The Left is more undivided now and bitter about each other since before 1968 when they descended on Chicago to a bruising Democratic Convention. As we preview this year’s high-stakes gathering, 1968, in retrospect, looks like a walk in the park.
On camera, at the various media booths covering the 2024 convention, all you will see is smiles. Egged on by supporting anchors and news people, every Democrat will take aim at Trump-Vance. Unifying against an enemy has been a common military strategy for 2,000 years. The big question, of course, is if this hatred for Trump-Vance will take the Democrats over the top on November 5.
As recently as June 26, Chicago this year had the promise to feel like 2012 or 1996. The incumbent president, Joe Biden, having aggressively campaigned and won the 2024 Democratic primaries with a 98% margin over four months and locking up over 99% of the delegates who pledged to vote for him during the first-round vote, was supposed to be the star of the convention. That would mean showing up on the last day, during prime time, and accepting his party’s nomination to dropping confetti of red, white, and blue.
Then, June 27 happened.
Today, Biden will appear on Day 1 of the convention with a prime-time speech, no confetti, thank you. It is a day reserved for speeches from loyal local party leaders, such as a school board official from Nevada or a precinct captain from South Carolina. Biden’s demotion has been the fastest in world political history.
A fully deflated Ron Klain, Biden’s first White House Chief of Staff and the de facto Prime Minister who ran the Biden administration with an iron fist for the first two years, went to CNN’s Anderson Cooper to complain. “I think it was unfortunate because I think that the president had won the nomination fair and square. Fourteen million people had voted for him and the vice president as vice president….I do think, you know, the president was pushed by public calls from elected officials for him to drop out, from donors calling for him to drop out. And I think that was wrong.”
Klain was referring to the bait-and-switch strategy pushed by numerous Brutuses within the Democratic establishment—former President Obama, former Speaker Pelosi, Senate Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, and chief Trump hater Adam Schiff—which would have made William Shakespeare turn his head in wonder. The party, which has self-identified as the world’s gold-standard organization for defending democracy, did so many undemocratic things in six weeks that have made our Founding Fathers repeatedly wince in their graves in pain.
Like mice first and later children, a majority of the Democrats rank and file lined up behind Kamala Harris, the new Pied Piper. Since then, media cameras have covered her every moment with fawning admiration even as the Bidens sulk and recline on beach chairs in Delaware. Someone should ask Vanity Fair if they should retract their July 1 cover story featuring Jill Biden. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times summed it all up as only she can: “The Dems Are Delighted. But a Coup Is Still a Coup.”
While the party’s leaders project an image of unity, a significant portion of grassroots Democrats express deep dissatisfaction with the process used to select Kamala Harris as the nominee. As shown in the chart below, about a third of Democrats believe the process was undemocratic, and many have lost faith in the party due to the lack of transparency regarding Biden’s health.
We take exception to Dowd’s claim that the Democrats are delighted. That is for the cameras. We think the Democrats are not delighted at all.
For all the “irrational exuberance,” a Greenspanesqe term former Obama adviser David Axelrod recently used to describe the Harris-Walz Democratic ticket, much has happened that is giving the Democrats pause. Speaking to the New York Times, Cornell Belcher, a Democratic strategist and pollster, described Harris in the most absurd and counterintuitive way possible: “She’s famous, but she’s unknown.”
Famous but unknown. If you’re scratching your head as to what this phrase even means, you’re not alone. What little the public has known during the last 30 days since Harris assumed the mantle has caused many Democrats severe concern. Yes, she’s young, a woman of color, and appears a lot more physically vibrant with her quick walk across a stage or up the stairs of a plane without tripping and falling. Yes, she doesn’t cackle or guffaw as much, although her plastic smiles convey a sense of feigned joy, the message of her campaign. Yes, Harris unites the party with her strong pro-abortion (it’s not even pro-choice anymore as she is repelled by the idea that women may even consider giving birth when they could abort) stance. And because she is someone who carries an image that is in stark contrast with Trump’s caricature, she is a unifying icon to deny Trump a return to the White House.
But Harris is like the shining object on the green hills across the river. Her handlers want her to always be on the other side of the river lest her true self become known. She goes from one choreographed event to the next, avoiding reporters’ questions and refusing to agree to a sit-down even with a friendly media personality. Her rallies are stage-managed with applause captains prompting the crowd to cheer. She relies on the likes of Bon Iver, of the Indie Folk band, or Megan Thee Stallion to warm up the arena. When she has no celebrity with her, she draws more journalists and staff in the audience than supporters. This happened during her Friday speech in North Carolina when she introduced the idea of Soviet-era price controls. Usually confident using the Tel-e-Prompter, Harris goofed the most important line of her speech when she misread the word “gauge” for “gouge.” “And I will work to pass the first-ever federal ban on price gauging on food,” before employing her usual, annoying nod to finish the pitch.
Trump correctly calls her “Comrade Kamala” because her plan to unleash the FTC under Lina Khan, another DEI hire, to go after food producers, distributors, and grocery chains would become an economic disaster, causing bread lines and higher inflation. Harris, as surrogate Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer confirmed on Meet The Press yesterday, wants to provide driver’s licenses, free healthcare, and free education to illegal aliens. The drip-drip-drip of her policy views, when known, will shock moderate and conservative Democrats. Independents would likely bolt from such an extremely radical vision of governance and support Trump. This is especially true given that far more moderate policies championed by Biden have already sent the country seriously down the wrong track for three years in a row, according to numerous TIPP surveys.
Numerous factions are wanting to tear the party apart. Blogger James Howard Kunstler identified 14 categories – The Hamas mob, the sex freaks, Antifas, BLMs, assorted Bolsheviks, anarchists, utopians, climate change sob-sisters, Gramscian culture stompers, Spartacists, Trotskyites, Jacobins, Fabians, and plain old riffraff out for fun and loot – and he was being kind. Chicago will reveal several more factions, including the Deep State that has been insulted by the Obama-Pelosi-Schumer machine to kick Biden off his fairly earned perch.
Stay with the big networks if you want to watch the fantasy land of a sanitized, unified version of the convention. If you want the truth, please tune in here.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. U.S. Gaza Ceasefire Plan Rebuffed By Hamas As Netanyahu Rejects Permanent Truce – Reuters
The Palestinian group Hamas said that a new proposal meant to bridge the gaps between Israel and the Islamist armed group over a Gaza ceasefire was too close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent positions.
Hamas’ statement came only hours after U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Israel in a bid to secure a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal, dimming hopes for an imminent breakthrough in negotiations.
2. Israel’s Netanyahu Urges More Pressure On ‘Obstinate’ Hamas Over Gaza Truce Deal – AFP
Israel’s prime minister accused Hamas of being an obstacle in negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire deal and called for more pressure on the Palestinian militants ahead of a new round of talks later this week.
Western ally Jordan, hostage supporters protesting in Israel, and Hamas itself have called for pressure on Netanyahu so that an agreement be reached.
3. Ukraine Says Struck Second Key Bridge In Russia’s Kursk Region – AFP
“Minus one more bridge,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram, publishing an aerial video of a blast tearing through a bridge near the Russian town of Zvannoye.
On Friday, Ukraine announced it had destroyed a separate bridge in the neighboring town of Glushkovo. The attacks on both bridges, which lie on the river Seym that winds through Kursk, have left Russia with limited options to cross the river in the area, according to Russian military bloggers.
4. Zelenskyy Says Aim Of Kursk Incursion To Create Buffer Zone To Prevent Further Russian Attacks – Euronews
Ukraine’s president also used his nightly video address to appeal to international allies to speed up deliveries of much-needed military hardware to the battlefield.
“Ukraine is not interested in occupying Russian territories,” one of Zelenskyy’s senior aides, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on X. “In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how the military tool is being used objectively to persuade Russia to enter a fair negotiation process,” he said.
5. Belarus Says Ukraine Amassing Troops At Border Amid Incursion Into Russia – Al Jazeera
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Kyiv has stationed more than 120,000 soldiers along its border with Belarus, the country’s state news agency reported, as fighting continues amid Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.
BelTA reported that Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that Minsk had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the border in response to the Ukrainian deployment. Kyiv did not immediately respond to the claims.
6. Putin Arrives In Azerbaijan On Visit Amid Souring Relations With Armenia – RFE/RL
Putin is due to hold talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, on bilateral relations and “international and regional problems” during his visit, the Kremlin said.
Putin is expected to comment on peace negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which have been taking place following years of conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh
A traditional ally and partner of Russia, Armenia recently has turned toward improving its ties with the West and putting on ice its relations with Moscow, which Yerevan has blamed for failing to support it in its conflict with Azerbaijan.
7. Hungary Says Worries Over Loosened Entry Restrictions For Belarusians And Russians Unfounded – RFE/RL
Hungary has responded to a letter sent by Nordic and Baltic countries expressing concern about Budapest’s decision to make it easier for Russian and Belarusian citizens to enter Hungary.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto disagreed, saying in his response that including Russian and Belarusian citizens in Hungary’s National Card program does not pose any security risk to the Schengen area because the Belarusian and Russian citizens who arrive in Hungary must still undergo thorough checks to enter and stay in the country.
8. Claims Poland Involved In Nord Stream Sabotage ‘Groundless,’ Says Presidential Aide – Reuters
Suggestions that Ukrainian authorities supported by Poland were behind planning and executing the sabotage attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022 are “groundless insinuations,” the Polish president’s aide said.
Germany’s former intelligence chief, August Hanning, told Die Welt that he believed the presidents of Poland and Ukraine had agreed to carry out the attack.
9. China: Philippine Coast Guard Vessels ‘Illegally Intruded’ Into Sabina Shoal Water – Reuters
China Coast Guard said a Philippine vessel that had ignored its repeated warnings “deliberately collided” with a Chinese vessel in an “unprofessional and dangerous” manner, according to statements.
In one of the statements, China’s maritime security said the same Philippine vessel then entered waters near Second Thomas Shoal after being prevented from entering Sabina Shoal waters. After repeated altercations near the Second Thomas Shoal, China and the Philippines reached a “provisional agreement” in July.
10. China Youth Unemployment Jumps To 17.1 Percent In July – AFP
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the unemployment rate among 16-—to 24-year-olds, which was up markedly from June’s 13.2 percent.
The closely watched metric peaked at 21.3 percent in June of 2023 before authorities suspended publication of the figures and later changed their methodology to exclude students.
China is battling soaring joblessness among young people, a heavily indebted property sector, and intensifying trade issues with the West.
11. China Digs Up The Past To Shore Up Official Version Of History – RFA
Experts said China is working on major archaeological projects with its neighbors in Central Asia to dig up fresh finds that will shore up its official historical narrative and extend its regional soft power.
Since President Xi Jinping launched his “Belt and Road” global influence and supply chain initiative in 2013, the country has invested heavily in high-profile excavations along the ancient Silk Road trading routes that once linked China to the Middle East via Central Asia.
12. Creative Hobbies May Greatly Benefit Mental Health – HealthDay News
New research shows that painting, woodworking, and writing—whatever you turn to creatively—could equal or exceed work in maintaining mental health.
The researchers found that people who engaged in a creative pursuit scored higher in terms of happiness, life satisfaction, and the sense that life is worthwhile compared to folks who weren’t involved in arts or crafts.
13. Poll: Parents Consider Social Media, Tech Top Challenge For Schoolkids – HealthDay News
National poll results from the Kids Mental Health Foundation show that half of parents (50%) say their kids’ top challenge in forming positive connections with those around them will be spending too much time with technology.
By comparison, 30% considered bullying the top challenge to building connections, and 22% were concerned about the lingering social impact of the pandemic.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
