DNC Volunteer: I Only Heard Generic Platitudes Like ‘Joy,’ ‘Respect,’ ‘Integrity’

UNKNOWN: “Okay I’m gonna get real in this and it’s probably gonna piss some people off, but I’m okay with that. Because if I’m not being honest, then what else am I doing? I just got back from the DNC, where I signed up to volunteer, and when I initially had signed up to volunteer, Joe Biden was still the nominee. It wasn’t yet Kamala Harris. I’ve worked in progressive politics for a long time. I have worked for many different Democratic candidates, Senate candidates, House candidates, even some Democratic organizations, and as the years have gone by, I found myself getting more and more disillusioned with the Democratic Party, although until now I’ve never said that out loud or anywhere public. And I just want to say that by saying this, I’m not necessarily saying that the other party is better. I’m just giving you my experience with working with the Democrats. Throughout my career, I’ve mostly done campaign fundraising, so I’ve seen it the way that it works behind the scenes, and I know that candidates spend 8, 9, 10 hours a day just calling donors and begging rich people for money. It’s pretty much the only people that they talk to. I mean, of course, sometimes they have to talk to voters, but the majority of their time is just spent calling and begging rich people to give the money for their campaigns. And what this inevitably means is that we don’t actually live in a democracy. It’s just rich people calling the shots and having the access to talk to the politicians. They’re the ones that basically get their ear all day. They’re the ones that can help shape and prioritize what the politician actually focuses on. Even the politicians that detest this, that want to get big money out of politics, still have to play this game. They still have to make these calls. They still do the same amount of just calling rich people and begging them for money. And what unfortunately happens once they get into office, if they get into office, is that they soon realize that the money machine is so great and the seduction of power is so immense that they no longer adhere to these values. When I first got into politics, I thought the Democrats were the party of the people. And at the DNC this week, I felt like I was in a building with the most elite and out-of-touch people in the entire world. It very much felt like, ‘Let’s just have a huge party and forget all of our problems, because the vibes are brat.’ When I was there, I didn’t feel any connection to real America or the place that I come from, which is the Midwest, Kansas, city, Kansas and Missouri. I didn’t feel any connection to the people that I know right now, who are struggling to buy their groceries or to pay their rent, the people who want to know what both candidates are going to do to materially affect change in their lives. And when I was there listening to the speeches, I felt myself feeling mad because I didn’t hear anything about the economy, definitely not in Kamala’s speech and not very much in the others as well. Instead, I heard generic platitudes, things like joy and respect and integrity. And what does that even mean? Let’s make the military the most lethal in the world? I thought I was part of the anti-war party. I thought I was part of the party that thought for the underdog, that championed working people. When and how did we just become the party of academia and affluence? That’s what we are right now. How can we ever say that we’re going to fight corporate power or give a voice back to those communities that have been left behind when above the delegates on the floor and levels and levels and rings of suites were donors in corporations that were literally looking down on the people below from above? That’s what Chris Cuomo said and he’s absolutely right? You know, I went to the DNC this year hoping that I would feel reconnected to the Democratic Party, that I would have more of a sense of understanding of Kamala and her candidacy and what she stood were, but instead I ended up leaving and feeling the opposite, more disconnected and alone than ever. And I don’t think I can support Kamala Harris for president. I don’t even know if I can call myself a Democrat anymore. I don’t know who I’m gonna be supporting, but I know it’s not her. And for once, I’m not afraid to say it.”