Both parties had successful conventions. Only 80 miles apart on the shores of Lake Michigan in Milwaukee and Chicago, both even enjoyed the cool breezes and clear, blue skies of a Great Lakes summer.
The Republicans looked united, confident and less angry than they’ve been. The Democrats also were united, but energetic and excited as well.
Here’s the big difference. At the end of his convention Donald Trump brought it all down with a thud. At the conclusion of hers, Kamala Harris built on everything that had come before and ended the sentence with an exclamation point.
Trump had a chance to reintroduce himself as a changed man after nearly being killed. Instead, he spent 90 long minutes reminding Americans of what an absolute jerk he continues to be. Harris had a chance to reintroduce herself as she emerged from the shadow of Joe Biden and she did it brilliantly. One poll has her approval rating up 10 points.
For my money, Harris struck all the right notes in her relatively brief 35 minute address last night. She was warm and funny, but she also displayed toughness and a prosecuting attorney’s bloodlessness. She made me believe she could stand up to Putin and Netanyahu and that she could destroy Trump in a debate.
And, like Barack Obama, she did not spend any time talking about the historic nature of her identity. To quote the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd this morning: “She barely talked about gender and didn’t dwell on race, shrewdly positioning herself as a Black female nominee ditching identity politics… she is a welcome relief from the schoolmarm types often nominated by the Democrats, nominees who lectured rather than inspired.”
So I’d say the Democrats had, if not a flawless week, then one that was pretty damn good. On Monday I laid out a handful of things I thought the Democrats needed to accomplish at their convention in Chicago this week. At week’s end let’s see how they did.
Be optimistic. The four days were suffused with excitement, energy and even a little humor.
Keep the left reined in. They kept the Gaza protesters off the stage both literally and figuratively and it’s fair to say that those protests fizzled. I didn’t watch Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Elizabeth Warren, so I don’t know what they said. But it doesn’t matter. They didn’t make headlines. There were no stories that I saw about the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and not much about climate change. In fact, Harris did not so much as mention climate change in her speech. It’s not that I don’t think climate change is an “existential threat”; it’s that I think talking about it as such — just as talking about Trump as an existential threat to democracy, which he is — actually drives voters away. There’s no point in speaking truth to power if it hurts your chances to actually obtain power.
Emphasize commonality, not identity. They did’t do too bad for Democrats. Identity politics is at the very heart of the Democratic Party and so they were going to go there, but they didn’t go there as much as I feared they would. An obsession with identity is their biggest failing and the primary reason they lose more elections than they should. At this convention Hillary Clinton was the worst offender. She’s still fighting the 2016 election and she’s still convinced that she lost because of sexism and not because she ran a horrible campaign. Clinton’s whole campaign had the feel of her slamming the ball in the end zone… when she was on the five yard line. But, as noted above, Harris stayed away from identity pretty much altogether. And thank God, she didn’t wear white.
Stay away from details. This one was easy. Kamala Harris has been studiously avoiding details ever since she got the nomination. Good for her. Details are studied only by opposition researchers, who will manipulate them to make you look like an extremist, and the hard-left, who will hold you to them even when they’re impossible. We need only look at how the Democrats are making hay out of the 900-page Agenda 2025 to see the headaches details bring. And, when it comes down to governing, you have to get stuff through the sausage making that is the legislative process. Things never come out as you proposed them in detail. Better to state some principles, set a broad course and leave it at that. As far as I’m concerned she should spend the next 73 days continuing to resist putting out detailed proposals.
Pitch to the middle. Conventions are about two things: fire up the base and gain converts. Mission accomplished on the former, so-so on the latter. They talked a lot about the middle class and Harris’ speech was definitely and successfully aimed at the middle. But their main shot at winning some moderate votes was Tim Walz’s speech and I think he mostly missed the mark. Being a teacher, a football coach and a hunter is fine, but he didn’t deal with the big issue: why do Democrats have better policies for blue collar workers and yet continue to lose blue collar votes?
Overall I thought my party had a damn good party. The highlight was Tuesday night with the Obamas, Harris’ rally in Milwaukee and a warm and funny speech by her husband, Doug Emhoff. They were gracious to Joe Biden while moving on from him. They landed some pretty good blows on Donald Trump. Most importantly they came off as excited, united and forward-looking, something that Harris capped off beautifully at the end.
And if you want to complain about a detail here or there, just imagine how we’d be feeling today if it had been Joe Biden’s convention.
Yellow Stripes & Dead Armadillos 
The Dems revealed their strategy at the DNC, same as 2020: We aren’t Trump.
From the Babylon Bee:
RNC: All about Trump
DNC: Also all about Trump
Trump was mentioned 329 times at the DNC convention. Soaring rhetoric absent substance.
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It worked in 2020, didn’t it? 😉
The D goal is to win in Nov. The anti-Trump sentiment is a real thing in the population, and it’s even stronger now than ever as we’ve seen more impacts of his terrible reign, not to mention the terrifying incoherence of his communication. The combination of his baseline stupidity and advanced age is not instilling confidence. Ds would be stupid not to exploit that weakness.
Your mind was already closed to voting D, so your impression of their ability to sway you is meaningless.
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Thank you Rollie.
I’m not trying to sway anyone. I don’t think that’s possible. My comments are more social commentary. Here, the main strategy, likely very successful, is what the Ds aren’t – they aren’t Trump and then rely on Hopium to dull the mind from any critical thinking.
Other than TDS, why do you support them?
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Reproductive rights. Voting rights. Supreme Court. Competence. But it’s pointless for me to repeatedly justify my rationale with someone who uses terms like TDS and is already decided not to vote D. It is not deranged to believe Trump is unfit for office, and it doesn’t suspend critical thinking. Because he is literally unfit for the job there is only one choice on the ballot that would prevent him from holding the office. We obviously don’t see this election in the same way, and it sure seems like you’re comfortable with Trump being President again. I’m not.
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Thank you Rollie.
Reproductive rights = the right to abortion on demand? Voting rights = everyone present in the US gets to vote? Supreme court = nominating people who appear to vote with the Ds? Competence?
War and the economy are my two biggest issues.
If we go to war, none of the above is going to make much, if any, difference. If we can’t pay our debts, our children and our children’s children will be paying for our incompetence.
I used TDS for the following:
“The combination of his baseline stupidity and advanced age is not instilling confidence…Because he is literally unfit for the job…”
plus other comments you’ve made about Trump in previous posts that rely on ad hominems to advance your argument.
I am deeply troubled by a Trump presidency. At this point, I am even more troubled by a Harris presidency. The Ds reliance on Joy and Weirdness (which seconds ago was existential threat) in the light of current events I regard as a deeply cynical move to deceive and bamboozle.
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We don’t agree on the issues or the race for the presidency. That’s ok. Obviously you don’t think about rights in the same way I do, and you’re not worried about an R administration’s policies on reproductive or voting rights. I am, and past behavior convinces me that Rs would be happy o throw away my vote and roll-back womens’ rights. If you don’t care much about my vote counting and the rights of women, that’s your freedom to think how you want. I’m barely worried about the national debt, and I already explained why I believe Ds are in a better position on that issue anyway. Neither Ds nor Rs will move us closer than the other party towards world peace.
ad hominem: Attacking a person’s character or motivations rather than a position or argument.
I attack positions and arguments too, but I also contend that character and motivations do matter for a presidential candidate. It’s not deranged to understand that Trump is a person of shallow character and selfish motivations. The evidence of both is overwhelming to anyone that is willing to consider it. That’s not the type of person I trust with the immense power of the office. While I’m not worried that Biden or Harris would use the newly-minted presidential immunity to commit crimes, I am worried that Trump would. Call me crazy, but I don’t want our president to act in violation of criminal law.
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Thank you Rollie.
You are on firmer ground when you don’t presume to know my positions. I asked questions about voting and reproductive rights and the Supreme court (nominations).
I care about voting. I’m not sure it matters, but for now I assume it does. If people who are here illegally are allowed to vote, my vote, yours and everyone else’s gets diluted. Everyone here legally should be allowed to vote.
Reproductive rights. I support bodily autonomy. That means that it is a woman’s decision on what to do with her body. If pregnant, that right extends up to viability of the fetus. After that, most people, me included, agree that abortion should only be acceptable for the health of the mother. Please note that bodily autonomy also means that I support my own bodily autonomy, for example vaccine mandates, etc are a direct violation of these rights.
If you study the voting records of the Supreme Court, two each from the liberal side and conservative side consistently vote for their parties’ agenda. The other three do not. This seems like the best possible situation for an extremely divided country to be in. The presumption that
Using only one example, the 34 felony charges relating to Trump’s hush money payment to Daniel’s should never have been allowed to go to court. They are literally Trumped up. A single misdemeanor, which the Justice Dept declined to pursue, was blown up into 34 felony counts. submitted to one of the most corrupt court systems in the US and presided over by a DA and Judge who are extremely biased. This is what people mean by the term lawfare.
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Thanks, I hope our discussion isn’t too long for our host, and I hope I’m not disrespectful.
Ds are not trying to permit non-citizens to vote. Rs are drumming up conspiracy theories (aka lies) in an effort to throw away legal votes like mine. Their goal continues to be throwing away the election results and having the House decide. They need doubt and confusion to get to that goal. And if we grant citizenship to immigrants, sure then they can vote. They are paying taxes after all.
I agree with you regarding “up to viability” – I don’t think it’s a distinct human until viability. Rs don’t agree with that, so not voting D is sacrificing that issue and all those people’s rights. Vaccine mandates are complex, because my decision about it can endanger other people’s health (unlike abortion pre-viability, which doesn’t impact another person). I don’t know if it’s my right to have deadly projectiles fly out of my mouth into other peoples faces. But my understanding is that we have always allowed religious exceptions for vaccines (I’m not educated on this topic, but I did see that option on my kid’s school paperwork). Im ok with allowing that, and I don’t recall hearing any prominent Ds propose eliminating religious exemptions. When my job enacted vaccine mandates, there was a religious opt-out. Neither party will allow us full control over our bodies (drug laws) but Ds are closer to that goal than Rs.
Supreme Court: yeah, I’d prefer more justices that interpret the constitution in the same way I do. I’d like them to have ethical standards.
I don’t care about Trump’s trial. I don’t believe he was unfairly treated, but even if he was regular people get railroaded by the criminal justice system EVERY DAY. Why should he be any different? The jury found him guilty so he’s guilty, that’s how it is for me so that’s how it is for him. If the charges were so crazy you’d think his high priced lawyers could have made a reasonable case and sway one juror. They obviously couldn’t. Just imagine what happens to people without wealth. He’s doing just fine, I’m far more concerned for regular people behind bars for crimes they didn’t commit. If his trial was so out of bounds you’d think there would be criminal justice reform proposals pouring out of the GOP, but there’s not. They just want to milk this for their propaganda.
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Not too long at all. You guys are having a respectful and fact-filled back and forth. Just the kind of thing we like to encourage around here.
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Thank you Dave and Rollie.
Voting – there appears to be a lack of clarity on who can or can’t vote. For me, if you’re not a citizen and if you’re here illegally – you should not have the right to vote. There is an argument going on in liberal circles that immigrants have been allowed to vote. That is correct – legal immigrants.
Abortion – As Ruth Bader Ginsberg noted, Roe was very poorly decided. The Rs, at least the reasonable ones, want the decision on support pushed back to the States. That seems a reasonable compromise to me, given the opinion of the people.
Exemptions are being eliminated in the D states. CA has completely eliminated all exemptions for example.
Agreement on the abuse of the criminal justice system for regular and poor people. That it’s unfair for them does not excuse the egregious application of the law for Trump. Precedent is being established here. Do you want to see the Rs do to the Ds what the Ds are doing to the Rs?
Trump is apparently proposing some type of Unity party, based on the following:
“focused on four critical issues: stopping endless wars, tackling the chronic disease epidemic, securing the border, and fighting censorship.”
is this reasonable? For me, very much so. Is this hot air? Could very well be.
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