The big problem with Kamala Harris’ rousing speech

Kamala Harris wrapped up the Democrat National Convention with a rousing today. But look a little closer and it revealed a key issue.

ANALYSIS

Kamala Harris wrapped up the Democrat National Convention with a rousing, and surprising, speech in Chicago.

Not just was it delivered masterfully – no wild cackles or word salads about coconut trees – it was aimed squarely at flag-waving, law and order Middle America.

Which is great, except that much of the speech represented a radical departure from her own and her party’s positions.

RELATED: Live coverage of the DNC

Like the old country song says, the speech was “a walking contradiction, partly truth, partly fiction.”

On issue after issue, Harris ran hard to the centre, praising cops despite having urged people to donate to a bail fund for Black Lives Matter rioters and talked tough about migration despite having been “border czar” during a surge in illegal crossings.

She also tried to tie Donald Trump to the controversial Project 2025 agenda despite it not having ties to the Republican campaign.

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris hugs Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff after speaking today. Picture: Mandel Ngan / AFP

In a consistent world, this would mean Harris would also be lumped with every radical notion of the hard green-left wing of the Democrats.

And, tellingly, the word “climate” only got one generic mention, an indicator of just how worried she is that her old anti-fracking positions will come back to haunt her with the rural working class, and her new pro-fracking stance will aggravate the urban left.

But Harris’s big bet is that there is not enough time between now and election day for the contradictions to cause her real political trouble.

And to an extent, she may be right.

Kamala Harris speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Picture: AFP

Democrats who have been absorbing relentless anti-Trump messaging for eight solid years will vote for Harris no matter what she says, simply because she seems like a more viable candidate than Joe Biden.

One journalist who watched the speech live told me the crowd would have cheered just as wildly had Harris gone back to her old talking points about “equity” – code for the government forcing equal outcomes – as they did when she promised an “opportunity economy.”

The one message that came through loud and clear was beating Trump is job one.

Little things like facts and policies can be cleared up later.