https://sputnikglobe.com/20240824/democrats-avoid-any-concrete-policy-issues-at-convention-to-present-positive-united-front-1119896357.html
Democrats Avoid Any Concrete Policy Issues at Convention to Present Positive, United Front
Democrats Avoid Any Concrete Policy Issues at Convention to Present Positive, United Front
Sputnik International
The Democrats have projected an image of unity at the national convention in Chicago this week, going all-in on spectacle and positive vibes while avoiding real policy issues in order to win voters.
2024-08-24T15:01+0000
2024-08-24T15:01+0000
2024-08-24T15:30+0000
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However, it is unclear whether they will be able to maintain this momentum until November, experts interviewed by Sputnik believe.The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5. In July, President Joe Biden said he was withdrawing from the race in the best interest of the Democratic Party and the nation. On Tuesday, delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) officially made Harris their nominee following a ceremonial vote. "The DNC accomplished its main objective — nominate the Presidential candidate and present a united front. But, there remain deep divisions in the party. The party is now under the control of the Progressive wing and there are many Americans who reject that agenda. They hope is that those who object don't look too closely at the details," Robert Weissberg, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said. Political analyst Keith Preston suggested that the Democrats are planning to sway voters with positive energy as US elections are often decided by independent and non-ideological voters who are often motivated by personalities, appearances and vibes, rather than deeply held opinions on issues. "The Democrats are shrewdly turning their campaign into a hybrid of the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, and Coachella. Likewise, they are trying to present an aura of positivity and optimism instead of the negative campaigning and personal attacks of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Strategically, this is a very wise move on the part of the Democrats ... The question is whether they can maintain this energy for the next few months before the election," Preston said. Wilfred Reilly, political science professor at Kentucky State University, noted that it featured very little in terms of actual policy, with Harris talking a great deal about her family and background, giving the floor to her sister, calling the Republicans "weird" and other things of that sort. "I do think that this will be typical of of the party's focus until the election. Powerful Dem. figures have already said things like "you have to elect her - then we see the full platform." My actual take here is that the Kamala Harris position on immigration, policing, abortion, and much else is very likely to be unpalatable to the median voter in (say) Iowa, and her staffers know that. I would expect as little detail as she can get away with until Election Day," Reilly explained. Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the DNC during the week to call for an end to US support for Israel's war in Gaza, creating analogies with the last time the party held its national convention in the Windy City, when protests against the Vietnam War turned violent. When asked if the Democrats are more unified now than back in the late 60's, Preston observed that many of the protesters are political outsiders, usually way to the left of the Democratic Party, which possess a high level of internal discipline. "The Democrats are a highly unified party due to their ability to maintain internal party discipline. The party has a very rigid, centralized leadership structure. We saw evidence of that in both the primaries, in which challengers to President Biden were simply ignored. The party leaders threatened to use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment against Biden if he didn't refrain from seeking reelection. Vice President Harris has since been appointed the successor candidate by the party leadership without any serious competitive process," Preston said. Reilly suggested that most Americans were a bit surprised by the absence of serious riots despite threats ahead of the event as well as past experiences "In addition to the general softening of most societies, an obvious factor here is that the Democrats have a new and more popular candidate ... and a better chance of actually beating Trump," Reilly said, adding that this partisan unity "has an expiration date," however various factions within the party have to maintain this facade until November." Waltzing With Harris When Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, some questioned whether Harris will be a good replacement, citing her poor performance during the previous Democratic primaries as well as abysmal ratings during her vice presidency. However, recent polls show Harris doing well against Trump, meaning that the race is far from decided. "I think she is a fairly competent candidate. She is better than Joe Biden, who — as the U.S. joke goes — has been 'dead for two years' ... Her DNC speech was good — B+. But, she is famously not all that impressive. She ran for President before, polled at 2%, and was lucky to be rescued even as VP by Biden - and that had a racial element to it. The media sensationalism around her is a new phenomenon based around hate of Trump," Reilly said, adding that "if the honeymoon can last two months and a half, Harris will likely be President." Preston, for his part, compared Harris to a television actress who can play her part well provided someone writes the script. "She is now playing the part of an Oprah-like character with a message of positivity that someone else has likely created for her. Her performance at the DNC reflected this. She sounded more like an Academy Awards nominee than a candidate for the US presidency, while sticking to the script and avoiding controversy or negativity. That is how Harris needs to present herself in order to win," Preston opined. As for Harris' pick for vice president, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the experts thinks that he is a good option as a running mate, although not without problems. "He's OK. This strikes me as one of those lightly vetted VP picks a la 2008's Sarah Palin. He's a funny, charismatic guy. But, he claimed to have been one of our elite soldiers in Iraq — or, this is how the words were meant to strike — and was actually a member of a Home Guard unit based in Minnesota and Italy. Not very tough travel! He was a 'state championship football coach' — but actually a volunteer coordinator on one side of the ball. Tough on crime — but governor of Minnesota during the 2020 George Floyd riots," Reilly explained. Preston drew attention to Walz's strength as a "Midwestern grandfather" who is liked by the party's progressive base and provides a good balance to Harris' background as a woman of color favored the donor class as well as moderate Democrats. Combined, they produce a ticket that unifies the party behind it. "Collectively, the Democrats are presenting their ticket as one where Harris assumes the image of a Oprah-like character while Walz presents himself as a Mr. Rogers-like figure. This is excellent messaging and image-building, regardless of its actual accuracy or substance," Preston concluded. Still, Weissberg is not convinced that the party may not be able to pull off this strategy in the end. "Walz may be a good choice — you need an ordinary looking white guy who embraces the Progressive agenda. Good optics, but it may not work in the long run. Few Americans are Progressive and moderate Dems may soon drift out of the party," he concluded.
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democratic convention, dnc in chicago, democratic and republican campaigns ahead of november election in us
democratic convention, dnc in chicago, democratic and republican campaigns ahead of november election in us
Democrats Avoid Any Concrete Policy Issues at Convention to Present Positive, United Front
15:01 GMT 24.08.2024 (Updated: 15:30 GMT 24.08.2024) WASHINGTON (Sputnik), Kirill Krasilnikov - The Democrats have projected an image of unity at the national convention in Chicago this week, going all-in on spectacle and positive vibes while avoiding real policy issues in order to win voters.
However, it is unclear whether they will be able to maintain this momentum until November, experts interviewed by Sputnik believe.
The US presidential election is scheduled for November 5. In July, President Joe Biden said he was withdrawing from the race in the best interest of the Democratic Party and the nation. On Tuesday, delegates at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) officially made Harris their nominee following a ceremonial vote.
"The DNC accomplished its main objective — nominate the Presidential candidate and present a united front. But, there remain deep divisions in the party. The party is now under the control of the Progressive wing and there are many Americans who reject that agenda. They hope is that those who object don't look too closely at the details," Robert Weissberg, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said.
Political analyst Keith Preston suggested that the Democrats are planning to sway voters with positive energy as US elections are often decided by independent and non-ideological voters who are often motivated by personalities, appearances and vibes, rather than deeply held opinions on issues.
"The Democrats are shrewdly turning their campaign into a hybrid of the Super Bowl, the Academy Awards, and Coachella. Likewise, they are trying to present an aura of positivity and optimism instead of the negative campaigning and personal attacks of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Strategically, this is a very wise move on the part of the Democrats ... The question is whether they can maintain this energy for the next few months before the election," Preston said.
Wilfred Reilly, political science professor at Kentucky State University, noted that it featured very little in terms of actual policy, with Harris talking a great deal about her family and background, giving the floor to her sister, calling the Republicans "weird" and other things of that sort.
"I do think that this will be typical of of the party's focus until the election. Powerful Dem. figures have already said things like "you have to elect her - then we see the full platform." My actual take here is that the Kamala Harris position on immigration, policing, abortion, and much else is very likely to be unpalatable to the median voter in (say) Iowa, and her staffers know that. I would expect as little detail as she can get away with until Election Day," Reilly explained.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the DNC during the week to call for an end to US support for Israel's war in Gaza, creating analogies with the last time the party held its national convention in the Windy City, when protests against the Vietnam War turned violent. When asked if the Democrats are more unified now than back in the late 60's, Preston observed that many of the protesters are political outsiders, usually way to the left of the Democratic Party, which possess a high level of internal discipline.
"The Democrats are a highly unified party due to their ability to maintain internal party discipline. The party has a very rigid, centralized leadership structure. We saw evidence of that in both the primaries, in which challengers to President Biden were simply ignored. The party leaders threatened to use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment against Biden if he didn't refrain from seeking reelection. Vice President Harris has since been appointed the successor candidate by the party leadership without any serious competitive process," Preston said.
Reilly suggested that most Americans were a bit surprised by the absence of serious riots despite threats ahead of the event as well as past experiences
"In addition to the general softening of most societies, an obvious factor here is that the Democrats have a new and more popular candidate ... and a better chance of actually beating Trump," Reilly said, adding that this partisan unity "has an expiration date," however various factions within the party have to maintain this facade until November."
When Biden announced his withdrawal from the race, some questioned whether Harris will be a good replacement, citing her poor performance during the previous Democratic primaries as well as abysmal ratings during her vice presidency. However, recent polls show Harris doing well against Trump, meaning that the race is far from decided.
"I think she is a fairly competent candidate. She is better than Joe Biden, who — as the U.S. joke goes — has been 'dead for two years' ... Her DNC speech was good — B+. But, she is famously not all that impressive. She ran for President before, polled at 2%, and was lucky to be rescued even as VP by Biden - and that had a racial element to it. The media sensationalism around her is a new phenomenon based around hate of Trump," Reilly said, adding that "if the honeymoon can last two months and a half, Harris will likely be President."
Preston, for his part, compared Harris to a television actress who can play her part well provided someone writes the script.
"She is now playing the part of an Oprah-like character with a message of positivity that someone else has likely created for her. Her performance at the DNC reflected this. She sounded more like an Academy Awards nominee than a candidate for the US presidency, while sticking to the script and avoiding controversy or negativity. That is how Harris needs to present herself in order to win," Preston opined.
As for Harris' pick for vice president, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, the experts thinks that he is a good option as a running mate, although not without problems.
"He's OK. This strikes me as one of those lightly vetted VP picks a la 2008's Sarah Palin. He's a funny, charismatic guy. But, he claimed to have been one of our elite soldiers in Iraq — or, this is how the words were meant to strike — and was actually a member of a Home Guard unit based in Minnesota and Italy. Not very tough travel! He was a 'state championship football coach' — but actually a volunteer coordinator on one side of the ball. Tough on crime — but governor of Minnesota during the 2020 George Floyd riots," Reilly explained.
Preston drew attention to Walz's strength as a "Midwestern grandfather" who is liked by the party's progressive base and provides a good balance to Harris' background as a woman of color favored the donor class as well as moderate Democrats. Combined, they produce a ticket that unifies the party behind it.
"Collectively, the Democrats are presenting their ticket as one where Harris assumes the image of a Oprah-like character while Walz presents himself as a Mr. Rogers-like figure. This is excellent messaging and image-building, regardless of its actual accuracy or substance," Preston concluded.
Still, Weissberg is not convinced that the party may not be able to pull off this strategy in the end.
"Walz may be a good choice — you need an ordinary looking white guy who embraces the Progressive agenda. Good optics, but it may not work in the long run. Few Americans are Progressive and moderate Dems may soon drift out of the party," he concluded.
