Tipsheet

DNC Takeaways: Kamala's Breathtaking Sleight of Hand

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  August 23, 2024 9:01 AM

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS -- The United Center's nickname is the Madhouse on Madison.  Like the host city (whose dramatic problems were mostly kept behind the curtain this week), it was an appropriate venue for the Democratic Party and its far left ticket.  Kamala Harris accepted her nomination Thursday night in front of a rapturous crowd, though a highly-anticipated and buzzed-about surprise guest -- speculation included Beyonce and Taylor Swift -- failed to materialize.  She capped of a Democratic National Convention that was notable for its "vibes" and self-asserted "joy," but was extremely light on policy, with the exception of unlimited abortion-on-demand.  Another clear goal was to convey patriotic moderation, narrowly re-inventing "freedom" in order to disguise the actual beliefs of Harris and her running mate, fellow extremist Tim Walz.  Overall, it was a successful four-day informercial, which could well put an exclamation mark on Harris' media-driven, monthlong adulation festival, which has boosted her into frontrunner status.

And perhaps above all, outside of a pushed-out-of-primetime speech from Joe Biden on Monday, and some perfunctory expressions of gratitude to the defenestrated, erstwhile, elected nominee, Democrats are trying to speak to voters as if they have not been in charge of the country for the last four years.  There's a residential damage restoration company whose slogan is, "like it never even happened."  That more or less applies to how Kamala Harris treated the current and ongoing Biden-Harris administration, of which she is the 'Harris:'


The nominee's speech itself was fine, not nearly the work of art many in the press gushed about, but not the 'dud' some conservatives spun it to be.  She was workmanlike, kept her message relatively short and focused, savaged her opponent, and presented herself as a the embodiment of national page turn (despite being the current Vice President).  The address was a bit long on biography, feelings, and gauzy values at the beginning, but that represented the capstone of her umpteenth reinvention and 'reintroduction' to the American people, this time with the highest stakes.  She passed the 'presidential-seeming' eye test, while again avoiding many specifics on policy.  More than a month after Biden was forced out of the race and her party nullified its election results (thus complicating and undermining one of their favorite themes), she has yet to conduct an interview or address any of her multiple abandonments of her own stated positions:


Her preposterous warm and fuzzies about a leading unified path forward, liberated from partisan strife, was downright laughable from one of the most hardcore partisans in Washington, forged in the fire of ruthless one-party rule in California, and the single most left-wing Senator in Congress' upper chamber.  But such messaging tests well, so she leaned into it.  Joyfully, of course.  She also spoke about kindness, respect, and the Golden Rule, subjects about which her legions of ex-staffers certainly may have thoughts (this was about as credible as Walz's brazenly hypocritical applause line about 'minding your own damn business').  In short, Kamala Harris is trying to campaign as an un-scrutinized outsider challenger, as opposed to the failed incumbent that she is:


And much of the 'news' media is committed to partnering in this effort:


Donald Trump and JD Vance have their work cut out for them.  This is a decent start in a crucial state, if Trump doesn't counter-productively backtrack into grievanceland:

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I'll leave you with this: