Welcome to a special edition of From the Policy Desk, bringing you highlights from the third day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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Walz promotes a message of “freedom” and small-town roots when accepting the VP nomination
By Sahil Kapoor
CHICAGO — Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz delivered his biggest audience yet as he wrapped up the third day of the Democratic convention on Wednesday, touting his vision of “liberty” and angering the GOP as he accepted the party’s vice presidential nomination.
“When Republicans use the word ‘freedom,’ they mean the government should be free to invade your doctor’s office, corporations should be free to pollute your air and water, and banks should be free to take advantage of your customers,” Walz told the crowd. “But when we Democrats talk about freedom, we mean … the freedom to make your own health care decisions, the freedom for your kids to go to school without worrying about being shot.”
Allies of Vice President Kamala Harris see Walz as a candidate who can speak to constituencies — rural white voters, especially men — that have fled the Democratic Party in recent years. He also brings experience to the ticket as governor halfway through his second term and as a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years.
From the stage, Walz highlighted his experiences as a teacher, football coach, veteran and gun owner, belting out John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” and recounting his early life growing up in a rural town of 400 people. Organizers of the convention distributed “Coach Walz” signs in the arena for his speech.
He cited his record as governor of Minnesota, where Democrats have taken full control of state government the past two years and passed gun safety, free school lunches and paid family leave measures.
“Other states banned books from their schools; we drove hunger away from us,” he said. “We’ve also protected reproductive freedom because in Minnesota we respect our neighbors and their personal choices. Even if we don’t make the same choices for ourselves, we have a golden rule: mind your own damn business.”
The finale of the waltz concluded with the Wednesday program on the theme “Fighting for our Freedoms”. It kicked off with speeches from a number of abortion rights advocates, LGBTQ rights advocates, and leaders of liberal groups focused on reaching out to women and Latinos. And it ended with Walz promoting Harris as the “liberty” candidate in this election, a central theme of his campaign.
Pelosi is a villain in Biden’s inner circle and a hero to the rest of the Democratic Party.
By Jonathan Allen and Natasha Korecki
CHICAGO — In the morality play that won the new Democratic presidential nominee last month, D-Calif., Rep. Nancy Pelosi can be seen as a hero or a bloodless villain, risking a political backlash to save her party’s chances in November. unnecessarily and hastily pushed aside the sitting president.
When he took the floor at the Democratic National Convention here on Tuesday — as the two-time House speaker who volunteered his powers last year after helping deliver the legislative agenda of Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden — he was greeted like a favorite.
To the extent that there is some concern about this convention, which should see Biden run for a second term, it is limited to a small circle of party power brokers whose relationships were disrupted when Biden was fired and replaced as the party’s representative by Harris. flag bearer No one was more central to the early part of that push than Pelosi.
The real moral of the story for Democrats here is that their only priority is defeating former President Donald Trump, and most of them think Pelosi puts them in a better position to do that. Biden benefited from that sentiment when he won the party’s nomination in 2020 and faced nominal opposition this year — until many Democrats, led by Pelosi, decided he was no longer the best choice.
In her speech, Pelosi recalled that Trump tried to cancel the results of the 2020 elections and that his supporters attacked the Capitol on the day that Biden’s victory was confirmed in Congress.
“Let’s not forget who attacked democracy on January 6: he did,” he said. “The January 6 parable reminds us that our democracy is only as strong as the courage and commitment of those entrusted with it, and we must elect leaders who believe in free and fair elections and respect the peaceful transfer of power.”
And he added, “the choice couldn’t be more clear.”
Read more from Jon and Natasha →
More coverage from Night 3 of the Democratic Convention
🗞️ Other top stories tonight
- 🤝 The art of the deal: Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump are working behind the scenes to lobby Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. More →
- 📈 Tar heel turn: Trump has increased his ad spending and campaign activity in North Carolina, the only state on his battleground map that he has defended since replacing Harris Biden. within one Stop by the state on Wednesday he said his focus is less on getting supporters to vote and more on making sure Democrats “don’t cheat.” More →
- ⚖️ Legal update: The federal judge presiding over Hunter Biden’s tax case announced the timeline for the president’s son’s pending criminal trial at a hearing. More →
That’s all for the Policy Desk for now. If you have feedback – like it or not – send us an email politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
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