Two Different Worlds: The DNC and Shifting Ground

The Democratic National Convention was a successful spectacle. But it was also a moment to take stock

I covered the four nights of the DNC for The Muckrake Podcast. You can find the coverage at its Patreon page and listen to wrap-ups and analysis for every night.

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The conversation took place in a bar not too far from the United Center and Union Park, where Gaza protesters had been gathering for hours. I’d just watched an altercation where a man had beaten someone with a wood sign handle and police had swarmed the park and left the scene feeling grim and dangerous. I needed a beer to calm my nerves before heading back into the mess.

Everywhere you went in downtown Chicago you found yourself surrounded by police, convention goers, and staffers. Some of the officers were exhausted, others spoiling for a fight. The convention delegates and attendees were deliriously happy. And the staffers seemed rather bored as they fidgeted with their lanyards and checked their phones. I was conflicted. Worried. And I guess my face revealed everything.

“This is a total shitshow, isn’t it?” she said.

She was a labor organizer and strategist, fresh off a spate of meetings at the DNC before the gavel. We agreed on the state of things and, after some chatting, we discussed the anxiety we were both carrying with us.

The DNC, as a spectacle, had been rather successful. The first night told the story of passing the torch from President Joe Biden to nominee Kamala Harris. The message of the other days was a little hazy and undefined, the scheduling and logistics an absolute mess, but the event and presentation had done a hell of a job of communicating the enthusiasm around the Harris/Walz ticket and possibilities for victory in November.

This is what conventions are for. Rallying the base, setting the tone for the final months of the race, and, hopefully, catching a post-convention bounce that leads to necessary momentum. The DNC did all of this and it did it well. The problem, unfortunately, is that it might have done it a little too well.

The organizer and I agreed on this. Members of the labor movement had come to Chicago in hopes that Harris’s popularity and the rising tide of enthusiasm might shift into an organizational boon, creating a groundswell and hopefully the beginnings of a movement. There was, as well, a hope that maybe the agenda would reflect a progressive or leftist shift that might begin to disrupt the status quo that had hung over our politics and culture for decades like an oppressive thundercloud. Maybe, finally, the Democratic Party, on the heels of Biden being the first president to walk a picket line, would turn its back on the corporate donors and embrace labor and the working class as it had before the major shift in the 1980’s.

“I’m more convinced that Harris will win than ever,” the organizer told me. “Everyone is. It’s all anyone can talk about. And I think that’s easily the best thing for the country and it is hopeful. But there’s something about all of it that I can’t quite wrap my head around. And it’s bothering me. And it’s bothering everyone I work with it.”

I nodded and drank my beer. It was all I could think about the last few days.

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I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about this column and what I needed to say and how I was going to say it. These are delicate matters. Nuanced. Complicated. And the current tone and tenor of our politics makes it even more difficult to communicate effectively. This is roughly the fourth time I’ve tried to write this piece. So. Here goes nothing.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention was, on its face, a smashing success.

Actually, let’s try that again.

In many ways, the 2024 Democratic National Convention was a smashing success. There were incredible moments that worked perfectly and as intended. What people saw on television was a new and exciting candidate flanked by a new and invigorated party. The generational shift I’ve been writing about since Biden dropped out of the race was one of the main communication points. Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Bill Clinton, the nexus of the neoliberal shift within the party, were given their moments but largely relegated to providing the counterbalance to a new swathe of Democrats. There was an aggressive tone in prosecuting Donald Trump and the GOP, which stood in stark contrast to recent conventions. What was shown was a party that was invigorated, united, and ready to take power.

It was also dragged down. The scheduling was a disaster. There were so many petty grievances lying just below the surface that it couldn’t help but spill over into the overall propaganda. There was so much control over messaging that it threatened to sour the whole thing. The main talking points - “freedom,” “joy,” the desire not to “go back,” etc. - were so everpresent that it started to feel contrived, like hearing a network pepper a football game with corporate designed advertising that you start to wonder what the hell is going on. And the reliance on celebrities - both present and rumored - was off-putting and something the party needs to spend some real time reconsidering.

But all in all, it stood in stark contrast to the disturbing and petulant Republican National Convention and the GOP writ large. And, it was effective in dominating coverage and cementing how coverage of this campaign will move going forward. Enthusiasm-wise, well, it couldn’t have gone better, and that very well might be part of the problem.

For nearly a decade now Democrats have felt like shit. There’s hardly any other way to put it. There have been blips. Moments of hope, like when Biden finally won the 2020 Election or when it seemed, to some, like Trump might finally face legal repercussions. But the past nine years have been a brutal slog filled with nightmarish possibilities and a sense of hopeless nihilism. So many have wanted this, have drowned in the misery, that Harris’s meteoric rise and this sudden gust of hope and enthusiasm has felt euphoric. And that is understandable. Good, even.

There is chance, however, that it might be reaching unhealthy levels.

It’s always a delicate balance. The closest comparison is what happened in 2008, when Barack Obama came out of virtually nowhere and represented what appeared to be a massive sea-change. The George W. Bush years had been so terrible it’s almost hard to really grasp what they were like now. Add onto that the neoliberal ruin that birthed Hurricane Katrina and the Financial Crash, and we were all so desperate for something better and new and hopeful.

What was created around Obama was a cult of personality. People get very upset when you talk about this, or that things like the DNC are propaganda, but it makes it no less true. The messaging, much like Biden’s narrative that he would simply fix everything if elected, created a groundswell of support and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, after Obama was elected, we saw that the problems he was running against and we were hoping would be solved metastasized into something worse. Much worse.

I need to say this: there is a sense that Harris will easily defeat Trump. And maybe that will happen. I have seen enough internal polling that suggests it’s a possibility. But it is also not a foregone conclusion. From a campaigning standpoint, there is much, much work left to be done. And we can’t afford to believe there aren’t tens of millions of people who will vote for Trump no matter what. We should have learned that lesson eight years ago.

That aside, it is also necessary to really wrestle with the state of things. There is a strong, strong desire to wish for a leader who will handle things. This is part of the reason the Right desires, in Trump or someone else, an authoritarian figure who will “put things right.” With Democrats, it is often a need for a capable president who will effectively run the government, create prosperity, and, like a manager, largely stay out of your life and your business, all while the economy grows and the overall discourse cools.

It is a comforting fantasy, but, unfortunately, a fantasy. We are living in a moment of intense danger and crisis and as excited as people are for Harris and Walz, enthusiasm does not negate that fact. There are serious problems needing handled. Historic inequality. The ravages of this long-running status quo. Rising authoritarianism. Climate change. You name it. Solutions are needed, and those solutions are not going to be easy or all that comforting.

Inside the Convention, it was a picture of excitement. Celebrities galore. Pleasing Republicans. Performances and glitz. Outside, was another story. The protests were large. Many wanted a revolution, while many others just wanted the DNC to recognize the plight of the Palestinians and the Democratic Party’s role in that suffering. They were dismissed, mocked, and brutalized by police. Law enforcement was robust, well-funded, and used every means at their disposal. And, watching the scene, I couldn’t help but think of how the status quo in this country is enforced and protected regardless of what party is in power.

There is a need to ignore this. I understand that. It’s uncomfortable and, yes, I’m sure it harshes your vibe. It would feel so much better to believe a new politician has emerged who can make us feel good and handle the shit for us. Feeling good and hopeful and optimistic is necessary in defeating authoritarianism. It is a key, key component. Wanting it to be taken care of for us, however, is just plain delusion.

The DNC was relentlessly programmed to push this narrative. There was no soul-searching, no consideration of what actually lies ahead or even what now stands in our past. The lack of policy made me and many others, including several diehards I talked to at the Convention, worry. Overall, the message was centrist if not conservative. Maintain the military. Support the police. Value personal freedom over interconnectedness. Focus on building wealth. Keep going, keep going, keep going.

I did not expect a socialist convention or even imagine it veering into territory that even resembled it. This would be absurd. After all, nothing about this political system encourages or rewards that. I was, however, disturbed by how little reflection there was. And, in the discourse surrounding it, people continued to tell those concerned about the destruction of Gaza to pipe down. In the past, it was about not hurting Biden’s electoral chances, which is its own kind of gross. Now, it was about not disrupting the fun.

A new possibility has emerged for the future. With Biden, I worried that authoritarianism would grease its skids on disillusionment and frustration. Tens of millions would check out of the process, leaving the aggressive destruction of democracy to continue taking shape. I’ve heard from others that this fear has now shifted. Because, if things do not change, and if there is not a real solution to the material conditions that brought us here, that authoritarianism will continue to grow. Now, gleeful exuberance could possibly distract from the growing threat within our ranks, leaving capital to continue dominating our culture and making those conditions worse.

I got a sense, both from the protesters and the labor and coalition members I talked to, that both efforts will continue and grow. This is encouraging. After all, what we need is grassroots movements and democratic energies. Regardless of whether Harris or Trump wins, we will see these people continue to fight and antagonize the status quo. But the brutality by the police and the dismissiveness of the attendees gives the whole thing a different sheen. One that was only hinted at during the violence against campus protesters a few months ago.

Still, I don’t know what this “new” Democratic Party will be. Whether it will be an updated version of what we’ve gotten our entire lives or something different. But I know what we need. An ally to these groups that begins to shift to extremely popular positions, ideas that are supported by upwards of 80% of the population, a body that begins to tackle corruption and financial domination, that secures our existing rights and pushes forward to establish the ones we rightfully deserve. I heard hardly anything about the Supreme Court. Nothing about campaign finance reform or corporate influence over politics and the economy. Next to nothing about tech fascism. A few gestures toward the horrors in Gaza. And so little about gay and trans rights that I’m still stewing over it.

You could argue this wasn’t the place for it, but we would disagree. These things are so essential to this country avoiding the worst consequences of authoritarianism and ruin that they must be addressed and centered. If you tell me you think the party was being cautious, I’d hope you were right, but caution is what got us here in the first place.

I want desperately to believe actual change is coming. Not messaging about change. Not promises of change designed to inspire voters and support, but actual, workable, needed change. I can see why some left Chicago feeling this. It was the purpose of the Convention itself. In that, it was successful.

But I left Chicago concerned. Torn, even. I could still hear the soaring rhetoric and the well performed speeches. But I was haunted by the chanting. The private moments of fear and consternation. I’ve had to wrestle with the conflict, even as so many told me their worries had subsided and it was time to celebrate.

This crisis requires so much from us. Our energy. Our tears. Our blood. And it can be so, so exhausting. It would feel so good to lose ourselves to optimism, to truly believe the hard days are behind us. That something has shifted and it’s all smooth sailing from here. Personally, I long for that feeling as much as you certainly do. This is a heavy, heavy load to carry. And to believe, once more, that we have saviors and heroes and messiahs to carry that burden for us would be such a welcome relief.

That, however, is religion. Deep politics asks for more. Actual things that matter and change conditions in real and meaningful ways. We are still in limbo, not just waiting for November but actual deliverance. A tangible way forward. We do not know what is coming, what it will look or feel like, and that is uncomfortable in a way that we have uncomfortable for years.

I know we are tired. I know we are worn. But there is still so far to go.