Incumbent US Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic party nomination for President of the United States of America, and her support is growing.
Quick Contemporary History
On 21 July 2024 incumbent US President Joe R. Biden dropped from the presidential race. He immediately endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place. Kamala was going to be on the same ticket as Biden, and she would have become the US President if anything would have happened to Biden while in office. In other words, the Vice President is a person deemed to be qualified to hold the highest office in the Nation.
Contrary to some misconstrued beliefs, this does not mean that Kamala is gaining a position without being duly elected by the party. First off because if you voted for Biden, then you were also voting for the running mate, with the understanding that the running mate would take over if the person on the top of the ticket for whatever reason would step down – this is not unprecedented in American History. Also, she gained the delegates almost immediately after Biden stepped down.
Although for many reasons I did not agree with Biden dropping off from the race (you can see in my previous articles about my rationale, I stand-by it), I did state that I will support Kamala Harris, despite the fact ideologically I’m not either a Democrat nor a Republican. I hold either side accountable on their merits, that way I don’t get blinded by party loyalty – putting party over country. And the good news is that a lot of people who agree with my point of view are also choosing country over party. This election has a lot more riding on the balance than millions of Americans who do not follow politics realize.
There is a rise of authoritarianism around the world. And yes, the earlier indicators of getting a foothold in the USA are very evident to those who can identify these red flags. Authoritarian propaganda is nothing new around the world, but it is relatively new, or rather getting a lot more on the nose for America. But also, propaganda is designed to be hidden in plain sight, therefore a lot of people will fall in that trap. It is easy to fall in the trap, after all it is very hard to ask a question if you did not know you were supposed to ask.
More people are awakening to that reality regardless of party affiliation, and in just about a month, the Democratic party went from a feeling of doom and gloom, seeing an inevitable second Trump presidency, to an electrifying movement that is a lot bigger than a single political party. There are more and more Republicans and Independents endorsing Kamala Harris, and a lot more Democrats who are actually getting engaged on their party at all levels.
Kamala Harris selected Tim Walz as her running mate, and what can be greatly attributed to their growing success is because they represent the best of America. What do I mean by that? They represent unity and cohesion. Their ticket is running on a movement that is inclusive of all Americans regardless of political party, it is about diversity, strength, and looking up for one another. The message is very different than the usual “us against them” that is by definition polarizing. And that message of unity resonates with most Americans.
The DNC vs the RNC
The Democratic National Convention took place in Chicago, Illinois, and the Republican National Convention took place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The vibe was very different on each event. I know because I took upon myself to watch most of each convention’s speeches. It is eye opening when you see it very objectively. The RNC was largely a representation of the so called MAGA Republicans. The DNC was largely a wide representation of America, to include many ex-MAGA folks.
A very notable absences at the RNC was Trumps own former Vice President Mike Pence. Then again during January 6, MAGA supporters were chanting to hang him at the gallows erected outside congress, so maybe not much of a surprise there. However, other notable absences were plenty of his cabinet members and people who were close on his orbit, and that have either crossed to the other side, or at the very least decided not to endorse him. How do we know, well among other things, a lot of them wrote books about their bad experiences with Trump.
And I’m sure that some of the more cynical would say that many of his former acolytes wouldn’t have something to say because they were backstabbers. But then that argument falls short in light that his own (current) Wife Melania, nor his own daughter Ivanka, and son in law Jared Kushner – all whom were in the White House during his term bothered to talk to the country about Trump during the largest conservative gathering – for him to accept the Republican party nomination, no less. In fact, Melania only showed up on the last RNC night, and she awkwardly distanced herself after what seemed like a very sterile hug to Donald upon him finishing his speech.
The speeches for the RNC were mainly about how angry they were at the democrats, and attacking “woke” or any other gripes filled with name calling and epithets, but “embracing God and guns…” mainly boiling down to a message that conveyed “the USA is a mess, and only MAGA conservatives can fix it, in part by kicking out a bunch of people off the country or shooting those who don’t agree with us.” In contrast the DNC message was a lot more about inclusivity, and accountability. This actually resonates, because like it or not, even a lot of MAGA fans do not want a divided America.
Unsurprisingly, a lot of ex-MAGAs realized that the information that is broadcasted far and wide on their outlets of choice tends to be extremely redacted. Once they started learning more about the full context, this tends to get them angry at MAGA. Why? Because they are realizing that all this “fake news” deflection or “demonizing the left or any non-MAGA” is really a façade, and when held to close scrutiny it cannot hold its own. Of course that this process can be very painful, and the stages of grieve will play a role, and they will yo-yo throughout them.
The stages of grief are:
1. Shock and disbelief
2. Denial
3. Anger
4. Bargaining
5. Guilt
6. Depression
7. Acceptance
That is why when Trump supporters are presented with facts – for example in social media their first reaction is to post a laughing emoji. Or go out of their way to attack somebody else’s post.
In the next few days I’ll be posting articles that go on to show what is being fed to the MAGA folks, and how the framing of the questions and redacted truth is distorting the inconvenient facts that are usually redirected or concealed. I would be remiss if I did not tell you that a lot of ex-Ultra-MAGAs I know were at first trying to prove me wrong.
Some disappeared after we had some sort of debate, and once they worked out their stages of grief, they DM to tell me they finally understood what I meant. I should also note that these debates started when they attacked me on any of my social media outlets. The point being is that with proper context we can all move forward towards a uniting goal. Sure some MAGA folks are insufferable individuals, but many are actually more aligned with the values the Harris-Walz ticket is proposing than they realize it. That is why many conservatives are choosing country over party.
That was the biggest difference between the RNC and the DNC, the latter had representation from all corners and ideologies of the country. The RNC was about a very narrow political view, not even a conservative view – but a MAGA centric view. Not surprisingly, the old RNC chair was fired and replaced by Trump’s Daughter in Law, Lara Trump – who is Eric’s wife.
Choosing Country Over Party
America is already great. Most people in the USA want to have a peaceful life where they can focus on becoming the person they are meant to be, rather than be watching over their shoulders ready to shoot their neighbors. I’ll be writing an article in the future about how MAGA have indeed become the actual RINOs (Republican in Name Only), after all Trump is the only candidate during the 2016 primary who said he would drop the party if he was not nominated.
There is a huge difference between political doctrines and divisiveness. I’ve written before about how the Republican party has becoming more and more fragmented, and that many Republicans were heartbroken to see how the GOP have become unrecognizable since Trump took over. I went on to say that many Republicans from the get-go warned about Trump being a danger to the stability of the GOP. In fact, many of their presidential platforms leading to 2016 specifically warned against what they viewed as Trump’s toxicity in the GOP.
Sadly, a lot of his ardent opponents in the GOP fell in line and became their acolytes, and even defended the very same red flags they were warning about just weeks before. The difference is that many people who saw the same red flags have not changed their mind, especially because a lot of these red flags conflagrated into very problematic realities. Don’t believe me at face value, look at it yourself.
Below is the link to the Trump’s presidential library. Look at his social media, especially Twitter (X), it won’t take long before you see from the office of the presidency Trump attack private citizens and other people with childish nicknames, or other very incendiary topics.
Archived Social Media | Donald J. Trump Presidential Library (trumplibrary.gov)
As you read this, think if ANY person in a position of authority would be able to get away with that? For example, what if an Admiral was tweeting derogatory nicknames to insult others in their official social media? What would that say about the office of an Admiral? About his/her character? If it is not acceptable for an Admiral, how is it acceptable for the highest office in the land?
Many Americans understand that the presidency is not so much about who the President is, but what this exulted position represents. This is not an easy job, and there is a reason why so much trust and difference go with being in an office of such prestige. Trump’s emotional “me” centric rhetoric has become a turn off for too many of his own former MAGA followers. Sure, that there are a lot of them who will support him no matter what, but the number is dwindling rapidly. But that also means that whomever is left will likely be extremely vocal – not just on rhetoric but on financial support.
One thing at the RNC that was different from the DNC or any Democratic Rally for that matter is that supporters do not seem to dress head to toe with exuberant or over-the-top regalia. Conversely, it is not unusual for MAGA folks to spend hundreds of dollars (or more) on MAGA regalia, and often very vulgar merchandise that is disparaging to the MAGA opposition. There is a whole industry in it. Who pays for all that? Well, MAGA folks do.
And for instance, when Biden dropped from the race, there was likely a lot of money in offensive merchandise depicting Biden along with vulgar epithets that became a moot point. And to be honest, most Americans do not enjoy that kind of divisive rhetoric… they might tolerate it, but much like being on a date with an obnoxious partner, it does get old very quickly. How long will it take before it becomes unbearable depends on the person, but once it is over – it’s over.
That is happening with a lot of ex-MAGA, even some ex-Ultra-MAGA. Think about it like a relationship that ran its course. Once you see the “weird” just been a preamble for very toxic idiosyncrasies, at first you might want to help them get better. But if they are not helping themselves, the only option is to walk away. People who are walking away from MAGA are realizing that the people under the Kamala-Walz ticket are welcoming them. They realize the obvious, we are stronger when we are together, and every person contributes to improving our country – together.
Let me finish this article by stating that America is about unity. We are the UNITED States of America. When somebody wants to divide us, that creates a vulnerability, and that means that we make it easier for any adversary to take over our lives. America has a lot of room for improvement, but by getting divided we are not working towards making it better, on the contrary it destroys the opportunity to fix what needs to be amended – it is about teamwork.
The country seems to be excited regardless of party affiliation under the Harris-Walz ticket, because they realize they are on a winning team that is uniting our country. We are the United States of America. HLC