Op-ed: The Granite State is fired up for Harris

The response to Kamala Harris’s candidacy for president has been energizing, invigorating, euphoric – well, whatever description you can think of to describe knowing the agita of the past four weeks is over.

This is not to denigrate Joe Biden. He is a great president, and I would follow him pretty much anywhere. I thought he could win, but even I admit it was going to be a hard slog.

The constant drip, drip of leaks from congressional leaders and others, the George Clooney column, the handful of elected officials receiving headlines for breaking with Biden, and the merciless focus by the press on Biden’s health while ignoring Trump’s faults, disheartened the Democratic base.

Biden did not deserve that treatment.

That is why it was a relief when the President decided to bow out gracefully. When he threw his total support behind the vice-president, it was just what we all needed to turn the page.

One of the things I enjoyed about the 48 hours following Biden’s announcement was how local party activists shut down any talk by big donors, pundits and congressional leaders about “an open primary”, “vetting of candidates by party elites” and the like. Each of those suggestions would have required a time consuming end run around the 4000 delegates who had been chosen at the local level to select the Democratic nominee. It would have required a controversial effort to change rules that had been in place for years.

When state convention delegations began throwing their unanimous support behind Harris (New Hampshire was the 4th state to do so on Sunday), it became abundantly clear that these 4000 delegates (who by and large are activists who knock on doors, make phone calls and organize at the grassroots level) were not having it. The delegates exercised their duty to choose a nominee, and they chose Harris. So, while Nancy Pelosi was still talking about an open primary with candidates vetted by higher ups, the Harris train was pulling away from the station, driven by the Democratic base.

They wanted to get to work to elect Harris and defeat Trump. They understood there was no time to waste.

In addition, they knew that Harris would generate excitement among the Democratic base in a way that very few others could. There are a lot of women still grieving over Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016 who want a woman president. There are Black women, the most dependable Democratic voters, who are delighted at the prospect of Harris in the White House. There are women of Indian and South Asian ancestry who are celebrating breaking that electoral barrier. There are younger voters who are excited that someone from a different generation would be the nominee.

Think of the contrast between Harris and Trump. The smart, talented, competent woman versus the man of privilege who benefitted from the unspoken affirmative action given to the scions of wealth. The prosecutor versus the felon. The multiracial woman versus the white nationalist dog whistler. The protector of abortion rights versus the man who boasts about overturning Roe. The daughter of immigrants versus the man who wants mass deportation. The articulate leader of her college debate team versus the man who garbles the English language.

The man who boasts about grabbing women versus a woman who would throw him in jail if he tried it on her watch.

A woman whose joyous enthusiasm radiates when she speaks and who will protect American democracy, versus a man who constantly complains that he is being victimized, and who incited a mob in a fit of pique over a lost election.

A presidential nominee who will select an experienced, seasoned running mate candidate versus one who selected an opportunistic belittler of childless females (calling them “catwoman”) who insults adoptive parents, stepparents, people who want but are unable to have children, and those who have chosen not to be parents.

That is why Harris is exciting the nation. She is raising millions of dollars, her supporters are performing surgery on their Biden/Harris signs, and Harris merchandise is blowing up on the internet.

We are fired up. We are ready to win.