Four Takeaways from the Democratic National Convention

Plus, how “densely packed” is Gaza, really?

Vice President Harris accepting the Democratic nomination.

Four observations after the Democratic convention:

The Middle Class versus Billionaire Class talk is baloney. Hardly a minute went by during the Democratic National Convention program without some speaker talking about how Kamala Harris is for the middle class, not the billionaire class. 

“The middle class is where I come from,” Harris said in her speech accepting the nomination, drawing a contrast against Trump “and his billionaire friends.”

I find the class-based analysis has a Marxist tinge about it. It contradicts Harris’s later claim that “in unity there is strength,” because it categorizes Americans as economic class members rather than as individuals. It’s a kind of identity politics in its own way.

It’s also bogus, because the Democrats have their own billionaires. Alex Soros was posting to social media photos of his private meeting with Tim Walz on the sidelines of the convention. J.B. Pritzker and Oprah Winfrey got speaking roles. Mike Bloomberg’s group Everytown for Gun Safety got prominent billing from the convention stage. 

Anyway, describing the election as middle class versus billionaire class is inaccurate. More accurate would be that both the Republicans and the Democrats have billionaires backing their campaigns. 

Democrats have dialed back the “Democracy Is on the Ballot” messaging. As Harris has taken over from Biden, the effort to portray Trump as a threat to democracy has receded.