We could have had Kamala Harris as president
When a political party gets defeated in an election, losing not just the White House but Congress as well, it’s natural to do plenty of analyzing and soul-searching about what went wrong, and how to improve it for next time. Thus, in the wake of the Democratic Party’s losses in the 2024 elections (presidency, House and Senate), there have been plenty of articles, online postings and discussions about who or what should be blamed for the results, with options ranging from the “strong anti-incumbent wave” to President Joe Biden to “identity politics,” and much more. Chances are that most Democrats will never agree on one main reason why they lost the election. However, there is one step that all Democratic voters can take to increase the odds of winning the next election:
The one step that Democrats can take to help their chances of winning next time is to unite. What this means is to focus on winning, rather than continuing to argue over what divides them or harping on one issue where the Democratic candidates are less than perfect. Winning requires stopping the intra-party squabbling and encouraging eligible voters to vote Democratic. In 2024, an astounding 88 million eligible voters did not vote in the election. Motivating even a tiny sliver of them to vote would have given the Democrats a clear victory.
However, some Democrats instead like to focus on their differences and on the candidates’ imperfections, often bashing their own presidential nominee and the party itself, which surely depresses voter turnout for such candidates. Even worse, the criticisms often originate from the Republican side, or even from Russia. Yes, Democratic voters let themselves get played, ending up in a circular firing squad.
In 2016, some Democratic voters decided that Hillary Clinton wasn’t pure (or likable) enough for them. These voters charged that Clinton used a private email server and gave paid speeches as a private citizen, even though her Republican predecessors did the same thing. Some even absurdly called her a “warmonger.” So some Democratic voters stayed home or voted for other candidates. The result was the disastrous four years of Donald Trump, including his Muslim Ban, kids locked in cages, the COVID catastrophe and the 2020 recession.
Incredibly, four years later, some Democratic voters did it again. They decided that Kamala Harris (or worse, Joe Biden, who was not the nominee) wasn’t pure enough, because of her administration’s position on Gaza or some other issue. Note that, once again, the Democratic candidate’s positions and policies were way better than those of Donald Trump. For instance, President Biden and Vice President Harris worked very hard to get Israel and Hamas to agree to a cease-fire, and they were successful. Along the way, Harris stated her policy:
[W]hat has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.
That is a far cry from Donald Trump’s policy. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, a fellow real estate developer, tipped his hand in March 2024 when he stated:
Gaza’s waterfront property could be very valuable … It’s a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.
Sure enough, Trump reiterated this idea just days ago:
You’re talking about a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.
Trump suggested that, instead of Gazans being able to return to their homes and to have Gaza rebuilt, as Biden and Harris desired, the people should be required to emigrate to neighboring nations such as Egypt and Jordan.
To quote Robin Williams‘ character in Good Will Hunting:
You’re not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense: this girl you’ve met, she’s not perfect either.
In the 2024 election, the choice wasn’t between Kamala Harris and perfection. It was between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. After just over one week, we are seeing very clearly why it was crucial for Democratic voters to forego purity politics, avoid the unattainable fantasy of perfection, and instead unite and vote for their party’s nominee. Let’s hope these voters will have a chance to learn from their grave mistake in the next election.
Photo by Maryland GovPics, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/fw1Wzs
