Kamala Harris, Populist
Kamala Harris, Populist
Democrats and Republicans both say they stand "for the people." But their people are very different.
Watching this week’s coverage of the Democratic National Convention, three things stood out. The first was the endless loop of Beyonce’s song Freedom (and no, despite the hype, Queen Bey did not make an appearance). The second was Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz declaring that the government should “mind (its) own damn business” on things like reproductive rights. The third was the mind-numbing repetition of the phrase “Kamela Harris, for the people”, including by Presidential nominee Harris herself.
Add these up and what do you get? Answer: left-wing populism. Picture an organized version of Occupy, the flip side of the right-wing “people’s politics” currently sweeping the globe. The Democrats are smart: instead of fighting this wave, they decided to surf it.
It only works, of course, because of Harris’ personal narrative, including her career as a public defender. “For the people” is a gift of a slogan. Were President Joe Biden still the nominee, none of this would be happening, but now Harris can be packaged as the embodiment of ordinary America, who will champion middle class values because she lived them herself.
Harris’ progressive populism is styled as the sunny antidote to the angry right-wing populism of Republican nominee Donald Trump. Where Trump would expel illegal aliens and curtail abortion rights, Harris would defend minorities and protect a woman’s rights to choose. Where he would pursue protectionism and isolationism, she would eschew high tariffs and embrace NATO.
But Harris’ freedom agenda comes with a lot of government intervention. While she pledges a middle class tax cut, she also talks about imposing a nationwide ban on “price gouging”. Harris would also legislate national background checks on prospective gun owners and ban assault weapons. Government is still your friend in the Democratic universe: no one’s draining the swamp.
In contrast, the Trump Republicans have styled themselves the party of the anti-government hardscrabble class, though their leader, Presidential nominee Donald Trump, is anything but. The GOP attempted to close this authenticity gap by nominating hillbilly elegist JD Vance as their VP pick – a seemingly perfect choice, until Vance’s “weirdness” became the stuff of memes. The Democrats have gleefully seized on this, as well as the paradox of the Republicans’ claim to love liberty while attacking the very institutions that are supposed to check the power of the executive, like the media and the courts.
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So now in the US you have two populist parties. But if you think either will unify America, you are sadly mistaken. Politics is as polarized as never before, along major fault lines of race, class and faith. The mixed-race crowd and speakers at the DNC presented a stark contrast to the overwhelmingly white faces at the RNC. First stepdaughter Ella Emhoff’s granny glasses and tattoos were the polar opposite of first daughter Tiffany Trump’s air-brushed Park Avenue esthetic.
The personal narratives of speakers differed as well: mothers of children lost to gun violence vs. Ted Cruz honoring parents of children killed by illegal immigrants. The emphasis on Christian religion at the RNC was also absent from the DNC. Sure, the Reverand Al Sharpton took the stage, and Harris referenced the importance of faith, but it was a far cry from Trump’s invocation of God saving him from assassination.
Harris’ hopey-changey rhetoric echoes the speeches of President Barack Obama, whose best-seller The Audacity of Hope laid the groundwork for one of the most successful Democratic campaigns in history. The difference is that Obama had to fight for the presidential nomination, selling his story one delegate at a time. Harris has ascended to the role without the traditional struggle, and the party needs to legitimize her.
For that, they savvily called on the Obamas, notably Michelle, who boldly declared that “Hope is making a comeback.” So far, she’s right, and the polls give the Democrats lots of reasons to be hopeful. But it’s still a long road to November. We’ll see which type of populism Americans prefer.
There is no hope with the Obamas. His presidency remains as part of the crisis. America needs remediation and it is a long road back.
“Politics is as polarized as never before, along major fault lines of race, class and faith.”
This is how 70 years of attack ads and negativity have now morphed into the social media maelstrom we see today.
From your column I also see the choice America faces between right-wing and left-wing populism is one of the most consequential decisions in its history. The populist Right clings to a vision rooted in the past, while the populist Left looks to what America could become if only they had their way.
Both sides claim they have the answers.
Democrats seek to engage allies and adversaries with a softer, more diplomatic approach, while the other believes in taking a hard line across the board and make it about America. Perhaps that’s what they should be most concerned with.
what’s most surprising—and telling—is that Kamala Harris and the Democrats have shifted to the center, embracing a version of American patriotism that reflects what America how they see Ametica today, not what it was in the 1950s which if you watched the GOP convention you got a strong sense of tradition, God’s message and apple pie.
If the Democratic strategy works, it's a masterstroke. But the political landscape is precarious, and whoever wins the upcoming election will face the daunting challenge of navigating foreign policy over the next five years— and a deeply divided country that almost backslid into anarchy on January 6th.