Kamala Harris frames up freedom

For decades, Dr. George Lakoff has written about the need for Democrats to frame their agenda in terms of freedom.

"Ideas matter," he wrote in "Whose Freedom?: The Battle Over America's Most Important Idea" in 2006. "Perhaps no idea has mattered more in American history than the idea of freedom."

For too long, however, Democrats have ignored this advice. They have allowed Republicans to own the all-important freedom from. But not anymore.

In her first ad of the 2024 campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris frames this election as a struggle for freedom. Set to Beyoncé's song "Freedom," the powerful ad makes the case that freedom is on the ballot in 2024.

In the video below, Tim Miller of The Bulwark podcast says the ad is clearly a nod to Dr. Lakoff (and, we might add, the pollsters who finally convinced a Democratic candidate to own the freedom frame). Click to watch:

It's great to see Harris use this important frame. Now the key is to keep framing the issues in terms of freedom. Remember: Every issue is a freedom issue!

We should note that President Joe Biden also used the freedom frame when launching his re-election campaign in 2023. We wrote about it then:

Framing Freedom: Biden’s 2024 campaign plan

The most important idea in American politics comes to the forefront

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And back in 2022, California Gov. Gavin Newsom began speaking about freedom in a way that Democratic politicians rarely do. Here's what we wrote:

Gavin Newsom’s campaign to reframe - and reclaim - freedom

A war of words over the most important idea in American politics

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