Madsplaining: Spin Wash Repeat
The greatest show on earth? U.S. politics
The Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago last week to much fanfare from media and Hollywood. Vice President Harris accepted the party’s nomination to run for president. Like a lot of political rallies, there was more style than substance, but there were some themes that are worth pointing out for when seeking wisdom when the whims of Washington impact our lives as Christians.
Hooray for Hollywood
There were celebrities, actors and rockstars aplenty during the four-day convention and the mood was very Hollywood. In a bygone era, it was not so acceptable to be a lefty in Hollywood, but Frederick Kaufman wrote that today, the Democrats and Tinseltown are like peas in a pod:
“the princes and princesses of each world came to understand they were all in the same solar system after all — namely, the business of impersonation, improvisation, persuasion and make-believe.”
Kaufman credits the Hollywood production values of the Convention for “reuniting those royal twins separated at birth — Hollywood fame and Washington power — and making aristocracy equal populism.”
Even V.P. Harris herself has been described by critics as a carefully marketed “creation of the press”, a mercurial figure who has no convictions of her own as evidenced by her flip flops on many significant worldview issues, but will say the right things.
Members of the media complained about space and conditions, but influencers were wined and dined in private rooms, a sign, perhaps, that the Democrats don’t fully trust the corporate media to not ruin their party. At any rate, a crop of TikTokers is courting young and female followers, including the creepy child influencer/ groomer, Jeffrey Marsh, who was a special guest.
A Party of Managers
Despite the talk about ordinary Americans and working families, and the promises to make everyone’s lives better with an “opportunity economy”, it was hard to ignore the amount of wealthy people on stage whining about the inequality in America. Former First Lady, Michelle Obama, scolded Republicans for cheating their way to the top, telling attendees that she was raised to be suspicious of those who take more than they need. So, the government better put a cap on how many mansions are enough.
Speakers tried to throw shade on Republican vice presidential nominee J. D. Vance, insisting he forfeited his middle American credentials the moment he went to Yale. But as commentator Ian Haworth pointed out, most everyone who spoke at the Convention is the product of an Ivy school.
In the end, those in the middle – economically or socially – are the ones who suffer from out of control managers, as Auron McIntyre explains. Middle America becomes a tax farm to fund the elite’s programs which in turn keep the poor loyal to them.
Out with the Old
Although President Biden did take a break between vacations to appear at the Convention, his opening night time slot sent a strong signal that the Dems are moving on, with very little reference to him for the rest of the event. The President managed to stay up until his turn, late into the night, to speak - “it was very long, it was very bitter, and it was very liberal”, recapping the policies of his administration, according to Al Mohler. It seemed the speech was recycled and had been intended to be an acceptance speech, not a swan song.
Democrat heavy hitters took to the stage including President and Mrs. Clinton, and President and Mrs. Obama. Even as media pundits were in raptures (Van Jones said he didn’t realize he had been in a “spiritual desert” until he heard the Obamas speak on stage), it likely occurred to more level-headed observers just how far left each of those administrations have shifted America.
Vibes all the Way Down
The calls for Kamala Harris to sit for media interviews or at the very least, to outline her policies, are growing but vagaries are the name of the game, often baptized with Christian language. Donald Trump’s team took it upon themselves to make a website for Harris’ policies, since her own includes nothing besides a warning about the dreaded Project 2025. One journalist from The Atlantic said it’s absurd for critics to say that the Harris-Walz campaign has no policy positions because it still holds to “the agenda the party has unified behind from top to bottom in recent years.” Presumably he means abortion, regulation, spending and sexual libertinism.
V.P. Harris’ recent unveiling of some economic policies did prompt one journalist to ask how her administration plans to pay for all these programs. Harris said that when talking about public policy, it’s a mistake to ask how its success is measured. She pointed to some sort of foggy “return on investment” that comes out of “strengthened communities”. It pays for itself sometime in the future, you see. Unlike national debt apparently, which can just accumulate indefinitely without affecting families at all. Magic!
But for now, the chattering classes are doing all the heavy lifting, plugging up the gaps in the Harris-Walz platform. One convention delegate told reporters:
“Vice President Harris has been incredibly brave to roll out an ambitious economic agenda because we all know how this works. The more details you share, the more your policies are going to get picked apart. But she's saying, ‘I trust the American people. I trust the journalists to explain these policies and our values to folks.’..These are very pro-worker, pro-middle class policies that people have been waiting for."
Arabs and Jews noted there have been no firm promises made to either side of the Gaza-Israel conflict and it is probably better for V.P. Harris if that whole mess slips under the radar. Muslim Women for Harris withdrew its support for the V.P. over her failure to allow a Palestinian speaker on the convention podium.
A Woman, If You Can Define It
Of the many clips I watched from this convention, it appears the party is focused on women and non-white men. Democrats have long appealed to “Brides Of The State” – if you recall Obama’s “Julia” or Biden’s “Linda” who both spend their lives dependent on the government. An insightful article at UnHerd notes that this pitch appeals to a “powerful, and radically dissatisfied demographic: never-married and childless American women between the ages of 20 and 45.”
Abortion was front and center, with most speakers invoking the importance of “protecting women’s right to choose”. Harris said she would proudly sign abortion into law when she is president [feed cuts to a shot of a father in the crowd, holding a sleeping baby]. (Not sure whether that was a bit of a cameraman fail or something more sinister.) I.V.F is also shaping up to be a key issue, with empathic insistence that Republicans are poised to ban it. (As far as I can see, the Republicans are very much in disarray about where they stand on the issue.) There appears to be an ideological whiplash in the dualistic support of intentionally killing babies on one hand and intentionally creating babies on the other. However, if you look through the lens of personal autonomy then it makes sense – Dems believe a woman should be able to have a baby only if and when she wants, regardless of how many children had to die for that decision.
And the fans lapped it up. Outside in the streets, people dressed up as abortion pills and a giant inflatable contraceptive device was displayed. More grotesque than any of that, a branch of Planned Parenthood set up a mobile abortion and vasectomy clinic to kill and sterilize for free. Claiming to help families and giving credits for kids while fighting procreation is a recipe for confusion and destabilization. It is safe to say, given that Governor Tim Walz seems even more ambitious, even further to the left of Kamala Harris, that a win for them would ramp up the promotion of all sorts of depravity.
Linguistic theft
Yes, we know you can tell a politician is lying if his lips are moving, and the folks at the DNC happily proved the rule true – there were many overt, many by omission. The Federalist had a thorough collection of the big ones, so I will not rehearse them.
But the refusal to define concrete things – marriage, woman, baby – is only matched by the word games. Hope, joy, freedom, pride, opportunity, autonomy can mean a lot of different things today, and the Democrats were fine with letting you supply your own definitions, while they have something quite different in mind. As I once heard it explained, they use your vocabulary, but not your dictionary.
It’s the Orange Man, Stupid
Reportedly, Donald Trump was mentioned over 200 times during speeches, as if he has been the incumbent president these last four years. The fact that Kamala Harris has been in office and her fingerprints are also on the Biden policies seemed completely overlooked.
The Expendables
It appears the Democrats believe they don’t need the media (Kamala Harris will probably do better if she doesn’t have to speak extemporaneously to reporters); they don’t need presidents (President Biden, though infirm, has "great team behind him”). And they don’t really need voters.
Although Kamala Harris appears to have caught fire, bringing together Dems who were dispirited at their aging figurehead, but it would seem she is not really an upgrade from the President. Announcing he was suspending his presidential campaign, RFK Jr eviscerated the Democrats and “its media organs” for engineering a “surge of popularity for Vice President Harris based upon, well, nothing…No policies, no interviews, no debates, only smoke and mirrors and balloons in a highly produced Chicago circus." Maybe if Americans find out what she really believes, she’ll flame out.
Let’s Talk About Life
With abortion so highly prized by Democrats, it is worth reporting a couple of things from the Republican side..
You will likely know that Donald Trump (and now also his running mate, J. D. Vance) have distanced themselves from their [previously] impressive pro-life records. Trump said, as president, he would veto national abortion legislation. But Vance confirmed during a TV interview that the administration would also ban any national pro-life law. Both men insist that abortion law is with the states and that’s where it should stay.
While Trump says a lot of things to advance his interests and has changed his position on unborn humans a number of times, he posted that his administration will be good for women and their “reproductive rights”, a term usually used by abortion activists. He later made fuzzy comments connecting his post to IVF and that Roe was overturned.
It would seem that the Trump campaign believes a clear and bold stand on life is an unpopular one and despite the loyal pro-life voting bloc, is taking what he believes to be an expedient “middle” ground. It was widely reported that he blamed pro-lifers for Republican mid-term election losses in 2022 and believes a strong pro-life message is off-putting to women voters.
But as Thomas Sowell (who has written several times about the way Republicans tend to biff it when they have the moral high ground) once wrote:
“When it comes to national elections, just what principles do the Republicans stand for? It is hard to think of any, other than their hoping to win elections by converting themselves into Democrats lite. But voters who want what the Democrats offer can vote for the real thing, rather than Johnny-come-lately imitations.”
Political commentator Steve Deace makes a compelling argument that trying to walk a middle line between killing and saving lives is a losing strategy and “mind-numbingly stupid”. “There is no such thing as a moderate abortion voter,” he says, “If you are thinking about abortion when you go to vote you are either Planned Parenthood or you're [pro-life], you're either very pro-death or you're very pro-life. Anyone who is voting on abortion either thinks Trump is a hero for overturning Roe or a villain for taking away their quote unquote right.”
With RFK, who is not pro-life, joining the campaign, will the Republicans dilute their stance on life even further? Perhaps they believe they no longer need to please the pro-life base, with homeless liberals wandering in. But we can pray and petition and speak and act to show that the right to life is fundamental to freedom. As it has been from when Roe was first decided, we need to be about the business of changing minds on this issue – it cannot be left up to our political leaders to do so.
Don’t be discouraged! Just a reminder:
