This is an adapted excerpt from the Aug. 18 episode of “Ayman.”
As the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago, polls show that the presidential race is shifting in Democrats’ favor. Since President Joe Biden dropped out, the party has rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris and public opinion has followed.
The emergence of Harris as a presidential contender and the selection of Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as her running mate have breathed new life into the Democratic Party — injecting supporters with excitement, hope and even joy.
In her first few weeks as the Democratic nominee, Harris has already proven herself capable of making big and bold decisions.
However, a lot can change between now and November. Harris is still in a neck-and-neck race with Donald Trump, a man convicted of 34 felony counts who tried to overturn the last election. It’s clear the stakes of this convention couldn’t be any higher.
In her first few weeks as the Democratic nominee, Harris has already proven herself capable of making big and bold decisions. When most Democratic strategists wanted her to pick a running mate with the pundit-approved label of “centrist” or “moderate,” she went her own way and selected Walz, who has successfully passed a progressive agenda as governor.
Last week, knowing that Republicans stood ready to label her a socialist or even a communist, she unveiled a populist economic agenda, including a plan to combat price gouging by grocery store chains.
However, there is one issue on which she has not yet displayed this boldness or willingness to confront powerful interests. It’s the same issue that sunk Biden in the polls long before his disastrous debate performance.
As Farah Stockman wrote in The New York Times:
“There is perhaps no issue that divides the Democratic Party more than the U.S. government’s support for Israel’s retaliation following the brutal attack by Hamas on Oct. 7th. If the Harris campaign is unable to address this thorny issue in a way that feels like substance, then Democrats may not get the unity they’ll need to win in November.”
The key word there is “substance.” Harris has already proven adept at showing more compassion and empathy toward Palestinians than does Biden, who came across to some as cold, cruel and clueless.
But that bar is extremely low. Empty words won’t bring back the more than 40,000 Palestinians, including more than 16,000 children, who have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in these last 10 months, according to health officials in Gaza.
The American position can’t be “I feel your pain” while we’re the ones supplying bombs causing that pain. That’s why more than 150 groups nationwide have joined a coalition to march at the DNC with estimates that tens of thousands will be there protesting.
How Harris and the Democrats deal with this — not just the protests themselves but the substance of this issue — may be her biggest test heading into the DNC.
Allison Detzel contributed.
