Let’s rewind to this past August.
Democrats across the country gathered in Chicago for the star-studded Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Kamala Harris’ campaign had just launched, and momentum was at an all-time high. To attendees, the movement seemed destined to end the Trump era of politics. All the instability, corruption and bigotry exemplified by the MAGA movement was finally coming to an end for good.
It was time to celebrate, and celebrate they did.
But in the backcloth of the bright lights and John Legend performances, there was something else.
The uncommitted delegates, people who refused to vote for President Joe Biden in the primaries.
After Bident dropped out of the race on July 21, they were also eager to participate in the festivities. But they needed one more assurance: for the DNC to allow a Palestinian speaker to give remarks. For the party they’ve supported most of their lives to give a voice to an individual who has seen their fellow countrymen brutally murdered and their home reduced to ash and rubble.
An easy decision right? Promoting a justifiable cause to further build on the burgeoning campaign.
Well, it was an easy decision, an easy decline.
With a large number of non-college-educated individuals in the Rust Belt, migrants fleeing dangerous situations and working-class people whose wages have remained stagnant, the Democratic Party, in the name of centrism and feckless “bipartisanship” has failed to offer clear and popular solutions to their grievances.
The Harris campaign didn’t separate themselves from the Biden administration; a coalition most working-class Americans have blamed for their increasing economic strife.
They didn’t push for a pro-immigration agenda. One that is not only justifiable according to data, but has historically led to better performances electorally. Instead, they leaned into right-wing framing and a plan vastly unsuccessful in flipping registered Republican voters who might’ve been averse to Trump’s rhetoric.
They didn’t adequately counter culture war issues that many non-college-educated voters are susceptible to, like stopping calling Republicans “weird.” This talking point was very apt in describing conservatives’ obsession with topics such as trans women in high school sports.
And then we get to Gaza.
For the key demographic of Middle Eastern voters, the seemingly endless death and destruction the Israeli government facilitated in the Gaza Strip has left them demobilized. American tax dollars funding this historic wrong made it so that voting for Harris (whether she is the lesser evil or not) was simply something many couldn’t get themselves to do.
This is totally understandable. And even if you hold a different viewpoint on the conflict, the objective truth is that this rhetoric was a demonstrable failure. As a lifelong supporter of the Democratic Party, its potential to make real material change has always been clear. Because of this, it’s important to recognize and call out the significant blunders the party has made campaign-wise.
Blunders that explain the historic victory of Donald Trump.
Nothing was learned from 2016, nothing was learned from Joe Biden’s massive unpopularity and the union may face irreparable damage because of this.
