The chant “We’re not going back” has become the rallying cry of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz as they continue their race for the presidency. It’s an explicit promise not to go back to Donald Trump-era policies, but there’s also a subtler implicit message: Harris is a fresh start for Democrats, too.
The only trouble with the mantra? For at least a few hours during next week’s Democratic National Convention, Harris (and the rest of us) will be going back.
That’s because NBC News is reporting that “President Joe Biden, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have been confirmed as speakers at the convention.” President Jimmy Carter’s grandson is reportedly going to speak on behalf of his grandfather.
To keep the momentum going — and get the bump she needs heading out of the convention — Harris must run a flawless convention that is “unburdened by what has been.” But how do you do that when “what has been” wants one more curtain call?
This problem is not catastrophic or insoluble, but it does present hazards for a campaign that has been remarkably effective at turning the page on Biden — an unpopular president who was pushed out of the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination just a few weeks ago.
Likewise, Bill and Hillary Clinton also have decades worth of baggage that Harris could do without. In the words of the song that Bill used to end his 1992 convention speech, her message should be “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow.”
To be sure, former presidents have always been highlighted at party conventions — sometimes to great effect. Indeed, Bill Clinton’s 2012 DNC speech on behalf of Barack Obama’s reelection is often considered the gold standard, inspiring Obama to later dub him the “Secretary of Explaining Stuff.”
But that was a different time and a very different situation.
For one thing, Harris is attempting to do something arguably harder: She’s a sitting vice president who is also attempting to simultaneously run as the “change” candidate in a presidential election.
Amazingly, Harris has (so far) pulled off this feat. But to keep it going, her campaign must reinforce, not undermine, her forward-looking message — and the stark contrast between Harris and an aging Trump.
Rather than focus on Democratic luminaries, next week’s convention should be about Harris and Walz, along with the spate of rising stars we saw auditioning to be her running mate: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, just to name a few.
Of course, there is little doubt that these up-and-coming leaders will be prominently featured next week. But the challenge will be to keep the focus on them, with so many speeches being allotted to dignitaries.
In a sense, this is a happy dilemma.
Trump’s Republican Party doesn’t have this problem, in part because so many figures from its past are no longer welcome inside the formerly “big tent” of the GOP.
Former President George W. Bush skipped last month’s Republican National Convention — along with the three living former Republican vice presidents (Mike Pence, Dick Cheney and Dan Quayle), and former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Unity can be a good thing, but it can also be a sign of a shrinking party that purges heretics and defenestrates anyone who doesn’t drink the Kool-Aid. Such is the case with today’s GOP.
Conversely, Team Harris must find the perfect balance between honoring past heroes and looking to the future.
It’s impossible to plan for everything (there’s still a chance that outside protesters could upend her big plans), but Team Harris can mitigate some potential problems by scheduling “old timer’s day” early in the week or early in the night.
Part of the plan seems to be to feature Biden early in the week, and then shuffle him off as quickly as possible. “Monday night is Joe’s night,” a source told CNN. “And then he’ll turn the keys over.”
But Biden isn’t the only guest Harris will have to hustle out the door early, if she wants to crank up the music and let her hair down. She will also have to find ways to get the Clintons and the Obamas to ride off into the sunset — no small feat.
It is vital that Harris avoids steeping this convention in the past. She has to turn the page and write her next chapter.
Matt K. Lewis is a columnist, podcaster and author of the books “Too Dumb to Fail” and “Filthy Rich Politicians.”
