Wednesday November 6, 2024 | VICTORIA, BC
Political editorial analysis by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Today on this day after the 47th US presidential election, Democrat candidate Kamala Harris delivered her concession speech.
She was calm but obviously convinced that the Democrats have a job to do in maintaining the ‘bright light’ of democracy.
She opened her speech with “my heart is full today, full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve”.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting,” said Harris in her speech today,” said Harris at the outset of her speech which she delivered around 4:15 pm Eastern (1:15 pm Pacific).
She had already called Trump to extend her congratulations and to promise a peaceful transition of power. But she said she’s proud of “the way we ran it” in addressing her Democrat team supporters in her televised speech.
Trump as 47th president:
Harris’ Republican opponent Donald J Trump won the election on November 5 to become the 47th President(-elect) of the United States.
Swearing-in of a new president normally takes place on January 20 in the following year. That gives about two-and-a-half months for a transition of government, which today Harris said would be peaceful.
Trump was also the 45th president of the United States (2016-2020) and now comes to the post better informed about how things operate.
Not conceding the fight:
But Harris sounds like she’s not retreating from a future political fight.
Based on exit polls as reported by American media, Harris did not glean enough of the vote among white women or Latino men. This is evidence of a continuing glass ceiling for women at the highest levels of political office.
“I know your service will continue,” said Harris to her VP running mate Tim Walz and his family.
Over the 107-day campaign “we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions”, said Harris, underscoring that the campaign brought together people “from every walk of life and background, united by love of country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future”.
“We have much more in common than what separates us,” said Harris in her speech today.
Canada’s response:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extended his congratulations to president-elect Trump today, as did BC NDP Premier David Eby (with a brief message about collaboration) and also BC Conservative Leader John Rustad (with a challenge about softwood lumber tariffs).
Trump favours tariffs and that already has Canada’s federal government on watch for what might come with the 2026 renegotiation of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which in America is called the USMCA (United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement). In Ottawa today, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told media that everything will be “fine” when it comes to protecting the Canadian economy.
The Harris campaign:
Harris had only 107 days to run a national campaign after current President Joe Biden finally stepped back out of the Democrat re-election race this past summer. Considering the short time frame for her campaign, she carried off a remarkable campaign that caught the attention of the nation.
With her key messaging about protecting women’s reproductive rights Harris did probably capture the voter base of younger women, according to exit polls conducted by American media.
But her campaign did not generate support among the demographic referred to as ‘white women’ and she also apparently did not capture the vote from among Latino men. This somewhat underscores a cultural bias against women — and perhaps women of colour — running for and succeeding in winning top seats in political office.
Left-leaning communications failure:
The Democrat campaign evidently missed the mark in addressing people’s frustrations with the economy, something that was similarly seen in the BC provincial election last month where the BC NDP government barely held on and returning premier Eby conceded that Rustad had articulated the frustrations of the people.
Considering the importance of maintaining a government edge for the broadest range of people in society, it’s surprising how left-leaning governments seem to consistently fall short in conveying their commitment to the population. That same problem seems already happening for the federal Liberal government given how much stride Poilievre has achieved for the Conservatives over the past year.
===== RELATED:
- Trump wins USA presidential election 2024 (November 6, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: POLITICS | BC PROVINCIAL ELECTION
Full speech:
The speech delivered by Kamala Harris today in Washington, DC is presented here in full:
Concession speech by Democrat candidate Kamala Harris on November 6, 2024:
“Good afternoon. Thank you all, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. So let me say, and I love you back. And I love you back. So let me say, my heart is full today. My heart is full today. Full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve. The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But hear me when I say, hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright. As long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting.
To my beloved Doug and our family, I love you so very much. To President Biden and Doctor Biden, thank you for your faith and support. To Governor Walz and the Walz family, I know your service to our nation will continue. And to my extraordinary team, to the volunteers who gave so much of themselves, to the poll workers and the local election officials, I thank you, I thank you all.
Look, I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it and the way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions, bringing people together from every walk of life and background, united by love of country with enthusiasm and joy in our fight for America’s future. And we did it with the knowledge that we all have so much more in common than what separates us.
Now, I know folks are feeling and experiencing a range of emotions right now. I get it. But we must accept the results of this election. Earlier today, I spoke with president-elect Trump and congratulated him on his victory. I also told him that we will help him and his team with their transition and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power. A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy or tyranny. And anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it.
At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty, not to a president or a party, but to the Constitution of the United States, and loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight, the fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people. A fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation. The ideals that reflect America at our best. That is a fight I will never give up. I will never give up the fight for a future where Americans can pursue their dreams, ambitions and aspiration is where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body and not have their government telling them what to do. We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence. And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld. And we will continue to wage this fight in the voting booth, in the courts and in the public square. And we will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbour, by always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.
The fight for our freedom will take hard work. But like I always say, we like hard work. Hard work is good work. Hard work can be joyful work, and the fight for our country is always worth it. It is always worth it. To the young people who are watching, it is, I love you. To the young people who are watching it is okay to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s going to be okay. On the campaign, I would often say when we fight, we win. But here’s the thing, here’s the thing. Sometimes the fight takes a while. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. That doesn’t mean we won’t win. The important thing is don’t ever give up, don’t ever give up, don’t ever stop trying to make the world a better place. You have power. You have power and don’t you ever listen when anyone tells you something is impossible because it has never been done before. You have the capacity to do extraordinary good in the world.
And so to everyone who is watching, do not despair. This is not a time to throw up our hands. This is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize, and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together. Look many of you know, I started out as a prosecutor, and throughout my career I saw people at some of the worst times in their lives, people who had suffered great harm and great pain and yet found within themselves the strength and the courage and the resolve to take the stand, to take a stand, to fight for justice, to fight for themselves, to fight for others. So let their courage be our inspiration. Let their determination be our charge.
And I’ll close with this. There’s an adage an historian once called a law of history, true of every society across the ages. The adage is only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time, but for the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But here’s the thing, America, if it is, let us fill the sky with the light of a brilliant, brilliant billion of stars. The light, the light of optimism, of faith, of truth and service. HU (Hudson University). And may that work guide us, even in the face of setbacks toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America. I thank you all, may God bless you and may God bless the United States of America. I thank you all.”