We are now seeing the “Chattering Class” carping and criticising and offering convoluted reasons for America’s descent into fascism–aka, the election of Donald Trump. Harris should have gone more to the Left, no, she should have gone to the Right, the problem was Democratic elitism, etc. (Interestingly, very few media pundits have addressed the very real role played by the media environment, very much including a mainstream press which failed repeatedly to call insanity insanity, instead normalizing aberrant rhetoric and behavior that formerly would have been consider shocking and disqualifying.)
Almost all of those smug analyses are efforts to avoid the truth–refusals to face what really happened. Robert Hubbell, however, was clear-eyed:
Just as the media normalized Trump before the election, there is a wholesale effort to “normalize” the election results. Pundits are claiming the election was decided by voters’ concerns over inflation, immigration, or crime. Those issues are post-facto rationalizations offered by voters to conceal their real reasons for voting for a convicted felon and adjudicated sexual abuser over an eminently qualified candidate.
Kamala Harris lost because Trump’s supporters were motivated by racism, misogyny, and white supremacy. They voted for a felon and against prosecutor/senator/vice president because she is a woman of Black and South Asian ancestry. All of the remaining explanations are camouflage to conceal the real motivations of those who voted against Kamala Harris.
We will learn nothing if we accept pollsters’ dog-and-pony show to explain the election with exit polls and crosstabs in spreadsheets that have nothing to do with the real motivations of voters. Do not conflate data with information. Do not mistake information for knowledge. Do not confuse knowledge and understanding. Do not accept percentages and cohorts in response to the simple but profound question, “Why?”
Racism. Misogyny. White supremacy. Occam’s Razor.
Hubble is exactly right. H.L. Mencken predicted this years ago, locating the problem precisely in the defects of We the People:
As democracy is perfected, the office of the President represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron.”
Well, we’re there.
Those of us who live in a kinder, less hateful world misunderstood the effects of Trump’s out-and-proud racism. We thought his horrific Madison Square Garden rally damaged him–as it certainly did with the nice, normal people who weren’t going to vote for him anyway. What is now clear, however, is that Trump’s supporters don’t share the reactions of nice, normal people. For them, it was a welcome endorsement of their bigotries, a reassurance that their resentments are valid, and an explicit permission to express them. It was a rejection of “political correctness” (aka civility), and a validation of the public expression of invective and meanness.
We all need to recognize that the inhumanity, the bigotry, the misogyny isn’t a bug–its a feature. Indeed, it is the feature. It isn’t a distasteful aspect of the Trump campaign that voters nevertheless overlooked–it is what a majority of our fellow-citizens voted for.
Living with that understanding is hurtful, to put it mildly.
But there’s a semi-silver lining. There’s a biblical adage to the effect that “the truth shall make you free.” Now we know. And when those who are working to build a better, kinder, more inclusive society know what they are up against, they can fight for that society more effectively.
We are about to see some very dark years. The theocrats and autocrats and ignoramuses will attack the foundational premises of America, and they will do considerable damage. Meanwhile, the rest of us need to step back and consider whether we want to defend a status quo that has morphed and ossified in unfortunate ways–a status quo with serious systemic flaws, economic unfairness, overly-complex and under-inclusive social programs…the list is long. The insecurities generated by the gaps and injustices undoubtedly contributed to the frustration and hate. Our jobs, during the dark days, will be to consider what we will build when the edifice built on racism, misogyny, homophobia and nationalism collapses.
Because it will. And we need to be ready to pick up the pieces–ready to replace both the dark side and the considerable flaws that preceded and enabled it with a better, more humane, more just version of the American Idea.
We need to resist the worst that will come. We must try to protect the objects of Trumpers’ animus. But we also need to plan for what will come after.
We have work to do.
“Kamala Harris lost because Trump’s supporters were motivated by racism, misogyny, and white supremacy.”
Every journalist should be required to write this on the blackboard 1000 times until it sinks in, then share it daily until it sinks in and becomes ‘normalized’ for all the nice, normal people to say it daily, and finally, finally decide we do not want to live in a country where that is OK with over half the voters.
Or just quit this experiment.
IMO the Trump voters were not “concerned about inflation, immigration, or crime”; they were furiously angry over the lack of justice the country had increasingly displayed for decades. From the Vietnam war and three presidents who lied and lied and lied about why it dragged on, to the pardon of Nixon , the lie of the Iraq War, the deregulation of Wall Street that led to the massive gulf between the rich and the middle class to finally the 2008 financial meltdown when no one ever went to prison for all that theft. With a population having experienced these blows to their perception of America why would they not flock to a charismatic bully who turned their bigotry and intolerance into a virtue and promised retribution. They had already given up on ever seeing justice meted out to the powerful, why not tear down the whole thing? They think something better is coming….
“Kamala Harris lost because Trump’s supporters were motivated by racism, misogyny, and white supremacy.”
Trump was elected because Republicans remained UNITED even when they disagree they go to the polls to vote for anyone on the Republican ballot. Democrats allowed petty and major differences separate them when it came time to vote…on issues, our presidential candidate and at the polls. They MUST be the one who is right or they take their marbles and go home. This time they lost their marbles and betrayed the UNITED States of America and all Americans as well as our global allies. This may be the final, terminal action of the Democratic party as a world leader as their pettiness elected the Emperor; leaving themselves and our nation naked before the world.
HL Menken recognized that we live, now even more so, in the myth of blame.
Trump led the blame cheer. The people said, “amen”.
Now, the blame is pandemic. We blame each other, but it does not take much listening to know that those we blame the most are others who are different.
Our need for blame will destroy the republic for a while—certainly for four years, but it could be a century.
We forgot that politics is not governance. Politics is advertising for politicians, but politicians are not governance either. People are.
We elected people who taught us the pleasure of blame.
Thank you, Sheila. The truth is hard and dark It has been for some time. And I admit it is and has been too easy to simply focus on the pools of light that remain in my life. But the foolhardiness of that dare-I-say privileged approach is now all too obvious. I see threats and erosion of my privileges/protections now! The information environment is a huge problem. I don’t know how to change it quickly or without upheaval. I’d love to work on that.
And I discovered Robert Hubbell during this election cycle. A treasure!
Someone said on FB “The People have spoken”.
A friend reminded me of another time the People spoke. They said “Give us Barabbas”.
I have not heard anyone yet discuss the implications of the country being run by oligarchs, or the fact that the voters have just handed Putin our country to do with what he likes.
The parallels to how Hitler was given power with how tfg has been given power are remarkable.
Sheila, thanks for introducing me to Robert Hubbell and for the H.L. Mencken quote. Both hit the nail precisely on the head; it’s what I’ve been saying since the polls closed and the inevitable results began pouring in. It didn’t take long to figure out what was happening, and all my gravest fears – that our country’s electorate, which had witnessed and ignored so many signs of incompetency, ignorance and blatant outrageous acts unbecoming of a presidential candidate as to make one’s head swim – were coming to fruition. This country, with an abundance of gun-totin,’ uninformed, angry, misogynistic, racist folks lacking in empathy and respect for what our nation stands for, did indeed get what decent folks feared would happen. I’m not so sure any Democratic candidate could have prevented this from happening, but it didn’t help that the misogynists and racists felt free to come out in force from under the veneer of any blanket of pc to vote their ugly preference.
I am still convinced that there are more of us than of them, that somehow the low voter turnout didn’t allow all the high percentages of acceptance that Michael Moore kept pointing out regarding abortion, voting rights, etc., etc. to come to be reality. How the hell can we get to a much higher turnout? We are the greatest nation in the history of mankind and we can’t even vote above 62% (31st in the world)? I know it sounds unfair to all of us who did bother to vote, but we all deserve the results – minority rule – if we can’t do any better than that.
I think for all the reasons you mentioned but the media environment has biggest impact. If you were someone tuned out of the political debates, and only picked up on what trickled through in the positive ads because like most of us you just tuned out the negative ads, you had no idea what any candidate stood for.
On top of that the right wing media created a solidified buzz of unreality that if you believed just half of what they said and everyone else is lying, there is no place to find any truth, so that is unified front presented by the republicans. The message wasn’t “it complicated”. The message was “it’s simple”.
A third thing that is under reported is the use and manipulation of social media. HCR made a reference to this in her 11/6/24 post, “ X users noted a dramatic drop in their followers today, likely as bots, no longer necessary, disengaged.”
Trump tapped into the anger with a promise to blow things so it will be different. Harris offered a steady hand and more the same, at least from the view of the low information voter. A lot of us know the picture is a lot more complicated.
With today’s media environment you really might be able to fool all the people all of the time.
Theresa Bowers, I agree with you.
I do still believe that Joe Biden was on the right track with the economy to redress the warped effects of trickle-down-economics. But that was too little too late, and most people weren’t seeing the results yet. And that couldn’t overcome the years of betrayal.
Excellent piece today. Thank you for this perspective. Racism and resentment win.
I left out one important fact: fake and fraudulent news. Disinformation’s impact on the election is a grave harbinger for future elections, aided and abetted as it now is with AI, but there is no doubt as to its enormous impact on the election of trump, an impact that is impossible to accurately measure but which nonetheless hangs ominously over the results.
Gil Hutchinson, second your comment. How can we know what voters would have done if Fox “News” and others had not kept them in the dark.
“…we are the greatest nation in the history of mankind,” Gil wrote. And that is an idea that most Americans would agree with. I would say that our “promise” may be the greatest ever, but we have never lived up to it. We are the “melting pot,” but we also cook, dice and slice, those who hop on in!
Trump emboldened and inflamed the bigotry that has been part of us for ever. That bigotry was taught us before the colonies united, by those who were, then, the oligarchs, but, no one here needs a long history lesson from me.
The short lesson is that the invitation that Reagan gave to the religious, to, in effect join the government, because we needed to “Get back to our faith,” as I recall it, bringing in Falwell, et al, sliced and diced, the idea of separation. And, the Evangelicals flocked to this god-awful “God’s appointed,” mentally sick, morally sick, rancid human. When they were trained not to think, to JUST BELIEVE,” they lost whatever ability to think that they were born with.
Nothing comes from no where, it is all connected.
We have to work hard to resist all of the garbage that will be coming down the pike, and one way to do this is to support independent, local newspapers, among many other things. Mr. “Alternative facts” is back, big time
The republican propaganda machine runs 24/7. That’s our enemy. What’s the plan of attack to counter it should be the first topic of discussion. My hope is that the promises Trump made, especially near the end of the campaign, and his failure to keep them will tell the loyal supporters what they have done to themselves and us. Waiting for the mid-terms.
HCR writes, today, about the information world, and I find this bit of her piece scary: ‘Investigative reporter Miranda Green outlined how ‘pink slime’ newspapers, which are AI generated from right-wing sites, turned voters to Trump in key swing state counties. Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, who studies focus groups, told NPR, ‘When I ask voters in focus groups if they think Donald Trump is an authoritarian, the #1 response by far is, ‘What is an authoritarian?'”
So, yes, of course they want to end the Dep’t of Education.
Thank you Sheila, hits the nail directly on the head.
Today and tomorrow, talk less, do not blame, Live More…each other, all the others, and Country.
Kamala Harris lost because of massive disinformation created by right-wing media. I also feel trump’s supporters are like a domestic violence victim; they’re abused but remain because of moments of promises & charm.
Sheila, thank you for this. As sad, terrifying, and shameful as it is, I truly believe it. And it hurts my heart. Wednesday morning, my son put it this way. “Today, I woke up feeling shattered. Shattered but not surprised. Not surprised that the price of eggs is valued more than human beings. Not surprised that billionaire money has such influence. Not surprised that racism and misogyny carried the day.” Basically, on Tuesday, the people went to the polls with hate for others in their heart. And brought their love of self with them. “ME! ME is who I care about! ME and my hate is what I care about!” So this is where we are. Anne, your “kept them in the dark” comment about Fox “News” and other MAGA media resonated. It brings to mind other countries where the people are kept in the dark by the media; only fed what their fascist leaders allow. My heart truly aches.
Interesting takes. Even after this election, with all the colored maps of voting outcomes, why does anyone still believe in Obama’s concept of “American Exceptionalism?” Where is your evidence to support this concept?
The US only ranks #1 in economic GDP, which is short-lived now as China will surpass the US and then blow it away. If a strong GDP produced even results between the oligarchs and the working class, which it doesn’t, we could brag a little. The gap between the wealthy and the working class has never been wider.
What exactly has the DNC done to address this problem? Like most politicians, Biden and Obama talked a good game but failed to execute. Michelle Obama’s talking about the economic unfairness in the US while they live in luxury was ludicrous and missed the mark completely. Talk about out of touch! Hell, the Obamas tried to rescue a Republican war criminal when Bush #2 should be sitting in The Hague.
Outside of the large urban centers and a few progressive states, the vibe of America is controlled by the Republican Party and Trump. Their media controls the airways and the internet. Trump bribed Big Oil for billions but only got hundreds of millions. For some reason, the stock market took off, and gas prices plunged right after the election. Do you think gas prices were held artificially high to help Trump get elected? 😉
If the national reporter of record, The New York Times, falsifies its coverage to appease world (and US) Jewry and not hold the culprits of genocide accountable, what do you think other oligarch-owned media outlets are doing?
While some say the answer is small independent outlets—we have them in Indianapolis along with “public media,” neither of which would investigate the nonprofits associated with Braun’s policies for Indiana—they were supposed to be the answer to the extremely poor Japanese-owned Gannett newspaper.
Neither side is being told the truth about our country – only a version concocted via target marketing. It’s the infamous echo chamber for red and blue pill swallowers. If a newspaper told the truth, who would listen to it?
Only those who’ve accepted the truth about this country, its history, and current status. Instead of “resentment,” I like to point out the rankings on the global Happiness Index:
“According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, the United States ranks 23rd in the world for happiness, which is an all-time low. This is the first time since the report’s inception in 2012 that the U.S. has fallen outside of the top 20. The drop is largely due to a decline in the well-being of Americans under 30.”
https://www.axios.com/2024/03/20/world-happiness-america-low-list-countries
Blame, name calling, stereotyping….what else does pain drive out?
What it should drive out is radical transformation from “politics” to “governing”. We have examples already Andy Beshear, Josh Shapiro and even some GOP mayors. They run government of, for and by the people. Time to elect people, not parties.
Tfg has FAUX News, OAN, News max, RTV, and X to carry only the good news about him and to demonize his opposition. The left has only MSNBC. It’s not a fair fight, but it does go back to: Those who do not learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.
Sadly, Roger Ailes learned that the successful coups first took over the media. What he learned is the coup is doing things in the wrong order. He started the coup after he had established FAUX NEWS. Soon after seeing the success of FAUX, other oligarchs bought their own media. Today, if you’re tired of watching FAUX, you tune to any of the others where your perception won’t be challenged.
How do we counter this imbalance? When you’re out of power, not much. We need a left project to network truth, to start. We have to attract those people to check out our site to engage them in our policy discussion.
It is indeed unfortunate that such a large number of Americans are apparently uninformed.
A new press release that will be of interest to both the present, and new, administration, is the 10/17/24 OXFAM report titled, “Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance unaccounted for, Oxfam finds.”
These were funds that were destined to fight climate change. “It is clear that no one — including the Bank — has any real idea of how many billions of dollars are going to which climate actions,” the Oxfam report said.
The new U.S. administration will be hearing from climate activists who are demanding $5 trillion in annual financing for the Global South to pay toward climate debt. But first, where did the $41 billion go?
Will a new U.S. administration be influenced by this new 10/17/24 OXFAM report?
Has the climate change agenda become a slush fund for the elite who will continue to fund this agenda without taking any responsibility for where the funds go or if they’re actually altering the climate in any meaningful way?
https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/41-billion-world-bank-climate-finance-unaccounted-oxfam-finds
Mitch D nails it.
I apologize for my poor writing skills in advance.
These are the reasons he was elected, and yes we need to face that. But we need to go deeper down the rabbit hole they live in to see the future they want and that the Republicans are going to give them.
Just as they have ignored norms and traditions these people have ignored laws and courts and they are going to ignore the constitution and create a dictatorship. It’s not going to be a slow chipping away, that already happened, Indiana being the guinea pig.
Dems have zero power in Indiana regardless of a few Mayors.
When I was young and very naive I worked in the county clerks office under Bud Gomen, it was a job not a political position but I learned that the corruption of system starts at at entry level. I left the county clerks office to work for a law firm as a runner, lowest position in a firm. However I could have civil cases put in any court that the lawyers wanted.
While at the clerks office, Mitch Daniels had a car accident in which he was intoxicated and they were working super hard to cover up the details because he had one of his kids in the car. At one point there was a big prostitution case, I don’t remember the details, I just remember it because there were a lot of names involved and the whole thing went away.
Now if there was this much going on back then behind the scenes I can’t imagine what Trump and the Republicans have done leading up to now.
The Chris Wallace panel is currently discussing the middle East as if trump isn’t going to bomb Iran off the map or let Israel take care of it. He is going to let that be a free for all situation and give Israel the weapons to do so. Americans will be producing weapons for Russia, China, and North Korea.
We know trump, Musk, Putin,Xi and Kim were in contact for the last 4 years planning. The Logan act was not a deterrence for them and who knows how many other Republican elected officials. January 21st our allies will be China, Russia, and North Korea.
The world order will be in place, and none of us on the lists of the wealthy that won’t be impacted.
The world we knew Nov 4th 2024 is gone and we won’t reconnect it in 2025.
People say I have a dark outlook, I say I have to prepare mentally for what’s to come. At the women’s march in DC I went by myself, I met lots of women who thought I was absolutely crazy to say the they were going to over turn Roe, I was stupid for even saying it. I was just trying to scare people. No, I was living in Indiana.
Anyone who thinks Mike Braun didn’t want Micah only watched show and not behind the scenes. Braun and Republicans know exactly what the they are doing to fool even the highly educated.
Again sorry for my skill.
Todd. You accuse Obama and Biden of failing to execute as if they could single handedly accomplish their goals while their political opponents were determined to undercut them and throw sand in the works of the government regardless of how many people suffered as a result. This is the same way you blame Biden for the war in Gaza despite the fact that both Israel and Hamas are determined to keep fighting no matter how many innocent civilians are killed.
In fact, the Democratic Party and liberals in general have been trying for decades to play by the rules of the Constitution and decency while the right has burned the rule book and used every dirty and dishonest tactic they can think of to destroy the government and promote hatred and violence. You are one of those who have been “befuddled by bullshit” just as the dirty tricksters intended.
But why did so many blacks vote for Trump?
theres still the wallet. the living wage that was stolen and propagated billionaires. the cost of living,in plain site greed. those issues ring if the one who is just getting by understands that billionaires wont allow their profits to become power for masses and they move aside for the working class. the social media freight train slammed it and the news media fueled the other subjects away from the real issues.you can have all the intelligent conversations in here,and the times,WSJ etc,the idiots who voted for trump do not read. its all fake news to them.I get in face to face,remember that scenerio? ill stand on the bigotry issue with all here. I work shoulder to shoulder with these same people. every minute everyday they spew hate and ignornace. funny they listen to my jive.and walk away with few if any kickbacks against my side of the conversation. id say the constant lack of educating these people where the issue of the cost of living,and why in a country that can more than apply a living wage to all wokers. the economy stupid should be this,your own personal needs met. instead all we got from the media was a constant 9 year slinging shit and air time wasted for a faux king. (compliancy to a party?) I dont social media, im aware by what other intelligent people say, I listen. but unless you start a focus on the need to gain power as a worker over the billionaires,and spell out thier game, face to face,the working class will just mindlessly move along,as we see 11/5. the only thing the billionair party gave them was justification to be a bigot and now a subservent lifestyle. im living where these people ,i can tell you, its possible you can change the mindset if you give them a strong conviction to take back what has been stolen from them over the last 45 years. there should never have been billionaires and people,who decide what shack your gonna live in..
bumper sticker:
since you voted to undo soc security/medicare
expect grandma and grandpa to move in..
Lester,
thanks the best idea around.
I guess Anthony has never met a racist black person. One that blames every white person on the planet for their lot in life. Black folks have been voting for white men since they were allowed to vote. They even resisted a little with Obama because they have no reason to believe any politician. Those women though. smh, I don’t know what to make of that except that we claim to be feminists but do we actually have any power?
Today’s post struck a nerve and I have enjoyed every single comment and that post, Professor was amazing. Thank you.
I am in the resistance section of citizenship. I am going to fight them and do everything I can to keep America Great and not let them ruin our country. Everyone of you have inspired me to never give up. Thank you all.
Hard thoughts, but a lot of truth…..https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/07/opinion/kamala-harris-trump-abortion.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Yk4.fmKg.0JCLmCgM58D5&smid=url-share
Sharon, so well said. Democratic party tried to hold back the onslaught of the Authoritarian MAGA regime using vigilance to the Constitution and laws while governing and building back the economy for working- and middle-class people.
Too bad we can’t stay on that trajectory to realize the benefit of those enormous efforts but will have to suffer the result of the majority’s racist/sexist, own the libs. vote. MAGA populace will be the enforcers, against their own best interests, for the ruling class. During the dark years we need to step back and find ways to neutralize their power. Clarity/facts, not accepting their blame and holding our inherent rights in our hearts while speaking out judiciously is vital. Thanks for doing that.
Anthony,
Lots of Mexicans voted for Trump, as well as blacks. Bill Clinton was the harshest against blacks in the 90s. Probably more so than Reagan in the 80s. It’s one of the main reasons choosing Hillary Clinton and demonizing Bernie Sanders with blacks was an epic failure that backfired on the DNC. Did the DNC learn anything?
Hell, no!
I remember how Louis Farrakhan took down Obama for abandoning blacks in Chicago. Everything he said about the Obamas was 100% accurate. The mainstream press slammed Farrakhan for his Obama takedown, but his words rang true with blacks.
Just like with the union members, the DNC also abandoned minorities, except by letting in immigrants who couldn’t vote despite what Elon Musk had to say. The color of the election map and our unhappiness say a lot. We’ll see how Trump/Vance deliver or sell P2025 policies to the MAGATs.
Exactly right. My husband and I just came from a two-hour meeting that turned into three, hosted by our local Indivisible group. We began the meeting with brief individual expressions of how we have been feeling since the election, but followed it with two+ hours of what actions, specifically, are needed. We each outlined our skills and interests are, enabling us to see where we might be useful. The realization that my fury can fuel practical, effective action is immensely helpful—empowering, even. I highly recommend it.
This isn’t difficult. Those who voted R are absolute trash, just lousy, lousy human beings. Many blacks, Hispanics, Muslims, even white women and of course white men.
They knew what they were doing.
This will be my LAST “troll” post ever to this blog:
America Spoke🇺🇸. Rejecting the DEMs deception and media lies.
Trump wins –
Electoral College and Popular Vote
GOP controls Senate and House.
The “Trump Effect” – 72 hours after winning the 2024 Election:
🇺🇸First female Chief of Staff appointed
🇺🇸NYC to stop giving debit cards to illegals
🇺🇸US companies bring production home
🇺🇸Stock market hitting all-time-highs
🇺🇸Bitcoin hitting all-time-highs
🇲🇽Newest migrant caravan breaking-up
🇶🇦Qatar agrees to evict Hamas leaders
🇵🇸Hamas wants “immediate” end to war
🇦🇫Taliban claims to want “new chapter”
🇨🇳China wants “peaceful coexistence”
🇷🇺Russia is “ready” to speak with the US
🇪🇺EU wants to buy US gas, not Russian gas
🇺🇦Ukraine leaders in talks with Trump/Elon
Gail – I don’t usually respond to “troll” posts, but —
Wall Street elites expect to take billions in tax payer dollars, especially private prison/detention camps – dump toxic waste will save billions and make corporations richer (no regulations) – monopolistic mergers – ditto
Bitcoin will be allowed to stay the currency of crime and tax avoidance
Russia is now free too do what they want in Europe as US abandons Ukraine
China now feels free to do what every they want with their minority-abuse, slave-labor, and oh yes, taking Taiwan
Elon Musk is now shadow President who will enrich himself even more, while bending us actions to the demands of Putin and Xi (no satellite coverage for Urkaine and Taiwan)
Trump Effect – mass corruption and Gold’s Rule (he who has the gold rules)
OK – sorry, but I don’t buy the “one cause” argument.
America is, and has been, racist and misogynist ever since Ben Franklin complained about the influx of Germans to Pennsylvania (actually even before).
However, other factors were involved.
As our country expanded suffrage to include more people, we have not changed the structure of Congress or the Electoral College and we have not kept up with the need to educate more people.
Similarly, as our newer technologies have “democratized” information, rather than creating this grand town hall, we have created isolating silos of information. Studies have confirmed this.
“Disinformation”, AKA lies, have permeated the right-wing web sites, podcasts, etc. The “mainstream” media, as has been pointed out, spent their time normalizing Trump. This is not new. The “press” was accused of having a “liberal bias” from at least Nixon’s times, and have responded by trying to prove otherwise (they were always socially more liberal, but not so economically).
Finally, many people have been feeling “left behind”. It is not just temporary inflation. Obama’s recovery was slow and didn’t help everyone. Biden was more aggressive and did help more people, but it was too little, too late, and — not understood. People were angry and lashed out at whoever was in power.
People understand democratic principles and prefer them, but studies suggest that it takes second place to other considerations, especially when the opposition is demonized. Generally people do not seem to know what policies they were voting for, nor who was responsible for past benefits. Remember all of the Republicans at ground breaking ceremonies for new chip plants and bridges — the ones who voted against the funds. Remember how Trump, not McCain, saved Obamacare. People are ignorant, and, per studies (from Science again), really don’t care to know.
There are multiple reasons, even if racism/misogyny is the top reason. Evil was boxed, not eliminated after the Civil War, and again after the Civil Rights movement. The trick is to vigilantly keep it there, and remember, condemn the sin, not the sinner. I don’t expect repentance, but will allow for it.
I continue to hope for the world after rule by Musk, Putin, and Xi. I pray for continued Republican disunity as a defense for democracy.
Anthony, I have been told that both Black and Hispanic men could not tolerate a female president. I do not know that for a fact, but that’s what I was told.
The newspapers have a loot of responsibility for not informing the electorate of candidates real positions. Now in a further insult to our intelligence, Gannett has decided that a monthly subscription to the gutted Indianapolis Star, which isn’t even printed in Indiana anymore, is worth more than a monthly subscription to the New York Times. So after 58 years of faithfully subscribing to the Star, I will be cancelling my subscription and sending my monthly contribution to Mirror Indiana and the Indiana Capitol Chronicle.
Second, although I am in total agreement that Donald Trump is a Fascist; I believe that casting the election as a choice between Democracy and Fascism was an attempt to paint Trump as a Willie Horton; i.e. a fatal descent into negative campaigning.
Third, I split may largest ever financial donation equally between the Harris, McCray, McCormick, and Wells campaigns. I sent them checks in Sept. and included a letter volunteering to help with their campaigns. All the checks were cashed promptly, but I am still waiting for somebody to contact me about helping with the campaigns. Seems like at least one of them would have sent me a bumper sticker, or offered a yard sign. Nothing! In my opinion, a major failure to mobilize their bases!
With all due respect Sheila, although you identify three causes for the election, you dismiss other causes as rationalizations. If very many people do not know the meaning of authoritarianism is it unreasonable assume many people are equally ignorant about how the economy works It’s called the one cause fallacy. It has been discussed and debated in the science community. But my therapy clients want it too. They are often disappointed when I say the cause of their suffering is a combination of multiple causes. Reasonably bright, curious people ( qualities most of the people who comment here seem to embody) often seem to want to believe there one cause for the ills of our nation. I must admit that I would like to believe there are single causes for many problems I see in the world. I know better. I find many partial, causal pieces in your column and in many of the comments on your blogs. I see the same in what pundits say about the election results. As so many people who are confronted with questions about complex problems say before they weigh in, it’s complicated.
Only people can fail the party. The party can never fail the people.
mic drop
Democracy didn’t fail. What did fail was the convoluted and pretzel-logic that now passes as liberalism. Real liberalism didn’t fail.
Paid sick leave was passed in 3 states that went to Trump. AK,MO& NEB.
Back to your pity party.
Len–I did not mean to suggest that bigotry was the ONLY cause–only that it was the essential one.A media environment that allows all of us to choose our “facts” was clearly a key, as was widesprad economic and civic ignorance.