6 Days: "His Enemies List" or My To Do List: Kamala's Closing Argument on the Elipse

Having lived in DC for 15 years, I know the spot very well, a spot that was soiled by trump on January 6th, where he riled up the gun-toting mob, pointed them at the Capitol, and told them to “fight like hell”, which they did—killing at least 5 police, injuring another 140, and sending 1500+ of them to the courts, with many going to prison.

But last night, about 4 years later, it was sacred ground, a site to behold. They planned for 20,000 and over 75,000 people showed up!

If you have not yet heard her 30 minute “closing argument”, you may do so at this link (Source 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5t7EmrrGs4 Here are a number of her key points, from this observer’s perspective:

·?????? “Enemies List” vs. a To Do List: Kamala looked back at the White House that was dimly lit right behind her and said, “in 90 days one of us will be in the White House; he will come with an ‘enemies’ list; I will come with a To Do List for the American people”; Trump is only in this for himself so he doesn’t have to go to prison and be a loser one more time. Kamala is in it for us, all of us. She is one of us and understands our economic and family challenges. WE or ME—that is our choice

·?????? Revenge vs. Engagement: As recently as last night, Trump talked about his “enemies from within”; that’s all of us who are Democrats, judges, prosecutors, the media, academics, union leaders, protesting students, Rep. Schiff, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, and many many more—he will suspend Constitutional habeus corpus, send out his goon squads, and put them us prison. Kamala said, in effect, “he will prosecute anyone who disagrees with him; I will give them a seat at the table.”

·?????? Hating “The Other” vs. Respect for All: The Madison Square Garden Hate Rally was very much on Kamala’s mind as she welcomed our diversity, honored Puerto Ricans, Haitians, and all of us who are immigrants—which means all of us other than the original Native Americans—while Trump reviles anyone who is not white, male, or MAGA. Isabelle Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent (Source 2), was on Lawrence O’Donnell on MSNBC last night and she helped us understand why with such vile and hateful rhetoric vs. Kamala’s respect for all this election is still 50-50. She went back 248 years, pointing out that today’s divisions are rooted in the slave economy, which through the ages has meant powerful white men controlling people of color, and now that by 2042 the demographics will make America a majority minority country (like California is now), the Republican Party is the agent for continued repression through division, “othering”, and hate. It’s about power and control—not respect and inclusion.

·?????? “Dictator for a Day” vs. Freedom for All: Kamala, toward the end of her speech said, and I paraphrase, “we fought a petty tyrant 248 years ago for our freedom, and we are not going to give it up for another petty tyrant”. We all know that dictators are never for a day. They remain for decades and decades. After 2-3 years, our form of government would be so totally transformed, the “enemies” imprisoned, the Constitution suspended, the rule of law undermined, and the kleptocracy so engrained, that we could never regain our freedom without another revolution. Forget freedom of choice for women, for LGBTQ+, for unions, for our universities and colleges, freedom of the press—ALL GONE!! And the Heritage Foundation Project 2025 team has a secret 180 plan to immediately implement their radical agenda, and they have the people already selected to do it.

·?????? The 1% (Again) vs. Opportunity Economy: Trump’s economic initiative is the same as last time. Multi-trillion dollar tax breaks for his new oligarchs and the 1%, ending Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Obamacare, the Department of Education, and many other people programs, while raising taxes on the 99%, increasing inflation through a 20% tariff on everything, ending up in another depression. On the other hand, Kamala discussed her Opportunity Economy in some detail—controlling price gougers, increasing housing stock, a $6000 tax break for new families, and $25,000 tax break for first time home buyers, a $50,000 tax break for new entrepreneurs—while raising taxes on anyone making over $400,000 a year.

The Bottom Line: THIS IS IT! A Democracy, If We Can Keep It. It’s up to us whether we have a future of hope, change, joy and optimism, or whether we end up fighting for our freedoms, all over again, as our ancestors did in 1776, in 1861, in 1917, and in 1941. IT’S UP TO US!! We can do it. 6 days left. One More Thing!

Sources:

1)???? Vice President Kamala Harris' Closing Argument Speech to American Voters, YouTube, Oct. 30, 2024,??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5t7EmrrGs4

2)???? Isabelle Wilkerson, Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent, Random House, 2023, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Caste/HcLNDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

“A Republic, if you can keep it”. Benjamin Franklin

Edward

Edward M. Marshall, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor, Leadership (Ret)

Pratt School of Engineering

Duke University