Hillary Clinton urges Democrats to fight for Harris' victory • Iowa Capital Dispatch

CHICAGO — Hillary Clinton, the first woman to be nominated as presidential candidate by a major political party, praised Vice President Kamala Harris — the second woman in U.S. history to be nominated — for her bright vision for the nation and her ability to lead the country forward on the first night of the Democratic National Convention.

“The history of my life and that of our country shows that progress is possible but not guaranteed,” Clinton told a packed crowd at the United Center. “We must fight for it. And never give up.”

Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, said that together the women had created “many cracks in the highest and hardest glass ceiling.”

“On the other side of that glass ceiling, Kamala Harris takes the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States,” she said. “When a barrier falls for one of us, it … clears the way for all of us.”

Clinton said Harris' historic nomination as the first black and South Asian woman to lead a major party was an opportunity for the country to move forward.

Clinton said each generation has “carried the torch” and Harris will carry that torch as she works to restore access to abortion, affordable housing and child care.

Harris has often promised to restore Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that gave Americans the constitutional right to abortion. But to pass a bill in Congress, Democrats would need to have a majority in the House and 60 votes in the Senate to pass the bill through a filibuster.

Women in History

Clinton highlighted Democratic women who have broken barriers throughout history. She mentioned the late U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to run for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination and the first black person to seek the presidential nomination of a major party, and the late U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to be nominated for the vice presidency by a major political party.

Clinton said accepting the presidential nomination was the greatest honor of her life. She mentioned her loss to Donald Trump in 2016 and noted that despite everything, there has been a wave of women running for public office since Trump entered the White House.

“We refused to give up on America,” she said.

Clinton said when she looks at Harris' campaign, she sees freedom.

“I see freedom from fear and intimidation, from violence and injustice, from chaos and corruption,” she said.

Harris has actually framed her campaign as a fight for freedom and an effort to move forward in opposition to Trump and the Republican Party. Moreover, Beyoncé's song “Freedom” is the anthem of her campaign.

Harris speaks

Harris, who made a brief surprise appearance before Clinton's speech, thanked President Joe Biden for his leadership and then stressed that the November election was a fight for the future.

“This November, we will come together and declare with one voice that we move forward as one people,” Harris said. “We all have so much more in common than what divides us.”

Harris is expected to deliver her speech accepting the nomination on Thursday evening.

Clinton said Harris was “for the people,” which was also the motto of the first night of the convention. Clinton criticized Trump, saying the former president only cares about himself, not the American people.

She said Democrats have Trump “under control” but urged them not to rely too heavily on their position, even as Harris' campaign has energized Democrats across the country. Clinton warned Democrats against relying on polls that have shown Harris either catching up to or ahead of Trump, and said they must continue to campaign through November.

Since Biden suspended his campaign following a disastrous debate in June that shook his party's faith in his ability to defeat Trump, he has been neck and neck with Amy Walter in several swing states that leaned Republican, such as Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, according to the Cook Political Report.

“No matter what the polls say, we must not let up,” Clinton said.