Democratic convention will test whether Harris can keep momentum alive

Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz acknowledge the crowd at a campaign rally in Las Vegas.

Aug. 19, 2024 3 AM PT

CHICAGO — One month ago, Democrats were anticipating a very different convention than the exuberant event planned this week on the shores of Lake Michigan.

The expectation was President Biden would limp in, accept his party’s nomination, then lead the party to a crushing defeat in November.

That outlook changed — literally overnight — when Biden stepped aside and threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, who’s been riding a rocket ship ever since. Money is flooding in, polls have turned in Democrats’ favor, and the size of Harris’ crowds has been giving Donald Trump conniptions.

But nothing lasts forever.

One big question is whether Harris gets a further boost from Chicago’s apple-polishing affair, or if her popularity peaked with the headiness surrounding her replacement of Biden and selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as running mate.

Columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria are following events in the Windy City and have some thoughts on the last dizzying month in politics and what the Democratic National Convention might bring.

Barabak: So, Anita, what are you watching for here in Chicago?

Chabria: Honestly, first up for me is Joe Biden, who will be speaking Monday night.

Delegates are headed into this full of optimism. I’ll go so far as to steal from the Harris-Walz ticket and label it as joy. For Democrats, the last few weeks haven’t been just a relief or a reset, but a truly different vision for the party and the future.

And it’s a vision that came out of the blue. If you can possibly think as far back as July, it was far from certain Harris would be the choice if Biden stepped aside. There was talk (that now seems ludicrous) of a “Survivor”-style open primary at this convention where any contender with the guts and money could vie for the nomination.

We don’t give Biden enough credit for his part in the current revival. As much as stepping aside, his backing of Harris is what’s responsible for where Democrats are now — organized, cohesive and within sprinting distance of a November win.

My hope is this convention greets him with the respect he deserves for giving up power for the greater good — a feat of duty over ego that has happened only a handful of times in history.

Because I do believe the Trump ticket remains a threat to democratic rule. (Lin-Manuel Miranda fans are now thinking of George Washington, who warned of this moment in his own farewell speech in 1796).

But we should also credit Biden for backing Harris and thereby sweeping away the chaos that some in the party were clamoring for. Without that bit of fortitude and leadership — I’ll go so far as to say vision — there would be no momentum to discuss in Chicago. Democrats would be starting from scratch.

What about you, Mark? What are you looking for?

Barabak: For starters, how Democrats deal with a major shift in programming.

In this day and age, when smoke-filled rooms are frowned upon for reasons of both health and small-d democracy, a national political convention is, in effect, a four-day infomercial. The nominee is, of course, the star of the show and every heavily scripted moment is devoted to celebrating his or her magnificence and extolling the greatness certain to follow when he or she is installed in the White House.

This requires a good deal of planning; consider the many testimonials to be delivered, the heart-warming anecdotes to be shared and those worshipful videos celebrating the nominee. Think of them as you would your home movies — if those were polled and focus-grouped to a fare-thee-well.

This convention was set to be all about Biden, his achievements and the case for a second term, with Harris cast in the customary role of all-but-forgotten understudy. Obviously, that’s changed. As you mentioned, the president receives his thank you and gold watch on Monday night. Then he and First Lady Jill Biden depart Chicago and the event becomes a full-on, full-blown Kama-palooza.

Convention planners had an exceedingly short time to pull off that switch, so we’ll see how it goes.

Then there’s the usual things to watch.

Among them, how does Harris perform in her big acceptance speech Thursday night? (I’ll take a dollar for every time a pundit or TV talking head refers to “the biggest speech of her lifetime” and by the end of the week should have enough to buy that lakefront home in Tahoe I’ve always wanted.)

Also, does the party manage to project the reassuring and uplifting air of unity it intends to convey, or do the planned demonstrations outside the convention hall — and maybe inside — blemish that happy face?

Chabria: There’s been talk that this convention will be as chaotic as the 1968 gathering when old-timers like you, Mark (kidding), recall tear gas and violence.

I know that protesters supporting the Palestinian cause are planning to demonstrate (and I fully support them doing so), but I don’t think we’ll see the kind of mass disruptions of past eras. First, the area where protesters are allowed to gather isn’t that close to the convention hall (an issue many activists are unhappy with) and second, I don’t think that, rightly or wrongly, the Israel-Hamas war is the deciding factor right now for a majority of voters.

I do think there will be some sort of activism inside the hall. How fast that is quelled and how effective it is remains to be seen.

Barabak: I want to be careful and not minimize what’s happening in Gaza, or the passions of those protesting. But this is not 1968 — when I was but a wee lad, Anita — and it’s not the Vietnam War, which not only divided the Democrats gathered in Chicago but also split the country in ways that continue to this day. So we’ll see what happens outside the hall.

Inside, you can be sure every effort will be made to snuff out the merest hint of discontent.

Some — OK, hardly anyone — will recall a dust-up at the 2012 Democratic convention over insertion of the words “God” and “Jerusalem” in the party platform. It was one of those terribly insider-y things that got a very small number of people very worked up and gave an otherwise-bored political press corps something to write about. (Conflict!)

The matter threatened to embarrass President Obama until a resolution was approved by a voice vote and the words were added to the platform — even though the measure clearly failed to receive the two-thirds support required. The convention chairman — then-Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — decreed the resolution had passed, and so it did. “That was the prerogative of the chair,” he told reporters afterward.

Which is how it goes. He, or she, who wields the gavel calls the tune.

Meantime, there will be a lot of filling in of blanks surrounding Harris, no?

Chabria: The vice president, as you pointed out, will be the star of the show. But it’s a show that, remarkable as it may seem to political nerds, will present a lot of new information to many Americans who haven’t closely followed the campaign.

A poll, albeit from a month ago, found that only 35% of Americans are actively seeking election news. So while everyone may know that Harris is the first mixed-race woman to run at the top of the ticket, I don’t know if that has really sunk in that she is also a first-generation American, born to immigrant parents.

But Harris will almost certainly bring her family up to that stage at some point, and America is going to see a blended family that reflects California — and also an America where immigrants (and complex families of all sorts) are welcomed, That’s very much at odds with the image the Trump-Vance campaign pushes.

Not only will Harris’ Jewish husband, Doug Emhoff, be present with Harris’ stepchildren, but her sister, Maya, will probably be there with her children and grandchildren, too. Maya Harris, an accomplished lawyer and politico in her own right, was a teenage mom, becoming pregnant in her senior year of high school. Her daughter, Meena, is a lawyer and playwright raising two daughters.

This is a family that is relatable and real. It’s what an immigrant family looks like, what it means to adopt America and be adopted by America. For me, that’s the most exciting part of the convention and an under-covered aspect of this campaign.

With Trump and Vance attacking immigrants, Harris is proof that immigrants are woven into the fabric of American exceptionalism.

Barabak: Anita and I will be back each morning to recount events as they unfold in Chicago, just as we did last month at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Please join us.