I was at the Ellipse in DC Tuesday night. This is what it was like.
Photos galore, and the line in the speech that went straight to my heart.
Here I confess that I was wildly jealous of everyone at the Democratic National Convention. It’s like my Super Bowl, and as with the Super Bowl, millions of us simply watch from home.
So when I found myself with last-minute creator credentials to attend Harris’s rally at the DC Ellipse Tuesday night, you’d better believe I dropped everything in my life and booked an Amtrak ticket.
Wow.
The energy before the rally was incredible — great music, dancing, joy and a billion selfies. When the rally started though, there were moments of real solemnity. If you haven’t yet, be sure to watch the videos of the speakers describing the personal stories that impacted their endorsement of Vice President Harris.
I want to share a bunch of photos now, and talk about my favorite moment from the rally.
However, I’m not putting up a paywall, which is what Substack says I should do to encourage more paid subscribers.
Instead, I am putting up a votewall.
Before you scroll further, I want you to promise…
…that you have already voted or have made a voting plan.
…that if you need to make a voting plan, you will visit iwillvote.com right now.
…that you will text 5 friends in swing states today and ask if they have voting plan, then ask them to text 5 friends of their own.
Are we good? Pinky swear?
Onto the rally!
If there is any doubt in your mind that “people like her” — as I have heard some of my friends question, erase it. People like her.
People love her.
If you haven’t yet watched Kamala Harris’s pitch-perfect “closing argument” Ellipse speech, here is the link.
There is one line in particular that stood out to me, because it so perfectly answers the question why do you like her? Not just why I am voting for her, which I’ve explained here, but why I genuinely like her, trust her, and know she will be the right President for this moment in history.
“For as long as I can remember, I have always had an instinct to protect. There’s something about people being treated unfairly or overlooked that, frankly, just gets to me. I don’t like it.”
That right there is what I want to see in a President.
It’s what I want to see in my children.
It’s what I want to see in myself.
Those values, that worldview, that core belief system should be the bare minimum we demand from a President of the United States of America: A belief that leaders are public servants, elected to serve the people and not the other way around. A belief that we take care of the most vulnerable among us, and we do what we can to give everyone their best chances for success and happiness.
Don’t we deserve that much?
Don’t our kids?
The more Americans that feel they have a fair shot in life, the more we will all be able to come together again.
It’s time to work past the cruelty, hatred, and division that Trump fomented over the last decade. I hate thinking that this is the only America a lot of our kids have ever known.
I can only hope that the memory of these years fades enough that they move forward with joy, but not so much that they ever take Democracy for granted.
Okay, ready for photos?
With Barbara Jones, the best ever Amtrak buddy and proverbial door-opener.
With who always knows the best angles.
Went to early voting a few days ago and put a tiny drop of blue in my deep red state to show people that we are here, even if she can’t take all 9 electoral votes from South Carolina. We are definitely here and talked extensively about voting in my local transgender support group. One of our members is volunteering as a poll worker. South Carolina is also home to other ridiculous crap that makes it inconvenient to vote such as needing to be registered 30 days in advance of the election, and needing some kind of physical disability to be approved to vote by mail. The former kept me from voting at midterms because my house was under construction and didn’t exist with an address, so I wasn’t a state resident. I didn’t live in California any more (where my vote was also worthless) so I couldn’t vote there either.
I went to the polling place and said nothing, spoke to no one, wore plain boymode clothes, and constantly got called sir and dead name so that there will be no “security” problems with my ability to vote. We also have a state law where any person can challenge the legality of a persons ability to vote. Poll workers must intervene and take this accusation seriously. They will give that person a provisional ballot who then has to appear at a provisional ballot hearing to have their voting ability verified. I waited until this is over to start any name or gender marker changes to make sure my vote goes smoothly.
Justice, joy, yes, yes!
Aspirations for our world.
North Star for our work.
May our voices, joined,
become votes for good, justice.
A virtuous vision.
May our heads, hands, linked,
be fuel for fairness’ furnace.
A valiant vision.