Take it to the Polls: Democrats Attempt to Expand Coalition for November

Every four years, the Democratic National Committee formally nominates their candidates for President and Vice-President at the Democratic National Convention. As the formal nomination of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris marks the end of the Democratic Primary, it also launches the beginning of the general election; a general election that will occur 75 days after Joe Biden makes his acceptance speech on August 20. While nominating candidates is the primary goal of the convention, it is also a time to establish a comprehensive party platform, spotlight rising voices in the party, and bring in new voters.

Before I talk about some of the key voices and where they seem to be directing their messages, I want to explain the unicity of this year’s convention. The Washington Post reported that Stephanie Cutter, a veteran Democratic political operative, said that in addition to being completely virtual, the program was going to be 16 hours shorter than normal. Reporter Michael Scherer speculates that while the “forced brevity” may be enraging for Democratic officials who did not get a chance to speak, it may “play well to the evolving technological landscape where targeted voters spend their time.” In the next few paragraphs, I will talk about who these potential Biden-Harris voters are and how the Democrats are reaching out to them.

With an unprecedented variety of speakers, the 2020 convention sheds some light on who the Democrats are trying to bring into their coalition this November. The primary saw progressive candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren pulling the rest of the field to the left, so it is no surprise that they were both asked to give speeches at the convention this year. What was surprising was the Monday evening speech from Republican, and former Ohio Governor, John Kasich. This segment of the convention clearly spotlights how the Democratic Party is targeting Republicans, Independents, and undecideds who do not want to vote for Donald Trump but are not quite sold on Joe Biden and the Democrats. Kasich reaches out to these voters, saying, “I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country. That’s why I have chosen to appear at this convention.” It must be noted that in this speech, Kasich is not expressing his new-found love for the Democratic Party or progressive ideals. Rather, he is reaching out to a group of Republicans who see Donald Trump as a danger to American democracy and is providing them with an urgent call to action. This came only moments before Bernie Sanders explained how his movement has pulled the Democratic Party to the left. Senator Sanders said, “many of the ideas we fought for, that just a few years ago were considered radical, are now mainstream,” before once again pledging his support to Joe Biden and calling upon progressive voters to join him.

Kasich and Sanders’ speeches show just how much the Democratic Party is attempting to expand its coalition ideologically, but there is another group—unlikely voters or people who are cynical about politics. No one reached out to these people more directly than Monday’s keynote speaker and former First Lady, Michelle Obama. Just a few minutes in, she acknowledges that four years ago many people thought their votes did not matter, were fed up with party politics, thought the outcome would not be close, or that the barriers were just too steep. She reaches out to these people later in the speech saying, “You know that I tell you exactly what I am feeling. You know I hate politics, but you also know that I care about this nation. You know how much I care about all of our children.” Michelle Obama is not a politician, but she is seen as a massive voice and moral compass for the Democratic Party and government making her an invaluable messenger for motivating unlikely and cynical voting-eligible people across the country.

While the Democratic Party has often been referred to as a “big tent,” seeing such a wide range of speakers at a National Convention is unusual. The coalition that the Democrats are trying to build for this November includes democratic socialists, moderates, independents, and even some Republican voters who do not want to see four more years of a Trump administration. Over the next few months, it is going to be very interesting to see if there is enough room in the “big tent” for so many voices.

Lastly, I would like to talk about the acceptance speeches. On August 19, 2020, Senator Kamala Harris formally accepted the democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States. From the civil rights activists in the 1960s to the “trailblazing leadership” of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Harris began her speech by acknowledging all of the hard work that has been done to make her nomination possible. She goes on to explain her upbringing as a child of two immigrants and all of the things she has learned about family, compassion, and public service that led her to become a lawyer, a district attorney, Attorney General of California, and U.S. Senator for California. One of the most compelling parts of her speech comes about 13 minutes in when she described her and Vice-President Biden’s shared vision for America. She says, “Joe and I believe that we can build that beloved community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves. That’s the vision that our parents and grandparents fought for. The vision that made my own life possible. The vision that makes the American promise—for all its complexities and imperfections—a promise worth fighting for.” This call for American unity is just one of the several common themes in the speeches of both Harris and Biden.

Vice President Joe Biden formally accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. His unity message comes early in the address when he says, “While I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American President. I’ll work hard for those who did not support me.” He goes on to explain how it is the job of the president to represent everyone and not just their base or party. Minutes later he explains that America is being met with an unprecedented challenge of four simultaneous crises. The worst pandemic in over 100 years, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the most compelling call for racial justice since the 1960s, and the accelerating threat of global climate change. He explains that President Trump has failed to keep America safe from the coronavirus, saying that “it didn’t have to be this bad.” Following this up by reaching out to those who have had their lives ruined by the virus, Biden explains his personal experience with loss in his family and the extreme grief he has experienced. Turning to fight for the ongoing battle for racial justice in America, he says that seeing the horrible events in Charlottesville three years ago and hearing the President of the United States say that there were “very fine people on both sides” is when he decided to run. He says, “Maybe George Floyd’s murder was the breaking point. Maybe John Lewis’s passing was the inspiration. However it has come to be, America is ready to, in John’s words, lay down “the heavy burdens of hate at last” and to “do the hard work of rooting out our systemic racism.” Minutes before bringing his speech to a close, Biden delivers a message of hope and a call to action saying, “With passion and purpose, let us begin — you and I together, one nation, under God — united in our love for America and united in our love for each other. For love is more powerful than hate. Hope is more powerful than fear. Light is more powerful than dark.”