Vice President Kamala Harris, taking freedom back
As far back as 2013, we stressed the importance of Democrats framing their arguments in terms of promoting “freedom.” Specifically, we wanted to take that term back from the Republicans, because freedom is a deeply held American value, and we know that Democrats, not Republicans, are the ones who truly believe in it. The great news is that, in recent years, leading Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have been promoting the idea of “freedom.” While this trend might not have been too noticeable other than to folks who were specifically looking at Democratic messaging, Vice President and presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris has amped up the “freedom” theme to the point where it is now on the radar of many voters and journalists. We couldn’t be more pleased with these developments.
Just in the past week, since Harris began her 2024 presidential campaign after being endorsed by President Biden, her first speech in Wisconsin strongly laid out the “freedom” theme. Initially, Harris stated that “we believe in a future … where every worker has the freedom to join a union.” Harris went on:
Ours is a fight for the future. And it is a fight for freedom. Generations of Americans before us led the fight for freedom. And now, Wisconsin, the baton is in our hands. We who believe in the sacred freedom to vote will make sure every American has the ability to cast their ballot and have it counted. We who believe that every person in our nation should have the freedom to live safe from the terror of gun violence will finally pass red flag laws, universal background checks and an Assault Weapons Ban. And we who believe in reproductive freedom will stop Donald Trump‘s extreme abortion bans because we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies, and not have their government tell them what to do. And when Congress passes a law to restore reproductive freedoms, as President of the United States, I will sign it into law. So Wisconsin, ultimately in this election, we each face a question: what kind of country do we want to live in? Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and rule of law, or a country of chaos, fear and hate? …. Do we believe in freedom? …. And are we ready to fight for it?
To cap off her “freedom” theme, Harris used Beyoncé‘s song “Freedom,” which includes these words, at the event:
Freedom, cut me looseSingin’, freedomFreedomWhere are you?‘Cause I need freedom, tooI break chains all by myselfWon’t let my freedom rot in hellHey! I’ma keep running‘Cause a winner don’t quit on themselves
The Harris campaign’s “freedom” theme also carried over onto Monday night’s White Dudes For Harris Zoom call that attracted a record 190,000 attendees, and raised over $4 million. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, in particular, spoke at length about how Democrats, including Vice President Harris, are for “freedom”:
I’m so glad she has made freedom the theme of her campaign, because I think in so many ways that’s what’s at stake. And yes, women’s freedom is exhibit A after Donald Trump demolished the right to choose. But of course, men are also more free in a country where we have a president who stands up for things like access to abortion care. Men are more free when the leader of the free world, the leader of this country, supports access to birth control and to IVF. And certainly, men like me and my husband are more free when we have a president who supports our freedom to get married to who we love…. Defending and building on the Affordable Care Act makes us more free, because more people are free from worrying that the next health crisis could destroy their entire livelihood. Doubling down on the climate rate in the Inflation Reduction Act … means that our children will be more likely to be free from the worst effects of climate change. Common sense gun safety laws means they have a better chance to be free from fear of coming to harm at school… The freedom to join a union is a big deal. The economic freedoms that come from having good infrastructure, and getting good paying jobs building it, that matters a lot. And … the work that we’re doing right now on having a better democracy should be powerfully motivating to freedom-loving Americans.
Other participants on the call, from actor/activist Bradley Whitford to Congressman Steny Hoyer, repeated at least some of these ideas. Obviously, this use of the “freedom” theme, echoing what Vice President Harris, and before her President Biden, has been saying, was not coincidental. This is a Democratic effort to beat the Republicans at their own communications game, and it’s music to our ears.
Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/iqJVb0
