Based upon the statistics I’ve seen, you’ve more than likely been watching at least some portion of what transpired this week in Chicago, where the Democratic National Coronation–er, Convention–has just concluded. There were some truly beautifully orchestrated and inspiring moments, ultimately culminating in Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech for her party’s nomination that her supporters saw as historic and her detractors saw as borderline nightmare.
If I’m to take the overwhelming number of social media posts on my feeds as representative, Harris apparently struck quite a few nerves. Many people rejoiced in seeing someone who looked like them, or perhaps they believed they could identify with, since a lot of us have worked for a McDonald’s at one time or another. Well, I don’t look like her and no, I haven’t yet done a shift at Mickey D’s. I applied twice and was rejected.
What I was hoping to hear was something of some substance, a bit more detailed in policies meaningful and impactful to moi than what Harris shared a week ago, admittedly under a tight deadline. Maybe you missed what that red-pill bastion of journalism, Jeff Bezos’ WASHINGTON POST, thought of it? No worries; THE HILL’s Eden Teshome captured the essence:
The Washington Post Editorial Board on Friday slammed Vice President Harris over her newly-announced economic agenda, which they characterized as “populist gimmicks.”
“Vice President Kamala Harris’s speech Friday was an opportunity to get specific with voters about how a Harris presidency would manage an economy that many feel is not working well for them,” the board wrote in an editorial Friday. “Unfortunately, instead of delivering a substantial plan, she squandered the moment on populist gimmicks.”
I have little doubt Ms. Harris is a woman of passion and determination. I have far less doubt about the integrity of Tim Walz, especially after learning what kind of a father he is. I was as mortified as anyone by the disgusting level of tone-deafness Ann Coulter showed, in the spirit of her choice’s mocking of a disabled reporter back in the 2016 election. I happened to hear from someone who attended classes with her at Cornell University what her classmates thought of her then and now. Two four-letter words, each beginning with S and ending with T, come to mind, and both would now be equally appropriate to describe her.
But much as I get how much “joy” and “hope” was prevalent all week in Chicago, how wonderful it was to see someone accept a nomination capable of completing full sentences for a change, for as many celebrity endorsers and speakers representative of a true Rainbow Coalition were on display, even if the most desired one turned out to a be a no-show (yes, TMZ will survive nonetheless), all I got out of it was a de facto mission statement.
And sorry, I’ve sat through countless numbers of those by people equally as inspired and enthusiastic. People promising breakthrough methodologies desperate for the few discretionary dollars my budgets allowed over the years. Creatives convinced they had finally hit upon a killer idea without necessarily having any evidence there was either market need or customer demand beyond their anecdotal “focus groups” they conducted in their living rooms. Seems like I’ve always been in a position to be the killjoy, and both then and now it didn’t help my own popularity. But I also know I was rarely wrong in how those ventures ultimately played out.
And while the celebration of life was ever present this week, the detractors were busy taking more and more matters into their own hands. No less than four of the few remaining CNN reporters–Nick Valencia, Sara Murray, Jason Morris and Jade Gordon–took note of one in particular:
The Georgia State Election Board passed a rule Monday giving local election officials additional power to investigate ballot counts before certifying the results, a move critics say could inject chaos into the 2024 election and delay the state’s official vote count.
The “Rule for Reconciliation Prior to Certification” will allow for a hand recount of votes to ensure “the total number of ballots cast” does not exceed “the total number of persons who voted,” according to the language of the rule. County election officials will now be allowed to investigate any possible discrepancies. The vote was carried 3 to 2 by the five-member board.
And that’s in concert with that their preferred choice was apparently conveying while his opponents whooped it up, per ALTERNET’s Maya Boddie:
Jake Traylor, who’s covering the 2024 presidential election for NBC News wrote via X that NBC correspondent Vaughn Hilliard reported Wednesday that Trump presented a similar warning to a North Carolina crowd this week.
He said: “Our primary focus is not to get out the vote, it is to make sure they don’t cheat. Because we have all the votes we’ll need.”
Legal analyst Joyce Vance replied: “Trump is not being subtle. He’s never subtle. He’s telling us out in the open that if he loses the election, he’ll say it was fraud. He’ll try to take power anyhow like in 2020. We must turnout in numbers that are so overwhelming that his claims will be ridiculous.”
His existing supporters don’t need a mission statement or a candidate to give them joy. They’re on a mission of their own, one they believe was anointed far before Harris was by her party. They’re willing to die on the cross or take a bullet to do so. If you believe what transpired last month, apparently their leader already did.
So I get why folks like Vance are practically begging people to turn out. But at least I need a better reason than vague rhetoric that can’t even stand up to the scrutiny of the freaking WASHINGTON POST. And I’m still waiting for it.
Maybe you’re among the many who have privately conveyed to others who claim to be in the know that I’m overly negative at times, although I’ve heard nothing directly nor yet seen any credible data that would indicate that’s actually true. Perhaps you’re laying some blame on the fact that I’ve openly confessed I live with someone who has already determined that this election is over and that Harris’ opponent is destined to win in a landslide. Sorry to burst your bubble, but all I share with this person is an address, not a mindset. And trust me, thanks to headphones and a large amount of sports I’ve been able to tune out his daily diet for the most part.
I continue to show this person credible data from multiple ongoing polls that indicate this election is absolutely not a landslide, nor does any reliable predictive model indicate it will become one. This will go down to the wire and more than likely not be decided on Election Night. But, once again, having data to back up one’s views seems to be perceived as a detriment to people who mock those who dare to let that get in the way of their emotional fervor.
Ironically, perhaps the one person who took the stage in the United Center this week who did point out the possibility of forthcoming danger was the old man they grudgingly conceded opening night to and then only referenced him when convenient for the balance of the week, knowing full well he was thousands of miles away near a beach.
Forget about seeing one’s self in a candidate. For the first time, inconceivably, I saw myself in the President of the United States.
I can’t vote for him any more, not that I was likely to do so before this week. And after today, the Kennedy option will be off the table, too. But he’s little more than a cosmetic factor at this point anyhow; apparently, once Harris became an option, even his hot Floridian wife had politically bailed on him weeks ago.
But for those like my roommate who insist it’s a binary choice and I’m running out of option, let me remind all of you: One, I live in California, so if indeed there is anything already pre-determined, it’s where my state’s electoral college votes are going–we both do, in fact. And two, much like my body, my choice, it’s my MIND, my choice.
I do plan on voting. I just don’t yet know for whom. And it’s gonna take more than a mission statement to make my mind up.
The celebration’s over. Let the real fun commence.
Until next time…