Trump wins. Ouch!
How did the Democrats lose to Donald Trump: the man they mocked and ridiculed as an evil charlatan, a fascist, a felon? How embarrassing!
That question will first lead the Democrats to finger-pointing. But ultimately they must look in the mirror, because Trump didn’t win: The Democrats lost—and they will keep losing if they don’t learn the lessons.
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Here are the top 10 reasons:
1. A terrible beginning: the Biden deception
For months top Democratic leaders exited the White House after meeting with President Biden purposely extolling his health, vigor, and mental acuity.
And then the American people saw him at the first debate and were shocked at his condition and realized the ongoing Democratic deception.
Forcing Biden out of office appeared to be a palace coup. The party bosses’ installation of Kamala Harris without a primary was additionally offensive.
People choose their leaders and elections matter. The error was then compounded by forcing a short campaign in which Harris was disadvantaged.
2. It’s always the economy, stupid
Democrats were disconnected from the lives of working Americans and their painful economic reality. The cost of day-to-day life was the pressing issue of the campaign—and Democrats missed it.
Inflation, arguably caused by Biden, was crushing. Trump always led on the question of “Who is better to handle the economy?” Sometimes the bottom line is the bottom line.
Even worse, the concerns the Democratic Party did focus on further alienated them from working Americans.
3. The tail wagged the dog
The “progressive” position of the Democratic Party—originally championed by FDR as a practical program for working Americans—was distorted by minority far-left extremist views on defunding the police, legalizing prostitution, open borders, sex education in schools, etc.
The cultural arrogance and elitism of the Democratic Party was epitomized by the “woke” culture.
Harris and the gender transition surgeries for inmates issue highlighted the disconnection. The Republican ad on this issue saying “she is for they/them and Trump is for you” was devastatingly effective.
Again, Harris never answered the question and there was only one answer: “Under Donald Trump the law allowed these surgeries but I will stop spending $100,000 in taxpayer funds for gender transition surgeries for inmates when Americans can’t afford basic dental care.”
4. Increasing the distance between the Democratic Party and Main Street America
The southern border and the immigration debacle was an unmitigated four-year failure and Harris—the border czar—never even addressed it in the campaign.
5. The Biden administration failed to perform.
It did not prove basic competence. Government is not an abstract theoretical activity but rather a service bureau to accomplish meaningful change to improve people’s lives.
Legislative achievements never translated to on the ground reality. The American people were not better off than before.
There was no tangible or impactful progress but rather signs of quite the opposite. Urban areas were in decline post-COVID with crime, homelessness, and chaos in full display with no significant response from local, state, or federal Democrats.
Commuting suburbanites and visitors to cities were shocked at the conditions.
Once again, the Democratic Party appeared indifferent or incompetent.
6. Leaders are strong
With the world in chaos, Americans look for confidence in their leader. The Middle East and Ukraine conflicts drag on. The potential for global conflicts is deeply unsettling.
In this context, Harris appeared ambivalent and indecisive. She was pro-everything and did not provide confidence that she could handle these massive issues. Trump—for better or worse—projected strength and resolve.
7. It’s all about the abortion issue, except when it isn’t.
Democrats relied too heavily on abortion as a decisive issue. Yes, abortion is a major issue for many Americans, especially Democrats.
In New York, my administration codified Roe v. Wade years ago just as a precaution that we could have a rogue conservative Supreme Court remove vital protections for women.
But abortion was not a decisive issue for all men or even women depending on where they live, their beliefs, their age and marital status.
Many states have or are addressing the issue and much of the focus has shifted to state action.
The abortion issue was simply not enough to overpower people’s concerns about their day-to-day existence.
8. We don’t put political opponents in jail
Democrats’ prosecutions of Trump backfired, ironically making him a perceived victim of a weaponized justice system.
While the Jan. 6 investigation was legitimate, other investigations appeared politically motivated and trivial and actually tainted the original bona fide efforts.
Democrats' fears of “threats to democracy” seemed disingenuous when they were using the justice system—the one sacrosanct government function—to play politics.
9. There are no facts
At one time people believed the objectivity and veracity of news reports so they had a sense of true and false, right and wrong.
Fox News was different in that people believed its coverage was biased toward the Republicans.
However, today many perceive all news outlets to be opinionated/biased so Fox is as credible as any other outlet except they have a multiple number of viewers and their constant criticism of the Democratic Party was impactful.
10. Sexism and racism still exist
Sexism and racism still exist in American society and must be overcome by clearly demonstrating ability, capacity, and inclusiveness. The Democrats did not reach that threshold.
At the end of the day, life is options. The Democratic Party didn’t offer one.
