Several stories and columns appeared in the national news
media shortly before and during the recent Democratic National Convention about
Vice President Kamala Harris’ emphasis on the concept of “freedom” in her
speeches and messaging. Convention delegates in Chicago hoisted signs with the
word “Freedom” on them all week. Oprah Winfrey even talked about freedom in her
speech to the DNC. Quite a few pundits seemed to be caught off guard by how
popular the concept had suddenly become with Democrats.
The word has been used by Republicans to define their own
party for decades and decades. These days, for instance, far-right
congressional Republicans belong to a “Freedom Caucus,” as do several Illinois
state House Republicans.
I don’t know if he pioneered it or not, but while reading
the national commentary, it occurred to me that Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker has
been pressing home the importance of “freedom” for several years here. His
staff hasn’t always been comfortable with the rhetoric, viewing the word as
almost a lost cause. But Pritzker has told his staff that he believed that
Republicans were “usurping” freedom and that he and his party were supporting
it.
Pritzker has long described abortion rights as
“reproductive freedom.”
“The GOP should be ashamed of themselves,” the governor
said two years ago on social media. “For a party that says they’re all about
individual freedom, they’re hellbent on taking away freedoms for women.”
His use of the word has not been confined to abortion,
however. Two years ago, Pritzker said, “As long as I’m governor, Illinois will
remain a beacon of freedom among a rising sea of right-wing extremism.”
Democrats, he said last year, will keep fighting for “more freedom.”
As far back as 2018, Pritzker said of then-President
Donald Trump and then-Gov. Bruce Rauner, “While Trump and Rauner attack the
freedom of working people to come together and fight for a better future, we
must defend the hardworking men and women of the labor movement.”
“Trump and the anti-democracy, anti-freedom ideology he
represents will systematically destroy our constitutional democracy if left
unchecked,” the governor warned this past January.
Pritzker described marriage equality in 2022 as “the
equity and freedom that characterize America.” In 2021, he described a bill to
prevent discrimination against students for their hairstyle choices as “freedom
of expression.” In 2020, he said a bill he signed to excuse students from
school for two hours to vote gave kids the “freedom to fit voting into their
school day without fear of repercussion for engaging in the very civic
education we should all be proud to encourage.” Getting a COVID booster shot in
2021 was, Pritzker said, “freedom from the virus.”
Two years ago, after attending a Juneteenth celebration,
Pritzker said, “We’ll continue ensuring Illinois lives up to its promises of
freedom for all.”
After I had pulled up all those quotes (and more) I asked
the governor’s people why he has leaned so heavily on the concept.
“The Governor uses freedom to describe Democratic
policies to call out the truth about so many Republican policies: they’re about
control,” a spokesperson said. “It is the Democratic Party that stands up for
your right to make your own health care decisions, to choose what book you
read, to live without fear of gun violence, to build a family on your own
terms. It’s Democrats fighting for equal access to these rights. Republicans
use buzzwords and branding, but what they don’t say is that their freedom only
goes so far as the choices they would make for themselves. The Governor truly
believes that the Democratic Party is the party of freedom, and is working to
ensure that freedom for all Americans.”
Pritzker also said a couple of years ago that he believed
the state government standing up for these rights and freedoms will eventually
help attract businesses to Illinois. “I do think in the long run it benefits
the state of Illinois,” he said during a Crain’s Fast 50 Business Luncheon in
2022. “Does it happen overnight? Like everything, right, creating one tax
incentive or creating a benefit for individuals and protecting people’s rights.
That’s something that seeps into the groundwater, in my view, for workers and
for companies.”
Now, you may understandably disagree with Pritzker over
his definition of the word, his attacks on Republicans and how he believes this
could eventually help Illinois’ economy, but there can be no doubt that the
national party has finally caught up with him, even if he didn’t get the nod
for national office.
This article appears in “A message of freedom and joy”.
