Kamala is Moderate: Weekly Digest

WHAT A WEEK. Round-up for Aug. 19-23

So Chicago was great. Kamala's convention followed the pragmatic prescription we laid out a month ago and at WelcomeFest: building Center-Out Contrast with Trump on immigration, security, patriotism, and more. We got the headlines we wanted, like Kamala the Centrist (Semafor) and Why Harris’s centrism is working (New York Times).

I’ve reminded myself over and over again that millions of Americans didn’t even know the DNC was taking place this week, but I’ll try not to let that spoil the wins for this week :)

Funny enough, at this week’s Democratic National Convention, I think I spent half of my time with Republican friends who work in the center right space. Our Never Trump friends are fired up for the Harris Walz ticket, and the sense of community and patriotism is truly inspiring. Btw, Reed Howard (pictured with us below) just launched the Republicans for Harris Substack page, so please be sure to check that out!

Now, on to this week’s round-up.

Lauren and Liam with our pal Reed Howard who leads Republicans for Harris.

A SPEECH FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS

Kamala Harris’ nomination acceptance speech was truly one for the books. She spoke of her track record protecting individuals and families as a prosecutor and Attorney General, splendidly aggressive plans to secure the border, balanced perspectives for Israel & Palestine, plans to declare a strong national military, intentions to beat China in the tech race, and more.

She closed with an ending that could have been ripped from a Republican speechwriter’s notes:

America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.

We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment.

It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. So let’s get out there, let’s fight for it. Let’s get out there, let’s vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.

Thank you. God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you.

Kamala is a moderate.

She said she wants to secure the border, strengthen our defense, protect Social Security and Medicare and prosecute criminals. This is the moderate Kamala that welcomes Republicans into Team Normal.

WHAT FOLKS SAID ABOUT THE SPEECH

Semafor proclaims “Kamala the Centrist,” and notes that,

“The convention “marked the triumphal return of former US President Barack Obama’s brand of politics — with some notable updates for the Trump era,” Semafor’s Benjy Sarlin writes.”

The New York Times, in their post “Why Harris’s centrism is working,” writes,

Harris has surged in the polls, erasing Biden’s deficit and taking a small lead over Trump, for two main reasons. First, she has won over some swing voters, including independents, working-class Midwesterners and even a fraction of 2020 Trump voters. Second, she has done so at no apparent cost: In addition to attracting swing voters, she has built a bigger lead than Biden had among the Democratic base, such as young voters, college graduates and city residents.

It’s a point we’ve made before at WelcomeStack: moderation is mobilizing. Our base is moderate, and they’re excited when they see a candidate who stands for these values and is willing to run a campaign capable of beating Trump. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: they aren’t the base if they are constantly threatening to leave you. You can find the base inside the convention cheering, not outside jeering.

The Washington Post, in a column called “Hi, moderates, it’s me, Kamala,” writes,

But Harris didn’t mention that fact or lean into the identity politics that the right has accused the left of abusing. Instead, she positioned herself as a president for all people. It was a clear effort to appeal to independent and disaffected Trump voters — a theme that was evident throughout the four-day convention, especially last night.

“I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said in her roughly 40-minute speech.

And Jonathan Chait writes in “Kamala Harris Understood the Assignment,”

Harris cast her lot firmly on the conservative side of social questions like criminal justice, border enforcement, the military, and patriotism. Democrats waved American flags and chanted “U-S-A!” with gusto and frequency. Harris presented her own plans as responsible, common sense, and potentially bipartisan. She cast her opponent, not herself, as the driver of radical change — somehow without undercutting her depicting of him as old news. Trump’s angry rejoinder that Harris is serving in the White House right now, along with his desperation to disavow himself from Project 2025, which he has previously touted as his master plan for a second term, is another sign of how well this is working.

What a change from 2020 - and, as Nate Silver wrote, Kamala Harris is not going back to the failed politics of 2016.

The theme of WelcomeFest last month was For The People (In The Middle). That’s what this DNC was. As we wrote yesterday, we are Not Going Back (to the disastrous 2020 primary). Moderate Kamala is winning the middle.