Different Visions of the Country
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Democrats brought the A-game to a virtual convention, which has gone well. I expected more technical hiccups than we have seen. In the age of COVID, this was the responsible thing to do. Quite frankly, I do like this format. It feels less produced than an in-person convention, even though it is likely far more difficult to do. However, there is something else they have brought. It is a very different vision of the country than what Republicans have given us during the last four years.
There is another reality. Many Americans already know who they will vote for in November, or even if they will vote. Perhaps there are fewer people that can be persuaded out there, but the convention was done with care. They also gave us an image of the country that is very different than what the Republicans hold, Incidentally, they have announced their speaker list, and it does not include elder statesmen or a former president.
Democrats had a former president of the United States who is black on stage. They had a former candidate for the presidency who was a woman. In a direct election, she would have won, but in the Electoral College, she lost. Her husband was the president in the 1990s, and one that saw a growing economy, and left the country with a surplus. Older party elders ran the gamut of the nation. The nominee for Vice President is not just a person of color, but the daughter of an immigrant. Joe Biden is an older white Catholic. In other words, they brought the majority-minority country we are becoming to the stage.
This is the fork we find ourselves in. This is also why we have seen an explosion in open white supremacy. There is panic in the right about this. 1965 was a really bad year as far as they are concerned. and they want to turn back the clock. Not only was immigration changed, but African-Americans (and Hispanics) earned the right to vote. This is the year that the country started to move away from a majority white country which the census says will be like California by 2030.
This is the fork we are on. This is why the Republican Party has become a white nationalist far-right party. This is why they have embraced open racism, and why they speak of closed borders.
