Republicans have long been known as the "live and let live" party, with a focus on small government and personal freedom. After four days in Chicago, the Democrats would like a word.
Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech on the final night of the Democratic National Convention Thursday, telling an excited crowd that broke into chants of "USA" while waving American flags, that the nation was in "a fight for America's future."
After speaking about former President Donald Trump's views on abortion and his efforts to "take away reproductive freedom," Harris declared that "many other fundamental freedoms are at stake," including gun safety, LGBTQ+ rights, climate change and voting rights.
"America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities," the Democratic nominee said. "We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children, our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment."
In case the message that Democrats wanted America to take away from their convention this week wasn't clear, Harris ended the night waving to crowds as her campaign's anthem blared out of the speakers.
"Freedom/Where are you?/'Cause I need freedom, too," Beyoncé's voice belted out as Harris' large, blended family joined her on stage and red, white and balloons fell from the ceiling. "I break chains all by myself/Won't let my freedom rot in hell/Hey! I'ma keep running/'Cause a winner don't quit on themselves."
"Freedom is the central theme of her campaign. Its on the huge signs at her rally— it's the Beyoncé song they're using," veteran Democratic strategist Matt Bennett told Newsweek.
"We've known for years that freedom is a deeply resonant value. It's what defines us as Americans," Bennett said. "And while we have long battled with Republicans over the definition of the term, the Dobbs decision and Trump's extremism has given it new life for Democrats."
In the last month, in a bit of deft political stagecraft, Harris has repeatedly deployed terms and ideas that have long been associated with conservatives. Speaking to union workers in Michigan earlier this month, the vice president flipped a classic Republican talking point: Americans did not want "their government telling them what to do."
This week, Democrats have sought to sell their agenda through the message of "Freedom." Nearly everyone on stage—from vice presidential nominee Tim Walz to Oprah—portrayed former President Donald Trump and Republicans as the assailants trying to take away American freedoms and dictate their lives.
Delivering his own acceptance speech Wednesday night, Walz told the crowd that when Republicans use the word "freedom," "they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctor's office, corporations free to pollute your air and water, and banks free to take advantage of customers." But, he said when Democrats talk about "freedom," they mean the "freedom to make your own health care decisions, your kids' freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot."
"Mind your own damn business!" Walz told Republicans, in a refrain that has become a calling card of his stump speech.
"Throughout this convention, Democrats have cast themselves as the party of progress while depicting Republicans as holdovers of a discredited past," William Howeel, the Sydney Stein Professor of American Politics at the University of Chicago, told Newsweek.
"Democrats also have attempted to claw back certain principles—freedom, patriotism—that historically have been associated with Republicans."
The use of "Freedom" is just one part of the "very explicit play" that Harris' campaign has made for the center all week, Bennett said. That's why audiences have spent this week hearing from GOP officials, police officers and "others who might traditionally be seen as Republicans," about why Harris is the right choice for 2024. It's an appeal to common sense and community values, a call to leave behind a divisive political figure and embrace "joy."
"Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go —in everyone I meet—I see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America," Harris concluded. "I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation. That inspired the world. That here, in this country, anything is possible. Nothing is out of reach."
But it will take more than revisiting "Freedom" for Harris to win the White House.
"She needs to show how [these themes] fit together into a larger vision for the next four years," Howell said.
"And she needs to reassure that critical center of the electorate that she has a plan to address people's lingering concerns about the economy, foreign policy, immigration, and healthcare. Not in exhaustive detail, but substantively, cogently, and forcefully."
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