Back in July, we took exception to the decisions by the leadership of the Democratic Party to anoint Kamala Harris to take over President Biden’s re-election campaign without any form of open decision process to include the voters who had chosen Biden. We argued that Americans deserved far more than a Harris coronation, but that is precisely what the Democratic National Committee delivered in the Chicago party convention, despite the window dressing and flag waving. And the result was a Trump landslide, handing even the popular vote to the former President.
November 5 proved convincingly that the Democratic Party did not learn from its mistakes in 2016 – that the social policy choices of the party elite can and will be trumped by economic concerns impacting the country as a whole. In this case we saw another example of persistent inflation corroding the base of support of the incumbent party, something other world leaders have also experienced over 2024.
Although Kamala Harris was skillful in front of a microphone and able to engage and even entertain the younger generation and the mainstream media, U.S. Democrats were nonetheless forced to accept a dangerously weak candidate that had never won a single presidential primary and dropped out early in the 2020 campaign when she ran against Joe Biden and others. Her 2024 campaign started strong, with substantial mainstream media support, numerous Hollywood celebrities signing up for (ultimately ineffective) endorsements, and record-setting fund-raising. Questions lingered though about a campaign that focused so heavily on women’s’ reproductive rights and other social policy concerns now defined by the catch-all term “wokeness.” Some keen observers also note that the message from Democratic Party leaders to the American working class seemed to take the form of lectures — or even scolding — about how to act, not actions improving their situation. Simply out of touch.
Harris’ deep lack of economic knowledge or any real foreign policy expertise was indeed unsettling to many, as was her choice of running mate when a number of remarkable candidates like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro were passed over, probably due to his Jewish background and the Democratic Party’s deep internal fissures over the Gaza war (Shapiro’s prospects for 2028 and beyond are said to have improved after the Harris meltdown).
Democracy steamrolled?
In July we were not pleased because the Democratic Party leaders over the summer actualized one of Donald Trump’s key talking points which highlighted the simple fact that American voters who chose Biden in the 2024 primaries were being disenfranchised by Harris’ and the Democratic leadership’s actions, accusing Democratic Party leaders and the newly launched Harris campaign of “steamrolling democracy.” As hard as that is to accept, we now know Trump’s assessment was correct, with the Democrats themselves effectively undermining the legitimacy of the Harris nomination in their rush to her coronation. And here come the excuses, mostly focused on President Biden himself and not the decisions taken in the shadows by party leaders and key donors.
As the Democrats’ soul-searching continues, we should not forget Joe Biden has actually been sidelined twice (in 2016 and again in 2024) by the Democratic Party leadership in order to position less qualified women to run for President in his place. That clearly deserves a note of thanks from Trump who is busy at the moment assembling his “Chamber of Horrors” (aka the next Trump cabinet).
Judging the risks
Ultimately, one point becomes abundantly clear. Some senior Democrats, in the midst of their mid-summer panic attacks, badly misjudged the risk/opportunity curve of forcing President Biden to withdraw mid-campaign. Books will be written and movies made covering the subject; but who is going to call those Democratic decision makers and key donors, partially responsible for facilitating the Trump landslide on November 5, to account? And let us not forgot the one billion dollars plus spent on the disastrous but short Harris campaign.
Meanwhile, some apparently intellectually challenged Democratic politicians, unable to give up on pressing their social agendas, have suggested that President Biden resign in the last month of his term, enabling Kamala Harris to assume her place as the first female U.S. President.
Some people never learn. Does this apply to the Democratic Party as a whole?
The United States (and the world) needs a functioning opposition party in Washington as each day the news concerning the electoral battle for the U.S. Congress (the Republicans have won) and President-elect Trump’s terrifying new cabinet appointments sends shivers down our spines.
