By now it is very clear that the path to victory is through Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton lost the state by 44,292 votes in 2016, but the democrats rebounded and Biden won the state by 81,660 votes. Residents have been bombarded with commercials, mailers, and canvassers knocking doors as each candidate is putting extra effort for each and every vote.
One upside to all of this attention is that Harris and her surrogates have been in town for rally after rally. Last night she sent so much firepower that John Legend was just the warm up. He was followed by local hero and megastar of the people, Bruce Springsteen. As if that wasn’t enough to rally her supporters, the boss was followed by the 44th boss himself, Barack Obama. This is part of the “When We Vote We Win” tour Harris kicked off in Atlanta last week as she plans to bring the concert to multiple battleground states.
Outside the Liacouras Center, Temple’s campus was abuzz with students, activists, voter registration tables and Kamala merch as far as the eye could see. Inside techs were scrambling to get the stage set, run soundchecks and get people in their seats.
The night kicked off with student organizers, Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker, PA Auditor General candidate Malcolm Kenyatta, and several other notable speakers.
Mayor Parker made the case for all of the surrounding Pennsylvania counties coming together to seal the deal for Harris. Residents of each county cheered as she name checked them like a morning roll call – Parker was a school teacher after all.
She detailed Harris’ plan to build an opportunity economy for everyone, not just the wealthy.
Kenyatta, a dynamic speaker and a shining light for the future of the Democratic Party, encouraged the crowd to do the real work and call every friend and relative and make sure they have a plan to vote, because when we do, we will win, he said to thunderous applause.
The first performance of the evening was local Penn alumni John Legend. Legend’s wife Chrissy Tiegen could be seen taking selfies with the crowd throughout the evening.
Legend got straight to the point with a cover of Sam Cooke’s A Change is Gonna Come, followed by his own Ordinary People.
As he sat at the piano he delivered an almost sermon-like talk, discussing the powerful qualities of Kamala Harris contrasted by the failures of Donald Trump’s term in office. This led into a quick recap of recent history and the hard road that activists before us have taken and how their work isn’t done. It’s our turn now was the primary message.
Legend then not only spoke about the power of music to get us through tough times, but showed us its true potential as he delivered a powerful and emotionally uplifting version of his song Glory which won the Academy Award for the film Selma.
Senator Bob Casey who is running for reelection against outsider MAGA candidate Dave McCormick hammered his opponent for his many falsehoods, claiming to come from nothing, as well as being a PA resident when he hasn’t voted here in a long time.
He also talked about his continued efforts to fight what he calls “greedflation”, or companies price gouging under the guise of inflation and what else he plans to do if re-elected.
It was Casey’s job to introduce his longtime friend, someone he said has gotten us through some very hard times with his music, especially these last 8 years.
With that he brought Bruce on stage to arena shaking cheers of BRUUUUCE which often sounds like booing to the uninformed.
Springsteen jumped right into an acoustic rendition of The Promised Land on his guitar and harmonica. As the final chords rang out, Springsteen addressed the crowd.
“Now, I understand folks have different opinions about things, but this election is about a group of folks who want to fundamentally undermine our American way of life,” Springsteen told the crowd. “Donald Trump doesn’t understand this country, its history, or what it means to be deeply American.”
The Boss added, “On Nov. 5, I’m casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz — and I urge all of you who believe in the American dream to join me.”
Springsteen left the stage with some thank you and a big smile.
To introduce the next guest, Endangered Kind (endangered kind.org) founder John Solomon came onstage and spoke about the power and importance of grassroots organizing. He seemed humbled to introduce the next speaker, Obama himself.
Obama played some greatest hits but he brought new material as well. Everyone knows “Don’t boo. Vote.” To which he reminded us “They can’t hear you boo, but they can hear you vote.”
His latest message was about the current state of disinformation and how many voters on the Right are upset about things that simply are not true.
He hammered Trump for taking credit for the economy Obama handed him. Obama who was handed a disaster himself, spent 8 years cleaning up the deficit and the economy to which Trump and his voters seemingly credit Trump for.
Obama discussed the loss of basic values in this country. In the past you could disagree with someone who had a different opinion on policy or ideas, but not facts. “When did it become ok for a presidential candidate to lie? he asked.
“Here’s a good rule: If somebody does not respect you, if somebody does not see you as fellow citizens with equal claims to opportunity, to the pursuit of happiness, to the American dream, you should not vote for them,” said Obama.
Obama also got into the reason he was there. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. It is apparent he admires and respects both of them. He described Harris as someone who’s spent her entire career working for the people and Tim Walza as a great guy. “I mean come on, he’s a teacher, a governor, a dad, a coach. He can take apart an antique car and put it back together again. Do you think Trump could do that? He’s never even changed a tire.”
“America is ready to turn the page. America is ready for a better start. We are ready for President Kamala Harris,” Obama told the crowd.
For 3 hours the crowd danced, cheered and chanted. Most of all they listened as they were reminded that the real stars weren’t on the stage, but in the audience. They’re the organizers, the voices, and the votes.
