Kamala Harris is running an artful campaign so far, thanks in part to her upbeat, hopeful message. She has shrewdly positioned herself as the change candidate — no small feat for a sitting vice president — and has tagged Donald Trump as representing the weird past we should leave behind.

In her often joyful stump speech, Harris talks more about freedom than about threats to democracy. That makes strategic sense. Polls show that voters are more concerned with specific issues than about the specter of authoritarian government. But going too far in this direction risks letting some of the terrifying stakes move to the periphery of the campaign. Defending democracy was a potent issue for Democrats in avoiding a red wave in 2022, and it should remain a critical part of their argument.

It’s smart to make fun of Trump and treat him like a loser, which gets inside his head and causes more unforced errors. But jibes about his Willie Brown helicopter fantasies and crowd size nonsense should be matched with reminders that Trump inspires violence (including the attack on Paul Pelosi and Trump’s vile jokes about it), has promised to be “a dictator” on his first day and proposed the “termination” of the Constitution.

Democrats shouldn’t forget to emphasize that Trump said Russia could “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO countries that displeased him, a position that, as his own former aides say, could cause a world war.

While these arguments will not sway hard-core MAGA supporters, there are still plenty of undecided voters and Trump leaners who might yet be persuaded to consider Harris or at least stay home instead of reluctantly voting for Trump and JD Vance. Many have a little Liz Cheney in them that can be brought to the surface with a reasonable conversation.

So ask your uncle Bob: Would you like to see violent Jan. 6 protesters pardoned and the Jan. 6 Choir perform at Trump’s inauguration? Do you think the three living former Republican vice presidents — Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence — were wrong to stay away from the Republican convention?

Meanwhile, a little naming and shaming wouldn’t hurt, including making sure the members of the Georgia Election Board who advocate Election Day chaos — and the more than 70 other election officials around the country who have said they would not certify the results if Harris won — hear from the other side. While almost no Fortune 500 chief executives are endorsing the Republican nominee (a big change from the past), Elon Musk and Steve Schwarzman are among those backing Trump. As they and too many others fail the character test of their generation, it’s up to the rest of us to call them out on it.