No matter what happens in November, the Democrats finally have a viable candidate in Kamala Harris. After the frustration of feeling powerless to stop Donald Trump from winning back the presidency, at least now it’s a fair fight—people are energized and volunteering, money is flowing into the campaign, and states are in play that looked out of reach only a few weeks ago. The pent-up energy coming from the Democratic base feels like a cork let out of a bottle; progressives and young people desperate for a candidate to take on Trump suddenly have one. Instead of talking about “democracy,” an abstraction that, sadly, too many people have given up on, Harris speaks in terms of “freedom,” something many in the Democratic coalition feel they have been denied and still aspire to. And in the case of reproductive freedom, especially, the Democrats have a hot-button issue to use against Trump.
As much as this humble spirit believes American democracy is in serious peril from Trump and his “Project 2025” cronies, President Biden continually muttering about the threat to democracy just wasn’t cutting it for most voters. Not only did more people think he and the Democrats posed a greater threat to democracy than did Trump and the Republicans, but spending all that time in Europe commemorating D-Day was completely lost on many young voters who don’t even know what World War II is, let alone understand the threat of fascism that it defeated. (Some even suspected he wanted to be photographed with D-day veterans because they’re the only people older than he is.) On that score it’s a sad commentary that 59-year-old Kamala Harris seems young by the standards of today’s geriatric politicians, but I suppose everything is relative.
So far Trump’s response to the Harris candidacy has been panic and name calling, the highlight being his claim that she isn’t really “Black” but merely “turned Black” when she thought it was advantageous. The man is clueless regarding the history of racism in this country and seemingly ignorant and insensitive when it comes to the growing number of biracial people in America today. If he thinks he’s trying out a new version of “Birtherism,” he just looks out of touch, which he most assuredly is! Insulting Black journalists may be red meat for his MAGA base, but being obnoxious one more time will hardly impress the swing voters he needs to win.
While Harris Promises “Freedom,” Trump Threatens a Christian Nationalist Dictatorship.
Speaking to Christians at the Turning Point Action Believers’ Summit in West Palm Beach, FL, Trump made his plans to become a strongman clear: “Get out and vote. Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what: it’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine. You won’t have to vote anymore, my beautiful Christians…. Get out, you’ve got to get out and vote. In four years, you don’t have to vote again, we’ll have it fixed so good you’re not going to have to vote.” And if you’ve wondered why the six conservative Supreme Court justices aren’t concerned that a left-leaning President will receive the same immunity from prosecution they gave Donald Trump, it’s a good bet that, like Kevin Roberts at the Heritage Foundation, they assume the right-wing is “in the process of taking this country back” and Donald Trump will be our last democratically elected president.
In response to Trump’s denials about Project 2025, the Harris campaign said that “Project 2025 is on the ballot because Donald Trump is on the ballot. This is his agenda, written by his allies, for Donald Trump to inflict on our country. Hiding the 920-page blueprint from the American people doesn’t make it less real—in fact, it should make voters more concerned about what else Trump and his allies are hiding.” This humble spirit couldn’t agree more!