In Chicago, the Democratic Party did something we’d been hoping to see all year: In a series of scathing, insightful, and mostly spot-on speeches, Democratic bigwigs emphasized core American values and declared war on Republicans, calling them not just weird or scary, but enemies of those values. It’s not just a change in mood—it amounts to a whole new Democratic Party that finally understands how to run a better party.
Anand was on the ground at the Democratic National Convention all week, and we’re covering him daily at The Ink. Not only from the floor speeches and the incredible, emotional performance by Kamala Harris and the party as they officially introduced Harris and Tim Walz’s candidacy to the nation, but also the work behind the scenes, from the organizers, activists and other grassroots folks building the future from the ground up, to the artists and communicators shaping the message, to the influencers, content creators and journalists taking that message to the world.
As you look forward to November, we would like to invite you to first look back at the past week.
And in this week’s Readings – the links we put together every weekend for our paying subscribers – we have compiled for your entertainment and edification some articles from others with their reflections on the party conference, as well as numerous contributions on events elsewhere in the world of politics, culture and science.
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Anand was on the ground in Chicago this week, finding the Democratic National Convention the culmination of a long internal struggle that has transformed the Democratic Party into something truly new.
My best, clearest understanding of what happened in the transition to a Kamala Harris campaign is that the civil war has turned the tide. Harris may have inherited much of Biden’s campaign apparatus and its players, but many at the top are new – Harris’ people. And in the huge, scrappy, temporary launch that is a presidential campaign, the faction that has long wanted a different, fresher path appears to be winning.
The rise of the “Brat Pack” – and a new democratic style of politics
The Ink’s coverage of the DNC got off to a rocky start (bad weather thwarted many flight plans), but that gave us some time to reflect on the fundamental shift in Democrats’ thinking – and narrative.
When you watch the new commercial, you see something really important developing: a progressive Americanness, a progressive patriotism, a story of the country that is neither in denial about America’s history and current problems nor blind to what makes it good, even unique in the world. There is also a sense of movement. This is a country that loves to build, create, toil and do things. It has been invaded by ridiculous politicians and policymakers who are more interested in controlling whether or not people have kids and cats than in helping people. But I found the commercial powerful because it wove so many of these storylines together: freedom, patriotism, American hustle rather than American carnage.
About “30 Rock” – and Chicago
A convention isn’t just the show we all see on the stage – there are a number of smaller events around it where activists and strategists come together to figure out how to build on the energy of the main event. Anand got a glimpse into the “private convention” behind the public one and reported on the people doing the political work on the ground.
As the discussion began, what struck me most was this. Several speakers made the case for what I would call an expansive progressivism. They seemed to indirectly take aim at some in their own movements who are using purity tests that make coalition building difficult. But they also took aim at the Democrats’ habit of courting moderates at the expense of their own interests.
The public congress – and the private
All year, we’ve talked (often with messaging guru Anat Shenker-Osorio) about how Democrats need to figure out how to throw the better (with a small p) party. And what Anand found at the Democratic National Convention was just that – a fun, exciting PARTY, all caps, inviting everyone to a better future.
Cut to last night’s very long roll call – a normally boring exercise – which for the first time in my memory was really exciting and thrilling and sometimes even a little strange and annoying. Somewhere between the halcyon days of Kamala being called a “brat” and Lil Jon follows the call to GeorgiaI noticed that the Democrats have somehow managed to rediscover the fun in just a few weeks.
The Democrats are finally throwing the better party
Another way to describe the difference is that the RNC was only about the present, while the DNC covered both the past and the future of the party. At the RNC, the party’s legacy was minimally mentioned at the traditional convention: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt – or even Ronald Reagan – were barely mentioned. All that mattered was Trump. Even the living Republican presidential candidates (George W. Bush and Mitt Romney) were excluded from the RNC.The Nation)
… we must recognize that the media is conservative in the most traditional, non-ideological sense of the word: it clings to a status quo, its status quo, which no longer corresponds to our reality since Barack Obama was elected president in 2008 and the Tea Party emerged as an energetic manifestation of Ronald Reagan’s fever dreams of the 1980s. Its rules, its conventional wisdom, its wise opinions grow staler, more detached from normal life, more cartoonish with each passing day. (The New Republic)
Regardless of its potential electoral impact, however, the Democrats’ “You’re Weird” offensive marks a significant moment. First of all, it crystallizes the key question that in many ways defines a central fault line in American politics: Who gets to decide what is “normal” – and therefore acceptable – in America? (Democracy Americana)
The Palestinian human rights movement needs to expand its influence and power in the Democratic Party. This could happen, for example, if the Jewish, pro-Israel center-left organizations make a significant shift on the issue, which I am quite pessimistic about given that J Street and the Jewish Democratic Council of America have allied themselves with AIPAC or remained neutral in these primaries. Otherwise, progressive, young, Arab and Muslim Democrats will need to create some kind of infrastructure that is equal to the influence of the pro-Israel organizations. The third possibility—and this is the theory I am most skeptical of—is that the party would fundamentally rethink its stance on Israel/Palestine if the Democrats lose by a margin that could be said to be due to the Gaza war. (Dissent)
In the past, party supporters voted for their candidates at party conventions. But that is over. So why do we continue this tradition? And what purpose do they serve? (WBEZ)
It is not surprising that entrepreneurs dream of escaping a world of paltry political collusion and moving toward the dizzying freedom of market choice and unlimited technological progress. Perhaps it is not even surprising that many are willing to support the pro-tariff, anti-immigration Donald Trump, who promises to crush their enemies (and commute Ulbricht’s life sentence for drug trafficking right away). Like Ulbricht, they draw inspiration and justification for their dreams from political philosophy, blending old thinkers with new machine visions of technology devouring and transforming humanity. (American Affairs)
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