I have taken the results of this election hard. I am confused at it, at the choices that apparently enough people made to win again. My reaction is not as bad as it was in 2016, when I felt personally shocked and betrayed. I was equally shocked after the 2020 results because refusing to accept a vote, backing an insurrection, and refusing to participate in the inauguration go against the values I learned at home, from the civics classes that might have been Lane but that I learned from, and the history I have studied made me worried about political consequences. Before that, we have to go back to the sanctimonious triumphalism of the Nixon victories, when I truly felt stripped of my citizenship.
It seems as if I failed to learn, from the cosmopolitan bubble that look me in after growing up in flyover country, just how deep the resentment went. I think people nursed their grudges all the way to the ballot have made a short-sighted choice. But I have also studied Roman history. None of this is new to me.
The important things are that I am able to write and make backup plans.
Great post. You’d be a great candidate for Braver Angels. It’s so hard to know how to act/react to people who are angry or hurting that this election resulted in Trump winning. I wish more people had your willingness to give him a change and hope he succeeds. In the meantime, I hope more people will stop deflecting their hate for a candidate on the people who voted. This was a complicated choice for many (not all) and in the end, it was the economy. I’ll also be keeping an eye on how Trump governs, trying to let the cringe-worthy comments roll off and do my best to be a good citizen. Writing helps..
I've had two reactions. The first was sadness for my daughters and other women in my life. Historic firsts are not sufficient rationales, in and of themselves, for any candidate. But once they're on the table, they mean something, and my daughters felt that letdown. It was the first time my 8-yr-old cared at all about an election. She wore a blue shirt to school on Wednesday to express herself and hung one of the doorknob flyers that someone left on our front door on her bedroom door. I want to encourage to her to keep using her voice, knowing it matters.
The other part of me retreated into cold rationality, which meant going back to the 2016 primary, when I witnessed, firsthand, the dirty tactics used by Clinton volunteers to disenfranchise Sanders supporters, many of whom were first-time participants in the Iowa caucuses and ignorant of its baroque rules. Sanders had no real chance then -- he got killed in the South -- but the revolution he started was real, and it had a real chance in 2020. I was still living in Iowa then and switched my vote to Amy Klobuchar, who I felt had a better chance. But the Sanders energy was still there -- he came in a close second and then won New Hampshire handily.
There was no energy for Biden in Iowa -- none. But after he won South Carolina, all the other major contenders dropped out and endorsed him, largely because the map looked so favorable to Sanders. The New Yorker ran a piece imagining a Sanders presidency (I can't find it now), and there was real fear among the establishment that he might win. So they all teamed up to stop him. That left a lot of people like me feeling like we were denied a choice. I felt the same way when we were told once again to line up behind Harris.
So I have been disgusted by the refusal on the part of many liberals and leading Democrats to accept that this election reflects in any way on their tactics. Nancy Pelosi denied it just today in the NYT. Mark Lilla called for a change in 2016. He was right. My coping strategy, I suppose, is to remind liberals of that whenever I can.
Whether true or not, I've considered myself a centrist. So not comfortable in either party post Trump. One silver lining is that 2028 may see a real shift in the Democratic party to appeal to those they lost. As for your daughter, I feel for her and for you. We never root harder for an outcome when our children root for it.
I am glad you bring up Sanders, as there is a wound there that has never been fully healed. I don't like voting for "the better alternative." I want to vote for someone I am truly excited about. When Harris invokes her Glock, she loses me. Message to her strategists: there is no gain in this bargain, though gun owners on the right do get a good laugh.
I know I am far to the left of what is considered left, but my most pessimistic interpretation of these candidates? Neither were going to do anything significant around the military industrial complex, the failed US healthcare system, nor would they initiate the urgent measures needed around climate change. I say initiate, because the hard work has not even begun.
Now for some optimism - Trump too was portrayed as carrying out an agenda that is not likely to occur. I do not believe we'll have Trump rounding up and imprisoning his enemies. I do not believe millions of migrants will be detained and banished, though there will be something done in this area as window dressing. Mostly the US will lumber forward, the lives of the majority of Trump's base not improving one iota (that's not optimistic, it's sad).
I'm disappointed, confused, fearful, and angry at the outcome. My list of "why" is a mile long. Being positive feels impossible today in the face of what I feel is a disaster for our country and the world at large. I'm sitting with my feelings and hoping they will shift to a more positive place. My values won't change, but my ability to provide for myself materially may change significantly. I'm nearing 65. What will my insurance, my Social Security look like? My fear is deep-seated, not just about his re-election, but about the hordes of people with hatred in their heart who've been issued a new 4 year permit to be violent, anti-semitic, racist, and cruel. I appreciate your willingness to endure this next phase in our history, but I have to say, David, that you have resources I'll never have, and that will probably make your life a whole lot easier if you needed to leave, or protect yourself in some other way. That will not be the case for the majority of us. I mean this in no way as a criticism, it's just reality, should things get really bad.
Nan, You make a valid point that i do not feel a personal financial threat. One thing to keep in mind is that changes to Social Security require a vote of 60 Senators and as for Medicare I think it would be political suicide for a party in power to try to make cuts.
Thank you. And I do know those things, but with the Republicans in charge and with a majority in the Senate, I can't imagine it would go well for us. We shall see, right?
I'm going to check into dual citizenship beginning today. Your comment resonates with me. I don't have wealth as a buffer, but maybe I have an option to be a citizen in a civilized society.
Devastation, followed by recommitment to the sustaining joys of community, writing and the daily quest for beauty. Trump’s first year sent me into a tailspin of obsessive anger and fear that I will not revisit and that seems to be engulfing others. In Canada, where I live as a dual citizen, some people are declaring their refusal to set foot in the U.S., as if this smug and pointless stand were a testament to moral superiority. I will gather at physical and virtual firesides, many on Substack, with those who lift me up and avoid the other kind. I will not waste my time on endless punditry about why the Democrats lost.
We’re not safe up here, either. And I don’t just mean the Conservative Party potentially winning a make next year. The potential tariffs will lead to a global economic downturn since everyone will have to pay to export to and everyone will also retaliate with their own tariffs. We’re already paying a lot. Get ready to pay more.
Thanks Rona for the comment. Your use of the word "engulf" reminds me of Mel Brooks' Silent Movie" where the evil conglomerate was named "Engulf and Devour" as a stand-in for Gulf & Western, whose tower near Columbus Center was subsequently converted to a Trump Hotel and Apartments building.
When I am faced with something sad, I find comfort in trying to understand it. My mother had a long decline and had no less than nine significant diagnoses when she entered hospice care. Knowing her underlying toughness, I convinced myself she would make it to her 84th birthday, but she died 7 months short. For two weeks I drove myself crazy trying to figure out exactly what she died of. But eventually I gave up. This was a rare occasion when I actually accepted that I could not achieve a clear understanding of an important event in my life. Fortunately, when my father died 11 months ago at age 96, the cause of death was clear.
So now that we are in moment of national mourning, I have another postmortem to conduct. After three days of intense thought and hypothesis testing, I believe Harris' defeat had its roots more than two years ago in the country's increasing disappointment with Joe Biden, evidenced by his relentlessly decreasing approval numbers. The most salient cause was his gross mishandling of the inflation issue. He kept saying that inflation would soon pass, and then brightly informed us that it had passed. Indeed, the thumb screw was no longer being tightened, but the pain was still there. He never validated the pain that so much of the country was feeling and he never made an effort to "feel our pain" with us.
As a result, 12 million people who voted for Biden in 2020, simply did not go to the polls in 2024. That is why Kamala Harris lost the election. If six million of those voters had turned out for Kamla, she would have beaten Trump (who received one million fewer voters than in 2020).
If you want to read more, including my ideas on the future of the Democratic Party, please:
I do wonder how many of those 12 million voters who didn't "show up" for Democrats were disenfranchised by Republicans' strategic assaults on voting rights, such as mass purges of voters rolls prior to the election.
The Dems had plenty of money in 2024 and they had a ton of lawyers fighting every voter purge. They were fighting purges of 1500 voters in Virginia and a few thousand in Alabama. So, I don't think that can account for it.
Linked to Biden's failure to acknowledge inflation was his failure to keep his promise to be a one-term president. In a primary, the candidate capable of generating the most enthusiasm in the General would have likely won. It probably would not have been Kamala Harris. But we will never know.
ooo David, you couldn’t have said this better! I am adopting a similar approach to the outcome of the election: curiosity, trying to learn and understand more why this happened, and a “wait and see” attitude. That’s one half (an important half) of my response. The other, that I find I cannot let go of, is that I can’t fathom casting a vote for a convicted criminal, a liar, a misogynist, a lifelong grifter, and possibly a mad man. My husband echoed your thoughts exactly; Trump’s win repudiates the values of truth and fairness and compassion by which he has lived his whole life (much of it as a practicing physician). So there we have it. Let’s all go forward and see what happens. Thank you for your helpful words this morning.
I have empathy for the people who are experiencing income inequality and financial hardship and directed their vote to the political party that they believe will improve their lives. I doubt their lives will improve in the way they envision.
I am fearful of the chaos and social unrest that may come as the Republicans and their think tanks take action against the population of immigrants who are in the country.
Jeanne, I agree that a lot of the voting was based on voters' frustration with the economy, manifested by constant awareness of elevated prices. As for deportations, we'll have to see to what extent the campaign threats are put into action. Thanks for the comment.
Jeanne, what if what you fear never unfolds? How does that feel in your body…right now…to feel that? To imagine that the script you have created for the future isn’t set in stone?
To imagine that future after experiencing four years of Trump's previous presidency is a "script" written by Trump and his Project 2025 minions. Perhaps it is not "set in stone" but it certainly is well within the realm of possibility. As folks smarter than me have warned us: "Believe what Trump is telling us..." Your victim-shaming is out of line.
The truth is that outside the bubble people view trump very differently. They don’t believe the sexual violence accusation. They think 34 felony counts for cooking the books to pay a porn star is ridiculous. They don’t read The NY Times and if they did they wouldn’t believe much of it.
This is election is based on inflation and having no border policy. It’s also based on some of the most ridiculous ideas that the Democratic Party attached itself too. Like defund the police and the insane gender ideology, and identity politics. The word Latinx, sums it all up.
My advice. Oppose trump when he is bad and he is going to be. But quit the hysterics. And take a long hard look at the demographics of his win and learn from it.
I wonder if it's a matter of priorities. There was a clear tilt of voters with lower incomes toward Trump. I don't think those voters were unaware of his past misdeeds; I think they put inflation and illegal immigration ahead of his character flaws. And I understand that. Thanks for the comment.
What I find fascinating about the argument against Trump is that somehow the opposing candidates are flawless, impeccable and good faith humans and Trump is not. That is binary thinking. And if I look to the character of many Democrats, it isn't much better than many Republicans. So move that issue to the side, and people voted for Trump because of many reasons: border crisis, transgender ideology, green energy climate change hysteria, I flation, covid policies, blatant gas lighting and lies about the reality of what people are experiencing day to day. Pick one or some and the Democrats leave a lot to be desired.
Enough voters put "that issue"––his spectacularly immoral character––to the side to elect Trump. So be it. I can never put character to the side. But that's me.
As I wrote, he is president now, as much my president as anyone else's so i have to hope he does well for our country.
So President Biden and Vice President Harris and potential Walz all had character that you felt you could get behind? If I used that as my standard, I would never vote 🤣. I have found that most people on both sides have anesthetized us to character flaws. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton weren't any angels either. Neither were the Bushes. So it kind of becomes this situation where we can now say, I vote for Trump, despite his flaws, because let's look at Joe Biden's history and he wasn't such an angel either. I guess that is my point. So if I remove that as a prerequisite for government (and I am not wishing we did this, by all means I wish we didn't), then I am voting for the party that hasn't worked to remove parental rights, or gun rights or gas lit me to tell me that eggs coating $6 a dozen is indicative of a good economy. I am sure you also have plenty of examples that you could use to say exactly what I am saying about the Republicans. In the end, the majority vote won. And imthe reasons vary but the vote stands. And one last question, how do we see that so many more people voted in 2020 and not in 2024? How is that discrepancy explained in a logical level? I never saw lines as long as I did this time? Where we all the extra 10+ million voters standing on 2020? I am going to go back and look at the town voting totals for 2020 v. 2024. It is a bit of a head scratcher. I never looked at the breakdown of where those 10+ million votes were in 2020 compared to 2024. But the fact that the 2012, 2016 and 2024 totals all run about the same is curious to me.
I’m also trying to manage my anger over this election. It seems we process it in the same way. Any moment of expressing my anger inevitably leads to depression and self-doubt.
And thanks for the praise of Slotkin. She’s a great person and a great candidate. So down to earth. We have a lot of great political talent here in Michigan. I’m hoping one of these women can be president some day.
Gov. Whitmer would have been a strong contender in would should have been a regular way primary. And I'm really lookin good forward to watching Elissa Slatkin's career. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few times this summer and hearing her speak and answer questions. She has great poise and presence and is very much down to earth in a charming way. Thanks, larry, for the comment.
Very good. Yes, keep an open mind. Trump is a bullshitter and a typical loudmouth New Yorker (and maybe even an Ugly American) but he has been mischaracterized by the MSM for so long its hard to for anyone not really paying attention to know who he is. I am very optimistic about the next four years.
I quite disagree on your claims about Trump. I am indifferent to him, but he has been unfairly demonized. There are a whole series of media hoaxes enacted against him, the most obvious being the Fine People Hoax, but there is a whole litany of other ones, if you care to study them. You don't have to like the guy to realize he has been badly maligned.
For the record, and as Trump himself said on Joe Rogan two weeks ago, prior to 2016 Oprah, Whoopie and entire cast of the The View loved him and sang his praises on a routine basis.
And of course you are entitled to your opinion, but if you did care to look, you can find countless examples of where the MSM defamed Trump by design - the 2024 'bloodbath' hoax is another obvious one.
I have an open mind to see what Trump does in his second term. But his record of being a scam artist and his record of ill treatment of women is to me beyond a doubt. I can see why people voted him notwithstanding that but I hope that his election is not interpreted as validation whatsoever for the immorality of his personal life. Thanks for the comment and let's hope that he serves all of us well as president.
that both Ellisa Slotkin and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin weathered the storm is a huge consolation for me here in the northwest of the Upper Penisula where i never fear living in an echo chamber of the sort partisans of both parties are prone to.
And in Ukraine the writing has been on the wall for some time now and never more clearly expressed than reporting on this platform the past few years by Sy Hersch. A brokered solution by Musk and Trump will be hard to swallow but the Ukranians have been led down garden path and fed into the meat-grinder for long enough with the false hope, the promise of our own vagrantly defined "democracy" as if Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan haven't taught us enough about the lies we tell ourselves.
In the days ahead as i will say to my neighbors here we hope for the best but ohh yes prepare for the worst!
I think their victories are rays of hope for centrists. The devastation in Ukraine is heartbreaking. I think we have been partially responsible for leading the Ukrainians down the "garden path." Thanks Appleton for the comment.
I purposely arrived at Substack to concentrate on writing because politics upset me so much, it was difficult to write because of anger at such severe polarization. Your voice is a voice of reason and wisdom. I actually felt better about the election not because of the result but of how there was no violence or hatred expressed when the result became widely known. Except for only a small fraction of people all the division and haggling and anger leading up to the election abated. The sorrow and fears were expressed so that they could be listened to and calmly considered. I think your approach is incredibly wise because it consists of finding the positive in the negative. And pursuing anger can lead to disengagement from reason and wisdom and thereby to unintended undesirable consequences. Disengaging from anger leads more towards survival and is a step towards existing with the opposition and not feeling so threatened yet still holding them accountable. This could go either way for either side depending on who won and who lost. Your decision on how to deal internally with your thoughts about who won the election is very wise. Thanks for sharing a way of thinking that can mitigate or lessen polarization rather than increase it.
Thanks Larry for the comment. I omitted the important point you made that the aftermath of the election was peaceful. With the rhetoric so redolent of Armageddon, we should be grateful for the lack of violence. Let's hope it continues!
Oddly enough, after reading your post about after the election Friday, I attended a Literary Festival on Sunday in NYC and came across a book with the curious title, "The Age of Outrage," with the subtitle, 'How to Lead in a Polarized World' written by Karthik Ramanna. Although it is business book, much of it is concerned with what has caused so much polarization not only in the business world but among everyone all over the world. It gets down to basics and presents specific case histories of problems and what individuals did that maybe didn't entirely solve the polarization but helped turn the temperature down so progress towards a solution could be enabled. And I think your post helps us to dial down our own fear, anxiety and insecurity about our future (which is considerable on both sides no matter the election results) so that we might work out a sensible way to deal with our emotions and what to do to maybe feel better. So from that book, I think your post is an excellent example of personal leadership through sharing your thoughts with others. And then their sharing your thoughts back to you.
I connect with this post in so many ways, as I do with most of your posts.
I have learned so much about myself since 2016 and the anger that fueled me at that time turned me against my neighbor.
Since 2021, I have been deeply convicted of that mindset and promised myself to never go back to it.
My baseline is to return to tribalism.
I can’t and I won’t.
I’m not trying to learn those lessons again.
It’s a daily choice and one that I have to make in order to be the best version of myself and in order to heal as a society.
All of that to say, this post resonates. And, as always, thank you.
Thanks Kelly. I'm glad you connected with it. That's high praise for a writer!
I connect with many of your posts. I just never feel like I can encapsulate the totality of my feelings in a comment.
This time, I did.
Thank you for your honest, open, and vulnerable writing.
I have taken the results of this election hard. I am confused at it, at the choices that apparently enough people made to win again. My reaction is not as bad as it was in 2016, when I felt personally shocked and betrayed. I was equally shocked after the 2020 results because refusing to accept a vote, backing an insurrection, and refusing to participate in the inauguration go against the values I learned at home, from the civics classes that might have been Lane but that I learned from, and the history I have studied made me worried about political consequences. Before that, we have to go back to the sanctimonious triumphalism of the Nixon victories, when I truly felt stripped of my citizenship.
It seems as if I failed to learn, from the cosmopolitan bubble that look me in after growing up in flyover country, just how deep the resentment went. I think people nursed their grudges all the way to the ballot have made a short-sighted choice. But I have also studied Roman history. None of this is new to me.
The important things are that I am able to write and make backup plans.
Great post. You’d be a great candidate for Braver Angels. It’s so hard to know how to act/react to people who are angry or hurting that this election resulted in Trump winning. I wish more people had your willingness to give him a change and hope he succeeds. In the meantime, I hope more people will stop deflecting their hate for a candidate on the people who voted. This was a complicated choice for many (not all) and in the end, it was the economy. I’ll also be keeping an eye on how Trump governs, trying to let the cringe-worthy comments roll off and do my best to be a good citizen. Writing helps..
*chance not change
Thanks MM. However anyone voted or didn't vote, Trump is our president.
I've had two reactions. The first was sadness for my daughters and other women in my life. Historic firsts are not sufficient rationales, in and of themselves, for any candidate. But once they're on the table, they mean something, and my daughters felt that letdown. It was the first time my 8-yr-old cared at all about an election. She wore a blue shirt to school on Wednesday to express herself and hung one of the doorknob flyers that someone left on our front door on her bedroom door. I want to encourage to her to keep using her voice, knowing it matters.
The other part of me retreated into cold rationality, which meant going back to the 2016 primary, when I witnessed, firsthand, the dirty tactics used by Clinton volunteers to disenfranchise Sanders supporters, many of whom were first-time participants in the Iowa caucuses and ignorant of its baroque rules. Sanders had no real chance then -- he got killed in the South -- but the revolution he started was real, and it had a real chance in 2020. I was still living in Iowa then and switched my vote to Amy Klobuchar, who I felt had a better chance. But the Sanders energy was still there -- he came in a close second and then won New Hampshire handily.
There was no energy for Biden in Iowa -- none. But after he won South Carolina, all the other major contenders dropped out and endorsed him, largely because the map looked so favorable to Sanders. The New Yorker ran a piece imagining a Sanders presidency (I can't find it now), and there was real fear among the establishment that he might win. So they all teamed up to stop him. That left a lot of people like me feeling like we were denied a choice. I felt the same way when we were told once again to line up behind Harris.
So I have been disgusted by the refusal on the part of many liberals and leading Democrats to accept that this election reflects in any way on their tactics. Nancy Pelosi denied it just today in the NYT. Mark Lilla called for a change in 2016. He was right. My coping strategy, I suppose, is to remind liberals of that whenever I can.
Whether true or not, I've considered myself a centrist. So not comfortable in either party post Trump. One silver lining is that 2028 may see a real shift in the Democratic party to appeal to those they lost. As for your daughter, I feel for her and for you. We never root harder for an outcome when our children root for it.
I am glad you bring up Sanders, as there is a wound there that has never been fully healed. I don't like voting for "the better alternative." I want to vote for someone I am truly excited about. When Harris invokes her Glock, she loses me. Message to her strategists: there is no gain in this bargain, though gun owners on the right do get a good laugh.
I know I am far to the left of what is considered left, but my most pessimistic interpretation of these candidates? Neither were going to do anything significant around the military industrial complex, the failed US healthcare system, nor would they initiate the urgent measures needed around climate change. I say initiate, because the hard work has not even begun.
Now for some optimism - Trump too was portrayed as carrying out an agenda that is not likely to occur. I do not believe we'll have Trump rounding up and imprisoning his enemies. I do not believe millions of migrants will be detained and banished, though there will be something done in this area as window dressing. Mostly the US will lumber forward, the lives of the majority of Trump's base not improving one iota (that's not optimistic, it's sad).
I'm disappointed, confused, fearful, and angry at the outcome. My list of "why" is a mile long. Being positive feels impossible today in the face of what I feel is a disaster for our country and the world at large. I'm sitting with my feelings and hoping they will shift to a more positive place. My values won't change, but my ability to provide for myself materially may change significantly. I'm nearing 65. What will my insurance, my Social Security look like? My fear is deep-seated, not just about his re-election, but about the hordes of people with hatred in their heart who've been issued a new 4 year permit to be violent, anti-semitic, racist, and cruel. I appreciate your willingness to endure this next phase in our history, but I have to say, David, that you have resources I'll never have, and that will probably make your life a whole lot easier if you needed to leave, or protect yourself in some other way. That will not be the case for the majority of us. I mean this in no way as a criticism, it's just reality, should things get really bad.
Nan, You make a valid point that i do not feel a personal financial threat. One thing to keep in mind is that changes to Social Security require a vote of 60 Senators and as for Medicare I think it would be political suicide for a party in power to try to make cuts.
Thank you. And I do know those things, but with the Republicans in charge and with a majority in the Senate, I can't imagine it would go well for us. We shall see, right?
I'm going to check into dual citizenship beginning today. Your comment resonates with me. I don't have wealth as a buffer, but maybe I have an option to be a citizen in a civilized society.
That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
Devastation, followed by recommitment to the sustaining joys of community, writing and the daily quest for beauty. Trump’s first year sent me into a tailspin of obsessive anger and fear that I will not revisit and that seems to be engulfing others. In Canada, where I live as a dual citizen, some people are declaring their refusal to set foot in the U.S., as if this smug and pointless stand were a testament to moral superiority. I will gather at physical and virtual firesides, many on Substack, with those who lift me up and avoid the other kind. I will not waste my time on endless punditry about why the Democrats lost.
We’re not safe up here, either. And I don’t just mean the Conservative Party potentially winning a make next year. The potential tariffs will lead to a global economic downturn since everyone will have to pay to export to and everyone will also retaliate with their own tariffs. We’re already paying a lot. Get ready to pay more.
Yep. No two ways about it.
Thanks Rona for the comment. Your use of the word "engulf" reminds me of Mel Brooks' Silent Movie" where the evil conglomerate was named "Engulf and Devour" as a stand-in for Gulf & Western, whose tower near Columbus Center was subsequently converted to a Trump Hotel and Apartments building.
Dear, irreplaceable Mel.
When I am faced with something sad, I find comfort in trying to understand it. My mother had a long decline and had no less than nine significant diagnoses when she entered hospice care. Knowing her underlying toughness, I convinced myself she would make it to her 84th birthday, but she died 7 months short. For two weeks I drove myself crazy trying to figure out exactly what she died of. But eventually I gave up. This was a rare occasion when I actually accepted that I could not achieve a clear understanding of an important event in my life. Fortunately, when my father died 11 months ago at age 96, the cause of death was clear.
So now that we are in moment of national mourning, I have another postmortem to conduct. After three days of intense thought and hypothesis testing, I believe Harris' defeat had its roots more than two years ago in the country's increasing disappointment with Joe Biden, evidenced by his relentlessly decreasing approval numbers. The most salient cause was his gross mishandling of the inflation issue. He kept saying that inflation would soon pass, and then brightly informed us that it had passed. Indeed, the thumb screw was no longer being tightened, but the pain was still there. He never validated the pain that so much of the country was feeling and he never made an effort to "feel our pain" with us.
As a result, 12 million people who voted for Biden in 2020, simply did not go to the polls in 2024. That is why Kamala Harris lost the election. If six million of those voters had turned out for Kamla, she would have beaten Trump (who received one million fewer voters than in 2020).
If you want to read more, including my ideas on the future of the Democratic Party, please:
https://kathleenweber.substack.com/p/vanished-into-thin-air-where-did
I do wonder how many of those 12 million voters who didn't "show up" for Democrats were disenfranchised by Republicans' strategic assaults on voting rights, such as mass purges of voters rolls prior to the election.
The Dems had plenty of money in 2024 and they had a ton of lawyers fighting every voter purge. They were fighting purges of 1500 voters in Virginia and a few thousand in Alabama. So, I don't think that can account for it.
Linked to Biden's failure to acknowledge inflation was his failure to keep his promise to be a one-term president. In a primary, the candidate capable of generating the most enthusiasm in the General would have likely won. It probably would not have been Kamala Harris. But we will never know.
ooo David, you couldn’t have said this better! I am adopting a similar approach to the outcome of the election: curiosity, trying to learn and understand more why this happened, and a “wait and see” attitude. That’s one half (an important half) of my response. The other, that I find I cannot let go of, is that I can’t fathom casting a vote for a convicted criminal, a liar, a misogynist, a lifelong grifter, and possibly a mad man. My husband echoed your thoughts exactly; Trump’s win repudiates the values of truth and fairness and compassion by which he has lived his whole life (much of it as a practicing physician). So there we have it. Let’s all go forward and see what happens. Thank you for your helpful words this morning.
Thanks Debbie. we may not like the cards we've been dealt but those are the ones we have to play. And there is virtue in a clear conscience.
This is a wonderful essay. Thank you.
I have empathy for the people who are experiencing income inequality and financial hardship and directed their vote to the political party that they believe will improve their lives. I doubt their lives will improve in the way they envision.
I am fearful of the chaos and social unrest that may come as the Republicans and their think tanks take action against the population of immigrants who are in the country.
Jeanne, I agree that a lot of the voting was based on voters' frustration with the economy, manifested by constant awareness of elevated prices. As for deportations, we'll have to see to what extent the campaign threats are put into action. Thanks for the comment.
Jeanne, what if what you fear never unfolds? How does that feel in your body…right now…to feel that? To imagine that the script you have created for the future isn’t set in stone?
To imagine that future after experiencing four years of Trump's previous presidency is a "script" written by Trump and his Project 2025 minions. Perhaps it is not "set in stone" but it certainly is well within the realm of possibility. As folks smarter than me have warned us: "Believe what Trump is telling us..." Your victim-shaming is out of line.
The truth is that outside the bubble people view trump very differently. They don’t believe the sexual violence accusation. They think 34 felony counts for cooking the books to pay a porn star is ridiculous. They don’t read The NY Times and if they did they wouldn’t believe much of it.
This is election is based on inflation and having no border policy. It’s also based on some of the most ridiculous ideas that the Democratic Party attached itself too. Like defund the police and the insane gender ideology, and identity politics. The word Latinx, sums it all up.
My advice. Oppose trump when he is bad and he is going to be. But quit the hysterics. And take a long hard look at the demographics of his win and learn from it.
Great response.
Thx.
I wonder if it's a matter of priorities. There was a clear tilt of voters with lower incomes toward Trump. I don't think those voters were unaware of his past misdeeds; I think they put inflation and illegal immigration ahead of his character flaws. And I understand that. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for liking my post! I’m honored!
What I find fascinating about the argument against Trump is that somehow the opposing candidates are flawless, impeccable and good faith humans and Trump is not. That is binary thinking. And if I look to the character of many Democrats, it isn't much better than many Republicans. So move that issue to the side, and people voted for Trump because of many reasons: border crisis, transgender ideology, green energy climate change hysteria, I flation, covid policies, blatant gas lighting and lies about the reality of what people are experiencing day to day. Pick one or some and the Democrats leave a lot to be desired.
I think we both know that no one is flawless.
Enough voters put "that issue"––his spectacularly immoral character––to the side to elect Trump. So be it. I can never put character to the side. But that's me.
As I wrote, he is president now, as much my president as anyone else's so i have to hope he does well for our country.
So President Biden and Vice President Harris and potential Walz all had character that you felt you could get behind? If I used that as my standard, I would never vote 🤣. I have found that most people on both sides have anesthetized us to character flaws. Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton weren't any angels either. Neither were the Bushes. So it kind of becomes this situation where we can now say, I vote for Trump, despite his flaws, because let's look at Joe Biden's history and he wasn't such an angel either. I guess that is my point. So if I remove that as a prerequisite for government (and I am not wishing we did this, by all means I wish we didn't), then I am voting for the party that hasn't worked to remove parental rights, or gun rights or gas lit me to tell me that eggs coating $6 a dozen is indicative of a good economy. I am sure you also have plenty of examples that you could use to say exactly what I am saying about the Republicans. In the end, the majority vote won. And imthe reasons vary but the vote stands. And one last question, how do we see that so many more people voted in 2020 and not in 2024? How is that discrepancy explained in a logical level? I never saw lines as long as I did this time? Where we all the extra 10+ million voters standing on 2020? I am going to go back and look at the town voting totals for 2020 v. 2024. It is a bit of a head scratcher. I never looked at the breakdown of where those 10+ million votes were in 2020 compared to 2024. But the fact that the 2012, 2016 and 2024 totals all run about the same is curious to me.
Exactly
Mazel tov on your marriage and family. It is weeks like this that make me even more aware of how important family is. I am not ok. 🙁
hang in there Sharon!
I’m also trying to manage my anger over this election. It seems we process it in the same way. Any moment of expressing my anger inevitably leads to depression and self-doubt.
And thanks for the praise of Slotkin. She’s a great person and a great candidate. So down to earth. We have a lot of great political talent here in Michigan. I’m hoping one of these women can be president some day.
Gov. Whitmer would have been a strong contender in would should have been a regular way primary. And I'm really lookin good forward to watching Elissa Slatkin's career. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few times this summer and hearing her speak and answer questions. She has great poise and presence and is very much down to earth in a charming way. Thanks, larry, for the comment.
Very good. Yes, keep an open mind. Trump is a bullshitter and a typical loudmouth New Yorker (and maybe even an Ugly American) but he has been mischaracterized by the MSM for so long its hard to for anyone not really paying attention to know who he is. I am very optimistic about the next four years.
I quite disagree on your claims about Trump. I am indifferent to him, but he has been unfairly demonized. There are a whole series of media hoaxes enacted against him, the most obvious being the Fine People Hoax, but there is a whole litany of other ones, if you care to study them. You don't have to like the guy to realize he has been badly maligned.
For the record, and as Trump himself said on Joe Rogan two weeks ago, prior to 2016 Oprah, Whoopie and entire cast of the The View loved him and sang his praises on a routine basis.
And of course you are entitled to your opinion, but if you did care to look, you can find countless examples of where the MSM defamed Trump by design - the 2024 'bloodbath' hoax is another obvious one.
Steven,
I have an open mind to see what Trump does in his second term. But his record of being a scam artist and his record of ill treatment of women is to me beyond a doubt. I can see why people voted him notwithstanding that but I hope that his election is not interpreted as validation whatsoever for the immorality of his personal life. Thanks for the comment and let's hope that he serves all of us well as president.
that both Ellisa Slotkin and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin weathered the storm is a huge consolation for me here in the northwest of the Upper Penisula where i never fear living in an echo chamber of the sort partisans of both parties are prone to.
And in Ukraine the writing has been on the wall for some time now and never more clearly expressed than reporting on this platform the past few years by Sy Hersch. A brokered solution by Musk and Trump will be hard to swallow but the Ukranians have been led down garden path and fed into the meat-grinder for long enough with the false hope, the promise of our own vagrantly defined "democracy" as if Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan haven't taught us enough about the lies we tell ourselves.
In the days ahead as i will say to my neighbors here we hope for the best but ohh yes prepare for the worst!
I think their victories are rays of hope for centrists. The devastation in Ukraine is heartbreaking. I think we have been partially responsible for leading the Ukrainians down the "garden path." Thanks Appleton for the comment.
I purposely arrived at Substack to concentrate on writing because politics upset me so much, it was difficult to write because of anger at such severe polarization. Your voice is a voice of reason and wisdom. I actually felt better about the election not because of the result but of how there was no violence or hatred expressed when the result became widely known. Except for only a small fraction of people all the division and haggling and anger leading up to the election abated. The sorrow and fears were expressed so that they could be listened to and calmly considered. I think your approach is incredibly wise because it consists of finding the positive in the negative. And pursuing anger can lead to disengagement from reason and wisdom and thereby to unintended undesirable consequences. Disengaging from anger leads more towards survival and is a step towards existing with the opposition and not feeling so threatened yet still holding them accountable. This could go either way for either side depending on who won and who lost. Your decision on how to deal internally with your thoughts about who won the election is very wise. Thanks for sharing a way of thinking that can mitigate or lessen polarization rather than increase it.
Thanks Larry for the comment. I omitted the important point you made that the aftermath of the election was peaceful. With the rhetoric so redolent of Armageddon, we should be grateful for the lack of violence. Let's hope it continues!
David,
Oddly enough, after reading your post about after the election Friday, I attended a Literary Festival on Sunday in NYC and came across a book with the curious title, "The Age of Outrage," with the subtitle, 'How to Lead in a Polarized World' written by Karthik Ramanna. Although it is business book, much of it is concerned with what has caused so much polarization not only in the business world but among everyone all over the world. It gets down to basics and presents specific case histories of problems and what individuals did that maybe didn't entirely solve the polarization but helped turn the temperature down so progress towards a solution could be enabled. And I think your post helps us to dial down our own fear, anxiety and insecurity about our future (which is considerable on both sides no matter the election results) so that we might work out a sensible way to deal with our emotions and what to do to maybe feel better. So from that book, I think your post is an excellent example of personal leadership through sharing your thoughts with others. And then their sharing your thoughts back to you.
Larry
Thanks Larry. I appreciate the praise very much!