On Wednesday, Oct. 23, I had the privilege of being one of just 32 attendees of Vice President Kamala Harris’ town hall for undecided voters, hosted by CNN in Delaware County. I shook her hand; I got a selfie.
Her performance was mixed. At times she gave strong responses to the audience questions; at other moments she deliberately avoided questions. Take, for example, her flip-flop in support of the border wall: CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked her the same question perhaps three or four times before giving up on getting a straight answer. At the same time, her performance off-camera was much more satisfying than her performance on camera.
The in-person audience was dissatisfied. During one of the commercial breaks, the woman next to me expressed frustration that Harris left the stage during the break, and the people in front of me complained that she wasn’t answering the questions.
The general sentiment was that nothing new was learned from the experience.
“I’m really glad to have attended but I didn’t learn anything new. I didn’t hear anything that I hadn’t heard before,” said Swarthmore Professor Emerita of Political Science Carol Nackenoff, who was invited to the town hall.
I had my own chance to ask Harris a question, after the cameras stopped rolling. Earlier in the night, an audience member asked about Palestine in relation to third-party voters and abstainers. Harris said, “Listen, I am not going to deny the strong feelings that people have … But I also do know that for many people who care about this issue, they also care about bringing down the price of groceries. They also care about our democracy.” I chose to ask her further about those who were choosing to vote third party or abstain from the election due to the war in the Middle East.
Her response was remarkable: rather than shaming third-party voters and abstainers, she said that “there is a lot of righteous pain,” and that she needed to regain the trust of such persons.
I didn’t learn much about Harris from her carefully choreographed appearance on stage. I did learn something about her when I asked her about third-party voters. She didn’t attack them: she responded with the respect and dignity that fellow human beings deserve.
Many Swarthmore students are currently fighting over whether it is better to vote for Harris or to vote third-party/abstain, and each side is calling the other “complicit” in some set of crimes. Harris’s message from the town hall is one that many of us need to hear: that we should treat one another with respect and dignity regardless of how we vote or don’t vote.
We ought not “deny the strong feelings that people have;” we ought to recognize that “there is a lot of righteous pain.” And we ought to treat one another with respect and dignity.
If Harris is elected, people will still have the right to speak out, to assemble peaceably, to be free from arrest except upon probable cause, to vote and have their vote counted. If Trump is elected, he has promised to terminate the Constitution and to make himself dictator on Day One. He has said he likes the idea of being president for life. The US Supreme Court has said the President cannot be prosecuted for a crime if the crime is an official act. Generals Kelly and Milley have said he is a fascist. So, even if you do not like Harris, you will be free to work for what you do like if she is elected. Not so if Trump is elected — unless he is somehow restrained. As a psychopath, he has no self-restraint.
(Willa Michener 73)
Epic and awesome article Wyatt!
I strongly believe that the United States of America will be fine regardless of who wins and that the doomerism is just fueled by conspiracy theories and fears, which are compounded by the fact that we live in the Social Media Era and are currently witnessing a fundamental shift in American politics: It’s no longer Democrats versus Republicans, it’s the pro-establishment Democratic-Republican coalition versus the new reactionary MAGA movement. No longer does one’s political affiliation indicate their beliefs at all, and we’ve seen politicians on both ends of the aisle seemingly switch sides.
This is a transitionary period in history so of course things are going to seem crazy. But life goes on, and God be willing, this won’t be our last election.
I just hope that 2025 represents a year of redemption; if Harris wins the election, I hope she proves herself a capable and practical leader. And if Trump wins, I hope he proves his naysayers wrong and doesn’t lead America into a new era of authoritarianism, and perhaps through good actions, can be remembered as a decent president instead of leaving this world as a hated and infamous man.
And regardless of who wins, I hope for peace. A peaceful transition of power in Washington and peaceful behavior from the people. I’m tired of the infighting and violent rioting we saw last election cycle.