Democratic National Convention begins today

The Democratic National Convention begins today

Democrats from across the nation are in Chicago today to begin their national convention and formally nominate Vice President Kamala D. Harris and Tim Waltz as their 2024 presidential ticket.

President Joseph R. Biden (D) will speak tonight to formally hand off the torch to Harris. Biden had been the presumptive nominee just four weeks ago; but was forced to withdraw by powerful Democratic elites, including former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California), former President Barack H. Obama, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York).

After Biden's ouster from the ticket, Democrats' enthusiasm for the election picked back up. Harris then selected Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz to be her running mate.

Harris has already been formally nominated in a on-line meeting of the Democratic delegates, so don't expect any sort of floor fireworks or dark horse candidacy to appear at this convention. Democrats have closed ranks behind Kamala Harris as their best hope of beating former President Donald J. Trump (R) in November.

Biden will give his formal goodbye speech to the Democratic Party he has served for the last six decades. He would have been the final speaker on the final night iof this convention – had he not made the mistake of debating Donald Trump in June. The fallout from that debate proved what everybody had tried not to see and that the 81-year-old Biden – the oldest President in American history – was suffering from cognitive decline.

First lady Jill Biden will also address the convention. So will former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson.

Democrats hope that the convention and the enthusiasm will give Harris and Waltz a boost in the polls and a new wave of momentum with early voting beginning in some states as early as September 20.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas threatens to overshadow the Democratic festivities though. Tens of thousands of pro-Hamas protesters are in Chicago to voice their anger over the Biden-Harris administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war and are demanding that Washington impose an immediate ceasefire on the ongoing conflict. There is also a real possibility that the conflict could explode into a much larger war after Israel "allegedly" assassinated the political head of Hamas while he was in Tehran visiting the new President of Iran. Israel also assassinated the military commander of Hezbollah whose Iranian armed military forces are gathered in southern Lebanon on Israel's northern border.

Biden has warned Iran not to attack. U.S. intervention in defense of Israel could enflame the passions of pro-Hamas elements in this country. Muslim voters are a key component of the Democratic coalition and Harris will need them in November if she hopes to defeat Trump.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Sunday shows Harris leading Trump 47 to 44 percent with 5% going for Robert Kennedy Jr., and Jill Stein and Cornell West each getting just 1% of the vote.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/18/harris-trump-post-abc-ipsos-poll/

To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com