What Happened
How did Harris lose to the most unqualified individual to ever hold the office of President?
Ok, there are three main things I’m going to discuss:
Why did Trump win?
We have survived this before.
What do we do now?
Why Did Trump Win?
I don’t know (I have my suspicions). No one knows, which of course is not stopping 10,000 posts about these are the N reasons Trump won.
But I do think we need to look at the root cause. If Harris had won, there would still be 48% of the voters selecting a many who is horribly flawed and unfit for the office of the President. Aside from the policy differences, Trump is someone incapable of handling the challenges of the job.
And yet, he won. And at worse, would have come very close. Why?
Our federal government changed when FDR took office. When he was elected the federal government that touched no lives outside of the Post Office. 12 years later it was a behemoth with a giant regulatory apparatus, Social Security, a substantial military, and more. It was closely integrated into our businesses and our personal lives.
And for the next 80 years that remained the system. Republicans pulled it back a little, Democrats expanded it some, but truly the federal government at the end of Obama’s second term would be recognizable and similar to what we had in FDR’s 3rd term.
An 80 year run is pretty good. But most of the country, including a good chunk of people who voted for Harris, see that it no longer works for them. They don’t want improvements on the edges. They don’t want to add or remove a couple of minor programs. They want a new system. One that works for them.
Anyone who promises to tear down the existing system and replace it with “something that works for you” is going to do very well against someone promising to improve the existing system. That promise is so powerful that an incredibly flawed candidate can use that to beat a very accomplished candidate.
We Have Survived This Before
We should get through this (granted, having to say “should” is very bad).
In the elections of 1796 - 1808 half the country (the losing side) believed the results of the election meant the end of the country.
In 1860 the election led to the Civil War.
When Reconstruction led to Redemption in the South, African Americans then faced an 80 year span of 2nd class citizenship, that we’re still shaking off remnants of.
What Do We Do Now?
The answer is not “Here’s a 10 point policy statement that the Democratic Party should follow.” It’s not “Here our social media plan to challenge the 24/7 right wing deluge of lies” (although that will help).
We need to figure out a new idea of what government should be. What it should accomplish. Where it is appropriate and in what way. And we then need to paint a picture of what that is. Then from that picture, the specifics.
This picture must address the needs and the fears of the people of this country. It needs to be positive and uplifting. And it needs to resonate for someone living in rural Kentucky as well as downtown Chicago. For someone raising a family on an hourly wage as well as a single highly salaried individual. It needs to speak to all these people addressing what they wish to see from the government.
It needs to make their life better. In direct measurable ways.
And that means taking on the large corporations and the rich as appropriate. Because the voters see that the system favors the rich and well connected increasing their wealth at the expense of everyone else. FDR & JFK understood that they had to be a traitor to their class to succeed.
We will not figure this out from the efforts of the very liberal recent college graduates that are way over-represented in the Democratic political activists. In fact, what we come up with, if it’s good, will have most of these people screaming in opposition.
So who do we get?
I think the leadership of this needs to be Governors Jared Polis & Roy Cooper. In a mass of states turning Republican they are the few clear cases of turning Democratic. Some of that is Democrats moving there, some of that is existing voters becoming Democrats.
I don’t think they have the full answer. But I think they’re part way there. They have governed in their states in a way that does resonate for people today. Polis was one of the principal architects turning Colorado from red to blue. Cooper has remained incredibly popular in a very red state.
It’s not just them. It will require the efforts of a lot of people. But if we’re going to have another 80 year run where the fundamental government structure is defined by the Democrats, this is critical.
Good explanation. And a positive and workable idea.