Democrats reclaim freedom with Oprah, Clinton and a younger pool of leaders | World News

Chicago: On Wednesday evening, the Democrats tried to present themselves as the party of freedom again and portrayed their presidential candidate Kamala Harris as the one who would protect that freedom while Donald Trump would take it away.

And to do that, they deployed their old guard, former President Bill Clinton and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi; American cultural icons like Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder; a pool of younger party leaders, Governors Josh Shapiro, Wes Moore and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; and a number of leaders from affiliate organizations working on human rights, reproductive rights and the rights of sexual minorities. And if the reaction of the more than 20,000 attendees at the United Center Arena in Chicago at the convention is any indication, the message got through.

With the slogan “A fight for our freedoms,” Democrats, long seen as the party of big government while Republicans presented themselves as the party of freedom, sought to turn the tables. This shift in messaging was exacerbated after Harris became the party's nominee last month.

Oprah makes a surprise appearance

Oprah, who describes herself as politically independent, made a surprise appearance at the convention after showing a video of ordinary Americans describing what freedom means to them. The audience erupted in applause and gave her a standing ovation with sustained success.

She put abortion at the forefront, pointing to the testimony of those who suffered under the Supreme Court's decision to strike down national protections for abortion. Pointing to her body, she said, “If you don't have autonomy here, if you can't control when and how you bring your children into the world and how they are raised and supported, there is no American dream. The women and men who are fighting to keep us from falling back into a time of despair, shame and stone-cold fear are the new freedom fighters. And make no mistake: They are the best America has to offer.”

Oprah paid tribute to those black girls who were on the front lines of the fight against school segregation in the 1950s, and linked it to the story of Kamala Harris. “At school and at home, someone did a great job of showing this young girl how to challenge the people at the top and empower the people at the bottom… They instilled in her a passion for justice and freedom and the great fighting spirit it takes to pursue that passion… And soon… we will be teaching our daughters and sons how this child of an Indian mother and a Jamaican father, two idealistic, energetic immigrants… grew up and became the 47th President of the United States.”

Buttigieg, who is gay, mocked Trump and JD Vance but also linked the idea of ​​freedom to his own family history; he and his husband have two young children. “This kind of life went from impossible to possible; from possible to real; from real to almost commonplace, in less than half a lifetime. But that didn't just happen. It was brought about. Through idealism and courage. Through organizing and persuasion. And storytelling and, yes, through politics. The right kind of politics.”

The party of true freedom

Shapiro, who was in the running to be Harris' vice presidential candidate, portrayed the Democrats as the party of “true freedom” and attacked Trump for wanting to take away rights and freedoms. “It's not freedom to tell our children what books they can read. It's not freedom to tell women what they can do with their bodies. And it's certainly not freedom to say you can vote, but he can pick the winner.” Instead, Shapiro said, true freedom is having great public schools, investing in the police and the community, joining a union, marrying whoever she wants and raising a family the way she wants. “True freedom is when she can look at the Madam President and know that this is a nation where anything and everything is possible.”

Maryland Governor Moore, an Afghanistan veteran and his state's first black governor, based his speech on the theme of freedom but spiced it up with the idea of ​​patriotism, another theme that Democrats wanted to take away from Republicans.

Clinton targets Donald Trump

Clinton, the 78-year-old former president who said he has attended party conventions since 1972 and left office 23 years ago, turned the tables, saying he was still younger than the Republican nominee. He called Harris the “president of joy” who would take care of all Americans while Trump was obsessed with “me, myself, me.” Yet amid the jubilant mood in Democratic ranks – perhaps a reminder of what happened to his wife's campaign in 2016 – Clinton also warned his party against being complacent and underestimating the opponent. And Pelosi, the grande dame of the Democratic Party who played a crucial role in getting Joe Biden to drop out of the race, reminded Democratic delegates of the mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and that it was Democrats who saved democracy that day.

By putting freedom, patriotism and democracy on the ballot, the Democrats hope to secure their base but also win over swing voters. Whether this message gets through outside of party headquarters will be seen on November 5th.