Patriotism and the Harris campaign
Here is the campaign speech Harris delivered in Wisconsin. It’s good: short, to the point, and upbeat. She hits on the right issues: Trump is a criminal, abortion, economic opportunity, Republicans cannot be trusted with Social Security and Medicare, etc.
A patriotic framing that emphasizes that the United States is a great country could help present this bill of particulars in a compelling way. The basic message would be “Yes, we have our problems. We can and will address them. But along the way we must not lose sight of the fact that this is a great country.”
This basic idea can be cashed out in many ways depending on the issue. For example:
- Yes, we have an immigration problem. We can fix this – in fact, immigration is already sharply lower than it was just a few months ago. And I promise to work with Republicans on a permanent legislation solution that will secure our border and ensure that America can still benefit from the vitality of immigrants. But let’s not lose sight of why so many people want to live here in the first place. This is the greatest country on earth. No one is trying to move to Russia or China or Iran, but people all over the world want to come here.
- We have a phenomenally strong economy. Yes, we had too much inflation as the economy started humming again after the covid epidemic. But inflation is under control now, and the economy is very strong – stronger than it was under Donald Trump, and stronger than the economies of other major countries. Our goal now should be to spread economic opportunity across the country, especially to areas that have not enjoyed strong economic growth in the past. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that our economy is the envy of the world, and it is stronger today than it has been in many years.
You could tell similar stories about many other issues.
Focusing on the fact that we live in a great country is a good campaign theme for democrats for several reasons.
It counters the impression that democrats are not patriotic.
Focusing on problems without emphasizing what is right about America is dangerous: if everything is terrible, maybe we need an authoritarian to set things right. It’s not an accident that Trump’s speeches are relentlessly negative.
Focusing on what is great about American will help Harris avoid being tarred with the perceived failures of the Biden administration. These perceived failures – especially on immigration and inflation – need to be addressed and contextualized. The way to do this is by putting them in comparative perspective.
I hope that Harris can tell a story of the good economic times we now have. The New York Times has a story out this morning about how the next President will inherit a fine economy.
2025 Could Be a Great Time to Be President, Economically Speaking – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
Harris needs to own this narrative.
I agree too on the immigration angle. Harris could say she supported the Lankford deal on immigration but it’s clear that Republicans have no interest in fixing immigration. She will do what she needs to do to make the process
Glad you’re experiencing good times Han. Meanwhile, homelessness is at an all time high and according to a recent CNN poll, 40% of Americans are fearful of not meeting monthly expenses. Home ownership has become unattainable for most young Americans and the average new car payment is nearly $750. I could go on…..
Bill M,
We can all cherry pick a data point in our favor. Homelessness is primarily an issue in big cities with high housing costs, like Boston, Seattle and San Francisco. There is little homelessness in cities like Chicago and St. Louis. Gregg Colburn goes through the numbers in this book:
Homelessness is a Housing Problem (homelessnesshousingproblem.com)
As for new homeowners, once mortgage rates start declining as the FED lowers its rate, homeownership will pick up.
On the other hand, the unemployment rate has been very low for several years, the inflation rate is down around 3%, and for many workers wage increases have outpaced inflation.
Humans have a tendency to focus more on bad news than good news. So that price of gas or eggs sticks in our head, but we forget that we have gotten Social Security increases of 5.9% in 21, 8.7% in 22 and 3.2% in 23.
Jim Han
and you will walk past an injured child because no one is injured in the next block and why cherry pick data just because humans have a tendency to focus more on the bad news than the good news.
i think this is called moral depravity in some circles, but it’s certainly good economics. keep up the good work.
You can’t ignore the reaction to high prices, whatever the inflation statistics may say to economists. She would be well advised to speak to prices and suggest government action to counter them, like active anti-trust action.
JackD
yes.
BillM
I did not immediately assume you were blaming this on the Dems. I would tend to blame both parties because while the R’s policies both government and business are the prime cause of poverty, homelessness, etc., I never see the D’s do anything effective about them. This is not to say that Biden did not make some dents in it, but he never really made a difference that makes a difference. I think Jim Han’s reply to you gives us a clue to why.
On immigration, Harris can use her law enforcement background to her advantage. She will do what needs to be done to make the border issues manageable.
“And I promise to work with Republicans on a permanent legislation solution that will secure our border and ensure that America can still benefit from the vitality of immigrants.”
There was bipartisan immigration legislation moving towards passage under Biden/Harris until Trump scotched it because success would remove a campaign issue for him.
I agree.
“If you have no will to change it, you have no right to criticize it.” –Mark Twain
The Republicans decided to passed on two bipartisan immigration legislation bills, so they have no right to criticize the current situation.
Randy
won’t stop them, though.
very dreary report this morning (NYT i think) which talked about the election polls and “issues” (strategy for winning votes, not about actually solving anything). dreary because it treated Trump just like an ordinary political candidate. can’t be fomenting violence just because there is an armed maniac in the house.