Democrats Got It Wrong Again

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more likely it is heard and remembered. Also, Trump catered to his base. Focusing on his base and holding rallies was all he really needed to do. I remember hearing commentators say that Trump needed to expand and change his rhetoric to win this election. Apparently, that was completely incorrect. Trump still won a significant portion of the country despite the fact that his Campaign <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/29/trump-supporters-hospitalised-after-being-stranded-in-freezing-temperatures-at-late-night-rally-omaha">left his voters out in the cold</a> after a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2020/11/02/trump-leaves-supporters-stranded-in-cold-weather-after-campaign-rally-once-again/?sh=1b98e474169a">rally <i>twice</i></a>,<i> </i>and over <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/covid19/index.htm">200,000 Americans have died from Covid-19</a>. Looking at how close this election is right now, it turns out that these topics didn’t matter as much as the media thought after all.</p><p id="c689">Democrats are pretty bad at making their case. In fact, some come off as out of touch to the average American instead. Remember when Nancy Pelosi did an interview in front of <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/04/16/nancy_pelosis_quarantine_stash_of_very_expensive_ice_cream_in_a_very_expensive_freezer.html">her expensive refrigerator filled with ice cream</a>? She was trying to be relatable as she<a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi/status/1250080704446238725?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1250080704446238725%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.realclearpolitics.com%2Fvideo%2F2020%2F04%2F16%2Fnancy_pelosis_quarantine_stash_of_very_expensive_ice_cream_in_a_very_expensive_freezer.html"> tweeted about using ice cream as a coping mechanism</a> to help her through this hard time. What was supposed to be a light-hearted interview, turned into a PR disaster as people pointed out that she’s at home eating ice cream while people no longer have jobs and can barely eat. Republicans were relentless about this blunder, repeatedly reminding people about this any chance they got.</p><p id="1143">Democrats on the other hand, rarely have any bite to their bark. Sure they impeached Trump, but we all knew that was as far as that would go. And the Dems will write angry letters to Trump, but what is a letter going to do? Apparently not much. They wrote letters <a href="https://raskin.house.gov/media/press-releases/130-democrats-write-letter-president-trump-rescind-illegal-anti-worker">in 2018</a>, <a href="https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/ranking/release/in-new-letter-to-president-trump-senate-democrats-urge-pres-trump-to-establish-and-execute-a-serious-diplomatic-plan-to-secure-path-to-denuclearization-for-north-korea-">in 2019</a>, and <a href="https://www.warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2020/3/in-letter-to-trump-democratic-senators-call-for-coronavirus-economic-response-focused-on-helping-workers-families">in 2020</a>. If I recall correctly, these letters were ignored for the most part. In the end, I feel like the democrats never really fight for their constituency. Honestly, at times it seems like they can’t stand half of them, despite the fact they still expect them to vote for them when the time comes.</p><p id="c6a7">I think subconsciously some democrats didn’t want to “take chances.” They once again went with what was deemed a “safe candidate,” someone who was supposed to be a sure win. But this is anything but a sure win for the Democrats. And if I can draw any comparisons between the 2016 election and this one, I will say that I definitely think Joe Biden should have campaigned more. I think that the Trump c

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ampaign saying that Biden is not healthy and that’s <a href="https://www.the-sun.com/news/1721114/melania-donald-trump-joe-biden-basement-rally-hiding/">why he’s hiding in his basement</a> was effective. Trump and Biden are about the same age, but there’s no doubt that Trump looked like the physically stronger candidate to some since he caught the virus and still didn’t stop campaigning.</p><p id="0e57">I wrote in another Medium post, “<a href="https://readmedium.com/5-tips-to-get-your-dream-job-7add207a4963"><b><i>Never underestimate the power and influence of enthusiasm</i></b></a>” and I think that quote sums up these election results in a nutshell. In the end, Republicans are enthusiastic about Trump. The same just cannot be said about Biden. The people who voted for Biden, just want to get Trump out of office. Biden didn’t really give people anything more to vote for. The problem is he didn’t really acknowledge that people don’t just want to go back to the way things were before. Many people were struggling before Trump too.</p><p id="771d">In the primaries, it was South Carolina that gave Biden his momentum. At the time, Democrats were touting this win for Biden as evidence that black people as a whole wanted to go with Biden. Well, looking at the results now, South Carolina went decisively to Trump. I think many people forget and need to be constantly reminded, that black people are not a hivemind or a monolith. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900147716/biden-backtracks-comments-contrasting-diversity-in-black-and-latino-communities">Joe Biden had to be reminded</a> of that earlier this year. People in the south, no matter their race, tend to be more conservative. This is why I didn’t understand the people who were “shocked” that <a href="https://twitter.com/LilTunechi/status/1321941986174226432">Lil Wayne endorsed Trump</a>. Lil Wayne is from Louisiana, but because he’s black he was assumed to be voting for the Democrats.</p><p id="b5c8">At the time of me writing this, Joe Biden is leading in the popular vote.</p><figure id="9174"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*ZJ_HK_u_V13Q3usDIgsusw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p id="1dd1">But let’s face it, even if Joe Biden manages to squeak out a victory in the end, this isn’t a win. Democrats promised a decisive victory, not a “nail-biter.” Whether Biden or Trump wins, the Democrats need to realize that what they stand for is not resonating with a significant portion of the American population. If they hope to win in the future, they need a new political strategy. Or to put it in Barack Obama’s words, “It’s time for a change.”</p><p id="acd9">Liked this post?<b> <a href="https://ariadailee.medium.com/membership">Join Medium for only $5/month to read unlimited stories!</a></b></p><div id="fd12" class="link-block"> <a href="https://ariadailee.medium.com/the-implications-of-the-close-us-election-results-on-minority-populations-b92272225a1f"> <div> <div> <h2>What Now? — One Implication of the Close U.S. Election Results on Minority Populations</h2> <div><h3>This morning, I’ve read quite a few articles on Medium about the US election results. It seems that it’s hard for many…</h3></div> <div><p>ariadailee.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*5BcNIcxT6ZyhXZqN)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><h2 id="7f43">Disclosure</h2><p id="63b1"><i>If you sign up using my link I make a small commission at <b>no additional expense to you.</b></i></p></article></body>

A political rant

I don’t like to talk about politics, but I can’t keep quiet this morning. Now, I’m an independent, but there’s no doubt that the democrats got the presidential race strategy wrong again.

There was a promise that if Joe Biden was chosen as the democratic candidate that he would win. This was pushed vehemently. And so, when people voted in the Democratic primary, they voted for him. Despite the fact that they liked policies that he didn’t support, like Medicare for all. There was fear that if we chose a person who supported Medicare-for-all that they would be called a socialist. But to no one's surprise, Biden and Harris were called socialists anyway, all while they considered having republicans in their cabinet if they won the election.

Now as Americans wake up this morning, we have a situation that is being called a “nail-biter” by Democrats, and “already won” by the Republicans. Because let’s face it, looking at the map Trump is definitely in a better position to win this than Joe right now.

And you know, as I sip my morning tea looking at the resulting coming in, I can’t help but think about all of the excuses that were thrown around during the 2016 election. All of the, “Oh, people didn’t vote for her because she’s a woman!” and the “She would have won if it wasn’t for the email scandal!” But in the end none of that matters, results do.

I always thought that it was odd that people said Hillary didn’t win because of sexism. I’m not saying sexism doesn’t exist or that it isn’t a problem. I just think it’s an odd argument when you consider the fact that she won the popular vote. More people ended up voting for her than for Trump.

But unfortunately for Dems, that isn’t how presidential elections are won in the United States. You have to get at least 270 electors of the electoral college to win. We could have a debate about whether or not we should still have the electoral college system, but I’ll save that topic for another day.

It’s obvious that the democratic playbook no longer works. What worked in the 1990s is just not cutting it anymore. I think some Dems need to be reminded that the 90s were 30 years ago. Life has changed so much since then. Heck, people who were born in the early-2000s can now vote. That means if they want to win again, they have to update their strategies.

There’s no doubt that Trump is great at not only making his case but repeating it. The repetition is key. Many people don’t pay attention to news and politics, so the more something is said, the more likely it is heard and remembered. Also, Trump catered to his base. Focusing on his base and holding rallies was all he really needed to do. I remember hearing commentators say that Trump needed to expand and change his rhetoric to win this election. Apparently, that was completely incorrect. Trump still won a significant portion of the country despite the fact that his Campaign left his voters out in the cold after a rally twice, and over 200,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Looking at how close this election is right now, it turns out that these topics didn’t matter as much as the media thought after all.

Democrats are pretty bad at making their case. In fact, some come off as out of touch to the average American instead. Remember when Nancy Pelosi did an interview in front of her expensive refrigerator filled with ice cream? She was trying to be relatable as she tweeted about using ice cream as a coping mechanism to help her through this hard time. What was supposed to be a light-hearted interview, turned into a PR disaster as people pointed out that she’s at home eating ice cream while people no longer have jobs and can barely eat. Republicans were relentless about this blunder, repeatedly reminding people about this any chance they got.

Democrats on the other hand, rarely have any bite to their bark. Sure they impeached Trump, but we all knew that was as far as that would go. And the Dems will write angry letters to Trump, but what is a letter going to do? Apparently not much. They wrote letters in 2018, in 2019, and in 2020. If I recall correctly, these letters were ignored for the most part. In the end, I feel like the democrats never really fight for their constituency. Honestly, at times it seems like they can’t stand half of them, despite the fact they still expect them to vote for them when the time comes.

I think subconsciously some democrats didn’t want to “take chances.” They once again went with what was deemed a “safe candidate,” someone who was supposed to be a sure win. But this is anything but a sure win for the Democrats. And if I can draw any comparisons between the 2016 election and this one, I will say that I definitely think Joe Biden should have campaigned more. I think that the Trump campaign saying that Biden is not healthy and that’s why he’s hiding in his basement was effective. Trump and Biden are about the same age, but there’s no doubt that Trump looked like the physically stronger candidate to some since he caught the virus and still didn’t stop campaigning.

I wrote in another Medium post, “Never underestimate the power and influence of enthusiasm” and I think that quote sums up these election results in a nutshell. In the end, Republicans are enthusiastic about Trump. The same just cannot be said about Biden. The people who voted for Biden, just want to get Trump out of office. Biden didn’t really give people anything more to vote for. The problem is he didn’t really acknowledge that people don’t just want to go back to the way things were before. Many people were struggling before Trump too.

In the primaries, it was South Carolina that gave Biden his momentum. At the time, Democrats were touting this win for Biden as evidence that black people as a whole wanted to go with Biden. Well, looking at the results now, South Carolina went decisively to Trump. I think many people forget and need to be constantly reminded, that black people are not a hivemind or a monolith. Joe Biden had to be reminded of that earlier this year. People in the south, no matter their race, tend to be more conservative. This is why I didn’t understand the people who were “shocked” that Lil Wayne endorsed Trump. Lil Wayne is from Louisiana, but because he’s black he was assumed to be voting for the Democrats.

At the time of me writing this, Joe Biden is leading in the popular vote.

But let’s face it, even if Joe Biden manages to squeak out a victory in the end, this isn’t a win. Democrats promised a decisive victory, not a “nail-biter.” Whether Biden or Trump wins, the Democrats need to realize that what they stand for is not resonating with a significant portion of the American population. If they hope to win in the future, they need a new political strategy. Or to put it in Barack Obama’s words, “It’s time for a change.”