Democratic National Convention Avoids Any Talk of Policy — Except Abortion

After three nights of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, there has not been a single discussion of policy — except for abortion, which was highlighted on the third night with several speeches devoted to the topic.

The convention, like the candidate, has avoided any discussion of what Democrats would do if voters rewarded the Democratic Party with power. Instead, it has focused on attacking former President Donald Trump, casting him and running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) as the embodiment of an oppressive past. “We’re not going back!” delegates often chant, without explaining where they would like to go instead.

Vance has come in for particular criticism for remarks he made before he was even running for office, when he told then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021 that “the entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children.” Democrats have painted that as an attack on single women — the party’s most reliable voting block — or on women who have tried and failed to have children.

Trump has backed in vitro fertilization (IVF), but Democrats have cast the GOP as a threat to the procedure.

Other than the issue of reproduction, Democrats have avoided any talk of policy — whether on the economy, on foreign policy, or on the border — except for attacking “Project 2025,” a manifesto published by a conservative think tank. They have tried to portray Harris as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, or an effective leader on securing the border, but that has meant ignoring or spinning her record, rather than talking about what she would do as president.

At one point, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz promised to talk about policy — then offered a list of empty platitudes:

I think we owe it to the American people to tell them exactly what she’d do as president before we ask them for their votes. So this is the part — clip and save it, and send it to your undecided relatives so they know: If you’re a middle-class family, or trying to get into the middle class, Kamala Harris is going to cut your taxes. If you’re getting squeezed by prescription drug prices, Kamala Harris is going to take on Big Pharma. If you’re hoping to buy a home, Kamala Harris is going to help make it more affordable. And no matter who you are, Kamala Harris is going to stand up and fight for your freedom to live the life that you want to lead, because that’s what we want for ourselves, and it’s what we want for our neighbors.

There is no tax cut proposal from the campaign, and President Joe Biden has claimed, for years, to have taken on “Big Pharma” already. The only hint at actual policy was a reference to Harris’s housing proposal, which is to offer first-time home buyers — including, presumably, illegal immigrants — $25,000 for down payments. When asked where the money would come from, Harris has been stumped, responding instead that there would be a “return on investment.”

Democrats have been confused when asked about policy. Asked what Kamala Harris’s first priority would be as president, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) answered “Ukraine,” as if policy were an afterthought. The avoidance of policy is a theme down to the state level as well. When Breitbart News asked California’s Antonio Villaraigosa, a frontrunner for governor in 2026, what he wanted to do for the state, he answered: “Bring people together.”

Harris’s campaign has not published any policies on its website, more than a month after she entered the race — which the Trump campaign mocked Wednesday by launching kamala2024policies.com, based on her past positions.

The fourth night of the convention will feature Kamala Harris’s acceptance speech. She could lay out her policy agenda, finally. Or she could focus, as the convention has thus far, on abortion — and on former President Trump.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

This post has been updated.