Contrast, Coalition and Community

I explore three big themes coming out of the DNC.

It was Day One of the Democratic National Convention. As a political observer and analyst, I was excited by the line-up, not only because I knew we’d hear some rousing speeches from such a talented set of speakers, but because it spoke to the themes of the evening.

I wasn’t wrong about the riveting and moving speeches, and I quickly understood the message that the first night intended to send. 

The first recurring theme was the contrast between Vice President Kamala Harris and ex-president Donald Trump. Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who is known for her sharp takes on the Oversight Committee against the “bleach blonde bad builts” of the GOP, laid it out plainly: “Kamala Harris has a resume. Donald Trump has a rap sheet.” 

A second theme was evident in the choice of progressive firebrands like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and UAW president Shawn Fain, sharing the stage with institutionalists like Rep. Jamie Raskin and Hillary Rodham Clinton. These primetime slots highlighted the importance of coalition. Gone were the 2016 divisions between the corporate Democrats and the Bernie bros. The Kamala coalition was united behind ex-prosecutor Harris, with Democrats wearing their progressive stripes proudly.

That unity and togetherness behind shared ideals underlay the third theme: community. Democrats are successfully reclaiming American patriotism, defining it not as “America First” but the desire to help our fellow citizens, moving forward together with no one left behind due to race, gender, disability, loss of rights, or whom they love.

In today’s piece, I’ll explore how these themes were defined and amplified throughout the night. It’s a window into what we can expect not only for the rest of the convention but the entirety of the campaign—and from a new Harris administration. It’s a winning, positive and robust message that Republicans will have difficulty knocking back.

Theme One: Contrast

The Democrats aired an ad last night that captured the core contrast between Harris and Trump. Set to the theme of a Law & Order episode, it prosecuted the case against Trump. After lauding the police and the district attorneys (nudge, nudge) who represent the interests of the people within our criminal justice system, the ad moved on to say, “This is the story of Donald Trump.” It blasted him for considering himself “above the law” for most of his life, and that “no one would dare hold him accountable.” Trump “lies, he rips off workers, he sexually abuses women, he cheats in business, he cheated on his wife with a porn star and paid her off so the American people wouldn’t find out during an election.” 

“For the first time in history, we have a convicted felon running for president,” the spot warned. “And to take on this case, we need a president who has spent her life prosecuting perpetrators like Donald Trump.”

You can see the full ad here:

The contrast between Trump as felon and Harris as prosecutor wasn’t the only one drawn last night. When labor leader Shawn Fain of the UAW took the mic, he heralded Harris as “one of us” and a “fighter for the working class.” But he condemned the Republican ticket, referring to Trump and Vance as “lapdogs of the billionaire class who only serve themselves.” He leveled his aim and intoned, “Donald Trump. Is. A. Scab!”

“When the UAW stands up, we know who stands with us and who stands against us,” Fain told the crowd. “Donald Trump laughs about firing workers who go on strike,” he added, referring to Trump’s comments about striking workers during his livestream with billionaire Elon Musk. “Kamala Harris stands shoulder to shoulder with workers when they’re on strike. And that’s the difference.”

Here is a segment of Fain’s speech:

Similarly, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez drew a contrast between a candidate who champions ordinary working families and one who is “lining his pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends.” Harris is “for the middle class because she’s from the middle class,” Ocasio-Cortez reminded the crowd.

Here is a clip of her memorable remarks:

President Biden, who spoke at the end of the evening, was perhaps in the best position to draw the contrast between what his administration has accomplished and what Trump’s had represented. He reminded the crowd that the Nazis and white nationalists at Charlottesville were so emboldened in the ally they saw in the Trump White House that they didn’t even bother to wear hoods. He underscored that Trump had “promised infrastructure week every week for four years” but he “never built a damn thing.” Trump had called servicemembers “suckers and losers” for fighting for America and for freedom. “Who the hell does he think he is? These are the words of a person NOT worthy of being Commander in Chief. Period. Not then. Not now. And not ever.”

Theme Two: Coalition

The 2016 DNC was marked by a deep mistrust among the party’s factions and lack of unity among the Democrats, stoked by Russian hackers and bad faith and often fake internet actors. The “establishment” Democrats under Hillary Clinton clashed openly with the insurgent Bernie Sanders supporters, and disaffected Democrats voted for third parties in large enough numbers that the Blue Wall collapsed, and Trump won the Electoral College. It was a traumatizing, deep lesson for Democrats and the nation.

What a difference eight years makes. The 2024 DNC last night displayed remarkable unity and cohesion. The crowd was as excited to hear speakers from the left of the party, such as Ocasio-Cortez whose name they chanted, as they were to hear from established leaders like Clinton, who had a moving moment where she could take in the delegates’ unquestionable love for her.

Remarked author and columnist Zachary Carter of Slate,

Harris seems to have finally ended the intraparty split from 2016. This DNC is comfortably pro-union and anti-monopoly, with AOC and Gina Raimondo making perfect sense on the same stage talking about working families on behalf of an ex-prosecutor. Crowd fired up for everybody.

This was by no means guaranteed even a month ago. When Joe Biden dropped out of the race, it was an open question whether the party would fracture before a contested convention or come together and rally behind Harris. The latter happened largely because Harris put in the work and staked her claim early, with key endorsements from party leaders and a swell of support from the state delegates in those early days.

But the idea of coalition went beyond just the Democrats. Also featured were Republican converts ready to admit their support for Trump had been a mistake, and that country was more important than party. Former GOP podcaster Rich Logis, who is a member of the Leaving MAGA community, addressed the crowd in an important video, telling GOP voters across America that “lying is Trump’s toxic superpower” and that “[i]t’s never too late to change your mind.”

Theme Three: Community

One of the most striking things we have seen at Harris rallies and now at the DNC itself is the reclaiming of American patriotism by the Democratic Party. How is it that Democrats can chant, “USA! USA!” and not feel burdened by the past, with all the jingoism, nationalism and group-think that has plagued those moments when the Republicans have done the same?

This is a bit like the “weird” label. Democrats can be “weird” as a badge of honor, because “good weird” is about being a unique and proud individual, with all the awkwardness and quirks that come with that. But “weird” as applied to people like Trump and Vance lands hard precisely because their abnormal behavior is an actual threat to others. They want to peek in our bedrooms, inspect people’s genitals, and control women’s bodies. That’s weird—and creepy.

To today’s Democrats, being a patriot is about recognizing the importance of service to community. As Heather Cox Richardson noted in her newsletter today, “Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) said: ‘My mom taught me to love this country. She taught me that real American patriotism is not about screaming and yelling, “America first.” Real American patriotism is loving your country so much that you want to help the people in your country. THAT is American patriotism.’”

This is a turning point moment. We felt the strong moral underpinnings of this when Sen. Raphael Warnock took the stage and in his inimitable fashion called upon us to consider all children, not just within our own communities but throughout the world. Democrats care for all the vulnerable on this planet, wherever they live, in stark contrast to the selfish cruelty of the Republican Party:

That idea of patriotism as service to community was capped off by President Joe Biden himself at the end of the evening, quoting the song “American Anthem.” He said to the adoring crowd, which was so grateful for his long service and his sacrifice, “America, America, I gave my best to you.”

After telling the delegates how grateful and optimistic he was for our future, Biden reminded us how we see this promise through:

“We just need to remember who we are. We’re the United States of America. And there is NOTHING we cannot do when we do it together.”