Making history of sorts

VICE PRESIDENT Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States at the 2024 Democratic Party’s national convention held at Chicago. Accepting the presidential nomination, Kamala (Gopalan) Harris made history of sorts of the United States’s presidential election: India-origin Kamala Harris is the first woman of color, first South Asian to accept the U.S. presidential nomination for a major political party (the Democratic Party) as the president of the United States. Ms. Kamala Harris is also the first person to win the presidential nomination without a single primary vote: a unique political honour and landmark political achievement in the US history of the presidential elections.

Speaking to a huge cheering crowd, she began business like, thanked President Joe Biden expressing her deep gratitude. She also introduced her running mate, vice-presidential nominee, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

But before immersing into the day’s proceedings, Kamala Harris remembered her mother Shyamala (Gopalan) Harris: “I miss her everyday… My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. And I know she is looking down smiling.”

Delivering her first acceptance speech at the final day of the Democratic Party’s National Convention in Chicago, she spoke slowly, but confidently. She said: “I know there are people of various political views, but I want you to know, I promise to be the president of all Americans. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth I accept your nomination to be the president of the Unite States of America. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power.”

As she started, the atmosphere visibly solemn and momentous, her words flowed slow but enormously reflected her full resolve, strength and power to thrill and inspire. With a continuously cheering, excited crowd, Kamala Harris said that the ‘acceptance speech made me emotional.’ Reminiscing her early childhood days with her younger sister Maya at the Oakland, California, house (Maya was seen in the audience), she fondly remembered her research scholar mother Shyamala, and her affectionate care. She described her early days as a student of law, and as young courtroom prosecutor.

Talking about the plethora of issues and problems that the country faces, Kamala Harris promised to ‘fight for America’s future.’  ‘‘I stood up for veterans (ex-servicemen) and students being scammed by big, for-profit colleges. For workers who were being cheated out of their wages, the wages they were due. For seniors facing elder abuse.’’

Calling elections ‘as important part of our nation,’ Kamala Harris said: “This election is not only the most important in the life of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation.’’

Continuing about her Republican Party presidential election adversary, Donald J. Trump, Harris said: “In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences – but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious…Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the US Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When the politicians in his own party when him to call off the  mob and send help, he did the opposite – he fanned the flames. And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by the jury of everyday Americans, and separately—found liable for committing sexual abuse. And consider, consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol.

“His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees the enemy. His intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens. Consider, the power he will have, especially after the US Supreme Court has just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine, Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense power of presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever: himself.

“And we know, and we know what a second Trump term would like. It’s all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers. And its sum total is to pull our country back to the past. But America, we are not going back. We are not going back…We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare.

“We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the (Obama) Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. We are not going let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programmes like Head Start that provide pre-school and childcare for our children. America, we are not going back.

“And we are charting – and we are charting a new way forward. Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success, and building the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. And I’ll tell you, this is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from.”

Kamala Harris spoke passionately about what she called ‘the opportunity economy’ where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed…whether you live in a rural area, small town, or a big city. And as president, I’ll bring together labour and workers  and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like healthcare and housing  and groceries… We’ll provide access to capital for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and founders. And we will end America’s housing shortage, and protect Social Security and Medicare.

“Now, compare that to Donald Trump. Because I think everyone here knows, he doesn’t actually care for middle class. Not – he doesn’t fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. And he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt. And, he intends to enact what, in effect, is national sales tax, call it Trump tax, that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year…Instead of Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans.

“In America, too many women are not able to make their decisions. Donald Trump hand-picked members of the US Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now, he brags about it…I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.’’ In this election, Harris stressed that many fundamental freedoms are at stake…the gun rights…freedom to love, freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water and live free from pollution…freedom to vote. With this election, we’ll have freedom to pass laws…on border security, obligations to care troops and their families; strengthen, not abdicate our global leadership. I’ll stand strong with Ukraine and NATO allies,” Harris averred.

As president Harris said she will ‘never waver to in defence of America’s security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs…let’s show the world what we stand for: Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities.’

1. R. Dua, former professor-head, journalism department, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New

Delhi, and an ex-faculty Journalism, California State University, US.