Democrats try to take patriotism back from GOP

Democrats aimed to show this week that patriotism isn’t just a Republican ideal or a MAGA tenet.

“USA, USA, USA!” chants and camo and American flag hats filled the convention in Chicago, and when Vice President Harris wrapped up her speech, a balloon drop of red, white and blue was met with dozens of giant American flags.

Wearing and waving American flags are staples of former President Trump’s rallies, but Democrats want to reset the GOP perception that they have slipped away from being a party that holds patriotism as a core value.

“It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done — guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on earth. The privilege and pride of being an American,” Harris said in her speech.

Delegates in camo “Harris-Walz” hats and sparkly American flag cowboy hats filled the stadium. The Chicks sang the national anthem in front of a sea of Stars and Stripes.

A DJ played classic patriotic tracks, from Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the USA” to John Mellencamp’s “Small Town,” and yelled out, “Are you proud to be an American?” to cheers from the crowd.

Harris’s remarks on patriotism were reminiscent of President Biden’s signature lines about “possibilities” for America, where there’s “nothing beyond our capacity” — but with her personal spin as the leader of a new generation of Democrats and the daughter of immigrants.

“I think for Democrats, it’s the feeling that everybody can be an American and everybody can participate in America. The country is strong enough for all of us,” said Jamal Simmons, a former communications director to Harris. “Where the Republican content seems to deny full access to people who are out of favor — whether it's immigrants, people of color, women who want autonomy.”

Former Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) outlined the perception that the Democratic Party isn’t patriotic, hailing Democrats for the move toward regaining a national pride.

“For years, Democrats’ have obsessively focused on the country’s flaws. They have described America as a racist nation that systematically oppresses minorities and working class people — a place offering limited opportunity. This has cost them the support of many Hispanic and some African Americans voters,” he said.

Curbelo added, “The pivot to celebrating America is a smart political decision that resonates with most Americans — particularly immigrant families who feel blessed to live in the country.”

Dozens of veterans took the stage on Thursday in the hour before Harris’s speech. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) gave remarks about military support for Harris, surrounded by fellow veterans including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), to more chants of “USA” from the crowd.

“The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do,” former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), a Trump critic who endorsed Harris, said in his remarks, to yet more chants.

The chorus of "USA" filled the stadium as Harris came out on stage.

Harris’s campaign message of “freedom” is the bridge to Democrats reclaiming patriotism, Simmons argued.

“I think it’s the word that you saw the most, which is freedom and these basic tenants of patriotism, freedom, liberal justice. That those are words that Democrats feel like they have a stake in and a claim to,” he said.

The tag line has also drawn comparison's to former President Barack Obama's signature message of "hope," one of the most memorable elements of his 2008 campaign.

Other Democrats invoked the idea that patriotism should be part of their party.

Harris's running mate, Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), to start his keynote address on Wednesday, said, “We’re all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason: We love this country.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leaned into his background as a veteran while hitting Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over past comments about childless Americans having "no physical commitment" to the nation's future. Buttigieg blasted him, saying when he was deployed to Afghanistan, he and other service members didn’t have kids but, “our commitment to the future of this country was pretty damn physical.”

Harris’s theme of patriotism appeared to move past the message Biden has shared on the campaign trail in 2020 and this year, as well as in the White House: You can’t love your country only when you win.

To be sure, she spent plenty of time in her speech warning about the threat of another Trump administration and bashing him over the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. But her attempts to tout patriotism as a core value of Democrats were not in the context of her political rival.

She used her speech to make a plea for voters to “write the next great chapter” in American history, looking toward the future.

“We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who have sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment,” Harris said.

When she formally accepted the Democratic nomination, Harris declared, “on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination.”