Two Conventions, Two Platforms Speak Volumes
Did You Hear That?
As we closed out last week, I heard (metaphorically) the sounds of a race beginning. Someone said, “Drivers, start your engines.” Or was it a voice saying, “Get ready, start, go!”? Maybe a starters pistol fired?
Labor Day is right around the corner and so the presidential race has truly begun. I am actually a bit surprised both sets of candidates are not campaigning the weekend just past. No doubt they are working (at least some of them….) in other ways. Lots of things are different in this election, but lots of familiar elements too, and those elements count.
I thought it might be useful to compare a few of them directly, to better gage the content and the spirit of two very different approaches to being America. The next two weeks will tell us a lot about what the final run will look like. In 70 days, we will know what Americans chose.
Two Conventions
The two conventions always are different from each other. That would be an understatement this year. Interestingly, I think both parties got what they wanted out of their conventions.
I admit that my view of the two party conventions just concluded are not based on equal viewing time. While I watched portions of the Republican convention throughout its time, I could only take smaller doses. The Democrats, I watched from gavel to gavel every day. I did do a good amount of reading and listening to broadcast and printed analysis on both.
Republicans
Given that the Republicans had fired almost all their professionals at the RNC not long before their convention, they pulled it off pretty smoothly. Things ran about as they might have hoped. But one certainly could not call it a joyous celebration, for the most part. There were heavy doses of gloom and doom.
A certain amount of that sort of gloom is expected from a party out of power, but geez – at times it felt like watching a scene from the Munsters, without the humor. It was largely an angry, exclusionary gathering. You honestly could not recognize the America they described (more on this when we look at platforms). I did not see any speakers that earned four stars, but in fairness, I missed a lot, perhaps such a speaker.
Trump, by common agreement, completely blew his big moment. Too long and the now typical rambling list of lies and exaggeration, anger and exageration. I had to wonder how many people were sitting in that hall wondering, What have we done?
Democrats
The Democrats could not have been more different. This was lively, often joyous, frequently poignant, and it looked like America. The diversity in race, gender, age, everything, was in full bloom and celebrated as an asset for the party and the country. Several speeches were truly memorable. The breadth and depth of that party’s bench of current and future leaders is amazing. It’s as good a roster as I have seen in my lifetime.
I have never seen Michelle Obama so angry. Hillary Clinton and Oprah were terrific. Other powerful speakers included Gov. Roy Cooper (what a fine Attorney General he would make), soon to be (one hopes) Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Gov. Wes Moore, and a couple of police chiefs.
But in many ways, among the best speakers were those who consider themselves proud, real Republicans who are ready to disagree with Democrats on a lot, but not on how unacceptable Trump is and always has been. This would not have been an easy thing for them to do; they received the respect and support they deserved for speaking out.
The most powerful presentations were by people who almost died because they were unable to get medically necessary abortions in their red states, and those who survived mass killings in school massacres. These folks were powerful reminders of how policy so directly influences, and can end, human life.
I have to say that I was not as quite impressed with Harris’ speech, but still give it an A; most gave it an A+. As was noted by another commentator, in the first part of the speech, she introduced herself; at the end, she laid out her policy priorities; in between, she articulated the Trump indictment. The SEP 10 debate between these two should be something to observe.
Two Platforms
I think party platforms are not unimportant. They are not binding, and often lack much detail, but they do tell us what a party is thinking about and what each party will put its time and energy into making dreams into reality.
Republicans
You may recall that the last time the Republicans gathered for a presidential election, they had no platform. I believe that is a first in modern times. They simply said they would do whatever Donnie wanted them to do. No kidding, that was it.
Reading this year’s platform, I am thinking perhaps they should have stayed with the no platform model. Check it out for yourself: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24795758-read-the-2024-republican-party-platform
It is only 16 pages long, so not much time demanded of the reader. I have heard that Trump had them tone down some elements, although it is hard to see where that happened, as he recognized how unpopular some of their key elements are across America. In an odd bit of Trumpism, much of it is written IN ALL CAPITALS. Someone needs to let them know that does not read well.
The whole thing is built around twenty “promises.” Those promises tell us a lot. For example:
- STOP THE MIGRANT INVASION (We are at a 5 year low. Had we passed the bipartisan border bill Trump killed, we would be in even better shape.
- CARRY OUT THE LARGEST DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY (Words fail me. This is the same crowd that separated children from their families, many still missing).
- END INFLATION, AND MAKE AMERICA AFFORDABLE AGAIN (Inflation does hurt, but we are at just over 2% now, best in the industrialized world. You cannot recover from a major recession without some inflation – that is a fact).
- TURN THE UNITED STATES INTO A MANUFACTURING SUPERPOWER (Biden has ushered in growth in such jobs like we have not seen since the 1950’s)
- DEFEND OUR FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS, INCLUDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH, FREEDOM OF RELIGION… (As long as it is their speech and their religion. Everything else is evil).
- END THE WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT AGAINST THE AMERICAN PEOPLE (Not counting Project 2025, of course).
- STOP THE MIGRANT CRIME EPIDEMIC (Completely nonexistent, for both undocumented and documented immigrants. This “epidemic,” like the “invasion,” does not exist).
- CUT FEDERAL FUNDING FOR ANY SCHOOL PUSHING CRITICAL RACE THEORY, RADICAL GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND OTHER INAPPROPRIATE RACIAL, SEXUAL, OR POLITICAL CONTENT ON OUR CHILDREN (Boy, that free speech thing did not last long, did it? I mean who needs that freedom, especially in education?).
- SECURE OUR ELECTIONS, INCLUDING SAME DAY VOTING, VOTER IDENTIFICATION, PAPER BALLOTS, AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP (In other words, make it hard to vote for whole swaths of the population).
- UNITE OUR COUNTRY BY BRINGING IT TO NEW AND RECORD LEVELS OF SUCCESS (Yeah, this whole list just oozes unity and inclusiveness, doesn’t it?)
You get the point, and this is only half the list. The rest of this thing is no better. I encourage everyone to read it.
Democrats
This one is not perfect either. It was written before Biden dropped out of the race and they chose not to update the language. Like all platforms, it is long on aspirations and a bit short on substance, but I have read much, much worse (see the preceding section of this blog, for example). Again, check it out for yourself: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-democratic-party-platform
There is a lot more substance here. Nine chapters, almost 100 pages. Still, not difficult to read, and nicely organized. And hey, it’s mostly in sentence case, not ALL CAPITALS. Does not feel like shouting, but more like conversation.
While it acknowledges problems and shortfalls, it also celebrates success and calls for efforts focused on fairness, inclusion, safety, and opportunity. While it does not elucidate how the party would accomplish all these goals (platforms are normally a bit light on such things, and I have some questions on some things articulated – more on that in another posting), I literally found no topic I thought did not belong as a national goal.
In my view, this one celebrated what moves me about our country, acknowledges our shortfalls, and calls us to do more and better. Works for me.
Now What?
It appears the Democrats are in excellent shape and on a positive path for election at several levels. But that certainly is not a done deal up ahead. Two things could easily lead to a Republican win:
- Complacency by Democrats. Trends look better, but there are still, amazingly, undecided voters out there, and a lot of Republicans who could cross over for at least this election, if regularly, respectfully, thoughtfully engaged. As our next VP said, we can sleep when we are dead. For now, if you are not making donations and engaging others, you are part of the problem. There are ways all of us can both contribute and engage. As Michelle said, Do Something and do it on both fronts of money and time.
- Efforts to stall or break the vote certification. There are some evil people hard at work to do just that at state and local levels. The risk is quite real, given that certification must happen in December. My hope is that the DOJ will make it clear to all that trying to do this to frustrate the voters’ will is election tampering and will be dealt with quickly and personally on those who so engage. This is a topic that keeps me awake at night.
If you would like to talk to me over the next few weeks, stop by a polling place or my local party HQ. That is where I plan to live for the next 70 days or so. You?
Bill Clontz
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