Democrats are Patriotic AF: Joy, Commitment, and the Deep, Deep Democratic Bench. LFG! (Corrected/Updated)
Or, how the Democratic bench's depth bodes very, very well for the future, why the DNC kicked ass, Kamala Harris is on fire, Tim Walz is a fab dad, and getting to and through the November election.
Hi friends,
Glad to see you again. While we were all off watching the DNC, it was a bit of a rough week at home. I’m glad to be back here with you. A few thoughts:
Cancer sucks and 52 is too young to die
Stomach viruses suck for everyone
Sometimes you have to miss big family events, and that sucks too.
On the flip side:
College friendships can be some of the most formative and deeply meaningful relationships you’ll ever have
Stomach viruses still suck
I’m so, so proud of my 12 yo niece on her big day today
So, let’s get back to it. I didn’t expect anything from Adam Kinzinger’s speech. I imagined: Boo Trump, hold nose but yay Kamala, blah blah blah. What actually happened is that Kinzinger said something out loud that I think a lot of Republicans really do need to hear. That Democrats are as patriotic as Republicans used to be. His whole speech is below. I recommend sharing it among all your network, even the Republicans. They might view him as a traitor to their cause, OR they might actually be able to hear what he has to say and let it marinate.
Patriotism, and what it can mean is actually a really important discussion…because it can look very different from person to person, group to group. I discussed this last year with Ben Railton AmericanStudier, an American history professor at Fitchburg State University in MA. He wrote a book about competing ideas of patriotism, and how striving to improve the country while understanding its shortcomings is a really powerful form of patriotism. I hope you listen, because this discussion is even more relevant now than it was when we spoke.
Here’s what Pete Buttigieg has to say about Patriotism, which complements Ben Railton’s perspective in more specific detail:
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The Bench
This convention was impeccably conceived (thank you Stephanie Cutter) and came off flawlessly to the viewer. Staffers were running around like headless chickens behind the scenes. It was an incredible feat since organizers had to navigate the change from pre-debate Biden, to post-debate Biden, to Haris/Walz in a VERY short period of time. We ended up with an incredibly joyful, exciting, cohesive combination of showmanship, consistent messaging, and unrelenting talent.
First, the big guns. Biden, Clinton, Clinton, Obama, Obama, Walz & Harris did their jobs, and Michele Obama blew us all away with one of the best political speeches of all time. She urged us not to just let defeat happen, but DO SOMETHING. Here’s her speech if you didn’t already see it. Incidentally, as a non-fashionista, I am completely in love with her outfit. I even checked the designer’s website and she looks better in it than the model does! Barack Obama even managed a crowd-size (dick) joke with plausible deniability, continuing the theme of showing Trump to be a small, weak, child, rather than the strong leader he longs to be.
Beyond the headliners, we saw elected and appointed Democrats speak brilliantly, show off their leadership chops, and demonstrate just how much political talent our party has built. I’m listing some here, but I know I’m forgetting some—Mallory McMorrow, AOC, Elissa Slotkin, Jasmine Crockett, Gretchen Whitmer, Josh Shapiro, Mark Kelly, Pete Buttigieg. We have such a future team of Democrats who have been recruited, supported, and strengthened by groups like Run for Something Run for Something feel-good updates, which is dedicated to recruiting, training, and supporting candidates at the local and state level.
I had a conversation with Amanda Litman, ED of Run for Something, on the Freedom Over Fascism podcast (link here and below). I truly believe—and my conversations have reinforced—that running Democrats up and down the ballot, in urban, suburban, and rural districts, will lead us to victory in unexpected places (think Tim Walz in rural MN), and will produce reverse coattails, bringing people out to vote who might not otherwise. More shameless plugging: I’ve talked on the podcast to Paulo Cremidis of Outrun Coalition, Madi Eden of Contest Every Race, Jess Piper of Blue Missouri, Jonathan Zucker of Every State Blue and will be speaking to Michele Hornish of Every State Blue in the next couple of weeks. I hope you’ll listen or read the transcripts. This strategy of running everywhere is the key to continuing to build power and build a bench that is stronger than we’ve ever seen.
And then there was Pete Buttigieg’s discussion of creating a new kind of politics…the kind that draws out the best in us, instead of the worst. I urge you to watch it. It starts slow and then builds up to encompass the entire field of politics, reminding us that politics is all about living out our values, and that every aspect of life is touched by politics, whether we realize it or not. There’s even reference to overflowing mac and cheese and beeping air fryer and barking dog that I could seriously relate to. OBVIOUSLY he says it better than I every could because he’s one of those generational talents that we seem to have a surplus of right now.
And most of all, Kamala Harris did everything she needed to do with her speech. She defined the stakes of the election, told us why she’s the woman for the moment, framed everything in terms of freedom, and looked toward the future. I can’t imagine a better speech or delivery than the one she gave. Clearly the speechwriters and candidates have learned from Anat Shenker-Osorio and friends’ race/class narrative, and from Pete Buttigieg’s freedom frame in the 2020 primaries. Other transcendent moments came from candidates’ family members: everyone from Kamala’s husband Doug to her blended family, to her little grand nieces talking about Auntie. Here’s a good one from another young family member: “Auntie, you’re a baller!”
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Tim Walz and his family also shone. When Gus Walz cried and shouted “That’s My Dad!” we saw unfiltered love and joy of a son for a father, and clearly the reverse. Of course MAGA started to mock and bully him in a disgusting but unsurprising show of toxic masculinity and cruelty, but everyone on our side from pols to content creators are reaffirming what a beautiful moment that was.
So, now that we’re fired up, the work intensifies. We’ve got to DO SOMETHING, as Michele Obama says. That could include listening to and reading good independent journalism **insert shameless plug for Freedom Over Fascism here** and others, such as COURIER , Pro-publica, Public Notice, Judd Legum’s Popular Information, 19th, ONEST Network, MuellerSheWrote, Scott Dworkin, and so many others. Take a look at one of my recent posts and restacks for a more complete list. We need to talk to friends, family, acquaintances, and random people on the street about freedom, and all the other truthful messages we saw at the DNC and we talk about here all the time. Check out Simon Rosenberg and Hopium for community phone, text, and postcard banks. Read Jessica Craven at Chop Wood, Carry Water for daily actions you can take. And donate, donate, donate. Check out blue24.org for the most important races. **Another shameless plug—I’ve talked to most of these folks on the Freedom Over Fascism podcast, including Jess Piper Jessica Craven Simon Rosenberg Aaron Rupar Scott Dworkin (forthcoming).
I also saw a short clip where Kamala Harris tells a Black barber that there are 2 ways to have power in politics. One is to write a check. And the other is to vote. I can’t find the clip right now, so if you’ve read this far without falling asleep and know where it is, please post it in the comments. It was a great conversation that showed that Harris can talk to anyone with ease, in direct contrast to JD Vance’s AWKWARD visit to a donut shop.
Apropos fundraising: this week I’ll release my convo with David Callahan of Blue Tent to talk about the best places and organizations to donate to in order to build lasting power.
And the last thing I want to talk about is JOY. How wonderful it is going into the fight of our lives joyful and truly hopeful, instead of wading through a joyless but necessary campaign. We would have all fought like hell for Joe Biden, but it’s actually much more exciting and fun to fight for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Let’s Fucking Go!
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Thank you so much! LFG!