The left’s criticism of Harris has been largely ineffective. Progressives want the DNC to do the following:

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Progressive Democrats of America held a meeting at the Chicago Teachers Union lobby on Monday, with Sen. Bernie Sanders will deliver the keynote address at the two-day event before the Democratic National Convention officially opens.

But the hall was only half full. So the speaker urged attendees to tell their friends to come to the hall to hear Sanders’ speech.

This shows Progressives The challenges facing Democrats have grown in recent months. While progressives are excited about Harris’ choice of Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, A former moderate who passed a series of liberal policiesMeanwhile, progressives have suffered other setbacks.

Earlier this month, representatives Cori Bush A member of the so-called “Squad” from Missouri lost the primary Due to the influx of pro-Israel funds. This is representing Jamal Bowman Another squad member in New York lost his The most expensive primary of the primaries In history.

In addition, another member of the team, Illinois Representative Delia Ramirez, strongly advocated universal health care and the Green New Deal, while Harris Both proposals have been abandoned. After she co-sponsored the proposal as a senator.

Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal gave a stirring speech at the conference, telling The Independent It’s important to support candidates who can “save our democracy” and organize with them.

“It doesn’t mean we’ll achieve 100 percent of our agenda, but we’ll make real progress,” she said.

In the same spirit, progressives’ efforts to push for a ceasefire in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas remained unsuccessful.

During a conference call last month by Michigan Democrats in support of Harris, No Commitment leader Abbas Allawi tried to speak up and voice his concerns, and another delegate reportedly told him to “shut up, asshole.”

Supporters of the ceasefire held a news conference on Monday to celebrate the formation of the Palestinian group, but they have yet to secure two major concessions: support for a ceasefire or an arms embargo on Israel.

“The question is whether Vice President Harris will use this opportunity to unite our party in a way that is broadly palatable to Democratic voters,” Alaviye told reporters. The Independent At the press conference.

“We want to help Vice President Harris defeat Donald Trump,” he said.

But Allawi warned that if they don’t get concrete commitments from Harris, he and his allies won’t be able to make an affirmative case to voters in states like Michigan that have large Arab-American populations.

“Beyond that, we have no credibility to go back and tell those voters that they must support Vice President Harris’ plan because we don’t know what her plan is,” he said.

Israel isn’t the only area where progressives are frustrated with Harris. Since launching her presidential campaign, she has pledged to sign a bill This will severely restrict immigration and asylum.

Pro-immigration groups have criticized her support for the bill and the Democratic Party’s overall rightward shift on immigration, which remains a strong point for the Republican Party and Trump. When Harris spoke in Arizona earlier this year, she Says she supports a “comprehensive reform” approach to immigration “That includes strong border security and a pathway to citizenship.”

Illinois Rep. Lilian Jiménez, an immigration attorney, said she hopes Harris will support humane immigration policies.

“I only talk about human rights,” she told The Independent“I hope her policies reflect that we should treat everybody equally. We should give people an opportunity, we should give people due process and the ability to apply for status to stay in this country. At this point, I don’t care what you call it. But let’s see what happens policy-wise.”

But at Monday’s event, many progressives celebrated Waltz’s selection as Harris’ running mate, including activists from Minnesota.

“I was one of the first legislators to endorse Governor Walz,” Jayapal said. “I do think she recognized all of the traits that we saw in Governor Walz, which was that he came from a red rural district and implemented some of the most progressive policies in Minnesota.”

But progressives have made progress. On Monday night, UAW President Sean Fein will speak at the convention.

Progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Jamie Raskin, who both voted against additional aid to Israel, will address the crowd in Chicago.

In a sign of the future of the progressive movement, after Sanders left the meeting, the youngest member of the House, Maxwell Frost, gave a speech that brought people to their feet.