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Monday, October 7, 2024 - 03:07 PM

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

First Published in 1994

INDEPENDENT CONSERVATIVE VOICE OF
UPSTATE SOUTH CAROLINA

Empty Joy in Chicago

The Democrats Hide their Radical Agenda in the Flag

If you happened to watch the Democratic National Convention last week with the volume off, you might have thought you were witnessing a GOP gathering.  American flags were everywhere. Many convention delegates were decked out in red, white, and blue, waving signs that read “USA.”  “FREEDOM” was projected in huge letters on the stage. Protesters with signs calling to “Free Palestine” were conveniently kept outside the United Center and cameras inside avoided anyone who looked like they were dressed for the 2023 White House Pride Day event. Even a New York Times headline declared, “Democrats Show that Republicans Aren’t the Only Ones Who Can Wrap Themselves in the Flag.”

It almost seems like the progressives know the American people are not interested in their usual far-left ideas and are turned off by the politics of hate and division.

The most used three-letter word at the DNC was not Joe (Biden), but Joy. On Wednesday night alone, speakers used the word “joy” 35 times. Former President Bill Clinton said, “We need Kamala Harris — the president of joy — to lead us.” Oprah Winfrey told the audience to “choose joy.” VP nominee Tim Walz thanked the crowd for “bringing the joy to this fight” and praised Harris for always working “with energy, with passion, and with joy.”

Freedom was another recurrent theme used by the Democrats. While conservatives know freedom means our God-given rights guaranteed by our Constitution including being free from government intrusion into our lives. Harris redefined freedom to include reproductive freedom (but not the first freedom — life), freedom from gun violence (but not the 2nd Amendment), freedom “to love who you love openly and with pride,” (but not protecting kids from gender ideology), freedom to have a “pathway to citizenship” (but not border security), and the “freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis” (ie, the Green New Deal). She failed to mention the freedom of parents to control the education and upbringing of their children, the freedom to refuse mandatory vaccinations and masking, and the freedom for women to have privacy and fair competition.

There is no doubt that Kamala Harris and her campaign had the goal of rebranding her as a centrist who cares deeply about law, order, the border, and the middle class. This goal was accomplished by repeating platitudes about how she would lower taxes for the middle class, enforce the border, and make groceries more affordable — all things Harris could have done during her current tenure as Vice President but has failed to do. Inflation and border crossing have increased on her watch, while public safety and real wages have nose-dived while she has been in power.

In addition, even the mainstream media has started to comment on her lack of any live news conferences or sit-down interviews since becoming the presumptive nominee more than a month ago. She has only done speeches from a teleprompter and taken no real questions from the press. As the Washington Post Editorial Board pointed out, “It’s tempting for Ms. Harris . . . to stay as vague on the issues as possible, for as long as possible, to avoid giving fodder to the opposition or dividing her supporters.” 

The one issue on which the Democratic party has not been vague is their complete commitment to abortion on demand. The words “OUR FIGHT FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM” served as the backdrop for numerous speeches on Monday night. Allusions to “reproductive rights” and “choice” were echoed by just about every politician who spoke. In addition, both the former Planned Parenthood leader Cecile Richards and its current head, Alexis McGill Johnson, as well as Mini Timmaraju, who runs Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly known as NARAL), spoke about abortion as a matter of “freedom.”  Kamala Harris, in her acceptance speech, promised to “restore reproductive freedom” by signing legislation to allow abortion on demand until birth without restriction. 

Sadly, while those inside paid lip service to abortion, actual human lives were destroyed outside the convention center. Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, out of St. Louis, MO, provided free vasectomies, abortion pills, and emergency contraception from a mobile clinic parked less than a mile away. The clinic’s Chief Medical Officer proclaimed, “We are excited to provide essential health care at no cost. . . . As people from across the country travel to Illinois this week, we are proud to demonstrate what is possible when policies truly support accessible reproductive health care.” In the first two days of the convention, the clinic saw 25 patients and provided eight medication abortions.

Democrats put on a good show in Chicago, with their happy talk of joy and freedom. But it was all done to hide their radical left-wing agenda of abortion on demand, higher taxes, price controls on groceries and rent, and redistributing income via mortgage subsidies and loan forgiveness. Kamala Harris was rated the most liberal senator during her time in that office and has failed as Vice President, especially in her role as Border Czar. Hopefully, voters will see beyond the smoke and mirrors of the DNC Convention and realize that politicians must do more than simply wrap themselves in the American flag.