Thank you all so far for your engagement with this post. The conversation will continue on both Bluesky and Instagram, so make sure to follow me on there as we delve into how The Glass Cliff reared its ugly head this election cycle.
Every time a woman is on the ballot the response is, "I'll vote for a woman, but not this one". We live in a misogynistic world. Where misogyny kills a woman every six seconds on this planet. We have our own American Apartheid. This is the Republican playbook. Gin up the hate for those grifting political dollars and votes. Maybe, it will take another 200 years to fix this. We have multi-generational ignorance baked in misogyny and rascim. It is sown into fabric of this Nation.
As a white woman, I have dealt with SA, attempted gang rape at age 12 by teenage boys (I ran faster then they did), horrible sexual bullshit from co-workers, confronting my boss why the men were paid more than I was. A misogynistic and racist father. And the list goes on. I taught my daughters to fight back. And they do. My point is when it comes to misogynistic abuse, it doesn't matter what color we are. I have people of color in my family. We all fight these battles every day.
Harris is amazing. I was so happy when she ran. Relief. Unfortunately, too many in this country are to goddamn dumb for their own good. We are 24th in the world for education. We used to be #1. That showed up on November 5th.
For a long time I have felt that the media’s disdainful treatment of Democrats, both male and female, is very similar to the treatment women commonly receive. I believe George Lakoff is right that many people subconsciously perceive Democrats as the “Mommy Party”, focused on “softer” caring values (like ensuring people don’t die from lack of food, shelter or healthcare). In contrast Republicans are seen as the “Strong Father” party, focused on protecting people from enemies and making decisions for the rest of us.
The media has clear disdain for what they see as “feminine” concerns. For example they mocked Bill Clinton for feeling our pain. That seemed less acceptable to them than the callousness and lack of empathy displayed by Bush and Cheney, let alone by Trump. Maureen Dowd bizarrely wrote that Gore’s concern for the environment made him seem “so feminized” that he was “practically lactating”.
The media routinely ignores or distorts what Democrats say just like so many professional women find that what they say isn’t heard or that their ideas are derided or dismissed. Biden’s many speeches to working class people about his impactful infrastructure and jobs programs were ignored by the media who then had the gall to accuse him — and Harris — of offering nothing to working class people. This was exactly what they did to Hillary in 2015. The media ignored her speeches and her proposals to help create good paying jobs. When she spoke about her detailed multibillion dollar plan to help coal communities the media deliberately twisted her words to show her as being callous to those communities:
“Hillary Clinton’s “coal gaffe” is a microcosm of her twisted treatment by the media
And just as women are commonly held to higher standards than their male peers it is blatantly obvious that the media holds Democrats to a far higher standard than they do Republicans. Journalists criticized Gore for focusing too much on serious policy issues but loved that Bush gave them demeaning nicknames and did adolescent things like rolling oranges down the aisle on the campaign plane. They openly praised him for being “more fun to have a beer with”, the most idiotic standard ever for judging who is better qualified to be the most powerful person the world. Even David Broder, the venerable “Dean of Washington Journalists”, trashed Gore for talking too much in his acceptance speech about what he would do if elected. Apparently Broder wanted to her jokes??
Some in the media have openly admitted they held Gore and Hillary to a higher standard. Shortly before this election in her weekly conversation with Bret Stephens, Gail Collins said about Harris “of course we hold her to a higher standard” as if that is a completely acceptable thing for journalists to do.
Fantastic comment. The mommy party/strong father factors. That's why the GQP stays predominantly white, wealthy, and male. Mommy is expected to clean up without questioning wtf. And never gets credit for any success. Sounds like motherhood.
Misogyny is baked into every aspect of our lives. And journalists exploit it. There are exceptions. But very few. The media is clickbait news supported by many lazy incompetence journalists. Who turn their backs on Truth to support their male overlord owners bank accounts. The NYT is the worst. I pull up the Brookings Institute Biden agenda on my phone and show people what he's accomplished. Yeah, whatever. I get an eye roll. The media is toxic. They wouldn't know a 'higher standard' if it bit them on the ass.
I certainly agree with your comments. I'd also like to add that, now that I have some distance, I remembered that the "reason" Hillary lost was because of the economy, and so many reporters went to rural, mid-western diners to talk to white men about how they're suffering. Then it turned out that this was a false narrative. Exit pollsters don't ask did you not vote for Harris because she's Black/Asian or because she's a woman, or both. This is because they know people lie so they ignore these issues. And, it's all run by white men anyway. This country was able to elect a Black man, twice, even with all of the racism, but would not vote for a woman, twice. And yes, some white women didn't vote for Harris probably because a Black/Asian woman was a bridge too far and, in any situation, there are collaborators, some unknowing, some intentional. I'm recommending that we engage in the Amish tradition of shaming. Not in the extreme, be civil, but don't engage with people in your family, friends, at work, on social media and in public who are displaying racist, misogynistic opinions. Obviously, you have to do what's necessary to preserve your safety (unlike most men), and you don't want to lose your job, but when possible, don't engage and walk away. You won't change their minds in a short conversation, and they'll get defensive, but no one wants to be ignored.
I don’t doubt that racism and misogyny played a big role in the votes of many on the right but all the exit polls overwhelmingly showed that a huge majority of people — about 2/3 — voted for Trump because they believed out economy is bad and inflation was too high. Our mainstream “liberal” media spent months harping on inflation without making it clear it was a world-wide phenomenon that was out of Biden’s control but burying the fact that the US economy has been by far the strongest post-covid with solid growth, a high employment level that hasn’t been in over fifty years, and wages that have been growing faster than inflation for over a year, with the greatest growth for lower incomes.
Last summer when the World Bank ranked the US economy #1 in the world for the second year in a row and increased its prediction for global growth, saying that the US economy is so strong it is powering that growth I fully expected to see headlines in NY Times and WaPo. I was wrong — both buried that news.
I was also frustrated that the media made no effort to explain to people that conquering inflation does not mean prices would return to pre-covid levels. That would require disinflation which is disastrous for an economy and extremely hard to stop.
This is the kind of information voters needed to make an informed decision. Our Founders gave journalists specific constitutional protection so that they would ensure we have a well-informed citizenry. Nine prominent stories in the WaPo about Biden’s garbage comment while critical economic information is buried in a back section does not meet that sacred obligation. In a healthy democracy journalists would not be pointing fingers, they would be looking in the mirror and feeling deep shame.
We also have to look at the White men that voted for Trump who were previously not in the mix. Many of these spent the covid years on line discovering all that they could. They are socially awkward, and they are relying on social media influencers to tell them how to be a man, who are awful role models.
The dems need to create their own social media platform and makes sure that it is international and cannot be shut down by the US government coming into power. That means creating it together with democratic parties around the world. It is catch up, but hopefully they realize that while the right wing has been busy acquiring the media, they also have been busy pushing out disinformation by amplifying right wing messaging and distorting democratic messaging.
Kamala ran a stupendous campaign, and DT sat on his rump and let Musk buy him the White House. Musk is his go between with DT and the world. He has outsourced the job to Musk, escaping political consequence, and raking in influence and money, all of which is owed to Putin in some debt.
You get it. There are so many double or triple standards at play here that people are just glossing over. Someone just asked me about the Black men that voted for DJT as if the VAST majority of white men didn't vote for DJT. Scapegoating isn't a strategy here.
Yes. You see that it was White Non College graduates that were the strongest supporters of Trump in the charts in this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education called The College Degree Divide is Becoming a Chasm.
I’m sure it’s a matter of double jeopardy for a Black female rising to a position of power. When Hillary Clinton ran for president, I recall people saying, she’s not the “perfect candidate.” Never a lament that Trump was not perfect!
Exactly. I am working on a book right now where I call this phenomenon "The Double Tax" - the compounded cost of being both a racial minority AND a woman. Folks can subscribe here to learn more: https://doubletax.substack.com/.
This is an example of the double standard that journalists hold Democrats to. Saying a candidate isn’t perfect is a sign that that person is stuck in the stage of magical thinking like kids who believe in Santa. I repeatedly heard journalists say that about Gore, Kerry and Biden who all ran against a much more inferior candidates.
Similarly journalists often deride politicians by saying they all lie, as if there are people who don’t. You can bet that if completely truthful people do exist those people aren’t journalists.
Yet another example of this is the much higher standard journalists use when fact checking Democrats. I was beyond furious when the WaPo fact checker Glen Kessler had the audacity to ding Harris for saying that, as part of her plan to cut taxes for average people, she would enact a child tax credit of $6,000 for the first year of a child’s life. Kessler’s bizarre reason? Children don’t pay taxes!
NYTimes columnist Gail Collins openly admitted the unfairness. Shortly before the election in one of her weekly discussions with Bret Stephens Collins said in reference to Harris “Of course we hold her to a higher standard.”
Now arrogant journalists are pointing fingers at everyone but themselves.
As an older white man, I was terrified when Biden dropped out. I personally thought that Harris could not be elected due to misogyny and bigotry of white people. I supported (and still do) her excellent political policies. I was excited and hopeful. Only to be let down by misogynist and bigoted white people. I’m fearful of what we have become.
Based upon my experiences, Navy, teaching and driving OTR trucks) I know this. And it is just repugnantly wrong! It will get worse before it gets better. Bottom line, whites are scared they will be treated how they treat minorities when they become the minority. Toxic masculinity is the other issue.
BINGO. It’s literally this. And what if I told you that history is a circle? The same fears were held by white people in South Africa when Mandela was released from prison.
One could argue his Nobel Peace prize was awarded because he DIDN’T do anything.
But if you bring up white privilege or other such terms you get shouted down as "woke," the new pejorative for just trying to be a decent human being. JC was "woke" to them, I'm sure.
I've had to explain white privilege to white people. It's amazing they have no clue. I've had to explain woke. I've dealt with some real assholes. I was selling a few things recently. An older neighbor (I live in the country) stopped by whom I've never meant. I live in a red town in a blue state. The first thing she asked me was who I was voting for. She's a Trumper humper. I told her Harris. She went on about socialism. I asked if she was on Medicare. I said that is a social program. Anyway, I was very patient with her and tried to point some things out. Another humper stopped by and was going off about immigrants. A church elder no less. I told him I ran a club for the functionally illiterate. Membership cards go out soon. He left. It's not easy to talk to humpers. But in America, your free to be dumber than a doorknob.
Remember "hands off my Medicare?" I work at the VA, where patients and employees alike rag on "the government." Nonetheless, we won't stop trying twice as hard to be perceived as half as good. VP Harris had it worse.
I had such hope that the voters of this country would finally open their minds to the opportunity presented to them to see a new approach to leadership, from such a qualified candidate- and I remain disappointed in so many, but not in Kamala Harris.
You are so right. I agree with you 110%. I would respond further, but I am so deeply disappointed in the ignorant voters who did not support the exceptional candidate for President, but instead voted for a person that is the antithesis of what a President should be, that what I would say is not appropriate for tender ears. Discrimination & misogyny has no place in our society, but it is the elephant in the room. When will we all be truly treated equally?
Thank you for writing this. It is so sad that the voters in this country chose a crude criminal over a qualified, decent, and experienced woman. We were so hopeful she would win and lead our country with grace and dignity and love - the opposite of trump. The only explanation is hate and ignorance on the part of the trump voters. She did everything right - and it is a huge loss for our country and all the people.
Bravo, Ms. Gifty. Every time I see a headline criticizing VP Harris just for breathing, I want to scream, for all the reasons you mentioned here and more. The self-important blowhards and Mean Girls/Boys (looking at you, Queen Maureen) kept moving the goalposts for VP Harris while widening and moving closer the ones for Donito (apologies to Bonito). Sadly, this is on the voters, though, and the propaganda they willingly consume and digest. I wish there were a way to get this information to them at some point. Cheers.
While I’m as disappointed as anyone to see Trump elected President, I’d point out that Harris didn’t lose because she was a woman of color. She lost because her campaign’s message didn’t reasonate with enough votes to either vote for her or even show up to vote.
The Democratic Party really needs to do some soul searching and figure out how to better engage with more voters. Calling them dumb, misogynistic or racist isn’t the way to do that.
I don’t expect my comment to be very popular here, but I believe that these types of results will keep happening until we truly learn from them.
They are dumb, misogynistic and racists, but VP Harris's plans were basically ignored by the press. Meanwhile Trump's minions were bombarding the "alternative press" constantly with lies about her, each one targeted to a specific audience. I think the Dems relied too much on the mainstream to disseminate her plans, but that avenue failed her & us. And the double-standard, where she was not allowed any missteps, while Trump could flail all over the place and get a pass. Our news media, both mainstream and alternative, needs to wake up and start standing up for democracy because Trump is determined to destroy this country. This country provided him with every opportunity and yet he's so obviously hates it.
I think we can hold two truths in the same palm. This country's founding and rise is rooted in racism and sexism. Kamala Harris crashed against that and so any messaging she may have shared (and I argue that she did have plans for the working class) just wasn't received.
I really appreciate your take on why Kamala didn’t win (she almost did win!) the election. I’m white and didn’t know until just months ago that Kamala is black and Indian. She looks more interesting to me than white women like myself, and I vaguely assumed that she had some Hispanic heritage. Her sudden rise against Trump gave me hope, as it did many of us. I kept donating to her until the end. Now I’m relying on people like you and Robert Reich and Heather Lofthouse and Heather Cox Richardson to give me hope that we can survive and take back our democracy, and open the eyes of the people who were misled.
Hi everyone, Anna here.
Thank you all so far for your engagement with this post. The conversation will continue on both Bluesky and Instagram, so make sure to follow me on there as we delve into how The Glass Cliff reared its ugly head this election cycle.
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/itsafronomics.bsky.social
Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsafronomics
Every time a woman is on the ballot the response is, "I'll vote for a woman, but not this one". We live in a misogynistic world. Where misogyny kills a woman every six seconds on this planet. We have our own American Apartheid. This is the Republican playbook. Gin up the hate for those grifting political dollars and votes. Maybe, it will take another 200 years to fix this. We have multi-generational ignorance baked in misogyny and rascim. It is sown into fabric of this Nation.
As a white woman, I have dealt with SA, attempted gang rape at age 12 by teenage boys (I ran faster then they did), horrible sexual bullshit from co-workers, confronting my boss why the men were paid more than I was. A misogynistic and racist father. And the list goes on. I taught my daughters to fight back. And they do. My point is when it comes to misogynistic abuse, it doesn't matter what color we are. I have people of color in my family. We all fight these battles every day.
Harris is amazing. I was so happy when she ran. Relief. Unfortunately, too many in this country are to goddamn dumb for their own good. We are 24th in the world for education. We used to be #1. That showed up on November 5th.
You get it. I might write something about this when I get my thoughts together, but this is exactly right.
For a long time I have felt that the media’s disdainful treatment of Democrats, both male and female, is very similar to the treatment women commonly receive. I believe George Lakoff is right that many people subconsciously perceive Democrats as the “Mommy Party”, focused on “softer” caring values (like ensuring people don’t die from lack of food, shelter or healthcare). In contrast Republicans are seen as the “Strong Father” party, focused on protecting people from enemies and making decisions for the rest of us.
The media has clear disdain for what they see as “feminine” concerns. For example they mocked Bill Clinton for feeling our pain. That seemed less acceptable to them than the callousness and lack of empathy displayed by Bush and Cheney, let alone by Trump. Maureen Dowd bizarrely wrote that Gore’s concern for the environment made him seem “so feminized” that he was “practically lactating”.
“Going after Gore”
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2007/10/gore200710
The media routinely ignores or distorts what Democrats say just like so many professional women find that what they say isn’t heard or that their ideas are derided or dismissed. Biden’s many speeches to working class people about his impactful infrastructure and jobs programs were ignored by the media who then had the gall to accuse him — and Harris — of offering nothing to working class people. This was exactly what they did to Hillary in 2015. The media ignored her speeches and her proposals to help create good paying jobs. When she spoke about her detailed multibillion dollar plan to help coal communities the media deliberately twisted her words to show her as being callous to those communities:
“Hillary Clinton’s “coal gaffe” is a microcosm of her twisted treatment by the media
She navigated a hall of mirrors.”
https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/9/15/16306158/hillary-clinton-hall-of-mirrors
And just as women are commonly held to higher standards than their male peers it is blatantly obvious that the media holds Democrats to a far higher standard than they do Republicans. Journalists criticized Gore for focusing too much on serious policy issues but loved that Bush gave them demeaning nicknames and did adolescent things like rolling oranges down the aisle on the campaign plane. They openly praised him for being “more fun to have a beer with”, the most idiotic standard ever for judging who is better qualified to be the most powerful person the world. Even David Broder, the venerable “Dean of Washington Journalists”, trashed Gore for talking too much in his acceptance speech about what he would do if elected. Apparently Broder wanted to her jokes??
Some in the media have openly admitted they held Gore and Hillary to a higher standard. Shortly before this election in her weekly conversation with Bret Stephens, Gail Collins said about Harris “of course we hold her to a higher standard” as if that is a completely acceptable thing for journalists to do.
Fantastic comment. The mommy party/strong father factors. That's why the GQP stays predominantly white, wealthy, and male. Mommy is expected to clean up without questioning wtf. And never gets credit for any success. Sounds like motherhood.
Misogyny is baked into every aspect of our lives. And journalists exploit it. There are exceptions. But very few. The media is clickbait news supported by many lazy incompetence journalists. Who turn their backs on Truth to support their male overlord owners bank accounts. The NYT is the worst. I pull up the Brookings Institute Biden agenda on my phone and show people what he's accomplished. Yeah, whatever. I get an eye roll. The media is toxic. They wouldn't know a 'higher standard' if it bit them on the ass.
I certainly agree with your comments. I'd also like to add that, now that I have some distance, I remembered that the "reason" Hillary lost was because of the economy, and so many reporters went to rural, mid-western diners to talk to white men about how they're suffering. Then it turned out that this was a false narrative. Exit pollsters don't ask did you not vote for Harris because she's Black/Asian or because she's a woman, or both. This is because they know people lie so they ignore these issues. And, it's all run by white men anyway. This country was able to elect a Black man, twice, even with all of the racism, but would not vote for a woman, twice. And yes, some white women didn't vote for Harris probably because a Black/Asian woman was a bridge too far and, in any situation, there are collaborators, some unknowing, some intentional. I'm recommending that we engage in the Amish tradition of shaming. Not in the extreme, be civil, but don't engage with people in your family, friends, at work, on social media and in public who are displaying racist, misogynistic opinions. Obviously, you have to do what's necessary to preserve your safety (unlike most men), and you don't want to lose your job, but when possible, don't engage and walk away. You won't change their minds in a short conversation, and they'll get defensive, but no one wants to be ignored.
The parallel isn’t lost on me.
I don’t doubt that racism and misogyny played a big role in the votes of many on the right but all the exit polls overwhelmingly showed that a huge majority of people — about 2/3 — voted for Trump because they believed out economy is bad and inflation was too high. Our mainstream “liberal” media spent months harping on inflation without making it clear it was a world-wide phenomenon that was out of Biden’s control but burying the fact that the US economy has been by far the strongest post-covid with solid growth, a high employment level that hasn’t been in over fifty years, and wages that have been growing faster than inflation for over a year, with the greatest growth for lower incomes.
Last summer when the World Bank ranked the US economy #1 in the world for the second year in a row and increased its prediction for global growth, saying that the US economy is so strong it is powering that growth I fully expected to see headlines in NY Times and WaPo. I was wrong — both buried that news.
I was also frustrated that the media made no effort to explain to people that conquering inflation does not mean prices would return to pre-covid levels. That would require disinflation which is disastrous for an economy and extremely hard to stop.
This is the kind of information voters needed to make an informed decision. Our Founders gave journalists specific constitutional protection so that they would ensure we have a well-informed citizenry. Nine prominent stories in the WaPo about Biden’s garbage comment while critical economic information is buried in a back section does not meet that sacred obligation. In a healthy democracy journalists would not be pointing fingers, they would be looking in the mirror and feeling deep shame.
Agree!
We also have to look at the White men that voted for Trump who were previously not in the mix. Many of these spent the covid years on line discovering all that they could. They are socially awkward, and they are relying on social media influencers to tell them how to be a man, who are awful role models.
The dems need to create their own social media platform and makes sure that it is international and cannot be shut down by the US government coming into power. That means creating it together with democratic parties around the world. It is catch up, but hopefully they realize that while the right wing has been busy acquiring the media, they also have been busy pushing out disinformation by amplifying right wing messaging and distorting democratic messaging.
Kamala ran a stupendous campaign, and DT sat on his rump and let Musk buy him the White House. Musk is his go between with DT and the world. He has outsourced the job to Musk, escaping political consequence, and raking in influence and money, all of which is owed to Putin in some debt.
You get it. There are so many double or triple standards at play here that people are just glossing over. Someone just asked me about the Black men that voted for DJT as if the VAST majority of white men didn't vote for DJT. Scapegoating isn't a strategy here.
Yes. You see that it was White Non College graduates that were the strongest supporters of Trump in the charts in this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education called The College Degree Divide is Becoming a Chasm.
https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-college-degree-divide-is-becoming-a-chasm
I’m sure it’s a matter of double jeopardy for a Black female rising to a position of power. When Hillary Clinton ran for president, I recall people saying, she’s not the “perfect candidate.” Never a lament that Trump was not perfect!
Exactly. I am working on a book right now where I call this phenomenon "The Double Tax" - the compounded cost of being both a racial minority AND a woman. Folks can subscribe here to learn more: https://doubletax.substack.com/.
This is an example of the double standard that journalists hold Democrats to. Saying a candidate isn’t perfect is a sign that that person is stuck in the stage of magical thinking like kids who believe in Santa. I repeatedly heard journalists say that about Gore, Kerry and Biden who all ran against a much more inferior candidates.
Similarly journalists often deride politicians by saying they all lie, as if there are people who don’t. You can bet that if completely truthful people do exist those people aren’t journalists.
Yet another example of this is the much higher standard journalists use when fact checking Democrats. I was beyond furious when the WaPo fact checker Glen Kessler had the audacity to ding Harris for saying that, as part of her plan to cut taxes for average people, she would enact a child tax credit of $6,000 for the first year of a child’s life. Kessler’s bizarre reason? Children don’t pay taxes!
NYTimes columnist Gail Collins openly admitted the unfairness. Shortly before the election in one of her weekly discussions with Bret Stephens Collins said in reference to Harris “Of course we hold her to a higher standard.”
Now arrogant journalists are pointing fingers at everyone but themselves.
I like Gail Collins, but I canot abide Stephens so I had to stop reading her
As an older white man, I was terrified when Biden dropped out. I personally thought that Harris could not be elected due to misogyny and bigotry of white people. I supported (and still do) her excellent political policies. I was excited and hopeful. Only to be let down by misogynist and bigoted white people. I’m fearful of what we have become.
What if I told you that the majority of the white electorate was always like this (cc the silent majority).
Based upon my experiences, Navy, teaching and driving OTR trucks) I know this. And it is just repugnantly wrong! It will get worse before it gets better. Bottom line, whites are scared they will be treated how they treat minorities when they become the minority. Toxic masculinity is the other issue.
BINGO. It’s literally this. And what if I told you that history is a circle? The same fears were held by white people in South Africa when Mandela was released from prison.
One could argue his Nobel Peace prize was awarded because he DIDN’T do anything.
They are hanging on to white privilege by their fingernails.
But if you bring up white privilege or other such terms you get shouted down as "woke," the new pejorative for just trying to be a decent human being. JC was "woke" to them, I'm sure.
I've had to explain white privilege to white people. It's amazing they have no clue. I've had to explain woke. I've dealt with some real assholes. I was selling a few things recently. An older neighbor (I live in the country) stopped by whom I've never meant. I live in a red town in a blue state. The first thing she asked me was who I was voting for. She's a Trumper humper. I told her Harris. She went on about socialism. I asked if she was on Medicare. I said that is a social program. Anyway, I was very patient with her and tried to point some things out. Another humper stopped by and was going off about immigrants. A church elder no less. I told him I ran a club for the functionally illiterate. Membership cards go out soon. He left. It's not easy to talk to humpers. But in America, your free to be dumber than a doorknob.
Remember "hands off my Medicare?" I work at the VA, where patients and employees alike rag on "the government." Nonetheless, we won't stop trying twice as hard to be perceived as half as good. VP Harris had it worse.
I had such hope that the voters of this country would finally open their minds to the opportunity presented to them to see a new approach to leadership, from such a qualified candidate- and I remain disappointed in so many, but not in Kamala Harris.
You are so right. I agree with you 110%. I would respond further, but I am so deeply disappointed in the ignorant voters who did not support the exceptional candidate for President, but instead voted for a person that is the antithesis of what a President should be, that what I would say is not appropriate for tender ears. Discrimination & misogyny has no place in our society, but it is the elephant in the room. When will we all be truly treated equally?
When emotional intelligence becomes the norm.
Thank you for writing this. It is so sad that the voters in this country chose a crude criminal over a qualified, decent, and experienced woman. We were so hopeful she would win and lead our country with grace and dignity and love - the opposite of trump. The only explanation is hate and ignorance on the part of the trump voters. She did everything right - and it is a huge loss for our country and all the people.
Nailed it. This vote was the result of misogyny and racism.
MOSTLY, but there are some other reasons too - but mostly
Bravo, Ms. Gifty. Every time I see a headline criticizing VP Harris just for breathing, I want to scream, for all the reasons you mentioned here and more. The self-important blowhards and Mean Girls/Boys (looking at you, Queen Maureen) kept moving the goalposts for VP Harris while widening and moving closer the ones for Donito (apologies to Bonito). Sadly, this is on the voters, though, and the propaganda they willingly consume and digest. I wish there were a way to get this information to them at some point. Cheers.
Love this post. Learned a lot. Thank you.
While I’m as disappointed as anyone to see Trump elected President, I’d point out that Harris didn’t lose because she was a woman of color. She lost because her campaign’s message didn’t reasonate with enough votes to either vote for her or even show up to vote.
The Democratic Party really needs to do some soul searching and figure out how to better engage with more voters. Calling them dumb, misogynistic or racist isn’t the way to do that.
I don’t expect my comment to be very popular here, but I believe that these types of results will keep happening until we truly learn from them.
They are dumb, misogynistic and racists, but VP Harris's plans were basically ignored by the press. Meanwhile Trump's minions were bombarding the "alternative press" constantly with lies about her, each one targeted to a specific audience. I think the Dems relied too much on the mainstream to disseminate her plans, but that avenue failed her & us. And the double-standard, where she was not allowed any missteps, while Trump could flail all over the place and get a pass. Our news media, both mainstream and alternative, needs to wake up and start standing up for democracy because Trump is determined to destroy this country. This country provided him with every opportunity and yet he's so obviously hates it.
Very true on the mainstream media which is why I cancelled my NYT subscription earlier this year.
I think we can hold two truths in the same palm. This country's founding and rise is rooted in racism and sexism. Kamala Harris crashed against that and so any messaging she may have shared (and I argue that she did have plans for the working class) just wasn't received.
I really appreciate your take on why Kamala didn’t win (she almost did win!) the election. I’m white and didn’t know until just months ago that Kamala is black and Indian. She looks more interesting to me than white women like myself, and I vaguely assumed that she had some Hispanic heritage. Her sudden rise against Trump gave me hope, as it did many of us. I kept donating to her until the end. Now I’m relying on people like you and Robert Reich and Heather Lofthouse and Heather Cox Richardson to give me hope that we can survive and take back our democracy, and open the eyes of the people who were misled.
...also the siloing of the media, I think: https://jackcompere.medium.com/pundits-pounce-40953b94f477
...thnank you for your post...
Amen to every word of this.
More of this, please.