It has been four years since the last national meeting. Then there was a pandemic and everything took place digitally. Now 50,000 Democrats are gathering in Chicago to hammer out the party program and gather around Kamala Harris. Enthusiasm must be turned on again after a historically turbulent summer in the party. Police snap pictures into the national assembly hall the day before the political show opens. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news There is Kamala fever among many active democrats. But a good number of American voters also say that they need to know more about what the new presidential candidate will do differently from Joe Biden. How big changes there will be in the party’s policy under Harris is still unclear. The national convention arena in Chicago is preparing for 50,000 visitors. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news And that is what we might want to know more about in the next four days. Continued Gaza unrest Although there is renewed enthusiasm among the Democrats, demonstrators and war opponents will fill some streets in Chicago during the national convention week. Several demonstrations have been announced while the Democrats hold their national meeting. On Sunday, Palestinian activists were in the streets of Chicago. Photo: AP The police are preparing for protests. There are high fences around parts of the city. There are checkpoints and security checks of both vehicles and meeting participants. Several shops in the center have nailed back the facade. Those who have lived in Chicago for a while remember the Democratic National Convention in 1968 when the protests against the Vietnam War turned into street fights. Congressional police are also helping with security during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. There will be around 4,000 delegates and up to 50,000 other participants. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news At the time, President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced that he would not stand for re-election. And President Biden, who was to be crowned for re-election this week, resigned a month ago, right after the Republicans’ national convention in Milwaukee. By then, protesters had been shouting “Genocide-Joe” (“Genocide-Joe”) in the streets for months. They will probably do that in Chicago as well. The Democrats cannot expect to get the votes of everyone on the left who is upset about support for Israel. But the party, Kamala Harris and her partner, Tim Walz, may have calmed the mood somewhat. Joe Biden will be praised and thanked on Monday. But when he has delivered his speech to the national convention, Biden goes back to Washington, while the party looks ahead. President Joe Biden has received harsh criticism after the war between Israel and Hamas. Here he is at an airport in Maryland on Sunday. Photo: Jose Luis Magana / AP Difficult thanks and goodbyes During the national meeting, Harris and the party must both show gratitude to President Biden, who has devoted his life to the Democrats. At the same time, they must find their way forward. A simmering turmoil in the polls prompted party leaders to push Biden to finally step down. But it happened at the eleventh hour. Never has the party had such a bad time to carve out a platform on which a president can stand for election. This week work will therefore be in high gear to let American TV viewers get to know Harris and her agenda better. Harris and Walz were approved, without challengers, as the party’s president and vice-presidential candidate as early as August 6. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz at a campaign meeting in Las Vegas in the United States. Photo: RONDA CHURCHILL / AFP Since the delegates held an online meeting, the tradition of a formal vote at the national meeting is broken. Nevertheless, there will be a ceremony with the results being read out, so that TV viewers can also experience the enthusiasm that characterizes the party now. A poll by Pew Research last week shows that 62 percent of Democratic voters say they give her strong support. Only 43 percent said the same about Biden in July. The Democrats’ heavyweights In Chicago, big political stars will be on stage every night. Several TV channels broadcast directly from the national assembly hall. Most of it happens between 0100 and 0500 at night Norwegian time. On Monday, President Joe Biden and former presidential candidate and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will speak. On Tuesday, former President Barack Obama will address the delegates. This year marks 20 years since he broke through in American politics on just such a national convention stage. On Wednesday, it is vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz who will make himself attractive to American voters, and that after an introduction or video recording by his wife Gwen. Former President Bill Clinton will also speak that evening. And on Thursday, the stage belongs to Kamala Harris. She has had a historically hectic few weeks, but will apparently work hard on the national assembly speech, where she must present her vision for the United States. Kamala Harris will give a speech at the Democrats’ national convention on Thursday. She has landed in Chicago with her husband Doug Emhoff. Photo: Robyn Beck / AFP Is Taylor Swift coming? Stars such as Beyoncé and Billie Eilish are also expected to have a role during the national meeting. The former’s song “Freedom” is Kamala Harris’ official campaign song. What many are wondering now is whether Taylor Swift will give her support to Kamala Harris. CNN speculates that she may appear in Chicago. Swift completes a concert series in London on Tuesday, and in theory can make it to the closing night. The balloons hang from the ceiling, ready to be released beyond the national assembly hall. Photo: Anders Tvegård / news The Democrats have already announced that activists can make friendship bracelets in a separate tent at the national meeting. The kind that many associate with Swift. Kamala Harris has a strong focus on abortion rights and several other issues that are important to women. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who played the vice president on Veep, will lead a panel on female governors. Is she parting ways with Biden? Several measurements have therefore been made in recent weeks which show that Kamala Harris has increased in popularity. She is now being reintroduced to a national audience after a few years as a more anonymous and quiet vice president. Harris’ grip on the coalition will become clearer this week. At public meetings until now, she has spoken a lot about abortion rights and democracy, but which line she takes in Israel’s war in Gaza is less clear. Harris has given signals that she wants to part company with parts of the Biden administration’s policies. Especially in order to overcome the rise in prices, but also when it comes to tax breaks and illegal immigration. Kamala Harris has changed her mind on several political issues, such as oil extraction, the death penalty, cannabis and partly immigration. It is not unusual for politicians to change their position when seeking national office. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both fighting to become the next President of the United States. Photo: AP New national polls show that Harris has a small lead over Donald Trump. She gets 49 percent support while Trump gets 45 percent among registered voters when the Democrats meet for the national convention. Even with a third candidate in the mix, Harris is ahead by a couple of percentage points, according to the Washington Post. But national measurements are less relevant because the election is decided in six to seven states. Also in several such swing states, Harris has eaten up Trump’s lead, although the polls are still within the margin of error and show an even race. Published 19.08.2024, at 07.31
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Will the Democrats stand united during the national meeting? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
