Millions of Americans tuned into Kamala Harris’ presidential acceptance speech and heard the Vice President say to a divided people, “Here, in this country, anything is possible.” It was a tonic for a divided nation.
The Democrats’ presidential nominee pledged to build out the middle class at home, defend American freedoms, “stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, and defend Israel but work to end the bloody war in Gaza. Harris came across, and intended to, as both a tough prosecutor and a defender of human rights.
She also warned against an opponent who would “set free violent extremists” and deploy the military against American citizens. “Just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails,” Harris told the Democratic Convention.
The convention crowd was joyous, waving American flags and breaking into chants of “USA, USA.” They responded to the theme of the week, “We won’t go back,” a reminder of the chaos and confusion of the Trump presidency. Harris borrowed a theme from the Obama presidency, the promise of “hope,” as well as a slogan from John McCain’s campaign, “Country first.”
“With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past,” said Harris. Seizing on that opportunity will be “the defining goal of my presidency.”
The candidate depicted herself as of the people and from the people, evoking her childhood neighborhood in Oakland, California, populated by “firefighters, nurses, and construction workers.” Of her mother, a South Asian immigrant, Harris said: “She taught us never to complain about injustice but to do something about it.”
Harris’ case was bolstered in a warmup speech by popular Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. “She lives a life like us,” Whitmer said of Harris. “”She knows us. Donald Trump does not know us. Do you think he has ever been to a grocery store?”
Harris is reportedly an excellent cook and also has accumulated a strong resume. She has served as a district attorney in San Francisco, California’s attorney general, a U.S. Senator and the first woman to serve as Vice President of the United States. She has lately rescued the Democratic Party from despair and the anticipation of defeat at the hands of Trump and the MAGA movement.
Forty years ago, after the party’s convention in “Babylon by the Bay,” Republicans delighted in denouncing “San Francisco Democrats.” The Reagan-led GOP depicted the Dems as decadent, soft on crime, champions of a decadent gay lifestyle and weak-kneed in foreign policy. The San Francisco Democrat on stage last night is, however, one tough cookie.
Harris spoke of being drawn into law after learning that a schoolmate was being subjected to sexual abuse by a stepfather. She spoke of prosecuting transnational gangs and winning a $20 billion settlement from banks for exploiting homeowners during the Great Recession. Said she: “In our system of justice, harm against one of us is injustice against all of us.”
She took Trump to task, claiming he would give further tax breaks to billionaires while ignoring needs of the middle class. She excoriated the GOP nominee for leaning on Republican members of Congress to block bipartisan Senate-crafted border legislation. “As president I will bring back the border bill he killed and I will sign it into law,” said Harris.
The Democratic Party has been rejuvenated since President Biden’s decision a month ago to not seek a second term. Biden was not in Chicago to hear Harris’ acceptance speech but is vacationing in southern California. He was mentioned at the top of Harris’ speech but largely ignored after Monday’s farewell speech.
Harris is proud of what she has already achieved in life. “Every day in the courtroom, I would stand proudly before a judge, and I said five words: ‘Kamala Harris for the people.'” She would, later in life, make a mark in the Senate Judiciary Committee. She was relentless in questioning Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his successor William Barr, and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
She is a strong defender of abortion rights, having in recent months traveled to college campuses to denounce the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe vs. Wade. She took after her opponent as the person responsible for taking away the right to choose, saying: “”Donald Trump hand picked members of the Supreme Court who took away reproductive freedom.”
Harris has had limited foreign policy experience. With thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marching through streets of Chicago, she pledged to work so that Israel must never again face “the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7th.” She noted that its chief victims were young people. Harris balanced the argument, however, saying “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.”
As to what both foreign and domestic policy will look like in a Harris administration, she said: “America, let us show each other, and the world, who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities.”
The acceptance speech was more inspirational than specific. But other speakers filled in an anticipated agenda.
Ex-U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, severely wounded by an assassin while meeting constituents in Tucson, spoke of gun safety legislation. “He (the assassin) shot 19 people. He killed six. Terrible day. I almost died but I fought for life and I survived.” Vice presidential nominee Tim Gov. Tim Walz, while a hunter, addressed the gun regulation issue in his acceptance speech.
U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Florida, the first-Generation-Z member of Congress, delivered a fiery speech on global warming. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, said of his Senate bid: “I will beat Ted Cruz in November.” He depicted the Republican incumbent as a relentless bully.
The convention, and Harris’ speech, was designed to draw independent and moderate Republican votes in what is expected to be a tight race in November. Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger, drawn into politics by Ronald Reagan, spoke to the convention just before Harris. Hé will be voting for her in November.
“The Republican Party is no longer conservative,” said Kinzinger. “Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party.” What to do? “Vote for our bedrock values and vote for Kamala Harris.”
This article also appeared in Cascade Advocate.
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