A new beginning and a great start!

July 23, 2024

It is difficult to imagine a stronger start for Kamala Harris’s campaign for the Democratic nomination. Every aspect of her campaign—and the response by Democrats—has been stellar. Donations have broken all records. More importantly, grassroots organizations are reporting through-the-roof increases in participation in Zoom conferences and organizing activities. V.P. Harris is gaining internal strength as Democratic leaders, including other potential presidential nominees, are rallying to her support.

After a month of demoralizing uncertainty, Democrats are responding with a boost of enthusiasm. We need to keep it up! All anecdotal evidence suggests that V.P. Harris’s candidacy has rejuvenated the Democratic presidential campaign, but we can take nothing for granted. America remains politically divided, and we cannot afford a close election! Considering the relative positions of the parties on the issues and the strength of the candidates, V.P. Harris is poised to deliver a strong victory in the electoral college. But it is up to us to ensure that we achieve that collective victory.

We must capitalize on V.P. Harris’s great start before Republicans organize themselves with a disinformation campaign designed to mislead the American people.

Here are some of the aspects of the Biden to Harris transition that should give Democrats hope that things have changed for the better:

Endorsements: President Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris cleared the way for other Democratic leaders to declare their support for V.P. Harris even as those leaders support an “open process” for selecting the Democratic nominee. [Update: Per the NYTimes, V.P. Harris has secured enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination. Endorsements are now academic.]

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Fundraising. Money in politics can be toxic—except when it comes from individual, small-dollar donors. V.P. Harris’s PAC has raised more money in 24 hours than any candidate in history. Per The Hill, V.P. Harris has raised $81 million in the first 24 hours of her campaign. Per The Hill,

The campaign said it brought in more than 888,000 contributions from individual grassroots donors, 60 percent of whom had not donated before in the 2024 cycle. Roughly 43,000 donors have signed up to give weekly to the campaign.

A Sunday-evening Zoom call WinWithBlackWomen with 44,000 women raised $1.5 million for Kamala Harris in 3 hours!

ActBlue took in $90 million in the 24-hours after President Biden’s announcement.

Money is also flowing into the Future Forward PAC from major donors—a total of $150 million in the last 24-hours. See Politico.

Together, the donations exceed one-third of billion dollars in 24-hours!

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Organizational strength of Harris campaign. The Harris campaign hit the ground running. Although my experience may not be typical, I received fundraising emails from the Harris campaign on the half-hour throughout the day on Monday. I am not complaining; I am marveling about the planning and execution it took to achieve that result less than 24-hours after Joe Biden’s announcement.

Without taking anything away from the Harris campaign, the strong start suggests that the campaign had more than 24 hours’ notice that it would need to ramp up a presidential campaign. That is good—and reassuring. It strongly suggests that President Biden and V.P. Harris were coordinating on a post-Biden future as the media were still misreporting what was going on behind closed doors. The Biden and Harris teams appear to have worked confidentially and effectively behind the scenes to ensure a strong start for V.P. Harris—including a decisive endorsement by President Biden.

In a truly astounding and surprising development, it appears that the Democrat National Convention will hold a “virtual” roll call of delegates by August 7, a date two weeks in advance of the actual convention that was previously planned to re-nominate President Biden early (to make it on the Ohio ballot). See AP, Democrats plan to push ahead with virtual roll call ahead of their convention, with Harris favored.

All I can say is, “Wow.” Nobody, and I mean nobody, saw that coming. If that happens, the handoff could not have been smoother or more efficient.

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Flipping the narrative. The combined impact of President Biden’s withdrawal and V.P. Harris’s quick emergence as the presumptive nominee has flipped the narrative. Trump is now perceived as the older, infirm, incoherent candidate while V.P. Harris is the younger, vibrant, forward-looking candidate of the future. See Anne Appelbaum in Substack, Suddenly Trump Looks Older and More Deranged. (This story includes a gift link to Appelbaum’s full-length Atlantic article by the same title.)

Appelbaum writes,

Whatever happens next, the frame has altered. Now it is the Republicans who are saddled with the elderly candidate, the one who can’t make a clear argument or finish a sentence without veering off into anecdote. Now the Democrats are instead proposing something new. Now it is the many pundits who were already bored by the race and ready to wrap it up who look foolish.

V.P. Harris’s campaign has embraced a social-media meme describing her as “brat.” The concept is explained here, CNN, Charli XCX called Kamala Harris a ‘brat.’ Here’s why that’s a strong endorsement for the candidate. For voters of an older generation, the brat meme is a combination of edgy coolness, with a bit of teenage rebelliousness thrown in. It is the younger-generation equivalent of “Dark Brandon” with aviator sunglasses. The emergence of the meme is a good sign about V.P. Harris’s ability to reach and motivate younger voters

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GOP struggles to find an attack line against an accomplished public servant. The white-nationalist GOP ticket of Trump and Vance is struggling for an attack line against Kamala Harris. On Monday, the best that JD Vance could do is to claim that Kamala Harris has “collected a government paycheck her entire career.” Hmm. Let’s compare the resumes of Vance and Harris.

Vice President Harris began her career as a prosecutor in Alameda and San Francisco Counties (from 1990 to 2004). She was then elected as Attorney General of California, where she served for eight years.

Let’s pause there. California is the fifth largest economy in the world. Larger than the individual economies of the UK, France, India, Russia, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and dozens of other industrialized countries.

Kamala Harris was the chief law enforcement officer of the world’s fifth-largest economy. Standing alone, that is a big job that she performed admirably well. She was a leader among attorneys general in the fifty states, reaching landmark settlements with Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Corinthian Colleges, and Facebook. Significantly, she refused to enforce California’s Proposition 8, which outlawed same-sex marriage.

Harris was then elected as California’s junior US Senator. Although she was in the Senate for only two years, she quickly made her mark as a devastating cross-examiner who struck fear in the hearts of evasive witnesses (Supreme Court nominees in particular).

JD Vance, on the other hand, served for four years as a military news correspondent after graduating from high school, with a single six-month tour in Iraq. He then spent seven years obtaining his college and law school degrees, whereupon he spent two years as a junior associate in a large law firm. He spent two more years working for a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, where he met his benefactor Peter Thiel, who effectively subsidized the acquisition of Vance’s seat in the US Senate.

So, it isn’t even close. Kamala Harris has a distinguished and accomplished career and lifetime of public service as a prosecutor, Attorney General, Senator and Vice President. Republicans are understandably furious that Joe Biden waited until after the GOP convention to withdraw and endorse Kamala Harris.

Of course, the true comparison is between Kamala Harris and Trump. V.P. Harris spent her career prosecuting criminals and suing fraudsters like Trump. Indeed, in the last forty-eight hours, Trump's chances of spending his retirement in prison just increased dramatically.

Trump unveiled his first attack on V.P. Harris, calling her “dumb and vicious.” Those slurs are reminiscent of attacks by Trump in the 2020 election, which were decidedly racist and sexist. As we have learned, Trump always doubles down and never retreats, so we should expect more ugliness from Trump and Vance. But that is a self-defeating strategy in a close race that will be decided, in part, by swing voters, including suburban women who are concerned about their reproductive liberty and equal rights under law.

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The race will be tough. Let’s prepare ourselves.

The wave of enthusiasm is gratifying, especially after the last several months of negativity in the media. V.P. Harris inherits a close race and will need all the help we can give her—especially to execute the ground game in swing states. I urge everyone to approach polls with caution—both positive and negative. If we have learned anything over the last four years, it is that polls have become weaponized disinformation campaigns.

The true measure of support for Kamala Harris isthe enthusiasm of her volunteers. On that measure, we have strong reason to be hopeful, but no reason to be complacent. It will be a hard-fought race. We can take nothing for granted.

Kamala Harris needs volunteers in grassroots and party organizations. Media reports suggest that there has been a surge of 28,000 volunteers in the last twenty-four hours. See AP, Harris claims most of the delegates she needs for the nomination, sets new fundraising record.

If you have been waiting for the right opportunity to join the grassroots or Democratic party efforts to defeat Trump, now is the moment. With about 100 days remaining, it is “all hands” on deck. There is nothing like being part of a community of committed volunteers. As the saying goes, “Come for the cause, stay for the people.”

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Historian Jon Meacham praises President Biden in op-ed

Jon Meacham has penned a moving tribute to President Biden in his essay, Joe Biden, My Friend and an American Hero. (This article is accessible to all.) I urge you to read the article in its entirety.

Meacham writes, in part,

Mr. Biden has spent a lifetime trying to do right by the nation, and he did so in the most epic of ways when he chose to end his campaign for re-election. His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington, who also stepped away from the presidency. To put something ahead of one’s immediate desires — to give, rather than to try to take — is perhaps the most difficult thing for any human being to do. And Mr. Biden has done just that.

Meacham does not mention Joe Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris, which was strategic, generous, humble, and brilliant. By endorsing V.P. Harris, President Biden has helped to impose order on a process that could have been chaotic. It will not be his final gift to our nation, but it is a fitting and significant one that will echo for generations. In endorsing Kamala Harris, Joe Biden has pointed the way to the future.

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Opportunities for reader engagement

Join Rep. Jamie Raskin: Support the Force Multiplier Flip the House Slate!

Rep. Raskin will speak and take questions about the urgency of flipping the House in 2024, recent SCOTUS decisions, Project 2025 and the changing landscape of the 2024 elections. Raskin has been a champion of democracy + the Constitution during his four terms in the House. He was the lead impeachment manager in the second impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump + served on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

Wednesday July 24, 2024, 7-8:00 pm ET, On Zoom. Register and Donate Here. 

(A link will be sent on the day of the event.)

This event will support 21 candidates in competitive House Seats who are currently on Force Multiplier’s slate.  Check out the list at Force Multiplier web site 

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Swing Left San Gabriel Valley Silent Auction Fundraiser

Swing Left San Gabriel Valley is a wonderful, vibrant grassroots community that does great work to help elect Democrats up and down the ballot. SLSGV is hosting a silent auction to help win back the House. If you live in the Los Angeles area, check out the silent auction in Pasadena:

Please join Swing Left San Gabriel Valley for an exciting in-person silent auction fundraiser on Saturday, July 27 in Pasadena. Bidding will start at 11:00 am Pacific and will end at 12:30 pm Pacific, after which the bids will be reviewed and the winning bidders will be announced. During the auction, you’ll be able to bid on a wide array of goods and services generously donated by members of the SL SGV community, from artwork, jewelry, handmade quilts, and entertainment industry swag to career coaching with a casting director/acting teacher, improv classes, and Yoga sessions.

Our goal is to raise as much money as we can for the Swing Left Win Back the House Fund, which supports Democrats running in the most competitive U.S. House races this year, including Adam Gray (CA-13) and George Whitesides (CA-27). Sign up here.

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Concluding Thoughts

With Kamala Harris, Democrats have a new beginning and are off to a great start. Let’s use this moment of joy and relief to make up as much ground as possible as quickly as possible. We will have tougher times ahead, but that is the nature of all political campaigns.

Take this moment to re-open conversations with younger family members, children, and grandchildren who were not motivated by an election between Biden and Trump. Ask them to reconsider in light of Kamala Harris’s candidacy. Bring them to a grassroots event—especially an in-person event. Most importantly, help them understand that their liberties, safety, health, and futures hang in the balance. In other words, be like Joe Biden. Point the way to the future for the next generation!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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North American Nebula, July 20, 2024, from Los Angeles, CA. Two-hour exposure. The nebula is 2,500 light years from Earth.