Amidst all the damage that Donald Trump has wreaked on the supine GOP, one political felony stands out: By narrowing and shrinking its ranks to assorted cultists, dolts, and insurrectionists – in essence, by practicing the politics of subtraction – he has ceded the American mainstream to Kamala Harris.
She had only one month to get her act together, an unprecedentedly herculean task all by itself, but lo and behold, the aging criminal made her job easier. Thursday night, Aug. 22, in a fervent acceptance speech that plucked at our heartstrings and sang to the better angels of our nature, she capitalized big time and captured the flag.
She laid claim to the all-American virtues that MAGA has left on the table – in her words, “freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.” Plus “optimism and faith.” Plus patriotism (“I love my country with all my heart”). Plus fealty to democracy, not to foreign dictators. Plus respect for our military (“I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world … I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice”). Plus “the rule of law.” Plus “free and fair elections.” Plus “the peaceful transfer of power.”
Plus “country over party.” Let’s linger on that one.
All week long, Democrats sent up signal flares to disaffected Republicans, urging them to join with Harris to save the American experiment. Harris, in her speech, buttressed that invitation. For instance, “I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know, I promise to be a president for all Americans.” She accepted her party’s nomination “on behalf of every American, regardless of party.” She said we should view each other “not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.”
Granted – and I can say this, having watched and/or covered every convention since the 1980s — virtually every presidential nominee makes rhetorical overtures to the opposition. But this convention was unique. A parade of Republicans and MAGA drop-outs were given air time, typically in prime time, to prosecute the case against Trump and invite old allies into the fold. The MAGA convention was a cultists-only affair; Kamala’s confab exuded outreach, in the spirit of Casablanca‘s Victor Laszlo: “Welcome to the fight. This time I know our side will win.”
Dems rolled out the welcome mat for Stephanie Grisham, a former Trump press secretary, who told the national audience that her ex-boss “has no empathy, no morals, no fidelity to the truth,” and denigrates his own followers as “basement dwellers.” Dems welcomed ex-Mike Pence aide Olivia Troye: “Being inside Trump’s White House was terrifying, but what keeps me up at night is what will happen if he gets back there.” Dems gave podium time to Jeff Duncan, a former Georgia Republican lieutenant governor, who addressed his “Republican friends at home watching. If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you are not a Democrat, you are a patriot.”
And Dems gave a prominent speaking slot, on the climactic final night, to ex-Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard: “My fellow Republicans … Democracy knows no party. It’s a living, breathing ideal that defines us as a nation. It’s the bedrock that separates us from tyranny … If you think those principles are worth defending, then I urge you, make the right choice.”
Generations of Republicans have flocked to candidates who flex strength on the world stage. Trump, given his penchant for groveling to dictators, has ceded that ground to Harris as well. One of her tasks was to pass muster as a credible Commander-in-Chief. Republican-leaning voters (perhaps enough to swing a district or state) may well have been pleased to hear passages like this, delivered with badass fervor:
“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable – because he wants to be an autocrat himself. And as president, I will never waver in defense of America’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.”
This race is not a slam dunk, despite all the blue exuberance of the moment. But now that Harris has cornered the market on the key American verities, she can potentially expand her electoral map – charting a victory path through the Rustbelt and the Sunbelt, and making a play for North Carolina, which has gone red for decades except for Obama in ’08. Harris has long been underestimated, but no longer.
As for Trump, he was reduced to phoning the friendly co-hosts at Newsmax and babbling this: “Caracas was a very unsafe city, and now it’s safe. In fact, some day the three of us will have to go there – let’s bring your husband with us also, right? – and we’ll bring some of the other people that are with you because I like the people that are with you.”
Great idea! To avoid being eviscerated by a Black woman in the impending debate, Trump has 18 days to flee to Venezuela.
Dick Polman, a veteran national political columnist based in Philadelphia and a Writer in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania, writes at DickPolman.net and is distributed by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Email him at dickpolman7@gmail.com.
From The Progressive Populist, September 15, 2024
Blog | Current Issue | Back Issues | Essays | Links
About the Progressive Populist | How to Subscribe | How to Contact Us