Freedoms, Feels and Fight

Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention packed a wallop.

Photo courtesy of NPR

If you thought the energy from the first two days couldn’t be sustained, Day 3 of the DNC proved otherwise. In keeping with my theme of trios leading up to Kamala Harris’s nomination finale, there were three strong ones woven throughout the evening.

First, the night laid plain the freedoms that are at risk. The evening began with a kaleidoscope of speakers warning of fundamental rights at risk, including abortion, LGBTQ+ identity and families, and democracy under a second Trump term and Project 2025. 

Second, the night began to hit us in the feels. Former president Bill Clinton wondered aloud how many more conventions he would speak at, and underscored the pride that we, and our children and grandchildren, will feel, if we elect Kamala Harris as president. And Amanda Gorman lifted our hearts with a poem, telling us the American dream is a dare. But it was Tim Walz’s son Gus, a neurodivergent teen, who delivered the most spontaneous feels, as I’ll discuss below.

With Walz’s speech, the third theme rang clear: fight. Walz, displaying his motivational chops, went full coach on us, urging us to sleep when we’re dead, leave it on the field, keep moving forward, and turn the page on Donald Trump.

Theme One: Freedoms

It is a striking feature of this election that Democrats have seized the mantle of “freedom” from the GOP, which is supposed to be the party of small government. “None of your damn business” is a principle that resonates with voters, and Democrats have honed their messaging around it.

Speakers including Kelley Robinson of the Human Rights Campaign (whom I was especially proud to see help kick off the evening) and Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood both spoke of cherished and fundamental rights being stripped away, from reproductive rights to protections for the LGBTQ+ community. 

Dana Nessel, the Michigan Attorney General, blasted Republicans for their opposition to same-sex marriage with a memorable throwdown to the extremist Justices of the Supreme Court: “You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand!”

In a lighthearted but brutally effective moment, comedian Kenan Thompson zoomed live with people around the nation who would be impacted by Trump’s Project 2025, all while holding a massive version of it and citing specific pages and policies that would rip apart LGBTQ+ marriages, increase insulin costs for diabetics, block abortions nationwide with the Comstock Act and throw healthcare providers in jail, eliminate the jobs of non-MAGA loyalists and eliminate the whole Department of Education.

“Did you ever see a book that could kill a small animal and democracy at the same time?” Thompson asked. “Here it is. … These are the terms and conditions of a second Trump presidency. You vote for him, you vote for all of this.”

The danger from extremism was further highlighted by a new ad recalling the darkest day in recent U.S. history: January 6. Soon-to-be New Jersey senator, Rep. Andy Kim, gave a deeply personal account of what he witnessed that day:

We saw something unimaginable, a mob tearing down flags, assaulting police officers…. The floor was covered in broken glass and garbage, strewn with the chaos unleashed by Donald Trump…. So I did the only thing I could think of. I grabbed a trash bag and started cleaning up. 

What I learned on January 6th is that all of us, all of us, are caretakers for our great Republic. We can heal this country, but only if we try…. 

As a father, I refuse to believe that our kids are doomed to grow up in a broken America. There is a hunger right now in this country for a new generation of leadership to step up. Let’s choose Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Let’s do this for our kids and grandkids.

Also speaking about the dangers to our democracy was Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who reminded us that Donald Trump had “willfully betrayed his oath of office” on January 6. “Let us not forget who assaulted democracy on January 6 — he did. But let us not forget who saved democracy that day — we did.”

Republican officials, including a former aide to Vice President Pence, Olivia Troye, recalled how “being inside Donald Trump’s White House was terrifying.” She warned, “What keeps me up at night is what’ll happen if he gets back there. The guardrails are gone. The few adults in the room the first time resigned or were fired.”

Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, the most critical, must-win swing state, received a prime time slot to make the case for freedoms across the board and bring it home to audiences. 

“It’s not freedom to tell our children what books they’re allowed to read. It’s not freedom to tell women what they can do with their body. And it sure as hell isn’t freedom to say you can go vote but he gets to pick the winner,” Shapiro thundered. “We are the party of real freedom.”

His next words brought the convention to its feet:

Theme Two: Feels

When I saw that among the speakers in the line-up were House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former President Bill Clinton, first-ever National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman, and Oprah Winfrey, I knew we were in for a night of the feels.

While the night’s earlier messengers spoke poignantly of the risks to our freedoms, these next ones found the right heartspace for it all. 

Speaker-to-be Jeffries masterfully compared the ex-president to an ex-boyfriend who was continuing to stalk America—a shrewd and relatable comparison for women voters. “Donald Trump is like an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just won’t go away,” Jeffries said, the crowd erupting. “He has spent the last four years spinning the block trying to get back into a relationship with the American people. Bro, we broke up with you for a reason. We are never, ever getting back together.” (Nice nod there to the Swifties!)

Bill Clinton, who rewrote his speech this week after hearing the passion of the speakers in the first two days and was still reading off the paper version of it, reminded us of his own seniority while taking a swipe at Trump. “Two days ago I turned 78—the oldest man in my family. And the only personal vanity I want to assert is that I’m still younger than Donald Trump,” he said, to the roar of the crowd.

His dissection of Trump was brilliant, as was his rhetorical style. “He mostly talks about himself,” Clinton reminded. “The next time you hear him, don’t count the lies—count the I’s ... He tries to get his lungs open by saying ‘me me me me me’!”

Putting a lump in every throat in the hall, Clinton said, “I have no idea how many more of these I’ll be able to come to. I started in ’76 and I’ve been to every one since. But—no! ’72! Lord, I’m getting old. But here’s what I want you to know. If you vote for this team, if you can get ’em elected … you’ll be proud of it for the rest of your life. Your children will be proud of it, your grandchildren will be proud of it.”

The poet Amanda Gorman came to deliver a dare in the form of the promise of America. “We gather at this hallowed place because we believe in the American dream,” her poem began, wrenching the Gettysburg Address from 160 years ago to our present day fight for our Republic. “We face a race that tests if this country we cherish shall perish from the Earth, and if our Earth shall perish from this country.” Strong feels and high stakes indeed. Here is her full poem:

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, the unofficial spokesperson for the Democratic Party on Fox, clarified the stakes poignantly. “Darkness is what they are selling. The thing is, I just don’t believe that America today is in the market for darkness.” His own light broke through the shadowy worldview of the GOP VP pick, JD Vance, as Buttigieg eviscerated him.

“JD Vance is one of those guys who believes that if you don’t live the life that he has in mind for you, then you don’t count. Someone who said that if you don’t have kids you have ‘no physical commitment to the future of this country.’ You know Senator, when I deployed to Afghanistan I didn’t have kids ... our commitment to this country was pretty damn physical.”

Here is a clip from his remarks.

Oprah Winfrey is perhaps one of the greatest communicators of our time. Last night, she made the case for why division makes no sense in a country where community is paramount.

“When a house is on fire, we don’t ask about the homeowner’s race or religion. We don’t wonder who their partner is or how they voted. No, we just try to do the best we can to save them. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady — well, we try to get that cat out too.”

Warning about division, Winfrey blasted the far-right without naming them directly. “There are people who want you to see our country as a nation of us against them. People who want to scare you. Who want to rule you. People who would have you believe that books are dangerous. And assault rifles are safe. That there’s a right way to worship and a wrong way to love. People who seek first to divide, and then to conquer.”

“But here’s the thing. When we stand together, it is impossible to conquer us.”

Winfrey’s ability to reach the middle American voter was on display as well. “You know what? You’re looking at a registered Independent who’s proud to vote again and again and again because I’m an American and that’s what Americans do,” Winfrey said. “I’m calling on all you Independents, and all you undecideds—you know this true, you know I’m telling you the truth—that values and character matter most of all. In leadership and in life … Decency and respect are on the ballot.”

The surprise of the evening, and the moment of greatest feels, came from an unexpected source: the son of Gov. Tim Walz. When Walz took the stage, his family was sitting in the front row. They were already a puddle of tears of pride and love as they watched Walz—who just a month ago was largely unknown outside of Minnesota—prepare to accept the nomination to the second most important position in the land, John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” underscoring the moment.

Then, if we weren’t already hearts overflowing, Walz began to speak, and we returned to see his son Gus Walz leaping to his feet. Per The Hill:

But his emotion peaked when his father addressed the family directly during his comments on the family’s fertility struggles.

“Gus, Hope and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you,” Gov. Tim Walz said, prompting his 17-year-old son to jump up, clapping and crying, as he pointed back at his dad.

“That’s my dad!” Gus Walz said.

Here was that incredibly real and raw moment:

To no one’s surprise, many on the right, who have lost the ability to recognize or feel this kind of love and devotion, took immediately to mocking this family, and Gus Walz in particular.

Gus Walz is a neurodivergent teen, and his parents Tim and Gwen Walz have spoken openly about his nonverbal learning disorder. Teens like Gus Walz often have difficulty containing their emotions, but rather than focus on that, the Walzes have leaned into his abilities, saying Gus “is brilliant, hyper-aware of details that many of us pass by, and above all else, he’s an excellent son and brother to his sibling.” (The Blaze, a conservative rag, apparently deleted its tweet, as did Crispi and Coulter, after receiving widespread criticism and seeing the hate pile up in the comments. But they showed us who they are.)

Anyone watching from home who still has a heart could appreciate the unfiltered humanity of the moment. As former White House Communications Director Kate Bedingfield noted, “Tim Walz was 100 percent pitch perfect, grand slam, touchdown in every possible way. And yet somehow Gus Walz was even better.”

Theme Three: Fight

As we gear up for the final sprint to Election Day, the way we will fight for the winning margin matters.

Former GOP Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, drew stark battle lines and directly urged his fellow Republicans to abandon Trump. He argued that if “Republicans are being intellectually honest with ourselves, our party is not civil or conservative. It’s chaotic and crazy, and the only thing left to do is dump Trump.” 

Duncan added, “Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you’re not a Democrat. You’re a patriot.” 

Meanwhile, former President Clinton issued a warning, reminding Democrats not to get complacent. “We’ve seen more than one election slip away from us when we thought it couldn’t happen, when people got distracted by phony issues or overconfident,” he said.

But with a state champion defensive coach like Walz on the ticket, we are in good hands. Speaking about Trump/Vance and Project 2025, Walz reminded the crowd that “they spend a lot of time pretending they know nothing about this. But look. I’ve coached high school football long enough to know, and trust me on this, when somebody takes the time to draw up a playbook, they’re going to use it.”

Walz’s military experience shone through as well. Returning to the need to protect cherished freedoms, Walz drew upon his service record to drive his point home about putting the safety of our families first.

When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love. Freedom to make your own health care decisions. And yeah, your kids’ freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall. Look, I know guns. I’m a veteran. I’m a hunter. And I was a better shot than most Republicans in Congress, and I’ve got the trophies to prove it. But I’m also a dad. I believe in the Second Amendment, but I also believe our first responsibility is to keep our kids safe.

The night then took on a halftime, come from behind, in-the-locker-room rally speech.

You know, you might not know it, but I haven’t given a lot of big speeches like this. But I have given a lot of pep talks. So let me finish with this, team. It’s the fourth quarter. We’re down a field goal. But we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field. And boy, do we have the right team. Kamala Harris is tough. Kamala Harris is experienced. And Kamala Harris is ready. Our job, our job, our job, our job for everyone watching, is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling. One inch at a time. One yard at a time. One phone call at a time. One door knock at a time. One $5 donation at a time.

Look, we’ve got 76 days. That’s nothing. There’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field. That’s how we’ll keep moving forward. That’s how we’ll turn the page on Donald Trump. That’s how we’ll build a country where workers come first, health care and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.

That’s how we make America a place where no child is left hungry. Where no community is left behind. Where nobody gets told they don’t belong. That’s how we’re going to fight.

And as the next president of the United States always says, when we fight —

And the crowd roared back “WE WIN!”