• by Barbara Lippert , Columnist, July 23, 2024

I was mulling over the deeper meaning of the Republican convention when I got the news that President Biden had stepped down. 

Of course that gave the campaign a huge infusion of new energy, but I felt sad for old Joe the faithful, and a bit fearful for Kamala Harris as a woman, and a woman of color.

Indeed, the conspiracy theories are already fomenting.

It is worrisome to think about the old prejudices that could combust around race and gender at this polarizing time.

Still, logistically, with just a month to go, Harris is in the best possible position to take over the Democratic party’s money and infrastructure. She is ready to hit the ground running (also, backwards and in high heels if necessary).

So, if as expected, Harris gets the nod as the Democratic Presidential candidate, the balance in the Presidential arena changes mightily. 

It’s no news that before the walloping shockeroos of the assassination attempt on Trump and Biden’s decision to step down, most Americans were not thrilled with the choice presented to them between two old white men. 

The ascension of Harris recalibrates the battle, from the thrilla in vanilla (though Trump also puts some orange tones in there) to a fight between what’s perceived as backward- and forward-moving forces. 

Harris will likely focus on abortion and women’s rights, which have been dramatically rolled back by the Supreme Court. 

As Politico put it, “Trump already has a problem with women voters — polls have consistently shown that the proportion of women planning to vote for him this November is smaller than those who did in 2020.” 

Now Harris must introduce herself to voters who don’t really know her, except for her perceived failure on the border early in the Biden administration.

Post-Roe, she seems to have found her footing and is the best warrior to fight for women’s rights, especially since Joe didn’t even like to say the word “abortion.” 

Indeed, Harris can present a fresh case for America. And she takes away the Trump campaign’s focus on “weakness” and age. 

The former President tried to appear more moderate at the Republican convention - at least for the first 30-minutes of his speech - distancing himself from Project 2025, which has many deeply anti-woman features. But his walk-on music, “It’s a Man’s World,” said it all.

Among the handheld signs about deporting immigrants and the words “Fight, Fight, Fight!” ringing out, plus the not-so-gentle reverb of Kid Rock, we got two surprise speakers, literally from the fighting worlds: Hulk Hogan, from World Wrestling Entertainment, and Dana White, CEO of Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Their testosteronic tendencies are part of show business, and to be expected. But White was a strange choice to introduce Trump, as the role usually goes to a wife or family member. Melania did so in 2016, and daughter Ivanka took her place in 2020. 

After White introduced him, Trump went on about how at first “Dana” told him he would have to back out, since he had promised his wife a long-planned vacation and didn’t want to disappoint her. Trump then said White called him back to say he’d be there and that his wife agreed with the decision. “Now that’s a good wife,” Trump said. 

Considering his own strained relations with Melania, not to mention the whole adult film star affair as well as others, a “good wife” is an odd phrase for him to bring up.

After all, White is the dude famously captured on tape having a drunken slapping match with his Missus. He also owns “Power Slap,” a “battle sport “ that is so punishing to the brain that prominent neurologists are trying to ban it from television.

The Hulk performed his heart out, screaming about “Trumpomaniacs going wild,” as he ripped his shirt off to show his fealty to his friend Donald. Wrestling is fake, and his act is getting old. 

And now with Harris in the ring, Trump’s choice of JD Vance as his vice president is starting to feel problematic. 

Despite his otherwise boyish and mild-mannered appearance, ideologically Vance was the most anti-woman person on the stage that week.

Yet he’s a man raised by women, as he made clear in his best seller, Hillbilly Elegy, and he spoke touchingly about his late grandmother “Mamaw” who raised him, and his mom who was at the convention.

But these days, as a tech finance guy, supported by Peter Thiel, Vance is a traditional husband who believes in national abortion with no exceptions for rape or abuse. (“Two wrongs don’t make a right,” he said.) 

He’s against no-fault divorce, and thinks women should stay in abusive relationships for the sake of the children. He has called childless women “miserable cat ladies” and has criticized working moms as bad parents who want to “shunt their kids into crap day care so they can enjoy more ‘freedom.’” 

To him, universal child care amounts to “class war against normal people.”

Who are these “normal people” to whom he refers? Most young couples with children need two paychecks for the household to survive. And they don’t have the financial privilege of paying for a nanny or even have a family member close by who could take care of their kids. 

So what are they supposed to do? 

How do he and his wife, Usha Vance, handle it? She worked as a litigator until the day he was anointed as Trump’s V.P. candidate. 

The hypocrisy is head-scratching, since it’s hard to fake the truly close and loving relationship that the Vances seemed to show at the convention. As he explained in his book, they met as students at Yale Law School and clung to each other. 

Early in her law career, she clerked for two conservative Supreme Court Justices; then she held prestigious law positions for the entire 10 years of their marriage while also giving birth to three children. (Also, her parents are very successful Indian immigrants, if that word resonates in their household.)

It's revealing that he said women put their children in “crap day care” so they can enjoy more “freedom.”

Right. Is freedom off the menu for wives and mothers? 

Meanwhile, Harris is now in fast-forward mode. And as a former district attorney, she is the best candidate to go toe-to-toe with Trump, who is already upset that Biden is getting lauded for his patriotic act.

Come to think of it, I’m now feeling way less terrified for Harris. Rather, she clearly terrifies her retro opponents who feel the need to subjugate women.

And just wait until the Cat Ladies rise up.