In his recent piece, “Democrats, Let’s Get Real About Why Harris Lost,” former The New York Times Opinion columnist Frank Bruni admits that his bubble of liberal peers found it shocking that President-elect Donald Trump won the election, given his erratic behavior and inflammatory comments. At the tail end of his campaign, Bruni notes, Trump suggested we place former Rep. Liz Cheney in the line of fire with “nine barrels shooting at her,” called Democrats “demonic” and declared that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House — a clearly undemocratic message. Yet, as Bruni states, each news story about Trump obscured the big picture of “satisfaction with and confidence in the country’s direction.” High inflation left Americans desperate as the cost of groceries and fuel skyrocketed. Owning a home has become increasingly expensive. When polled before Super Tuesday, 65% of Americans remembered Trump’s economy as “good,” while only 38% said the same about President Joe Biden’s.
Possibly as a result of these immediate economic issues, we witnessed Latino, Asian American and youth voters — all demographics that voted for Biden in 2020 and have been key Democratic voter bases in recent elections — shift right. Vice President Kamala Harris lost every swing state, and all 50 states shifted, in part, red. In addition to the presidency, Republicans recaptured the Senate and maintained control of the House of Representatives.
Even if Democratic high-horsing was not the main reason for these shifts, it certainly didn’t help. Many Democrats shame people for being ignorant or immoral for their political and social beliefs. Though they identify as “the party of inclusion,” it is wholly ironic that some Democrats feel the need to call out minorities for voting against themselves without wondering why exactly they are inching away from the party. There is a way to install tolerant views without shaming those who accidentally refer to someone by the wrong pronoun or make a distasteful joke. Yet, Democrats can’t seem to figure it out. They are stuck pointing fingers instead of adjusting their strategy to get more votes. Additionally, they turn away voters by convincing them that the blue party cares more about semantics than policy. If Democrats want to win elections, they need to get off their high horse.
In truth, it seems that their dismount has begun. Unfortunately, this route seems to be a “when they go low, we go low” approach, which deviates sharply from former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “when they go low, we go high” appeal in 2016. To relate to the average citizen, Democrats don’t have to be unprofessional by stooping to the level of conspiracies, taking cheap shots and acting undemocratically. Yet, this is the path they have begun to take.
The Harris-Walz campaign has referenced a disgraceful meme of Vice President-elect JD Vance consummating a couch. Former President Barack Obama cracked a joke about the small crowd size of one of Trump’s “rallies.” Of course, if your opponent is Trump, who lewdly spoke about Arnold Palmer and made fun of paralyzed Americans while labeling his opponents “Tampon Tim” and “Crazy Kamala,” it is easy to stoop down to his level — and perhaps necessary to tick him off. While these efforts are admittedly funny, they appear unprofessional — and in the case of Vance, conspiratorial.
Even more concerning, Biden has shown that he is willing to stoop down below the moral high ground. He just pardoned his son Hunter Biden for tax evasion and firearm possession, despite his past promises to not use such a power for familial favors. The public response was not, “Oh, the Democrats are cool and now have Trump’s unbothered attitude.” Instead, political pundits called Biden hypocritical, and Trump’s supporters rejoiced when Trump suggested that the pardon gives him the green light to pardon Jan. 6 insurrectionists on day one.
By building jokes off of conspiracy theories, Democrats promoted unprofessionalism. By putting his son above the law, Biden undermined democracy. Yes, the Democrats should show Americans that they are not just a party of elites. But they should dismount their high horse not by tanking their morals but by attempting to understand voters with differing views instead of labeling anyone who disagrees with them as dumb and immoral.
