Kamala Harris’s loss is not a wake-up call. It is a shake-up call. What Democrats take away from last Tuesday’s outcome will define the decades to come.
[disclaimer: the author volunteers for Democrats Abroad, but the views represented are strictly her own]
Blue is turning gray in Washington. For those who, like me, counted on a Harris victory, this disappointment stings. From anger, a slow desire to understand this loss bubbles up. Why did the Democrats lose so badly? So quickly? So slap-in-the-face-edly?
Many explanations have been popping up. Kamala Harris could be another casualty of embedded racism and hate. She could be guilty of running a bouncy house campaign—joyful but easily deflated. Inflation pains and a poor PR team may have also taken their toll on her ability to convert White House achievements into election day results.
I would argue that while these factors weighed on the result, the real instigator is the behemoth that shot itself in the foot. The Democratic Party.
For years, Democrats have been running elitist campaigns. They position themselves on a moral high ground and disdain voters who cast a ballot against their own interests. They allow a select few octogenarians in their comfortable Pacific Heights homes to dictate with an iron fist who their candidates should be and what their agenda will be, without regard to the median voter. Their “all-knowing” presumption may feel merited in face of witless Republican candidates, but it is blinding. Democrats are distanced from the people they aspire to serve.
Kamala Harris’s loss is not a wake-up call. It is a shake-up call. We need to shake this party up.
Here is a statistic that shocked me: voters without a college degree went +24 for Trump. They represent 60% of the US.
It is too easy to blame hate. It is too easy to blame social media algorithms and wealthy billionaires mired with self-interest. Why have we allowed both to become so potent? Because they are fueled by a genuine desperation among many Americans that the establishment elite refuse to see: economic discomfort. Voters do not want to be watered down with statistics showing that inflation has ebbed or that the US economic recovery post-COVID has been shockingly successful. They want to be spoken to as people, seen as equals and treated with dignity, not with “benevolent concern”. Democrats’ cancel-culture sensitive campaign styles promote marginalized groups over regular working class needs. As Bernie Sanders stated: “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.” Maybe Bernie was blunt, but he struck a chord. Democrats are out of touch with America.
In contrast, Donald Trump’s tariffs and tax cuts speak to people looking for a strongman solution to their ills. He was explicit and clear with his agenda. He spoke to his electorate without intermediary—no notes, just a personality—and showed them who he was. For once, America had a candidate who did not pretend to be above them but walked among them. Ironic for a billionaire facing off against a second generation immigrant and a former football coach.
Next, Trump will cruise on Biden’s successes, leaving Democrats again to pick up the pieces of his colossal mess. And we will whine and complain and rue those nonsensical 50 million voters who we just can’t understand—who must be racists, who must not grasp basic economics. And then we will lose more elections because we cannot put ourselves in their shoes or “stoop to their level” for one second to realize that something more significant is terribly wrong. We have to stop acting like we know better. We have to start learning what we do not know.
To finish on a positive note, since I did not initially desire to contribute to a ceaseless blame game: if you’re upset by these results, let’s take a deep breath collectively. This is not the end. It is not even the beginning. It is another step in a long turbulent American experiment that began 248 years ago.
The Democratic party has a talented lineup too, in every state. Who can overlook Gretchen Whitmer’s robust presence? Pete Buttigieg’s snappy takes and Gavin Newsom’s biting lines? Democratic governors are the success stories of working America, from Josh Shapiro’s expansion of economic opportunity to JB Pritzker’s massive buildout of K-12 education. We also have enticing new faces, such as Angela Alsobrooks’s energetic campaign or Shomari Figures’ improbable victory in Alabama’s newest House District.
I am hopeful because the Democrats’ vision for America is the right one. It will bring progress, domestically and worldwide. We may disagree on the details, but we do not spew hate. We do not privilege an elite few. We care about each other for no reason more than because others are human, and humans ought to care about other humans too.
Hopefully, this loss will force us to see a bigger picture. Then, we will rally, we will regather, we will work, and we will win.
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