“Kamala Harris, for the people.”

August 23, 2024

Another night of remarkable moments that promise a shift in American politics and society! Framed by the theme of freedom, Democrats showcased an America free of gun violence, free of discrimination, free of government control of reproductive rights, free of voter suppression, and free from want, insecurity, and fear. It was a beautiful, poignant, painful, and uplifting night.

As before, I will comment only on highlights and rely on readers of this newsletter to add commentary. (The Comment section will be open to all on Friday, August 23. Please be respectful.) Again, my notes are real time transcriptions; please refer to an official transcript if you want to quote the speech.

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Kamala rose to the occasion.

On a remarkable night, the only place to begin is with the incredible acceptance speech by Kamala Harris.

Kamala Harris rose to the moment—a moment freighted with significance like few others in our nation's history. She delivered an oration worthy of the moment. Many doubted that Kamala Harris could deliver a “major” speech in which she appeared “presidential” and worthy of the title “Commander in Chief.” She quelled those doubts and more. She was presidential. She was commanding. She was fierce. She was charismatic. She was hopeful. She was human.

The place to begin is with Kamala’s closing charge to the American people:

We must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth—the privilege and pride of being an American.

Kamala won the night when she walked up to the lectern with a confident step and broad smile. That entrance spoke volumes. It was telling that she had to cut short the prolonged ovation by saying, “We have to get down to business.”

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Introducing herself to the American people.

An important function of every acceptance speech is to introduce and humanize the nominee. Kamala did that with her first words, which were to her husband: “Doug, I love you so very much.” How human, relatable, and normal.

She had the grace to thank Joe and Jill Biden at the outset, saying that she valued “the path we have traveled together. Your record is extraordinary as history will show. We love you and Jill.”

Kamala described her family story—in all its complications. She mentioned her rarely mentioned father and addressed the family trauma of divorce. She quickly pivoted to the positive aspects of being raised by a strong, single mother. The one anecdote she told involving her father ended with her father saying, “Run, Kamala, run! Don’t be afraid.”

She explained her decision to become a lawyer and prosecutor by relating the story of a classmate who was being sexually abused by her father (step-father?). She invited the classmate into her home to protect her from further abuse. She capped this portion of her speech with several memorable phrases:

Everyone has a right to safety and to dignity, and to justice.

A harm any one of us is a harm against all of us.

Finally, she told the American people that she had only one client throughout her career: The people.

She then delivered the line that is the title to this newsletter. She recounted that whenever she appeared in court as a prosecutor, she introduced herself as follows:

 “Kamala Harris, for the people.”

That phrase needs to be on a bumper sticker and tee-shirts.

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Pivoting to Trump.

Having established her biography and bona fides as a representative of the people, Kamala pivoted to Trump. She cut to the chase:

Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. He caused calamity while in office, but the gravity of what happened since the last election was even worse.

He incited an insurrection on J6.

He was found guilty of fraud by jury.

He was found liable for sexual abuse

Kamala then listed the ominous threats of reelecting Trump:

Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists. His explicit intent to jail journalists or anyone he sees as his enemy.

Consider his explicit intent to deploy the military against own citizens

Consider how the Supreme Court’s immunity decision will unleash Trump.

Imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.

He would use power not to improve your life, but to serve the only client he has ever had—himself.

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Policy positions.

In a short but effective section of the speech, Kamala characterized Trump's policies by reference to Project 2025.

Kamala framed her policies through the lens of the middle class, saying,

I came from the middle class. We lived within our means, but we did not want. My goal is to build the middle class.

In an effective summary of her policies, she described them as “creating an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and succeed.”

Kamala highlighted the need to provide small business owners, creators, and founders with access to capital.

She promised to protect Social Security and Medicare “while Trump fights for his billionaire friends with a tax cut that will add $5 trillion the deficit.”

On taxes, she noted that Trump will impose a national sales tax (through tariffs) that will impose $4,000 on every family in America. In contrast, Kamala promised to provide tax cuts that will benefit 100 million Americans.

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Reproductive liberty, abortion, and pregnancy healthcare

Kamala tied reproductive liberty to prosperity, saying

Americans cannot be prosperous unless they are able to make decisions about their lives, especially about matters of heart and home.

Trump picked members of the Supreme court to take away reproductive freedom and is proud of it. He said, “I did and I am proud to have done it.”

In a surprise to the media and delegates, Kamala said that Republicans would appoint a national coordinator of anti-abortion measures (those aren’t the right words, but you get it), and said,

They are out of their minds!  Why don’t they trust women? We trust women. When Congress passes a bill to protect reproductive freedom, as president, I will proudly sign it into law.

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Border security and foreign policy

On the border, she laid the blame for the border crisis at Trump's feet, saying,

There was bipartisan border bill endorsed by Border Patrol. Trump ordered allies to kill the deal. I refuse to play politics with our security; I will bring back the bipartisan bill and will sign it into law.

On international security, she said,

I will always ensure that America always has the strongest most lethal fighting force in the world and will care for their troops and will always honor their sacrifice.

Trump on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. Trump said Russia could “do whatever the hell they want.” I met with Zelensky and warned him that Russia was going to attack. I helped mobilize a global response to stand against Putin. I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.

Kamala punctuated the international relations portion of the speech by saying that Kim Jong un and Vladimir Putin “are rooting for Trump” because he “is one of them.”

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The war in Gaza

On Gaza, Kamala Harris said:

President Biden and I are working around the clock. Now is the time to get deals done. I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself and ensure that it has the ability to defend itself. [Condemnation of Hamas by name.] At same time what has happened in Gaza is devastating. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war so that the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, freedom and self-determination.

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Closing remarks

In a powerful closing, Kamala left the American people with these thoughts:

We have so much more in common than what separates us. None of us has to fail for all of us to succeed.

We must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth—the privilege and pride of being an American.

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The rest of the fourth night

I had planned to review the rest of the fourth night of the convention, but as I mentioned earlier in the week, our extended family is dealing with serial and changing illnesses, so I am under strict orders to “Get some sleep.” (As you can tell, I have been publishing around 1:00 a.m. Pacific this week because of the convention schedule.) The remainder of this newsletter was drafted mid-day.

So, dear readers, can you weigh in on the rest of the evening? (Again, the comments will be open to everyone on Friday, until trolls show up.)

Possible subjects for discussion:

• Elizabeth Warren (!).

• The Exonerated Five.

• Kerry Washington.

• The segment on gun violence. (Please, this needs recognition and discussion.)

• Gabby Giffords.

• Mark Kelly.

• Rueben Gallego and Democratic elected officials who are veterans.

• Leon Panetta.

• Gretchen Whitmer.

• Maya Harris.

• Adam Kinzinger.

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

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Please join me for a Today’s Edition fundraiser for Jessica Morse, CA-3.

Join me on August 28th from 5:00 p.m. Pacific / 8:00 p.m. Eastern to support Jessica Morse, who is running for CA-3.

Jessica Morse is running against MAGA freshman republican Kevin Kiley. Morse is a leading wildfire expert -- formerly the Deputy Secretary at the California Natural Resources Agency for Wildfire Resilience.

Jessica is currently the only woman congressional challenger in California in a competitive seat, giving her an inherent advantage during an election that is swinging on women's reproductive rights.

About CA-03: CA-03 includes the east suburbs of Sacramento and the Democrat-voting regions of the Sierra and Foothills (Lake Tahoe, Nevada County, Mammoth, etc). It is expected to be a Biden district in 2024. It was a Trump +1 in 2020 and has picked up 3 points in Democrat voter registration since then. (CA-3 was redistricted after the 2020 census to give Republicans an advantage.)

Jessica is the general election after finishing second in a top 2 primary (with low voter turnout). Her opponent, Kevin Kiley, has been described by Trump as a “MAGA champion,” has repeatedly refused to say whether Joe Biden’s election was legitimate, and has a 100% rating from anti-abortion groups.

So, let’s help the only woman in California with a chance to flip a MAGA congressional seat! Support Jessica Morse! RSVP here.

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The path to winning back the U.S. House of Representatives runs through California! 

Join SWING LEFT INLAND VALLEY on Saturday, September 7 at 7:00 pm Pacific at Ophelia's Jump Music Lounge in Upland (40 miles east of LA) for an evening of live music, food, drink (no-host bar), and community in support of our two Democratic candidates for the U.S. House: Will Rollins (CA-41) and Derek Tran (CA-45). 

100% of the ticket price of $50 per person, $80 per couple (or feel free to give more) will be split evenly between the two candidates. If you are unable to attend, please consider making a contribution, whatever the amount. Nothing is too small (or two big :)  Both of these districts are FLIPPABLE and your support of Will and Derek can make a huge difference in WINNING BACK THE HOUSE. 

Swing Left Inland Valley works to boost Democratic turnout by registering voters, canvassing in our local CA swing districts, phone/textbanking, and writing letters and postcards. We welcome volunteers from throughout our area and the country at large!

Click here to contribute via ActBlue. A confirmation with more details will be emailed within a day. 

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Supporting Democrats up and down the ballot

After running the above promotion for Jessica Morse last week, I heard a common refrain from several readers: “My favorite group that targets strategic races doesn’t include Jessica’s seat on their list.” Presumably, the groups that don’t include candidates like Jessica are laser-focused on seats with the narrowest margins of victory. That is a necessary and reasonable strategy. We must be smart and strategic in how we invest our money.

But it is also true that we cannot abandon every other candidate who is not in a “strategic race.” Doing so is counterproductive for several reasons.

First, we won’t be able to recruit good candidates in tough races if we tell them, “Good luck! Go knock yourself out! You are on your own! Let us know how it turns out!” We must give them reasonable resources to run a credible race if we expect to recruit good talent.

Second, having strong candidates on every ballot puts us in a position to flip a seat when the unexpected happens, when a “wave” election occurs, or after repeated election cycles of making small progress. That is how Republicans have gained an unnatural majority in the House—they treat every seat as worthy of contention! We MUST do the same.

Third, having a strong “down-ballot” candidate in a red or purple district can help us win at the top of the ticket by encouraging Democrats to turn out to vote in red districts. In 2024, the margin of the popular vote victory will be a second line of defense against GOP efforts to cheat.

Finally, a little money goes a LOT farther in a race that is not in the national spotlight. I have heard the following from multiple Democratic candidates: “$7,500 would be game changing for my campaign.” Compare that statement to races where Senate candidates will spend tens of millions of dollars to defend or flip a single seat.

So, we must do both: We must be strategic, and we must provide reasonable support to good candidates who are chipping away at the underbelly of Republican control of the House. We only need a handful of unexpected victories to make a huge difference in control of the House in 2024. Jessica Morse could be one of those unexpected victories!

Thanks for listening!

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Trump to hold gala “honoring” January 6 insurrectionists

Donald Trump will host a “gala” at one of his golf resorts to honor “J6 defendants.” See The Independent, Trump will hold an ‘awards gala’ for rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6.

According to a flyer announcing the event, the gala will allow attendees to "gather to pay tribute not only to these individuals but to all J6 defendants who have shown incredible courage and sacrifice.”

This is beyond the pale in a civilized society. Trump led an attempted coup and violent insurrection. In a just world, he would have been promptly prosecuted and sentenced for his crimes. Instead, he is seeking the nation’s highest office again—while glorifying a violent, anti-democratic insurrection that resulted in the deaths of nine, injuries to thousands, and desecration of the Capitol and the Constitution.

This event deserves condemnation on the front page of every major media outlet in the nation. The publishers, editors, and journalists at each outlet have a moral obligation to condemn Trump and declare his unfitness to lead the United States of America.

This event should be a watershed event in this campaign, in the dissolution of the Republican Party, and the repudiation of the agenda of hate and division represented by the MAGA movement.

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Concluding Thoughts

If the acceptance speech was a test, Kamala Harris passed with flying colors. Spoiler alert: The media will move the goalposts tomorrow, a sign that Kamala Harris keeps exceeding their expectations.

The convention achieved its purpose: It introduced Kamala Harris to the American people, and it fired up the base. Now, we must convert that enthusiasm into votes. That’s on us. We have lots of work to do and not much time. But after the convention, we have more reason than ever to be hopeful but no reason to be complacent!

Talk to you tomorrow!

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The photo below is of the Fireworks Galaxy—chosen to celebrate the success of Kamala and Tim at the convention!

Note: I pushed the editing on this photo to achieve a “fireworks” look, which created a novelty image that is far removed from the galaxy's actual appearance. Here’s a hint on detecting when a photo has been overprocessed: the stars are “squares” rather than pinpoints.