Chicago. The first day of the Democratic National Convention opened with calls for unity from labor leaders, mayors, legislators and even some stars and figures from the sports world, and culminated with the first farewell speeches from President Joe Biden, who was forced by his party to cede his presidential candidacy to his vice president, Kamala Harris.
With the Democratic Party building the coalition they hope will lead to victory in the national elections in November – not just for the White House but to retake control of the House of Representatives and retain control of the Senate – this first night offered a contrast to their Republican opposition. Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance at the convention to offer thanks to her boss Biden. “Joe, thank you for your historic leadership of our nation, for everything you have done for our nation,” she declared. “As I look at everyone here tonight, I see the beauty of our nation, people from every corner of our nation united to declare, ‘We are moving forward,’” she concluded with her slogan, “When we fight, we win.”
Biden was the star of the night. There was a standing ovation and thousands chanting “thank you Joe, thank you Joe.” The president declared that “democracy has prevailed, democracy has delivered, and democracy must be preserved,” recalling the threat that Donald Trump represented and continues to represent to democracy with his support for supremacists and far-right forces.
He offered a list of his key accomplishments, from economic caps on drug costs to climate change legislation he said was the most ambitious in the world, in what seemed like a stump speech that was also an attempt to pass the baton to Harris.
“There is no country in the world that does not think that we are the leader of the world. And the world is better off for it. Who can lead the world better than the United States?” he insisted.
He welcomed the fact that he had reduced the number of migrant crossings to 50 percent less than Trump and that “we will not demonize migrants” and, reversing Trump’s phrase against migrants, he stated: “Trump is poisoning the blood of our country.”
He concluded by declaring that “I have five more months in my term, and I have a lot to accomplish.” He added, “I love my job, but I love my country more,” he said in reference to his decision to give up the nomination, and called for unity in choosing Harris and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. “I will be the best volunteer I can be.” [de campaña] for Kamala and Tim,” he promised.
The mosaic of races and ethnicities in this arena was striking compared to the overwhelming whiteness of last month’s Republican convention, as were the social forces present. While Donald Trump attacked unions, Harris tonight received the endorsement of nearly all major national unions and the AFL-CIO, with delegates chanting “Union yes, union yes.”
The most popular union leader tonight was Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW auto union who last year won its historic strike against the nation’s three largest auto companies. He said, “This election is about one question: Which side are you on? On one side you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz who have been on the side of the working class. On the other side you have Trump and Vance, the servants of the billionaire class who only serve themselves. For the working class, it’s very simple. Kamala Harris is one of us, a fighter for the working class. Donald Trump is a scab.” Shaun took off his jacket to show a t-shirt with the same message.
Political conventions are usually a parade of elected politicians trying to enthuse delegates and their guests and deliver a well-rehearsed message to a massive television audience that sees only a small part of the show. But tonight it was non-politicians who won over the audience, like union leader Fain and Steve Kerr, the coach of the Olympic champion U.S. basketball team and also coach of the Golden State Warriors in California. “The joy, the compassion, the commitment to our country that we saw at the Olympics, that’s what Kamala Harris and Tim Walz have — real leadership, not leadership that seeks to divide us.”
There were notable quotes to mark the difference between Harris and Trump. Jasmine Crockett, a U.S. representative from Texas, said that “Kamala Harris has a resume, Trump has a rap sheet.” She also noted that the question is whether “a vile rapist will violate the vision of voters.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, who co-led the congressional inquiry into Trump’s 2020 coup attempt, said the battle against Trump is really “a fight against fascism” and what he called “banana republicans.”
Other speakers on the first night included Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leader of the party’s progressive wing, who was the first to raise the issue of Gaza from the podium, arguing that Harris is “working tirelessly for a ceasefire in Gaza” but did not demand more.
The first night of the convention is also usually reserved for former party leaders, and so former Secretary of State and the party’s first female presidential candidate Hillary Clinton appeared before the convention to offer another tribute to Biden, highlighting Harris’ historic role as the first female vice president and declaring that she will be the first female president (whether she did so out of a certain amount of envy is unclear).
This first of the four nights of the convention was above all Biden’s first farewell to his half-century political career, and the welcome of the woman who will be crowned this Thursday as his successor.
#Goodbye #Biden #Kamala
– 2024-08-24 02:07:08
