The Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night: Why Biden stepped aside to support Harris and his running mate, Tim Walz, was an Ivy League student
Conventions are events that feature both the ticket for the current election cycle and a chance for future candidates to shine, to stand out and make a name for themselves.
They are doing that, starting with making their opponents seem weird, and taking it further, since Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, have come on the scene.
Those audiences also heard, though, from President Biden, the Obamas, the Clintons, even Oprah Winfrey, as well as several other speakers before Harris herself takes the stage Thursday night.
Democrats have a problem coming across as being more head than heart. He showed that he has a common touch in his speech when he was introduced as Harris’ pick. It’s notable that the ticket with the Ivy League degrees is Trump-Vance and not Harris-Walz. The last president not to have an Ivy League degree was Joe Biden.
Whether it was Oprah – someone who Donald Trump once said in an ideal world, he would want to be his vice president – Bill Clinton, Pete Buttigieg, Walz, or the handful of Republicans who spoke, Wednesday arguably was about appealing to undecided voters and persuadable independents and Republican to give them a permission structure to vote for Harris.
Oprah noted that she’s a registered independent and called on “all you independents and undecideds” to vote for Harris. “Decency and respect are on the ballot in 2024,” she said, adding, “Common sense tells us that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz can give us decency and respect. Common sense is over nonsense let us choose.
Walz, for his part, also made the case for Democratic ideas, not as radical as Republicans have tried to paint them, but as mainstream – things like making housing more affordable, cutting the price of prescription drugs, reducing medical debt, providing meals for children in schools and standing up for abortion rights.
There were speeches by more than one person on Wednesday night, including Buttigieg and people like Maryland Gov. Wes Moore.
See Jon. The Democratic National Convention has been a raucous and enthusiastic affair to this point. Part of the reason for this is that President Biden decided to step aside in favor of Harris. Democrats, who had been telling pollsters for more than a year that they did not like their choices, have been invigorated.
There seemed to be a double meaning in those chants of, “Thank you, Joe.” Thank you for what you did as president, but also, thank you for getting out of the race. Biden gave a stemwinder of a valedictory speech, but it also made clear why Democrats were nervous about his candidacy.
Michelle Obama’s husband said after her speech and right before his own that he may be the only person dumb enough to follow her. And that’s because she brought the house down. Her speech was a long list of things she had kept quiet about for close to eight years. She said that Trump tried to make her and her husband afraid because they were black, and that she spoke out because she was concerned for her and her family’s safety.
It’s been said that Harris is the first woman of color to be president and the first South Asian to serve in the office. That would be a major historical feat. It was strange to see a man rounding the edges of his spouse who is running for president. It is very different from what Bill Clinton did in 2016 for Hillary Clinton. The Clintons had only one child, but they had a well-known former president.
A lot of new things were shown in the family’s story on the political stage, as Emhoff is someone far less known. It showed the challenges of step parenting and an interracial marriage. Millions of Americans can identify with blended families due to a large percentage of marriages ending in divorce.
A Conversation with the Vice President, Dr. Geoffrey A. Harris, at the New York Times, July 16, 2017. (Extended Abstract)
Overall, Harris sounded in control, shared her values, told the country where she comes from and where she wants to take it, while also contrasting herself with Trump.
“Confusion is understandable,” Washington said on the oft-repeated mispronunciations of the vice president’s name. “Disrespect is not. So tonight, we are going to help everyone get it right.”
Trump has called Harris his first name too many times. At one rally in July, he said: “I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it. I couldn’t care less.
Harris’ younger sister, Maya Harris, one of the vice president’s closest confidants, again mentioned their mother at the DNC. At one point she seemed to be getting emotional at wondering what Gopalan would say at seeing her eldest daughter accept the Democratic Party’s nomination for president.
“What do you wanna hear?” Emhoff recalls listening to Kamala and Maya during the era of JD Vance
Emhard said that he did not always understand what he was feeling. “But no matter what, Kamala was there for me. She’s never stopped listening to me and she’s not going to stop listening to all of us.”
To me, her advice means everything. It is whether it is making a difference, or finding hope when the world is not so hopeful. She taught me that making a difference means giving your whole heart and taking action.”
They all said Harris would fight for economic opportunity, protect the rights of the queer community, and fight for reproductive freedom as president.
According to CNN in 2020, it was sisters Kamala and Maya who inspired Meena to write “Kamala and Maya’s Big Idea” a children’s book.
Emhoff came into the spotlight in recent weeks after Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance said that Harris was a “childless cat lady,” to which Emhoff replied by saying that she wrote on social media, “I love my three parents.”
“I could just see her smiling saying how proud she is of Kamala,” she said. Without a beat, she would say that was enough. You have to do some work.
Night 4: When Donald Trump and Kara Mala Harris met Dr. Sheldon Sharpton for a Fun Day at the Tevatron
Sharpton said that a man spent a small fortune on full-page ads calling for the executions of five young people.
One side of the race is being led by a fellow New Yorker named Donald Trump. Only once — once — in that time did he take a position on racial issues,” Sharpton said.
She said that she accepted the nomination of everyone who could only have their story written in the greatest nation on Earth. “And with this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past.”
Gun violence, race, climate change and, of course, Donald Trump were themes of Night 4, along with “joy” and chants of “we’re not going back,” which have been throughlines of the convention.
Warren and Harris both vied for the presidential nomination. Harris and Warren left the field after a bad showing on Super Tuesday.
Following a video highlighting rising temperatures and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (the landmark Biden climate spending bill), Interior Secretary Deb Haaland took the stage.
The first Native American woman to hold the role focused on climate and the environment, arguing that an American president “must lead the world on tackling climate change.” Like others at the convention, Haaland reminded the crowd that the IRA was sent to Biden’s desk because Harris cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate.
“Kamala Harris knows us, and she has lived a life like ours,” Whitmer said to the crowd. “Donald Trump doesn’t know you at all. You think he understands that when your car breaks down you can’t get to work? No. His first word was probably ‘chauffeur.'”
“You think he has to go through the checkout before checking out?” You reckon he has never been to a grocery store? That’s what the chauffeur is for.
DNC Night 4: The Rise and Fall of the Zigzag: Harris, Whitmer, Sharpton, Kinzinger and more
Kinzinger urged voters to vote for Harris and for their bedrock values. He added that he was making this endorsement despite having policy disagreements with Harris.
Kinzinger, the only Republican to speak at the DNC on the final day and who has been a vocal Trump critic over the years, said the former president had “suffocated the soul of the Republican party.”
The stakes of the race were emphasized by Florida’s representative, who argued that Harris was the candidate to address climate change.
The first Generation Z member to serve in Congress is a member of the 26 year-old generation. In 2022, she was elected. He has a background in organizing, first getting involved in the gun violence prevention movement after the Sandy Hook mass shooting in 2012 while he was in high school.
Following joint remarks from the loved ones of shooting victims, gun safety activist Gabby Giffords addressed the DNC crowd to recount her own experiences with gun violence.
“For five years I served in Congress from a swing district. Everybody called me a rising star,” said Giffords, who was joined onstage by her husband, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly.
Giffords served in the House of Representatives until 2012, after an assassination attempt left her with a severe brain injury. There were 18 other people shot. Six were killed.
Kamala Harris: Black Women and Black Americans in the United Center. What did she learn from her historic acceptance speech on March 21st, 2015?
Among other things, he criticized Trump’s past remarks on Russia. He went after Trump for not being willing to hold Russia accountable for invading Ukraine and his lack of commitment to NATO.
And she pledged that she and President Biden “are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.”
The convention was flipped by Harris and the Democrats on a lot of GOP attacks. They appealed to common sense, a small-c conservative value, who and what qualifies as blue collar, and stood up for veterans.
Thursday night was history as the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a nomination from the Democratic Party.
Harris painted herself as a regular blue- collar kid who understands the needs of people and the value of hard work and discipline in lieu of a radical California liberal.
Democrats flooded the United Center in Chicago with flags instead of coming across as unpatriotic and unhappy with America. They had the Republicans who were patriotic and decency like Adam Kinzinger testify to their values and bring veterans to the forefront.
The week was well produced with the campaign pulling off a high-wire act in combination with the convention at the very arena where the convention was held; and it had big stars.
Source: 5 takeaways from Kamala Harris’ historic acceptance speech
The Packing Arenas: Where Do We Go From Here? What Are You Waiting For? What Do You Want to Know About It?
“Yes, Kamala and Tim are doing great now,” Michelle Obama said. “We’re loving it. They are packing arenas across the country. People are excited. We are happy. There are still so many people who are searching for a different outcome.
