What the Democrats Got Right and Wrong at the 2024 Democratic National Convention

We Can Win on Messaging Without all the American Exceptionalism

What the DNC Got Right

Greetings, fellow Bugbears! If you haven’t been living under a rock. you’re aware that the Democratic National Convention concluded last night with a high-energy and at times genuinely moving speech from our presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

In what will probably come as a surprise to no one, I am going to criticize some aspects of the DNC and Harris’s speech in this post. Uncritical enthusiasm and optimism are never things I’ve been good at (at least not since I was approximately 9 years old); I excel at pessimism and criticism.

But before I launch into all that, let me make a few things clear. After watching a lot (too much, really) of the DNC live, I am more optimistic than ever about Democrats’ chances of victory in November. Democrats are winning on messaging, and that is a good thing. The repetition and chanting of “we won’t go back,” hammering on “Donald Trump’s Project 2025,” and the diversity of the speakers all cheered me. The mostly consistent pro-union messaging and the crowd’s obvious enthusiasm for it cheered me, though I don’t understand why Dem leadership. thought they needed to put a damper on it by having a former CEO of American Express speak.

The inclusion of Kamala Harris’s and her VP pick Tim Walz’s families was heartwarming and relatable, making the viciousness of Republicans attacking their kids stand out as all the more “weird” and unworthy of political power. The Democratic Party succeeded in telling positive stories about itself and the candidates at the top of its ticket this November, contrasting that positivity with the horrors we will face if Trump regains the presidency.

I never thought I’d live to see the day, but Democrats are winning on both messaging and image. Is there anyone out there who would rather have a beer with Donald Trump or J.D. Vance than Kamala Harris or Tim Walz? Neither of the latter came across as stiff or pedantic, which demonstrates that competence doesn’t have to go hand-in-hand with seeming boring or out of touch. Conversely, being relatable to “the people” doesn’t mean you have to be a boor, a bully, or a snake oil salesman. The emphasis on community at the convention also landed well, I think.

The DNC 2024 logo is in the public domain.

The energy of the convention reminded me (and not only me) of 2008, when Barack Obama inspired a movement for change and became the first African American to win the presidency. We can’t take anything for granted, and we need to work for the win, but I believe that Harris will become the first woman to win the presidency. Her presence at the top of the ballot, along with the crucial issue of abortion access and reproductive freedom, should help push Dems in tough down-ballot races over the top as well.

This is good. Democrats are much better for marginalized Americans than Republicans, and harm reduction is my priority number one in voting. The Biden administration has also delivered some surprisingly progressive policies (student loan debt relief where possible, green infrastructure, healthcare costs) despite the president’s often centrist and naive, wishy-washy “unity” messaging, and I expect a Harris administration to do the same.

I’m sure it’s good for winning votes to take patriotism back from the toxic Republicans, but couldn’t we do that without our candidate for president repeating the tired, nonsensical, and frankly fash-adjacent claim that America is “the best country in the world”?

That being said, there were aspects of the DNC, and there are aspects of Harris’s policy agenda and rhetoric, that trouble me. And now I’d like to talk about those.