Iam a proud American, born to bleed red, white, and blue. I will always be proud of the great American experiment. We are the first Western democracy united under a single government, stretching from sea to shining sea. I get teary-eyed when I hear the national anthem, and I would fight and die for my country if my name was called. I am a patriot. But our country is sick.
The recent election of Donald Trump to the presidency reflects not only a failure of the Democratic Party and a loss of economic and social liberalism. It represents a shift to an America sliding toward fascism. We have chosen for our leader a convicted felon, an unqualified and incapable legislator, and a morally degenerate compulsive liar. This election was a choice between chaos and order, a chance for us to throw off the yoke of extremist partisanship and appeal to a higher good. Instead, we went the opposite direction, chasing after a man whose greatest accomplishment has been successfully duping a nation of more than 300 million people.
Many others in our highly liberal Ithaca community are similarly aghast at our country’s choice. However, I believe that even in our united angst and depression, we lack the clarity to clearly articulate what led to the current situation. Yes, the far right is sick, but they are enabled by the far left. Democrats have shot themselves in the foot countless times, losing voters who understandably care more about the price of milk and the safety of their children than the moral high ground.
It is entirely irrelevant that Trump’s economic plan is unlikely to perform much better than Joe Biden’s, or that fearmongering has twisted and warped Democratic Party positions, leading many Americans to believe they support unregulated immigration and infanticide. What matters is that people believe these lies, and they believe them enough to vote for a man who reflects the darkest corners of our collective subconscious.
Many liberals want to blame the election entirely on misogyny and racism. While both of those issues definitely played a role, 50 million voters did not cast their ballots for a criminal solely on that basis. Rapid inflation has terrified Americans, particularly the rural poor, many of whom lack the education to sufficiently understand economic theory and market patterns to assess whether Trump’s plan would improve the situation. According to Reuters, Trump won fifty-five percent of the Latino male vote. Many highly religious Latino men felt that Harris did not embody their Christian ideals, especially turned off by abortion and perceived economic downturn. According to Rev. Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership, many Latino men also paradoxically appreciate Trump’s immigration policies. Many are staunchly against illegal immigration and wish to prioritize the livelihoods of Latinos already living in the United States. Democrats’ inability to understand that perspective has cost them and will continue to do so until they learn to communicate their policies in a way that doesn’t alienate the American people.
In addition to communication failures, it’s important to recognize that many Democratic Party policies run counter to public opinion. The rise of “identity politics” has turned off many voters. Democrats have increasingly based their platform on validating people’s backgrounds rather than focusing on the economic concerns of working-class Americans. Even the progressive Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has argued post-election that Democrats cannot be willing to “hang your hat” on identity politics.
If the Democratic Party wants to win consistently, they need to address what matters to blue-collar workers in the industrial Midwest. They must more effectively communicate their financial plans, focusing more on the cost of milk and eggs than affirming people’s identities. The states wherein identity is of chief concern for elections are Democratic strongholds. The party needs to focus on what the vast majority of America considers most important: the economy. All the highfalutin rhetoric means nothing if you can’t win the election. And in order to win, you must win on the dollar and cent.
Be First to Comment