CHICAGO — Hillary Clinton, the first woman to win a major party’s presidential nomination, on the first night of the Democratic National Convention praised Vice President Kamala Harris — the second woman in U.S. history to win the nomination — for her clear vision for the country and her ability to lead it into the future.
“The story of my life and the story of our country is that progress is possible, but it is not guaranteed,” Clinton told the crowd at the United Center. “We have to fight for it. And never, ever give up.”
Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate, said that women have collectively “cracked the highest, hardest glass ceilings many times over.”
“On the other side of the glass ceiling is Kamala Harris taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States,” she said. “When the barrier falls for one of us, it… paves the way for all of us.”
Clinton said Harris’ historic nomination, as the first Black and South Asian woman to head a major party ticket, is a chance to move the country forward.
Clinton said that each generation has “carried a torch forward” and that Harris will carry that torch as she fights to restore access to abortion, affordable housing and child care.
Harris has frequently promised to restore Roe v Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that gave Americans a constitutional right to abortion. But to pass the legislation in Congress, Democrats would need to control the House of Representatives and have 60 votes in the Senate to advance the legislation past the filibuster.
Women in history
Clinton highlighted Democratic women who broke barriers throughout history. She cited the delayed U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm, the first woman to seek the Democratic presidential nomination and the first black person to run for a major party presidential candidate, and the delayed U.S. Rep. Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman nominated for vice president by a major party.
Clinton said accepting the presidential nomination was the greatest honor of her life. She touched on her 2016 defeat by Donald Trump and noted that there was nonetheless a wave of women running for public office after Trump took office in the White House.
“We have not given up on America,” she said.
Clinton said that when she looks at Harris’ campaign, she sees freedom.
“I see freedom from fear and intimidation, from violence and injustice, from chaos and corruption,” she said.
Harris has indeed framed her campaign as a fight for freedom and as an effort to move forward in opposition to Trump and the GOP. In addition, Beyonce’s song “Freedom” is a campaign anthem.
Harris says
Harris, who made a surprise appearance shortly before Clinton spoke, thanked President Joe Biden for his leadership before emphasizing that the November election is a fight for the future.
“This November, we will come together and with one voice, as one nation, declare that we are moving forward,” Harris said. “We all have far more in common than what divides us.”
Harris is expected to deliver her acceptance speech on Thursday evening.
Clinton said Harris would be “for the people,” which was also a theme of the first night of the convention. Clinton criticized Trump and said the former president only cares about himself and not the American people.
She said Democrats have Trump “on the run,” but urged them not to get too comfortable, even as Harris’ campaign has energized Democrats nationwide. Clinton warned Democrats not to rely on polls that show Harris either gaining on or surpassing Trump, and said they must continue campaigning into November.
Since Biden suspended his re-election campaign following a disastrous debate performance in June that shook his party’s confidence in his ability to defeat Trump, several Republican-leaning battleground states such as Georgia, Nevada and Arizona have gone to a coin flip. according to The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter.
“No matter what the polls say, we can’t let up,” Clinton said.
