The first signs distributed to delegates on the Democratic National Convention on Monday set the tone.
They read “USA” and were used steadily on the United Center in the course of the four-day spectacle.
The cameras of the staged-for-television party repeatedly panned over the group wildly waving signs, while the Democrats tried to appeal to the values of patriotism and love of private freedom that had long been the domain of the Republicans.
Speaking from the stage where he weathered former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Republican former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan summed up the Democrats' high-profile speech by crossing party lines.
“If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you are not a Democrat. You are a patriot,” he said.
The crowd began chanting “USA” which became a typical refrain throughout the week.
It was a moment that reflected much of the mood of the convention, as Democrats determinedly tried to flaunt the red, white and blue colours, not only talking about patriotic policies and actions, but additionally attempting to tug on the patriotic heartstrings of voters.
The week began with a protracted applause for the moving national anthem by the choir Soul Children of Chicago. Many showed up in Harris-Walz branded camouflage hats, obviously a brand new contrast to Trump's iconic red baseball cap with a backcountry aesthetic. The same day, Bulls legend Steve Kerr recalled coaching the country's men's basketball team to an Olympic gold medal.
“When we won – the American flag was flown to the roof, the national anthem was played, our players wore gold medals around their necks and held their hands over their hearts – it was the proudest moment of my life,” he said.
Of course, love of country is at all times emphasized at political conventions. But this 12 months, due to Trump's controversial and polarizing positions because the Republican standard-bearer, Democrats have a transparent path.
President Joe Biden capped night one by calling the care of veterans the nation's “only truly sacred obligation.” The president ended his speech, as he has done for many years, with the words, “May God protect our troops.”
The increasing concentrate on patriotism was “music to my ears” for thirty sixth Chicago City Councilman Gilbert Villegas.
The Marine Corps veteran and Democratic delegate described the tone of the convention as a fundamental shift after years of Republicans dominating debates around patriotism.
“I will not allow any political party to dictate my love for this country,” he said. “We are demanding our love for this country back.”
Villegas believes this rebound is being helped by the nomination of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, an Army National Guard veteran, as his party's vice presidential candidate.
“I think people are tired of extremists on both sides,” Villegas said. “We need to remember that we are the greatest country in the world.”
US Senator Tammy Duckworth justified the flag-waving with Biden's decision to go away office and nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor. Duckworth, a war veteran who lost each legs within the Iraq War, called Biden's move “the most patriotic act of all.”
“President Biden's retirement continues to give this convention a real understanding of what it means to put the collective, that 'e pluribus unum,' the nation, before itself,” Duckworth said. “We all feel a desire to be at least as good as he was.”
“It's about the common good, and that shows again and again,” she continued. “There is a lot of joy here.”
When asked if he sensed a change, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson replied that Democrats have at all times had a greater understanding of “America’s best values.”
“It's not just about symbolism, it's about action,” he said, describing his own and Harris's policy goals, resembling increasing education spending and access to home ownership, as patriotic.
The Democrats' concentrate on patriotism had a transparent cornerstone: the oft-repeated claim that America's strength lies in its diversity. The party platform was geared toward celebrating the country's many faces as a reason to like it.
At no time was this message clearer than during Symbolic roll-call vote on TuesdayA DJ opened the playful explanations of every state with “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
He then played a song for every state while local politicians gave a brief speech summarizing their home states' contributions to the Union, extolling moments on the precise side of history, resembling Martin Luther King's “Letter From a Birmingham Jail” and Illinois' early adoption of the constitutional amendments that abolished slavery and gave women the precise to vote.
The enthusiastic crowd danced the entire time. Later that evening, former First Lady Michelle Obama met made the identical point clear.
“All of our contributions deserve to be accepted and valued. Because no one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American. No one,” she said.
By claiming to like America, Democrats also accused Republicans of not closely identifying with the country's founding values.
On Wednesday evening, a football team wearing jerseys that Walz once coached to a state championship took the stage before him. Then Walz – described by the party as a sports-loving, dad-rock-listening, average citizen from the Midwest – argued that his opponents don’t understand freedom.
“When Republicans use that word, they mean that the government has unfettered access to doctors' offices. Corporations have unfettered access to pollute the air and water. Banks have unfettered access to exploit their customers,” he said.
“But when we Democrats talk about freedom,” he continued, “we mean your freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people you love.”
It was a transparent move by the Democrats to reformulate the long-held narrative that they were the party of the large government while the Republicans valued American individuality.
The “USA” signs in the world were replaced with ones that read “Coach Walz” as he referred to the group, locker room style, as “team.” At least one news outlet described the remarks as a “pep talk.”
When the speech ended, the group filed outside where they discussed inclusion in a big tented festival and nonstop praise of America. in contrast to a small sit-in The gathering is held by unaffiliated delegates — that’s, they don’t support a particular Democratic presidential candidate — and calls for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel. Another protest was planned for Thursday night outside the convention's security zone, but crowds throughout the week were far smaller than protest organizers had expected.
The sit-in group demanded that a Palestinian American be given a speaking slot to debate the war in Gaza.
Their sit-in began hours after the parents of an American citizen who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 and continues to be being held hostage spoke out. By Thursday afternoon, party officials had not relented, and the group remained seated near the doors of the United Center on Madison Street.
The majority of the group continued to walk past the protesters.
But some high-ranking Democrats paused. The leader of the group began to sob after U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota sat down. Shortly before midnight, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee of Pennsylvania joined the group.
“To be able to speak out about your grief even when people are spitting in your face and still do it is a love that some people will never understand,” Lee said.
jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
Originally published:
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