I would have been much happier if the rumors of a Beyoncé appearance on the stage of the DNC had been true.
I’m not a fan but it would have been fine even if it were Taylor Swift.
Instead we got Leon Panetta.
When former CIA Director and former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta walked out, I knew things were going south.
Panetta is a war Democrat. He’s never seen a Defense budget he thought was sufficient.
His talk before the flag-waving, “USA, USA” chanting delegates in the United Center was not a good omen of what was to come.
Kamala ended the evening with her acceptance speech
The day had already began badly when Harris and the party leaders refused to allow anyone from the Palestinian peace movement to address the convention.
That decision came despite the fact that dozens of uncommitted delegates opposed to the war on Gaza were elected representing over 700,000 voters in states like Minnesota and Michigan.
Swing states. The coveted blue wall.
Although the Democrats have made “We won’t go back” the mantra of the past four days, Harris’ speech when it came to questions of war and peace sounded more like 1954 than 2024.
It was classic Cold War stuff.
As pro-Palestinian protesters marched outside the convention, Harris made it clear that there was no difference between her and Biden when it comes to support for Israel.
She continued to claim that she and Biden were “working around the clock” for a ceasefire while at the same time promising to ensure that Israel would have “the ability to defend itself,” with no end to U.S. economic and military support for Israel.
Harris continued her hawkish views on foreign policy and border security.
“The United States as the greatest country in the world,” she said, and then promised to challenge China, Russia, Iran with the “most lethal fighting force in the world.”
It was not a good night for peace.