Kamala Harris’ DNC Acceptance Speech: Hope for the Working Class…Appeals to Ultra-Nationalism

 By David Starr

 

The 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) turned out to be electrifying. The enthusiasm was contagious. And it became official: Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for president of the United States. 

 

Harris still has momentum after the DNC, but according to Newsweek, she did not increase her lead over Donald Trump. There was “no DNC bump.” However, Harris is still in the lead, Newsweek citing a Morning Consult survey where Harris has her best increase ever since she replaced Joe Biden for the presidential campaign run. Harris, as of this writing, leads 48 to 44, a four-point advantage.

 

Harris’ momentum is impressive. Morning Consult’s Cameron Easley and Eli Yokley are quoted, “The kind of information voters heard about Harris previously tracked with what they were hearing about Biden, but it’s been a different story since she became the Democratic nominee: Her net buzz now exceeds Trump’s and Biden’s by double digits.”

 

But the Democrats seem to be moving further to the right. Sonali Kolhakar writes in CounterPunch, “[R]eading Harris’s speech rather than watching it, helped bring some distance from the joy and clarified that the party is still not embracing the language of progressive economic populism and continues to use the destructive language of the right.” 

 

Two phrases from Harris’ speech are revealed by Kolhakar: 

 

Harris used the phrase, “Opportunity economy,” which has been used by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, as well as Florida’s Chamber of Commerce, a rigid pro-business entity. Kolhakar spells out the meaning of “opportunity,” writing that, it “means a chance, the creation of circumstances to make something possible.” But those without institutional and corporate power, usually Black and Brown people, are not afforded genuine opportunities, despite gains from the Civil Rights movement.

 

Kolhakar asserts that there “is a huge difference between “opportunities” and “rights.” “The former is a pro-corporate, pro-business term that is perfectly consistent with individual capitalist economy that has ‘winners’ who make use of opportunities for wealth-building and ‘losers’ who fail to do so.” 

 

Harris also used the word “freedom” in her speech, consistently used by Republicans even though they grossly contradict the word. Kolhakar writes that “Harris was attempting to reclaim the word ‘freedom’ from the GOP, a formation that has been pulled toward the extreme right by Republican lawmakers who label themselves as members of the ‘Freedom Caucus.”’ More like the Fascist Caucus. 

 

Kolhakar criticizes Harris for not speaking out for progressive economic populism. It was one of some disappointments that tarnished Harris’ speech. Another term used by Harris was “opportunity agenda.” Another sign of leaning right.

 

Kolhakar concludes, “Rather than leaning rightward by using the Republican-style language of ‘opportunity’ and ‘freedom,’ the Democratic Party could lean left and center the ‘rights’ of the people.”

 

It’s not to say that Harris had nothing good to express. As a prosecutor, Harris took on big, corrupt banks. Harris mentioned that she supported veterans who were ripped off by big for-profit colleges. She supported workers who were cheated out of their wages by their employers. And she supported seniors who were abused.  

 

So, as a prosecutor, Attorney General of California and Senator, Harris has had some positive accomplishments.

 

But on foreign policy, Harris sounded like a neoliberal using right-wing phraseology. She fervently said that the U.S. military will be the most lethal worldwide. But it already is, with an almost trillion-dollar military budget. It’s over-bloated, and thus should be cut with the funds used for social-economic programs.

 

Harris and the audience came across as fervently patriotic, in other words, embracing ultra-nationalism. Harris and the audience yelled the chant, “USA!USA!USA,!” borrowing from the right this ultra-nationalist slogan. 

 

Why ultra-nationalist? Because the USA sees itself as exceptional. The “greatest country in the world.” It arrogantly imposes itself on the world, seeing itself as special above all other countries. Simply put, the USA is an imperialist, monetary empire. And with that, the Democrats are not presenting themselves as having a real alternative agenda. So far. Would Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz make at least some degree of a difference? At this point in time, who knows?

 

For those who are interested, click here for Kamala Harris’s nomination speech.

 

Who would be a better president? Some say neither one. Many say Harris. And few (compared with the overall U.S. population) say Trump. 

 

In their respective campaigns, Trump and Harris took swipes at each other. However, Harris also talked about the issues and what she would do as president. Trump was pathetic, using insults and gossip while not focusing on the issues.

 

But, there are those who think that there is no difference between Harris and Trump. Both Democrats and Republicans are ideologically the same. Emphasis on the word ideologically. That is, both are capitalist parties in the bottom line and are like two tendencies of one party. But, many will vote for Harris in order to stop Trump and the right-wing’s fascist Project 2025 agenda. 

 

The excitement of the Democratic National Convention shows consistent momentum. If it continues, Kamala Harris will win the U.S. presidency.