Harris & Walz Ace CNN Interview - But Don't Look For Pundits To Applaud

 

                                   The Dem ticket fielding questions last night on CNN

With Tim Walz sitting by her side, Kamala Harris on Thursday night faced the most extended unscripted session since she became the Democratic nominee. She  “moved the ball forward” – in the parlance of at least 3 CNN analysts afterward.   And as one, David Axelrod, put it: ”You may not like how she answered but she gave her answers in a forthright way and tied them to her values.”   

Well, jeez, that’s a helluva lot more than Donnie Dump does – which is to say merely spewing lies. Yet the media's turkeys yelp about Kamala's "refusal" to sit down with them, while they have Dumpster Don yap nonstop babble and think he's engaging them.

My take, staying with the football metaphor, is that she and Walz got a first down – a 40 yard first down, and they’re near mid-field.  One more interview like this and they should be at the one yard line.

The reply I loved best was when CNN interviewer Dana Bash asked Kamala about the orange Turd’s daft BS, sputtered out at a NABJ confab e.g.

Trump Implodes At NABJ Event Showing He's Learned Zero Humility Since July 13th Shooting 

 that Harris couldn’t make up her mind if she was Indian and then “happened to turn Black”.

Recognizing the bait, Kamala would have none of it and tersely replied: “Same old tired playbook.  Next question, please.”  Bravo! Why waste time dignifying a fungal turd with a response?

Understandably, given the continued malaise and discontent concerning grocery prices, Harris focused on the economy during the interview.  She said she would seek to help the middle class by extending the child tax credit, lowering the cost of groceries and making housing more affordable.  Also, going after corporate price gougers, e.g.

Newsflash To WSJ Editors: "Price Fixing" Is Not The Same As Protecting Consumers From Price Gouging 

Which the clueless media still conflates with price controls.

As she told Ms. Bash:

“I think that people are ready for a new way forward, in a way that generations of Americans have been fueled by hope and by optimism. I think, sadly, in the last decade, we have had in the former president, someone who has really been pushing an agenda and an environment that is about diminishing the character and the strength of who we are as Americans, really dividing our nation. And I think people are ready to turn the page on that.”

Summing up in one neat paragraph the toxicity of the Trump era. Though Bash’s actual question concerned how Harris would deal with the fact (based on interviews, surveys) so many apparent intelligent voters yearn to go back to the Trump era.

I suspect Kamala felt as I did, that these folks (mainly low information voters) were deluded and suffered a case of political amnesia. How else explain being unaware of a stock market crash under Drumpf and ten million jobs lost, not to mention an added quarter million dead from Covid because he played fast and loose with protecting the population once the pandemic began.

In response to Dana Bash pressing her, Harris addressed criticism that her positions have shifted significantly on major issues, including climate change and immigration, saying three times in one minute, “My values have not changed.”

Bash, meanwhile, asked Tim Walz about his comment in 2018, referring to school shootings, that “we can make sure that those weapons of war that I carried in war is the only place where those weapons are at.” (While he served for 24 years in the Army National Guard, he was not deployed to a war zone.)  Personally, I don't get what the big deal is.  The remark came in the wake of a school shooting, as he told Dana Bash, and all he was doing was making a  point to his audience about the lethality of the military-style weapons (like ARs) used in such shootings.  There was absolutely no intention to "steal valor" as the imps and maggots of MAGA have tried to imply.

Walz said that he speaks plainly and sometimes passionately, and he rightfully cast questions about the veracity of some of his comments as partisan attacks. 

“If it’s not this, it’s an attack on my children for showing love for me, or it’s an attack on my dog,” he said. “I’m not going to do that.”  Kudos to you for that, Tim.

Of course, the chucklehead media – including wannabe pundits like Bill Maher (who last week claimed Kamala was “worse than Trump for avoiding the media”) will still yammer about “flip flopping”. Be that as it may, but as the sober pundits who appeared on Deadline Whitehouse noted, it is indeed values which are the currency behind policy.  

Policy positions will always change in adapting to a world and society that evolves (or devolves) but it is the values which maintain the essential stability of policy – any policy. Whether that be on dealing with climate change, or illegal immigration, or inflation.  In any case all policies uttered by any candidate are only aspirations in the end. Most can't see the light of day unless passed by congress, and with the evenly split lot we have, that ain't happening soon. So it's basically a case of mental masturbation for the media and press. 

In that respect I give both Harris and Walz an ‘A - ’  for their interview responses. Let the pinhead pundits whine and cry "BWAAAA...she didn't give us anything to work with!"    But those of us with more than air between the ears know she did.  And Tim Walz too.

The CNN interview done, I now  look forward to Kamala stomping Trump’s orange ass in 12 days in their ABC debate.  (Just keep a cattle prod nearby, in case the orange predator circles too closely like he did with Hillary in 2016.) Until then we will have to endure more bonehead pundit and op-ed twaddle like this from the Wall Street Journal:

“The Vice President got away for the most part with repeating her campaign’s platitudes about “the middle class” and “a new way forward” and was never seriously challenged on anything…That’s a shame because the voters still haven’t received a straight answer about whether, and how, she has changed her views from the far-left positions she espoused in 2019 as a presidential candidate. “My values have not changed,” she said more than once, in a practiced answer that can be read any way you want. 

See Also:

Heather Digby Parton

Article Tools
E-mail | Print
Comments (0)

Kamala Harris | Media

The Media’s Double Standard Comes for Kamala Harris — and Misses

by Heather Digby Parton | August 31, 2024 - 6:11am | permalink

— from Salon

Ah, the lazy, crazy days of August during a presidential election year are upon us. That's traditionally when the political press decides that the Democratic candidate has not been accessible enough to them, so they spend weeks badgering them for interviews and demanding press conferences while insinuating that the candidate must be hiding something.

Recall the 2016 cycle when, during the month of August, the press had a collective tantrum because Hillary Clinton's staffers roped her off as she walked in a parade in order to keep reporters and photographers from turning the event into a paparazzi-style scrum. I wrote at the time:

Aaron Blake recounted the event in all its chilling detail and then rather sheepishly admitted that nobody in America really gives a damn about how Hillary Clinton treats the press. (A point I made a month ago.) After all, the press is held in only slightly higher esteem by the public than loan sharks and puppy mill operators. The thinly veiled threat underneath all this outrage is that the media will react to being treated badly by giving the candidate bad press, but it's pretty clear that train left the station a long time ago when it comes to Clinton, so the cost-benefit analysis probably doesn't argue in favor of the campaign giving a damn either.

» article continues...

And:

Donald Trump

‘Jaw-Droppingly Crass’: Ex-Army Officer Deems Trump Enemy of Everything We Fought For

by Maya Boddie | August 30, 2024 - 6:16am | permalink

— from Alternet

Since Donald Trump's Monday visit to Arlington National Cemetery, several aspects of the former president's visit to the historic of over 400,000 of US service members have been widely condemned.

The Washington Post reported, "Pentagon officials were deeply concerned about the former president turning the visit into a campaign stop, but they also didn’t want to block him from coming, according to Defense Department officials and internal messages reviewed by The Washington Post."

In an op-ed published by MSNBC Thursday, former US Army officer Brandon Friedman submits that, "to combat veterans, Arlington National Cemetery has the same power that all holy places have. And that is why Donald Trump’s recent behavior is so repulsive."

Friedman writes:

» article continues...

And:

Republicans

The Tragedy of MAGA’s Conspiracy Theory About Tim Walz’s “Fake” Dog

by Amanda Marcotte | August 30, 2024 - 6:36am | permalink

— from Salon

Hannah Arendt famously described the psychology of Nazi propaganda as "the point where [the masses] would, at the same time, believe everything and nothing, think that everything was possible and that nothing was true." It's a quote that comes to mind often when contemplating the lies of Donald Trump and his MAGA movement. And it cropped up for me again while reading about the new right-wing conspiracy theory targeting Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his dog.

It's a twisty road that led us to this point. Scout, the beloved pet of Kamala Harris' running mate, stands accused by rabid Trump fans of being a fake. While this story is a silly sideshow, it has serious implications. Unable to handle the strong possibility that their candidate will lose in November, Trump's followers are preemptively immersing themselves in a fantasyland where everything they don't like is "fake," from Harris' crowd sizes to the pet photos of their opponents. This isn't just a coping mechanism, either. As we saw on Jan. 6, 2021, the non-stop accusations that Democrats are "faking" everything can lead Trump's followers down dangerous and even violent pathways.

» article continues...

Mensa Math Brain Teasers

1) A straight wooden rod (think of it like a line segment) is cut at two arbitrary points to form three smaller pieces. What is the probability that these three pieces can form a triangle?

2)George and Jeff are playing a simple dice game. They are taking turns and whoever throws a 7 first wins. Jeff goes first.  Find the probability that Jeff wins the game. What is the average length of the game?

Why A Lunar Timekeeping System Is Now Critical

 

                           Selenographic lunar coordinates that might be used for timekeeping

One could say timing is everything these days. After all, one minuscule additional rotation of Earth by perhaps 14 " could have obliterated the town of  Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, in February, 2013, e.g.

 

Given it packed the energy equivalent of 30 Hiroshima -scale atomic bombs.

 In a more prosaic context, all our communications and GPS networks depend on tracking the precise timing of signals—including accounting for the effects of relativity. The deeper into a gravitational well you go, the slower time moves, and we've reached the point where we can detect differences in altitude of a single millimeter. Time literally flows faster at the altitude where GPS satellites are than it does for clocks situated on Earth's surface. (Refer again to the first question and solution in the Rotational Dynamics Problems (4))

Complicating matters further, those satellites are moving at high velocities, an effect that slows things down.  However, it is true that the change to atomic time can deal with this:

• How Did We Go From Astronomical To Atomic Time?

Wherein I noted:

While one could mark the passage of time from noon on one day to noon the next and multiply by 60 minutes per hour then by 60 seconds per minute .... how could one process - far less measure - 9.2 billion oscillations of a microwave beam when tuned to the frequency of a cesium atom?

Never mind, the accuracy is needed given much of the world (especially in the financial- commercial arena) now requires sub-second accuracy. For example, for financial clients latency is crucial. This means the time elapsed between ordering a trade and when it actually happens. Even a two second delay in the flash trade sphere could mean millions lost for some high end users. 

That earlier iteration of time keeping - how it is done astronomically - I'd examined in a post from 2011:

Tackling Simple Astronomy Problems (5): Astronomical TimeKeeping

But even with atomic time, it's relatively easy to account for events on the Earth, given we're dealing with a single set of adjustments that can be programmed into electronics that need to keep track of events. The  central problem that emerges now is that  given many nations are planning to set up lunar bases and wish to track any and all events there.

So how would time keeping work there? What precision would be needed?

Bear in mind the Moon, which has a considerably lower gravitational field (1/6 of Earth's, also implies clock time runs faster. Which means that objects can stay in orbit despite moving more slowly. For sure,  it would be relatively easy to set up an equivalent system to track time on the Moon, say based on selenographic coordinates.  For this coordinate any position on the lunar surface can be referenced by specifying two numerical values, which are comparable to the latitude and longitude of Earth. The longitude gives the position east or west of the Moon's prime meridian, which is the line passing from the lunar north pole through the point on the lunar surface directly facing Earth to the lunar south pole. This would be analogous to the Greenwich Prime meridian on Earth – where I once stood astride on a visit to London in 1978:

However, even use of that coordinate system would inevitably see the clocks run out of sync with those on Earth—a serious problem for things like scientific observations, or even basic communications.

To resolve such problems, the International Astronomical Union (IAU)  has a resolution that calls for a "Lunar Celestial Reference System" and "Lunar Coordinate Time" to handle time keeping on our nearest cosmic neighbor. To that end, two weeks ago, two researchers (Neil Ashby and Bijunath Patla) at the National institute of Standards and Technology, did the math to show how this might work.

 All that could potentially be handled by an independent lunar positioning system, if we're willing to accept it marching to its own temporal beat. But that will become a problem if we're ultimately going to do things like perform astronomy from the Moon, as the precise timing of events will be critical. Allowing for two separate systems would also mean switching all the timekeeping systems on board craft as they travel between the two.

Ashby and Patla worked on developing a system whereby anything can be calculated in reference to the center of mass of the Earth/Moon system. Or, as they put it in the paper, their mathematical system "enables us to compare clock rates on the Moon and cislunar Lagrange points with respect to clocks on Earth by using a metric appropriate for a locally freely falling frame such as the center of mass of the Earth–Moon system in the Sun's gravitational field."

What does this look like? To be honest it's not for the math faint of heart.  The paper's body has 55 derived equations, with another 67 in the appendices. A snapshot of what to expect (see link at bottom) is captured here;

Try not to pass out.

But why are things so complicated? Well because there are so many factors to consider. There are tidal effects from the Sun and other planets. Anything on the surface of the Earth or Moon is moving due to rotation; other objects are moving while in orbit. The gravitational influence on time will depend on where an object is located. So, there's a lot to keep track of.

Ashby and Patla don't have to take everything into account in all circumstances. Some of these factors are so small they'll only be detectable with an extremely high-precision clock. Others tend to cancel each other out. Still, using their system, they're able to calculate that an object near the surface of the Moon will pick up an extra 56 microseconds every day, which is a problem in situations where lunar colonists may be relying on measuring time with nanosecond precision.

Nevertheless, the two researchers say that their approach-  while focused on the Earth/Moon system-  is still generalizable. Which means that it should be possible to modify it and create a frame of reference that would work on both Earth and anywhere else in the Solar System. Given the pace at which we've sent things beyond low-Earth orbit, this is probably a decent amount of "future-proofing."

We're getting ready to explore the Moon, i.e. with the Artemis mission, and  other nations(China, Japan) are as well. So it's time to get serious. If everything goes to plan, China and a US-led consortium will be sending multiple uncrewed missions, potentially leading to a permanent human presence. We'll have an increasing set of hardware, and eventually facilities on the lunar surface. Tracking just a handful of items at once was sufficient for the Apollo missions, but future missions may need to land at precise locations, and possibly move among them. That makes the equivalent of a lunar GPS valuable, as NIST notes in its press release announcing the work.  

One thing for sure: once lunar time is established it is likely that countries will use their own systems to track it as they do with UTC But the systems may be inoperable unless rigorous steps are taken to ensure compatibility. But they will definitely be essential and the task must be completed.  NASA estimates within the next decade human activity in cislunar space will equal or exceed past operations - noting already more than 100 missions have transpired since the dawn of the Space Age with Sputnik in 1957.

Stay tuned!

See Also:

The Astronomical Journal, 2024. DOI: 

10.3847/1538-3881/ad643a  

And:

Gravitational Deflection Of Starlight & Neil Ashby's Marvelous Contribution To Relativistic Dynamics 

A Tale Of Two Conventions: A Personality Cult's (RNC) Machismo Fest Vs. An Actual Party's Celebration Of Humanity & Decency (DNC)

 

                                Kamala Harris after her acceptance speech last night

                       Contrasting images of two conventions: DNC (top) vs. RNC

"Jim Jones and Donald Trump have a commonality.

Jones was religious and Trump is political.

Both are cult leaders.

Jones' followers ended with the Jonestown mass suicide.

Trump’s MAGA followers are destroying themselves along

with their Republican Party.

Similar results just different Kool-Aid."

Washington Post comment

Kamala Harris last night delivered a nomination acceptance speech for decency and democracy,  including a forceful rebuke of Donald Trump.  She then laid out the stakes of this election which, by any normal definition, is existential. As the Democratic nominee cogently put it:

 “Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost … Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement … For an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans and separately, found liable for committing sexual abuse … Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States supreme court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.”

Imagine indeed! It would be ‘Katie bar the doors!’ as the last vestiges of democracy are consumed by a Trump-Traitor autocracy. This is the dire warning we beheld.  Kamala offered basically a searing indictment - from the perspective of a prosecutor -  showing how Trump disqualified himself from ever serving in government again.

She ended with a message of hope and optimism that has been a theme all week, in contrast to the misogynistic and cataclysmic ramblings of the RNC a month ago.  In contrast to Trump’s  retributive and divisive ‘American carnage’ themes, Kamala embraced positive human dignity, extolling our democracy instead of deriding it:

“Let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and … we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish.”

A day earlier, as thousands of Democratic delegates from all 50 states packed into the United Center chanted “Coach! Coach! Coach!”, Tim Walz conjured up the nail-biting finish that the U.S. is now entering in this existential campaign. As DNC goers cheered he bellowed:

“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.”

His son Gus, so excited by his dad's speech, hugged him afterwards (top image) which will always stand in distinction to the "RNC ape fest" - e.g. with the likes of Hulk Hogan flexing and barking homage to Dotard - at the RNC. Because while the first image embodied humanity and decency the second embodied toxic masculinity growing like a malignancy in American society.  And in its ever more disgusting forms, including misogyny and unchecked bellicosity and psychosis. I touched on some of this behavior when it first erupted during the pandemic in 2020, e.g.

Masculinity A "Barrier" To Covid Safety Precautions? Nope - The Enemy Is Ape-ism, Or Toxic Pseudo-Masculinity 

 Walz, by contrast, displayed the healthy, positive masculinity his son admired. Like previous DNC speakers, Bill Clinton, Oprah, Barack Obama, Tim had a basic communitarian message: ‘Show grace to those people you disagree with.’  In other words, extend the family of possible voters but also the family of America.

Walz also emphasized the concept of helping one’s fellows, as when he said: “You watch out for your neighbor” and adding:

“We made sure that every kid in our state gets breakfast and lunch every day. While other states were banning books from their schools, we were banishing kids’ hunger from ours.”

Contrast this with the garish spectacle of  Hulkamania at the RNC 4 weeks ago. All consumed by worshipping Reep Cult leader Donald Trump. Then, "Hulk" Hogan (among other fake Machos)  took the stage in character to praise “my hero, that gladiator,” working himself into a rage over the attempt on Mr. Trump’s life and ripping open his shirt to expose a “TRUMP-VANCE” tank top. Soon surpassed by a horde of MAGA Macho denizens crooning a rap-metal anthem “American Bad Ass,” exhorting the delegates to throw up their fists and “Say fight! Fight! Say Trump! Trump!”

All the while Putin-lover Tucker Carlson chirping about 'survival of the fittest'. Yelping "A leader is the bravest man, This is a law of nature.”

Failing to grasp that Trump was simply the luckiest man, who just happened to turn his head at the right time, as the would be assassin's bullet whizzed past and struck an unlucky bystander.

 Even The Wall Street Journal (p. A6, July 20-21) had to weigh in on how the macho fest was likely to cost the GOP female votes, e.g.

"The fiery rhetoric and testosterone-fueled lineup, including macho screaming cameos from Hulk Hogan and Kid Rock, were a signal that the campaign isn't trying to win back college-educated suburban women."

Of course not. Since those women have too much sense and intelligence to attend a "white trash party" (in the words of comedian Larry Wilmore)

In the civilized DNC setting, Walz on Wednesday night used words such as “neighbor” seven times, “school” eight times,  and “freedom”, nine. Also to emphasize freedom for Democrats differs from freedom for Republicans. Noting the latter want to have the freedom to dictate what you can do in your bedroom, what books you can read, and what women can do with their bodies. (And then the WSJ editors next day had the nerve to gripe the Democrats were "defining freedom down".  Huh?  What planet are they on?)

Walz used these bold freedom captures to flesh out a picture of himself as the homely guy next door who cares about you and your family and wants you to lead your best life.  And he connected as the real man – not the wild ape machismos (like the Hulk) featured at the RNC.  That he connected could be seen in his son’s response, something you never saw at the DNC.

Meanwhile, the response of the MAGA cult and Trumpites has been predictable, as they’ve have accused him of lying about his military record, painting him as a “radical leftist” who wants to turn the country communist. (Because he provided free lunches for nutrition-deprived school kids in MN).

As for Walz’s military record, how do you knock the military service of someone who spent 24 years in the national guard? Especially as the guy – Captain Bonespurs – leading the other party’s ticket fled from service and more recently mocked those who died in wars as “losers”. Again, it’s human decency vs. ape amorality and we saw at the RNC.

 “We’ll turn the page on Donald Trump,” Coach Walz said. “That’s how we’ll build a country where workers come first, healthcare and housing are human rights, and the government stays the hell out of your bedroom.”  

Contrast that with Trump's Project 2025 playbook and plan which was also skewered Wednesday night, showing (on every cited page) how it would: remove insulin from lower cost drugs as Biden-Harris have allowed, take away a woman's abortion access by implementing a national ban based on an 1800s law (Comstock Act) and eliminate the Dept. of Education as well as tens of thousand of other federal agencies. (Though a Trump son Don Jr. stated, they wouldn't mind giving nutbag RFK Jr. the top job in "any three-letter agency so he can blow it up."

 On a further encouraging note we may finally be ready to expunge the MAGA maggots and their hate, we learned firebrand harpy Ann Coulter was forced to delete a despicable tweet mocking Walz' son Gus. On Thursday morning, Coulter shared a news article about the teenager’s emotional reaction which included a photo of him.

“Talk about weird…” Coulter wrote above the news article.

The backlash against the firebrand blonde virago was swift and ferocious.

Even after Coulter removed her post, the criticism continued.

Former Republican strategist Rick Wilson wrote: “Ann Coulter will die alone, and forensic pathologist will discover her withered corpse is nothing but Marlboro reds and box wine.”

Jesuit priest James Martin noted that the hateful comments came from “self-professed Christians.”

But this is the effect the pestilence called Trump has had on the country, twisting every once noble or anodyne entity into a perversion of hate. Which is why he needs to be sent packing – into a high security prison- after his  post election sentencing by Judge Juan Merchan.

 See Also:

Donald Trump

Trump Has Delivered Unto Us a Nation of Fascist Bullies

by Thom Hartmann | September 5, 2024 - 6:32am | permalink

— from The Hartmann Report

On his eponymous TV show, Joe Scarborough pointed out this week how angry and toxic Xitter has become recently. I’ve seen the same thing, as have many others; quitting Xitter has become a thing, largely as a result of the venomous culture that’s taken hold there.

This seems to be more closely connected to it being taken over by a morbidly rich South African immigrant who seems to delight in bullying his own child (and others) than to the political season; previous election cycles didn’t see similar reports of such widespread hostility and bullying behavior that was driving people to quit particular social media sites altogether.

That’s probably because one of the first rules of social organization is that culture flows from the top down.

When dad is violent, the family tends to be violent (or damaged by that violence). When corporate CEOs are bullies, middle management generally emulate that bullying style. When teachers or professors delight in picking on vulnerable students, the entire class often joins in.

» article continues...

And:

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris Gets Personal—and Presidential—in Powerful Acceptance Speech

by Joan McCarter | August 23, 2024 - 6:41am | permalink

— from Daily Kos

In front of a raucous and rapt Democratic National Convention Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the party’s nomination for president.

"We gotta get to some business,” she said while the crowd was still shouting and cheering. “Let’s get to business.”

The first business was honoring and thanking President Joe Biden.

......

"In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us,” she said. “No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together."

In my entire career, I've only had one client: the people. So on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.

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. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.

"I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” 

» article continues...

And:

2024 Elections | Kamala Harris

The Power of Kamala Harris’ Simple DNC Message: Freedom Is What Normal Americans Want

by Amanda Marcotte | August 24, 2024 - 6:29am | permalink

— from Salon

CHICAGO — Vice President Kamala Harris only entered the presidential race a month ago, so it's unsurprising to see trace evidence all over the Democratic National Convention of the original plans for when President Joe Biden was the presumptive nominee. The order of the states for the ceremonial roll call, the choice speaking slots for folks like Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, and even a party platform so hastily rewritten it mentions Biden's "second term": all ghosts of the convention that would have been if Biden hadn't stepped down. Unsurprising, the most prominent relic of the alt-history convention was Biden's Monday night speech, which focused on the theme of his now-deceased campaign: "clear and present threats to our very democracy" from Donald Trump.

"Democracy has prevailed, democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved," Biden declared. In contrast, the Harris campaign has downplayed the "democracy" talk in favor of another word: freedom.

» article continues...

And:

Kamala Harris Is Trump’s Worst Nightmare

by Clarence Lusane | August 25, 2024 - 5:52am | permalink

— from TomDispatch

One of the nation’s best-known Black Republicans is former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In the 21st century (and perhaps ever), no African American woman rose higher in Republican politics than Rice, who served as President George W. Bush’s national security adviser and then his secretary of state, both firsts. Like her or not, agree with her politics or not, she brought significant experience, knowledge, and professionalism to those positions.

Former President Donald Trump’s first public words about Rice date back to 2006 when he labeled her with a vile term. In a speech before 8,000 people in New York City, he said, “Condoleezza Rice, she’s a lovely woman, but I think she’s a bitch. She goes around to other countries and other nations, negotiates with their leaders, comes back, and nothing ever happens.” There was no justification for Trump using such repulsive language other than his own toxic petulance and racist misogyny against Black women.

And:

Republicans

The Politics of Joy Versus the Only Thing Republicans Have Left: Cruelty

by Thom Hartmann | August 24, 2024 - 5:46am | permalink

— from The Hartmann Report

During the 1950s, Republicans were the party that promoted labor unions, Social Security, and a top 91% income tax bracket and 70% estate tax on the morbidly rich. Dwight Eisenhower successfully campaigned on what we’d call a progressive agenda for re-election in 1956.

During the Reagan years, Republicans embraced Milton Friedman’s neoliberalism with its free trade, opposition to unions, ending free college, and tax cuts for the fat cats. They called themselves “the party of new ideas.” They may have done more harm than good, but for most Republicans it was a good-faith effort.

Today, they’ve pretty much given up on all of that. All they have left is cruelty.

When Governor Tim Walz gave his heartwarming acceptance speech Wednesday night here at the DNC in Chicago, his son Gus was caught on camera proudly proclaiming, through tear-streaked eyes, “That’s my dad!”

Tim Walz Positively Nails His Big DNC Moment

by Joan McCarter | August 22, 2024 - 6:31am | permalink

— from Daily Kos

Yes, Gov. Tim Walz is that guy: your favorite neighbor, teacher, coach—the guy you’d call when you needed help changing a tire, or facing a hard conversation with your parents, or just want to have a fun fishing companion.

That’s the man who showed up Wednesday night to accept the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to be vice president. The heart of his message: “Everybody belongs.”

"It's the honor of my life to accept your nomination for vice president of the United States,” he said. “Thank you for bringing the joy to this fight.”

And:

Donald Trump | JD Vance | Kamala Harris | Tim Walz

“Weird Is Really Just the Opposite of Empathy”: DNC Delegates Say What’s off About MAGA Is the Hate

by Amanda Marcotte | August 23, 2024 - 5:49am | permalink

— from Salon

CHICAGO — When Vice President Kamala Harris's running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, called MAGA Republicans "weird," it's unlikely he knew he was kicking off a meme that would worm its way into the imaginations of millions of voters. He probably didn't even realize it would drive Donald Trump even more bonkers than usual. The word also made journalists a little nuts, because it lacks the specificity that every writer learns from an early age is supposedly necessary for clear communication. But it turns out "weird" is less vague than it is broad, with enough connotations to cover everything wrong about Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, from their speeches about electric sharks to their sniping about "childless cat ladies."

Walz hit the "weird" theme again during his speech Wednesday night. Describing Trump's agenda, he said, "Is it weird? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong. And dangerous." In contrast, he said, "When we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people you love." Or more straightforwardly, to MAGA: "Mind your own damn business."

And:

Democrats

The DNC’s One Clear Goal: Run up the Gender Gap

by Heather Digby Parton | August 22, 2024 - 6:24am | permalink

— from Salon

I've told the story before, but it bears repeating in the context of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. I attended the Democrats' convention in 2008 and it was a pretty ecstatic atmosphere. The party was set to nominate the first Black candidate for president and his very close primary competitor, Hillary Clinton, was the first woman to make a serious run for it. There had been plenty of bad blood during the primary and there were still some raw feelings that needed to be dealt with before the full celebration could begin. It was up to Clinton to heal the breach and it wasn't going to be easy.

On the night Clinton was to give her big endorsement speech, I stood next to a group of young Black women who were clearly skeptical of her and were big fans of Barack Obama. They were not expecting much. But her speech was exceptional and by the end of it the women I was watching were cheering along with Clinton's supporters whom she had thanked profusely but also pointedly asked, "were you in it for me or were you in it for the country?" She wound it up by exhorting everyone to put their efforts into electing Barack Obama: