage cut from the stage to a sleeping baby in the crowd. Indeed, “reproductive rights” have been a significant theme both inside and outside the convention, with Planned Parenthood offering free vasectomies and medication abortions from August 19 to the 22nd, courtesy of its “mobile health clinic.”
She accused Trump of looking to enact a sweeping ban on the procedure, something he has firmly rejected, saying, “As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress.”
And while centering campaigns on abortion access have proven a durable platform in midterm races, one must wonder why such laws were not passed during the early days of the Biden/Harris administration. After all, Democrats controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress from early 2021 until the midterms. Even if Republicans lose the House of Representatives, it remains doubtful that the Democrats will gain the 60 seats needed in the Senate to make this a realistic prospect.
Long on Talk, Short on Policy
Harris seems to believe that her personal story will be a defining aspect of her campaign, an assumption that may well be true. As such, she spent the first fifth of her address discussing her mother’s arrival in the US and her childhood in San Francisco. While newshounds were hoping for more on policy, in the age of identity politics, these blandishments – at least for certain parts of the electorate – provide voter motivation in a way that defined platform proposals rarely match. The other outside pillar would be that of demonizing one’s opponent.
More than a quarter of her time on stage was devoted to Donald Trump – notably highlighting points that even Washington, DC’s most prominent news outlet had previously awarded Three Pinocchios. Explicitly telling the crowd, “We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.”
She once again raised the prospect of the end of Democracy:
“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.”
And while the negative talk about Donald Trump is always a crowd-pleaser in Democrat circles, one can’t help but wonder if the attendees were hoping for more substance or even policy talking points that they could take away with them.
Don’t Mistake the Message
Kamala Harris had one job to do on the closing night of the convention: to unburden herself from the last three and a half years as Biden’s right hand. She spoke of the things she would do once she assumed the mantle of power, neglecting the fact that she has been, and still is, in office. The VP tried to draw a line under the Biden administration and distance herself from the pivotal role she played in it. While friendly media outlets may try to paint a picture of a new dawn under fresh leadership, her title and record could prove to be the albatross that stops her from achieving escape velocity from her past.
