Many have provided commentary on Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech last night and Amanda Marcotte of Salon is one of them.

In good Communist fashion, Comrade Marcotte spins her Salon piece with one word:

Freedom.

Kamala Harris waxed nostalgic when she told stories of her mother last night and Salon‘s Amanda Marcotte happened to think one particular quote was noteworthy:

Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.”-Kamala Harris

Side Bar: I would argue that over the past few years under the Biden Presidency (which we are still under, in case anyone forgot… Joe is still our pResident), Kamala Harris did show us who she is. She flat-out LAUGHED when asked if she was going to the border.

Kamala Harris also said her mother told her never to do a half-assed job at anything. If we’re talking about the job of “border czar”, I would say that “half-assed” would have been a vast improvement, but, moving right along, it’s all about feels and vibes and democracy with Amanda Marcotte. Marcotte thinks the word should be used more in the campaign. Oof. The Harris campaign has taken to using more of that freedom word.

Multiple speakers at the convention highlighted how the vote was hard-won for certain Americans. But the campaign does seem to feel that ‘democracy’ is too abstract. Americans support democracy in theory, but in practice, it can be confusing or opaque. Many voters can’t say who their governor or senator is, much less their local representatives. ‘Democracy’ is a word that may sound soaring to political junkies, but feels bureaucratic and frankly bloodless to many others.

‘Freedom,’ in contrast, is an idea more people can wrap their hands around, especially with MAGA Republicans openly gunning to take away freedoms that protect the most intimate parts of people’s lives, like who they marry or when they have children. The path between your vote and the end goal of policies can seem byzantine. But losing the right to abortion is immediately visceral. Most everyone knows how life-derailing an unwanted pregnancy or medical emergency can be.”-Amanda Marcotte, Salon

And, there we have it. “Freedom”, here is tied to abortion and taking the life of one who is not yet able to advocate for him or herself. What isn’t “freedom” according to the likes of Marcotte and the Salon crowd, in general? The right to bear arms. The right to choose where and when your students go to school, and how they get an education. The right to wear a mask or not to wear a mask. The right to drive a gas-powered vehicle. The right to get a vaccine or not get a vaccine. The right to start a business and keep your business open so you and your loved ones can live. Marcotte spins this, too:

When Salon asked delegates and other attendees at the DNC what they think makes MAGA ‘weird,’ few of them mentioned the Capitol riot or Trump’s attempted coup, though both are abnormal in American history. Instead, most folks cited the obsessive way that MAGA leaders like Trump or his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, want to control the daily lives of everyday Americans. They cited book bans, abortion bans, the rejection of gay rights, the bans on trans health care, and the attacks on women who choose not to have children.”-Amanda Marcotte, Salon

You know what has also become an abnormal part of our history, Amanda? The obsession with abortions and tying them to “freedom” and “joy”. The obsession with offering boys tampons and giving girls minimizer bras and blatantly suggesting it during story time at school. This is NOT normal.

When Republicans use the word ‘freedom’ they mean freedom to invade your doctor’s office, “to pollute your air and water, and to take advantage of customers. Democrats, in contrast, “mean the freedom to make a better life for yourself and the people that you love.”-Tim Walz

We smell those cities burning, Timmy. Freedom to make a better life for the people that you love (snort). No freedoms for the unwanted, unborn ones that are also “your” people. They don’t count. They are disposable.

The popularity of this simple “freedom” framework can be seen in how flatfooted the Trump campaign has been responding to Harris’s nomination. Both Trump and Vance clearly want to attack her in boldly misogynist terms, going after her for having dated other men before marrying her husband or not having biological children. But Vance deeming her a ‘miserable cat lady’ backfired, only drawing more attention to how Republican leaders want to micromanage the uteruses of America.”-Amanda Marcotte, Salon

Here’s a thought on freedom and “micromanaging the uteruses of America”. I’m talking to the ladies who use abortion as a form of birth control: you are empowered. You can make a difference. You can exercise control of your own uterus, reproductive system and hormones. You can CHOOSE to be a responsible human being and prevent getting into a situation where you have to take the dreaded trip to the clinic to take the life of another. No one is micromanaging you. There may be a valuable suggestion in there on how to be a better person or make better choices but Trump and Vance are not trying to take over the uteruses of America. They, quite simply, don’t see why other Americans should pay for your bad choices and, neither do we.

Be looking for “Arbeit Macht Frei” signs popping up at abortion clinics nationwide.

Am I killing the vibe?

Ultimately, the choice to go with “freedom” over “democracy” does come down to vibes.

Freedom isn’t just something to protect, but aspirational. Harris and Walz are projecting an image of a country where we all get to do our own thing, and people chill out, accepting not everyone has to be exactly the same. It’s a lovely message of acceptance and peace. Only weirdoes could have a problem with it.”-Amanda Marcotte, Salon

Call me a vibe-killing, weird-o, then. I have no “acceptance and peace” knowing we could live in a “do your own thing, do what feels good” society where babies can be killed on-demand or children can be offered harmful hormone-altering puberty blockers because of “vibes”. I have no “acceptance and peace” knowing these platforms are a flat-out obsession of the Democrats. It’s not lovely. It’s wretched and vile.

Photo Credit: Original Artwork by VG, Darleen Click