DNC Showcases Unity Amid Aggressive Push for Electoral Victory
A few themes seem to be emerging from the image of a diverse, joy-filled Democratic National Convention — and its coverage on television — that seem worth noting.
Despite the kumbaya vibe that gets mentioned every other minute, the emphasis here is on winning.
Whether in glorifying, but exiling Joe Biden for his younger, hipper legatee Kamala Harris, or in revisiting the greatest hits in speeches by Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, the Obamas, labor leaders or some of the more outspoken culture heroes popping up on stage, the undertone is that there must be more bite in the barking, and a lot more work on getting out the vote than enthusiasm alone can draw.
Beyond the constant calls for rekindling hope, then, we have barely disguised aggression toward the Republican opponents, and various messages are being promoted or muted just for the possibility that they might spoil the spirit of upbeat that candidates, delegates and media figures seem to want to reap from the nightly speakers.
The real message is one of fighting, not seeking areas of common ground beyond preserving democracy itself. The apparent visceral need to disdain the other guys even surpasses many of the policy areas in which the Project 2025 outlines might take us is bringing out both some rare oratorical soaring and more trite reliance on beating, shredding, dismissing political opponents. The biggest lines of applause are for the one-line zingers that counter the Prosecutor against the Convicted Felon.
In all the talk of the “new” and “the future,” there’s a lot of talk about the past and a lot of love for those who already have walked these paths. The Democratic lineup talks of the future, but feels weighted toward playing the oldies, allowing less time for new faces — exactly the formula that brought Democrats to the point where they had to dump a familiar Biden.
Images of Momentum
On television, everyone at the convention seems delighted that the switch to Harris-Walz has been so well-received as to rekindle hopes for at least a popular vote victory in November. Obviously, even with the evident momentum, it matters for Electoral College votes in what states the enthused live.
For these short three weeks since Harris replaced Biden in the top ballot spot, all the concern seems to be about getting the campaign itself underway, defining general goals to promote, doing a tremendous amount of fund-raising and picking Gov. Tim Walz. It’s been a lot to do in a short time and the convention scenes suggest she already is reaping rewards in popular support.
She clearly has decided that abortion rights and a consumerist lean are critical, and so those specific policy goals are evident. At the same time, the convention was hearing less about the Israel-Hamas conflict, Ukraine, banking rates and homelessness, and, of course, border concerns.
There is a sense that Harris is following an initial strategy that Axios.com and others have called remaining risk-averse, relying on highly choreographed and scripted appearances and short gaggles with reporters rather than more extended interviews, press conferences or unscripted appearances.
Intentional or not, it is leading to commentator evaluations that Harris is ducking issues. It well may be that between the hurry-up electioneering and some actual demands for paying attention to international crises that Harris simply has not had time to think through substantial and practicable positions that steer through the needle of repeating what Biden has presented, and the variety of pressures pulling her to break with him.
According to Axios’ reporting, for example, Harris’ defenders cast her approach as steady and disciplined, rather than overly careful. She tried that last week with a speech addressing inflated prices and economic matters and got mixed reviews. Some ideas had sounded popular, but had not been fully vetted, like the effects of ending taxes for tipped income.
It’s all part of the process of defining the candidacy and giving voters a sense of where she wants the country to go. Better she should define herself than Donald Trump, who seems intent only on finding fault with how she identifies herself, how she laughs, how she attacks him.
Character flaws aside, Trump is well-defined for a series of issues that — however disliked or vague — show direction. Even if Harris has policies still developing, she should acknowledge them in some kind of open session. It might even help to win.
