As the Democrats’ convention ends, the general election begins in earnest

Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech to the Democratic National Convention on August 22nd marked the culmination of one of the most rapid and comprehensive political reinventions in modern American history.

  • Coffee Addict@lemmy.worldOPMEnglish
    2·
    2 months ago

    Some notable lines:

    “With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward,” Ms Harris told a cheering arena filled with American flags and signs bearing her name. “I promise to be a president for all Americans.”

    […]

    […] “We are not going back.” Mostly, she struck an optimistic tone, in keeping with the festive energy of the night. […]

    […]

    The speech shed some light on how Ms Harris is approaching the final ten weeks of the campaign. She referred to Hamas as “a terrorist organisation” and said she “will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself”. Yet she also described conditions in Gaza as “devastating”. Her solution, aimed at satisfying competing members of her coalition, was unsurprising: “Now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done.” Ms Harris is aiming to unite her party—from coastal leftists to midwestern moderates—while remaining as acceptable as possible to Trump-sceptical independents and Republicans. The policy portions of the speech were clearly designed to maximise political effect rather than lay out a detailed agenda. She spoke in defence of abortion rights and government-run pension programmes, while vaguely promising to “end America’s housing shortage” without explaining how.

    […] “I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants—and reform our broken immigration system,” she said. “We can create an earned pathway to citizenship—and secure our border.”

    […] “But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.” She warned of his “explicit intent” to imprison journalists and political opponents.

    Democrats leaving the convention hall in Chicago were as enthusiastic as Republicans were at their own gathering in Milwaukee in July. Yet much can change in the coming weeks. The Trump campaign certainly hopes that the convention will be the peak of Ms Harris’s popularity, and may be betting that an imminent endorsement from Robert F. Kennedy junior […]

    This article is mostly a critique of her speech (a great speech, in my opinion).

    However, she has elaborated more on her policies elsewhere. For example, Harris wants to build 3 million new homes to help lower housing costs, was an early advocate for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza, and has proposed making new pathways to improve and fix America’s immigration system.