Milwaukee: Democrats formally nominated Sen. Kamala Harris for the vice-presidency Wednesday night, placing a woman of colour on a major party ticket for the first time and showcasing the diversity of race and gender they believe will energize their coalition to defeat President Donald Trump in the fall.
The third night of the party’s national convention also featured a striking repudiation of Trump by former President Barack Obama, a break with the presidential custom of not criticising a successor by name. Obama praised Biden’s character, contrasting it with Trump’s, and directed a portion of his remarks to voters undecided about whom they will vote for, or whether they will vote at all.
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“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job, because he can’t,” Obama said, growing emotional at points as he talked about the challenges facing the country and democracy. “The consequences of that failure are severe. One hundred seventy thousand Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone.”
A day after nominating Joe Biden, a 77-year-old fixture of Washington establishment politics who served as Obama’s vice-president, Democrats tried to make the case that while Biden would be one kind of change agent - a repudiation of Trumpism - Harris would help steer the party in new directions and reflect a changing America.
Speeches by Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Speaker Nancy Pelosi were intended to underscore the history-making moment of Harris’ nomination, highlighting her uniquely American biography: A child of immigrants and a graduate of a historically Black university, she is one of the few women of colour elected to the US Senate.
“We’re at an inflection point,” Harris, 55, said as she formally accepted the nomination. “The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone.
“We can do better and deserve so much more. We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better and do the important work.”
Far more than the two previous nights, which centred on testimonials to Biden’s character and empathy, the programme focused on policy, addressing issues like gun violence, climate change, affordable child care and immigration. In videos, activists promoted Biden’s plans to tackle a warming planet, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence reminded viewers of his role in crafting the Violence Against Women Act. The American child of a deported mother begged the president to reunite families torn apart by his immigration policy.
In perhaps the most policy-heavy speech of the evening, Warren, speaking from an early childhood learning centre in her home state of Massachusetts, praised Biden’s “really good plans.” She highlighted his proposals to make child care more affordable, to provide universal preschool and to raise wages for child care workers.
Tribute to women, young voters
Wednesday night’s programme, conducted virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, was a tribute to the constituencies that have driven the party’s rise during the Trump administration - women, minority voters, and young voters. While Harris was the evening’s main attraction, the programme featured remarks from several of the most powerful women in the party, as well as Spanish-language speakers, victims of gun violence and everyday Americans meant to represent marginalised slices of the electorate. Like the previous evenings, the night combined elements of an old-fashioned variety show, a telethon and a political event.
The most unexpected development of the night came from Obama, whose condemnation of Trump was a departure from his first turn on the convention stage, in 2004, when he catapulted to national prominence with a soaring manifesto of hope and national unity. On Wednesday, his message was darker, a reflection of a country changed by crisis and a party desperate to oust an incumbent president. He offered a grim warning about the durability of American democracy.
“This president and those in power - those who benefit from keeping things the way they are - they are counting on your cynicism,” Obama said, addressing voters. “They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win.”
Obama has largely held his fire for 3 1/2 years as Trump has gone after him relentlessly with fierce attacks and baseless smears. And the former president has mostly stayed out of American politics, other than occasionally offering advice and endorsements to Democratic candidates. Many supporters have long wished that he would speak out against Trump; on Wednesday he did, focusing chiefly on the Republican’s approach to the pandemic, leadership and democracy.
Stable leadership needed
He said the effects of the coronavirus crisis had made clear the stakes of stable leadership, and he cited the American deaths from the virus that Trump has rarely acknowledged. He also alluded to some of Trump’s most controversial moments, saying his actions had eroded America’s standing throughout the world.
Obama delivered his remarks from the Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, in a room with the US Constitution displayed on its walls. The subtext was clear: The core of the nation’s democracy was at stake.
“Do not let them take away your power,” Obama said. “Do not let them take away your democracy.”
In her acceptance speech, Harris, wove her personal story with policies that she said would improve the lives of all Americans “to achieve the future we collectively want.” Harris, who is of Jamaican and Indian descent, said her experiences would ensure that the perspective of people long marginalised in America - African Americans, Asian Americans, women, first-generation residents - would have a voice at the highest levels of Biden’s administration.
She said she was committed to “a vision of our nation as a beloved community - where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.”
Policy and empathy
Many Democrats have speculated about the possibility of Biden’s serving only one term if elected, and the selection of Harris as his running mate installs her as the leading candidate for 2024 should he choose not to run again.
Clinton made the case for Biden and Harris as a team offering policy and empathy, saying they could move the country forward in areas such as housing and health care. She noted that Harris would face attacks as a woman on the national ticket, but added, “I know something about the slings and arrows she’ll face, and believe me, this former district attorney and attorney general can handle them all.”
Making an urgent plea for Americans to turn out for this election, Clinton said: “This can’t be another woulda, coulda, shoulda election. No matter what, vote. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line - because they are.”
Focus on HarrisYet Harris was the night’s unquestioned focus, showing signs of the political prowess that once made her a top-tier presidential candidate. During her campaign, she struggled to find a balance between the party’s progressive and moderate wings, and failed to deliver a consistent message on policy.
While Democratic activists and political insiders pressured Biden to showcase his commitment to diversity by selecting a Black or Latino running mate, Democratic voters have rarely placed the same importance on representation, even at a moment of rapidly changing national views on race and gender.
During the primary race, many Black voters expressed disenchantment with the idea that racial representation equated to change, and that they should automatically support a candidate who looked like them. But with Harris on the ballot, some Democrats believe that turnout among minority voters may be higher, and that the same voters who overlooked her as a presidential candidate will be inspired by her as a running mate.
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