The Democratic National Convention opened its first night Monday with an overarching theme of unity.
The night featured prominent speakers who represent the broad general election coalition that Joe Biden is looking to build: progressives, centrist Democrats, independents, and moderate Republicans who have disaffected from Trump.
To be sure, Biden’s polling lead is tightening, and by emphasizing big-tent inclusiveness, the Democrats are clearly hoping that the convention will jolt Biden’s campaign.
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A CNN poll released Sunday shows the race in a statistical dead heat, with Biden ahead of Trump by just 4-points, which is within the poll’s margin of error. Further, the same poll shows Biden leading Trump in battleground states by just 1-point.
At this point, it isn’t clear whether the Democrats’ narrative that they “put country over party” can hold together or expand the Democratic coalition—which polling shows is largely but not exclusively based on opposition to President Trump, rather than a positive message surrounding the Biden-Harris candidacy.
It is clear what didn’t work: that the Democrats have yet to offer an alternative vision to lead America forward.
Though, by including speakers who differ in their political ideology—including Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, a leader of the party’s progressive wing, and Former Governor of Ohio John Kasich, a never-Trump Republican—the night was intended to underscore the core message for Biden’s candidacy: that we need to put aside our political differences and come together to defeat Donald Trump.
“The future of our democracy is at stake. The future of our economy is at stake. The future of our planet is at stake,” said Sen. Sanders. “We must come together, defeat Donald Trump, and elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as our next president and vice president.”
“I’m a lifelong Republican, but that attachment holds second place to my responsibility to my country,” Kasich said. “That’s why I’ve chosen to appear at this convention. In normal times, something like this would probably never happen, but these are not normal times.”
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Despite several effective appeals to unity throughout the night, events from earlier this afternoon showed just how tenuous a balancing act the Democrats are engaging in through their efforts to bring together such a diverse coalition in such a politically charged climate.
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Earlier in the day, progressive freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who will also be speaking later in the week, sparred with Kasich, calling him an “anti-choice extremist,” to which Kasich responded by saying that Ocasio-Cortez does not actually represent the Democratic party, despite her “outsized publicity.”
Though, the night also featured a speech from one of the party’s most unifying and popular figures, former first lady Michelle Obama, who offered an important assessment of Biden’s character and ability to lead during a crisis.
“I know Joe, he is a profoundly decent man guided by faith. He was a terrific vice president, he knows what it takes to rescue an economy, beat back a pandemic and lead our country,” said the former first lady.
Thus, ultimately, in terms of what worked during the first night, the speeches by prominent political figures who differ in ideology were effective at projecting an image of unity surrounding Biden’s candidacy.
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However, it is clear what also didn’t work: that the Democrats have yet to offer an alternative vision to lead America forward.
At this point, building an anti-Trump coalition appears to be the singular goal, rather than offering a broad-based agenda of change for America.
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