It should have been that, but Harris was campaigning heavily to the center and the center leaning right.
Fuck, they basically muzzled Tim Walz during the campaign. Did you notice how he was no longer allowed to call MAGA weird? I sure did.
Then there was the fact that Harris had to run on Biden’s full platform. I know that she personally disagreed with parts, the unpopular parts. She was never really allowed to say it during the campaign.
But really, I mostly blame that little shit Crooks, you either get it right, or you don’t do it at all. Trump used that survival to galvanize his base, and that’s what an election needs to be in this divided world. Don’t worry about the other side. We live in different realities and, they don’t often intersect. You have to focus completely on your own base as much as possible. They’re the one who will actually vote, if you can get them to care enough to do so.
Progressives are consistently more popular in red states than centrist Democrats. I’m living in a deep red state in a rural area and have all my life. I talk to mouth-foaming reactionaries on a regular basis. The difference in our conversations about people like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris versus people like Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, and AOC is extremely stark. They never have anything good to say about the former, but always preface their disapproval of the latter with “I agree with some of the stuff they say about [insert progressive policy proposal here], but I don’t think it’s realistic / I don’t agree on their ‘woke’ stuff.”
The centrist strategy of abandoning one’s own values to reach across the aisle to them comes across to conservatives as dishonest and shady (and they’re not wrong). They begrudgingly respect the progressive left for being uncompromising in their worldview, even if they disagree with it, and once you have someone’s respect they are more likely to meaningfully engage with your arguments. That’s how you change minds, and I’ve watched it happen on multiple occasions.
It should have been that, but Harris was campaigning heavily to the center and the center leaning right.
Fuck, they basically muzzled Tim Walz during the campaign. Did you notice how he was no longer allowed to call MAGA weird? I sure did.
Then there was the fact that Harris had to run on Biden’s full platform. I know that she personally disagreed with parts, the unpopular parts. She was never really allowed to say it during the campaign.
But really, I mostly blame that little shit Crooks, you either get it right, or you don’t do it at all. Trump used that survival to galvanize his base, and that’s what an election needs to be in this divided world. Don’t worry about the other side. We live in different realities and, they don’t often intersect. You have to focus completely on your own base as much as possible. They’re the one who will actually vote, if you can get them to care enough to do so.
Harris didn’t do that. And that’s why she lost.
She lost because not enough people voted for her. How people interpreted her vibe or whatever is secondary.
Not enough people voted for her, because of how people interpreted her vibe. That’s the point. You campaign to your base, or not at all.
Never try to reach across the aisle, it doesn’t work and drives away the base.
Look at the progressive candidates that have recently won by landslides. They campaigned to the base.
You mean the mayors of solid-blue large cities?
Yeah that was exciting but that’s not going to sell in Boise.
Progressives are consistently more popular in red states than centrist Democrats. I’m living in a deep red state in a rural area and have all my life. I talk to mouth-foaming reactionaries on a regular basis. The difference in our conversations about people like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris versus people like Bernie Sanders, Zohran Mamdani, and AOC is extremely stark. They never have anything good to say about the former, but always preface their disapproval of the latter with “I agree with some of the stuff they say about [insert progressive policy proposal here], but I don’t think it’s realistic / I don’t agree on their ‘woke’ stuff.”
The centrist strategy of abandoning one’s own values to reach across the aisle to them comes across to conservatives as dishonest and shady (and they’re not wrong). They begrudgingly respect the progressive left for being uncompromising in their worldview, even if they disagree with it, and once you have someone’s respect they are more likely to meaningfully engage with your arguments. That’s how you change minds, and I’ve watched it happen on multiple occasions.
Its a fair point
“She lost because she lost.” Why do you think this is helpful in any way?