Kamala Has Arrived
The Bay Area daughter of immigrants stuck the landing and successfully made the case why she is the woman for the moment and the prosecutor to take on and defeat Donald Trump.
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The much-hyped “special guest” on the final day of the Democratic National Convention wasn’t Beyonce or Taylor Swift. Anthony Hopkins didn’t roll out with a mask and talk like Hannibal Lecter, although that would’ve been absolutely exquisite trolling and warmed my heart. We got former CIA Director Leon Panetta who addressed the stage to win over three voters who might have been on the fence and needed strong “national security” vibes, but, nope, even he wasn’t the special guest.
It seems the special guest all along was Kamala Harris who formally accepted her party’s nomination as the first Black-Indian woman presidential candidate. Stepping on to the stage in an elegant black suit, Kamala Harris was casual, confident, professional and relatable. This isn’t the Kamala of four years ago or even the Kamala we knew in the Bay Area where her political ascent was all but assured when we saw her as Attorney General and later as a Senator from the great state of California.
She was comfortable in her skin, with her big laugh, with her origin story, and in flexing her prosecutorial chops to make a concise, cogent and convincing case against Donald Trump, whom she accurately referred to as an “unserious man.” The Obamas delivered the perfect, exquisite roast and takedown of Trump filled with memorable punchlines and one-liners which set up Kamala to prosecute him for the American public.
The first half of her speech introduced the public to a middle-class daughter of immigrant parents who gave her confidence and ambition even though they couldn’t afford material possessions. She stressed the importance of community and family stepping in and stepping up to give her access to opportunities that are often reserved to the few who are privileged and wealthy. She promised to give Americans access to an “opportunity economy” as the cornerstone of her Presidency. This not only made her relatable but also provided a stark contrast to the pampered elitism of Donald Trump who squandered all of his father’s wealth and has abused his celebrity, whiteness, and political power purely for self-gain.
The second-half of Kamala’s speech was all business. She flexed her old DA skills and made a convincing case against Trump and Trumpism. “Simply put, they are out of their minds,” she declared and then she went on to prove it. She invoked January 6th and Trump’s incitement of a violent mob against our free and fair elections. She, wisely, brought up Project 2025 again and mentioned the GOP’s attacks on Social security and Medicare. She quoted Trump bragging about overturning Roe and depriving women of their fundamental rights. On foreign policy, she promised not to bow down to authoritarians and actually step up for Ukraine and allies. She thread the line on Gaza and was able to, barely, compensate for the one huge mistake Democrats made during an otherwise fantastic, unifying DNC. Democrats found time and space for Republicans, former Republicans, Leon Panetta, an extended musical interlude, Trump officials, but they couldn’t spare 3 minutes for a Palestinian American speaker, specifically elected official Rep. Ruwa Romman of Georgia whose brief vetted speech - which you should read in full here - would have done nothing but help Democrats.
This was an unnecessary, stunning self-own by the Democratic establishment and a finger in the eye of thousands of Democratic voters who are “uncommitted” in critical swing states but will easily vote for Harris-Walz if they see the Biden Administration apply a little bit of pressure to end the disastrous and unpopular Gaza war.
Thankfully, Kamala, at least in rhetoric, was able to show she is at least listening. (The bar is so low it’s in hell, folks.) She promised to defend Israel, work towards a ceasefire and a return of hostages, and she was able to at least show compassion and passion for the Palestinian people, something which Biden seems incapable of doing despite his trademark empathy. In fact the biggest applause from the Democratic base came towards the end of this line when Harris said, “Biden and I are working to end this war. Such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends -- and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.” This is where the majority and future of Democratic voters are even if the establishment isn’t, and it will only benefit them to listen and pivot, especially as the inconvenient genocide in Gaza isn’t going away.
But, here’s hoping for change and action as we move forward to the November election and beyond. There’s no “both sides” here when it comes to the future of flawed and ailing democracy. It’s not even close. One side, imperfect, is at least willing to defend our rule of law, our freedoms, and represent most of us. The other side is a cult devoted to the vanity and narcissism of an aging criminal and vulgarian who is only running to escape accountability for a lifetime of depravity.
Now, let’s get to work.
i agree that the Palestinian perspective, and suffering, should have been given a slice of airtime. that was a serious omission, and could/should have been handled with the sensitivity and nuance that i believe Kamala is capable of. She should have directed the DNC (i assume she has that level of control?) to brilliantly thread that needle. I deeply hope, that this omission will not tank her chances, and that she will find a way to rectify this glaring omission quickly. Yes, her closing remarks were excellent on this topic but did not make up for the lack of dedicated time-slice (even tiny) and a Palestinian speaker.
You are right - it was worth reading the remarks from Ruwa Romman, and these comments would have been well-received by the delegates.
Harris' remarks were delivered with conviction. Most Democrats recognize that Netanyahu and his Orthodox government partners are obstacles to peace and to Palestinian self-determination. At the same time, most Americans believe in Israel's right to exist. They're not sure that Palestinian Arabs believe that.
There was enough controversy surrounding campus protests and other pro-Palestinian demonstrations that I understand the DNC's reticence to allow a speaker on this matter - although as you've stated, the proposed remarks were completely acceptable.