Crossing the Chasm
Your democracy has been making some weird noises lately. Don’t worry. Tim Walz can fix it. Walz nailed the biggest pep talk of his life on Wednesday night following opening acts like Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey. AI didn’t create the arena-filling Democratic crowds. But it may have created Tim Walz, who has become America’s dad and fills a huge void ignored for too long by many Democrats: the entire middle of the country. But today, I don’t want to quote Walz, Oprah, or Clinton. Instead, I want to share these quotes. “Look, you don’t have to agree with ever policy position of Kamala Harris. I don’t. If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you’re not a Democrat, you’re a patriot.” That’s former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. “I grew up in the kind of working family that Trump pretends to care about — conservative, catholic, Texan. July 4th was our most sacred holiday. Those values made me a Republican and they are the same values that make me proud to support Kamala Harris – not because we agree on every issue, but because we agree on the most important issue, protecting our freedom. So to my fellow Republicans, you aren’t voting for a Democrat, you are voting for democracy.” That’s from Olivia Troye, an advisor to Mike Pence when he was the vice president. I wish the Republicans who are bravely standing up for democracy got even primer prime time slots in the DNC’s broadcast schedule. We’ve always been a somewhat politically divided country. I’m pretty sure I grew up eating dinner at a politically divided table. But we didn’t hate each other. And we weren’t willing to sell out the core principles of our union just to own the other side. I’m so tired of the rabid partisanship and politics obsession that has consumed America (and yes, my own mind and this newsletter). Geoff Duncan, Olivia Troye, Mayor John Giles of Mesa, former Trump press secretary Stephanie Grisham, and other GOP leaders have taken great personal risks to reach across the aisle and grasp for the ties that bind us. It’s easy to sit back and say that all Republican leaders should be speaking out about the risk of putting an unstable insurrectionist back into the White House. But the fact that so few have speaks to just how difficult it is to do so. Troye, Giles, and Duncan were compelling, courageous, and exactly what America needs right now. Country over party.
History will smile upon them.
+ Gus Walz owned the viral moment of the night, nearly overshadowing his dad, as he burst into tears, pointed to the stage, and repeated, “That’s my dad.” Predictably, some people made fun of Gus Walz (who suffers from “a nonverbal learning disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and an anxiety disorder”) on social media. The way I saw it: Tim Walz has kids who are willing to emotionally express their love and respect for him in public? Holy crap, he’s got my vote.
+ Refreshingly, much of the DNC has been focused on reaching across the aisle, attacking Trump without attacking those who vote for him, and attracting a broader coalition. The hardest people to reach are the so-called low-information voters. Trump refers to them as basement dwellers. They’re definitely not watching convention speeches. Charles Bethea in The New Yorker: Among America’s Low-Information Voters. “Donald Trump has dominated in polling of people who pay little attention to political news. What do they have to say?”
