Just over a month ago, when people asked how I was feeling about the upcoming election, my standard reply was, “Terrified!” I was not wrong to feel that way, and I’m sure you know where I was coming from if you’re familiar at all with Project 2025. Ah, but that was a month ago, and the new ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz has given the race a whole new vibe.
That’s important not because the prospect of another Trump presidency is any less scary and certainly not because victory is assured for the Harris/Walz ticket. It matters because it’s injected a tremendous amount of new energy into the campaign. Traffic on our website, claycountydfl.org, nearly doubled, and we’ve added close to 40 new subscribers to our email list. All of this happened even before the rousing and inspiring Democratic National Convention this week. People are pumped!
The problem we were facing is that fear is a problematic motivator. When Biden was the candidate, the message came down to, “Suck it up. We know the alternative is worse.” But when the base is demoralized, it’s hard to get them energized for action. People respond much better when there’s a positive message that gives them hope. Since Harris emerged as the Democrats’ candidate, it’s the MAGA Republicans, with their apocalyptic rhetoric, that looks like the party of gloom and doom. When Walz labeled them as simply “weird,” he cut them down to size and made the campaign feel more like fun.
So what is the positive message for Democrats now? I recently attended a webinar put on by Faith in Minnesota (which you may know as Isaiah MN). I came away with three useful themes that (proof that great minds think alike) were also pushed vigorously by speakers at the convention. The genius of these themes is that they turn the tables on the claims of MAGA Republicans and reclaim for Democrats some core American values.
· Patriotism. If you love this country, you believe in democracy and the rule of law, and you’re ready to sacrifice to preserve them. Kamala Harris was a prosecutor. Trump is a convicted felon who tried to subvert the 2020 election. Tim Walz served 24 years in the National Guard and achieved a high rank. Push back against any effort to diminish that.
· Family. Minnesota under Walz has become a model of how to support families, with policies like paid family and medical leave, child tax credits, and universal school lunches. JD Vance and the MAGA Republicans are trying to impose a cookie-cutter model of the family that hearkens back to Leave It to Beaver, as if that ever was or ever could be again the way of every American family.
· Freedom. This might be the best way to turn MAGA Republican claims on their head. Reproductive freedom is obviously a big part of that, but that issue is just one part of the bigger threat posed by Christian Nationalism. If freedom means the freedom to be yourself and pursue your own path, then Democrats are the true party of freedom. In the words of Tim Walz, we say, “Mind your own damn business.”
Trump has been thrown for a loop by the Harris campaign, and he has acted even more unhinged than usual lately. We can’t count on the Trump campaign to simply implode, however. We need to take this new positive energy and put it to work. If you’re ready to pitch in, we’d love to hear from you. “When we fight, we win.”
Paul Harris
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