Kamala Harris took the stage at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Thursday night to accept her party’s nomination in a speech long slated as the vice president’s “make or break” moment.

The address itself was a boring failure. For the first 20 minutes, Harris harped on about her background, specialness, and family history before pivoting to vague political platitudes for the second half.

But the thematics of the address–”We’re Not Going Back!” and “A New Way Forward!“–were a far darker dog whistle to the most extreme wing of her party: those who want borders abolished and those who want America to be irreversibly transfigured over the next four to eight years.

SPECIAL GUEST.

Before the VP spoke, Democrats were promised a “special guest.” Many in the audience exclaimed, “Beyonce is in the room!” Others were watching Taylor Swift’s private plane, only to be dismayed when it never took off from Nashville Airport. Instead, up wandered Harris, visibly nervous, decked out in a blue pantsuit and some kind of matching scarf.

As a speech itself, her address was wooden. It was a lukewarm hagiography of herself and her family, broken up only by a few rhetorical flourishes and her trademark cackle. All pathos, and not particularly compelling pathos at that.

“My early memories of our parents together are very joyful ones. A home filled with laughter and music: Aretha, Coltrane, and Miles,” she said, attempting to lean into her newfound blackness while airbrushing over her broken family and her father’s more recent repudiation of her political calculations.

This went on for some time.

In fact, Harris referenced “mother” twice as often as she mentioned “border” in her speech last night. She said “me” or “I” dozens of times more than she mentioned the economy, inflation, or even her latest pet topic: Project 2025.

TRUMP, TRUMP, TRUMP.

Her approach to her opponent is markedly different from Joe Biden’s.

Over the past several years, Biden has scarcely mentioned Donald Trump by name, often referring to “the other guy” or simply, “my opponent.” Harris has no such qualms, naming Trump 16 times in her speech, calling him an “unserious man” before going on to try and convince the audience of how serious a threat he is to “our democracy.”

This kind of rhetorical dissonance was common during Kamala’s address. It’s the sign of a low IQ speechwriter or perhaps an overreliance on ChatGPT or similar.

It smacks of a failure to thread a philosophical needle as Harris attempts to be all things to all they/thems – including the cacophony of pro-Palestine cheerleaders in the audience, who dwarfed the sound of the pro-Israel crowd when she announced her noncommittal solution to the Middle East peace process.

“President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination,” she said, in scarcely novel remarks.

The real news was this was the first time a Democratic Party nominee had mentioned the Palestinians in an acceptance speech, perhaps ever. Certainly, Biden didn’t. Nor did Obama. You may have to go back a long way to find another such reference. For the far leftists in attendance, this was a major victory.

WE’RE NOT GOING BACK… A NEW WAY FORWARD.

There’s a reason the two themes of Harris’s speech—indeed, her whole campaign—are the slogans “We’re not going back” and “A new way forward.”

It’s a dog whistle to illegal migrants, cartels, and open borders activists (including major corporations who demand cheap migrant labor) that not only does Kamala have no intention of dealing with the massive illegal surge into America over the last four years (and prior) but also that she intends to legalize illegal border crossings.

“We’re not going back” hardly requires a decoder ring to interpret against the backdrop of President Trump pledging major deportations. The ‘New Way Forward’ line is pulled from Democratic Party legislation that would decriminalize illegal border crossings.

Make no mistake about it: Harris is signaling to the far left of her party that she fundamentally intends to irrevocably transform America from day one of her prospective presidency. The question is: Will the moderates, the independents, and the swing voters who will decide the November election cotton onto this in time?

Image credit: Lorie Shaull