Harris Walz yard sign

There have been many anecdotes, as well as reporting, in recent months stating that Democrats are afraid to put up signs or wear merchandise (shirts, hats, pins, etc.) representing their political choices in the 2024 elections. In other cases, Democrats are reporting that their Kamala Harris/Tim Walz and other pro-Democratic or anti-Republican signs are being stolen or destroyed. Similarly, a man was recently arrested for firing shots on three separate occasions at the Democratic Party headquarters in Tempe, Arizona. And last month in Portage County, Ohio, “Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski seemed to encourage his friends and supporters to write down the addresses of people with Democratic yard signs, sparking accusations of voter intimidation.”

Note that there have been very few reports of Democrats destroying or stealing Republican signs or committing other acts of vandalism. It’s almost always the other way around. This is all part of the Republicans’ pattern of thuggery and bullying, even terrorism. We have seen a steady increase in this behavior since the beginning of Donald Trump‘s years in the White House. Recall, for example, the deadly 2017 Charlottesville, VA Nazi march, where “Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klansmen and other white supremacists marched through the University of Virginia campus bearing torches and terrorizing students with chants of ‘Blood and soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us.'”

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?