August 19–23, 2024
Chicago welcomed the Democratic National Convention this week with a central theme of unity and inclusion, which is a rejection of political polarization.
Recall the words of Barack Obama from the 2004 Democratic Convention: “There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There’s the United States of America. There is not a Black America and a White America, and Latino America, and Asian America. There’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice and dice our country into red states and blue states, red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome god in the blue states, and we don’t like federal agents poking around in our libraries in the red states. We coach little league in the blue states, and (yes) we’ve got some gay friends in the red states.”
Progressives, liberals, and centrists joined together in supporting the Democratic Party’s nomination of Kamala Harris as president and Tim Walz as vice president.
The 2024 convention began with president Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, and numerous other speakers on Monday. See full events from day 1.
Barack Obama and Michelle Obama spoke Tuesday night, along with second gentleman Doug Emhoff and numerous other speakers. See full events from day 2.
Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey spoke on Wednesday, along with an acceptance speech from Tim Walz and presentations from numerous other speakers. See full events from day 3.
The convention concluded Thursday evening with Kamala Harris delivering an eloquent acceptance speech: “And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, 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.”
Kamala Harris’s summary of her position regarding international relations was masterful both in prosecuting the case against her political opponent and in espousing America’s role in the world: “I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump, who are rooting for Trump because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know he won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. And as president, I will never waiver in defense of American’s security and ideals because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs.”
Harris reached out to voters who may not agree with her on many issues: “I know that there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”
Harris’s acceptance speech will be remembered as one of the finest political speeches of all time. See the full speech. See full events from day 4.
Emerging campaign slogans include
- We’re not going back
- Mind your own damn business
- We the people includes everyone
- Hope is making a comeback
- Kamala Harris for the people
- Yes, she can
With a focus on supporting workers, unions, and small businesses, and on growing the middle class, we can expect convention attendees to promote a program of “opportunity economy.”
There is common belief that the United States has a critical role to play in foreign affairs, most importantly, opposing Russian aggression against Ukraine and maintaining alliances such as the North American Treaty Organization (NATO).
Even with the Israel-Hamas War that started in October 2023, an area of disagreement within the Party, most Democrats support a ceasefire for the conflict and, ultimately, a two-state solution (an independent State of Palestine alongside the State of Israel).
The Republican ticket of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance has provided Democrats with a common adversary. Democrats decry the autocratic, draconian positions of Project 2025.
The late Kevin Phillips, political strategist who predicted the resurgence of the GOP with Richard Nixon’s victory in 1968, is quoted as saying, “The whole secret of politics is knowing who hates whom.” Nixon’s campaign pursued a Southern strategy, drawing on racial divisions across the electorate. Trump and MAGA Republicans resurrected these themes in recent elections, sowing racial animosity, distrust between rural and urban communities, and demonization and fear of immigrants. The Democratic Party and disenfranchised Republicans who have (for now) aligned themselves with the Democratic Party can only hope that this recent divisive chapter in US history is drawing to a close.
Last week, Tim Walz visited Nebraska, the state of his birth, showing his affinity for rural America. We should expect similar overtures to rural America in the weeks following the convention as the Democratic Party promotes unity over division and polarization.
We’re not going back implies that voters are not going to allow another election like 2016. Convention attendees and speakers warn of overconfidence. Few trust polls showing a Democratic advantage. There is concern as well that victory at the top of the ballot is not sufficient. In order to enact a Democratic agenda, the Party must hold the Senate majority and win a majority of seats in the House of Representatives.
Ezra Kline’s (2020) introduction to Why We’re Polarized: “The fact that voters ultimately treated Trump [in 2016] as if he were just another Republican speaks to the enormous weight party polarization now exerts on our politics—a weight so heavy that it can take an election as bizarre as 2016 and jam the result into the same grooves as Romney’s contest with Obama or Bush’s race against Kerry. We are so locked into our political identities that there is virtually no candidate, no information, no condition, that can force us to change our minds. We will justify almost anything or anyone so long as it helps our side, and the result is a politics devoid of guardrails, standards, persuasion, or accountability.”
A key difference between the campaign of 2024 and the campaign of 2016 is the Democratic Party’s open door to disaffected Republicans—namely, those principled, fiscally responsible conservatives who defend the US Constitution and support longstanding international alliances. The ranks of “Republicans for Harris” grow stronger. Many Republicans spoke at the convention. Rich Logis typified the feelings of many former Trump supporters.
Imagine a future vibrant two-party system in which Democrats vie for votes against truly conservative Republicans, with both parties accepting the results of free and fair elections.
Democrats can welcome Republicans into the fold for the near term, much as Abraham Lincoln began his second inaugural address, “With malice toward none, with charity for all . . . .” Hillary Clinton’s “basket of deplorables” will be a distant memory.
There is unity among Democrats as they look to the future, lauding freedom, democracy, and the promise of America.
Steve Schmidt, known for contributing to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain, described the 2024 Democratic National Convention as “the greatest political convention of the electronic age”. He provided an 8-minute summary of the convention.
The Democratic Party will succeed up and down the ballot in 2024 to the extent that it can restore Americans’ faith in one another and in their system of government.
Klein’s Book #
- Klein, Ezra. 2020. Why We’re Polarizied. New York: Avid Reader Press. [ISBN-13: 978-1-4767-0032-8]
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