Reuters. pictures.com
Dear Commons Community,
Kamala Harris gave the speech of her life last night at the Democratic National Convention. She was forceful, unhesitating, and clear in where she wants to take our country. She did not shy away from attacking Trump presenting a dark image of what the former president will do if reelected. Here are some highlights. You can view the full speech here.
Harris reviewed her background and growing up in a mostly one-parent home. She would be the first woman president if she wins, as well as the first South Asian, the first Black woman. But she didn’t dwell on the historic nature of her candidacy.
Harris acknowledged that hers was an “uncertain journey,” the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants who was raised by a single mother after her parents split up. One of her comments was a jolt when she told a story of her mother advising her and her sister to “never do anything half-assed.”
Her speech drew wild applause and left some in tears, as she formally accepted her party’s nomination for president, laid out her vision for the country and wasted no time spelling out how dangerous a reelected Donald Trump would be for women, middle-class Americans and the rule of law itself.
Harris cast herself as a seasoned fighter, drawing a direct from her years as a prosecutor fighting for women and children against abusers, to her stint as the California attorney general taking on big banks and gun cartels, to her fights to win tough elections, to her current fight to protect American democracy from Trump.
“In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man,” Harris said. “The consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
She described the “chaos and calamity” that marked Trump’s first term as president and then the gravity of what came next: Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to prevent the votes for Joe Biden to become president from being counted. On top of that, Trump was impeached twice and, since leaving office, has been convicted of 34 felony counts in the hush-money case and was found liable for committing sexual abuse and defamation.
“Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again,” Harris warned. “Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution.”
The vice president homed in on Trump’s attacks on women’s reproductive rights. She described meeting with women around the country in her capacity as vice president and hearing horror stories about miscarrying in parking lots, getting sepsis and losing the ability to have children again ― all because doctors in their states were afraid of going to jail for providing them with abortion care. And she emphasized that he and his allies want to keep chipping away at reproductive rights.
“Simply put, they are out of their minds,” Harris concluded, to deafening cheers.
Run, Kamala, Run!
Tony
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