Why Asking What the Democrats Did Wrong Is the Wrong Question
In the wake of last week’s election, a good deal of Wednesday-morning quarterbacking has critiqued the Harris campaign and Democratic Party overall for everything from their messaging, to their strategy, to even the party’s performance and platform over time.
What did Harris and Democrats do wrong? Just about everything apparently. Take your pick. They weren’t left enough. They weren’t centrist enough. Historically they’ve spent too much. And on and on.
Bernie Sanders recycled his typical mantra asserting, “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.” Nevermind, Bernie, that Congressional Republicans have for years blocked efforts to enact fairer tax codes, raise the federal minimum wage, and make it easier for workers to unionize. Nevermind that Trump did everything he could to strip millions of Americans of healthcare by repealing the Affordable Care Act, only to have John McCain foil his efforts. Nevermind that President Biden walked with striking United Auto Workers while Trump visited a non-union shop during the strike. Nevermind, Bernie, that the Biden administration took on big pharma to lower the cost of insulin, taking on corporate price-gouging, while Trump and the Republicans favor…
