What’s there left to say that hasn’t been said already about the election?
Fear, anger, jubilance and gloating have weaved themselves into the divided nation’s thought process. How does this country move ahead when it’s running in circles on both sides of the aisle?
I have paid most attention to the political scene for three elections now. I have voted in the most recent two elections. As I sit here weighing the aftermath of President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, I find myself more and more frustrated with the political establishment.
The GOP has now run the same candidate for three cycles. On the other end of things, the Democratic Party has shifted more and more to the center, with the most “liberal” candidate they chose to run being Hillary Clinton in 2016.
I’m not mad at the election results. That’s not something I think I can be upset with. If there’s anyone or anything I’m upset with, it’s the Democratic Party for being such unorganized losers, especially in an election where they swore up and down they needed to win for the future of democracy.
I wouldn’t call myself a liberal or a Democrat. I’m a leftist. This is why I’m tired of the party supposed to represent my side of the political spectrum mostly failing in recent years. Based on Trump’s policies or the direction that the Republican party is taking, the rights of a straight, white guy aren’t exactly at stake.
This is why I’m utterly livid at the current Democratic party. All this talk of defending the rights of women, the LGBTQ community and other minority groups would maybe elicit a greater effort. Yet here, we act like everything is okay in a concession speech.
Kamala Harris was steamrolled in the election, both in the electoral college and popular vote. At this point, the missteps in her campaign are massive in retrospect.
Attempts to court the conservative vote instead of strengthening support with the left is a baffling decision. Not taking a firmer stance on the Israel-Hamas War and how it’s affecting Gaza was a choice that had its consequences. In 2020, Joe Biden won Dearborn, the first city in the country to have an Arab majority, with 88% of the vote. Four years later, Harris only received roughly 36% of the vote, compared to Trump’s 42% and the Green Party’s Jill Stein’s 18%.
Take that figure and apply it to a younger generation of voters who had the plight of Gazans on their minds.
When we’re left staring at the same situation we had eight years ago, I’m unsure what to think anymore. It feels almost as if the Democratic party continually fails to act as its party with its own identity and only exists to counter the Republicans and, currently, Trump.
These continued failures are rather tiresome. For me, it creates apathy for the political system. How long will I have to reluctantly place my vote for someone that I feel is increasingly distancing themselves from my views?
Harris was supposed to represent the United States “not going back.” That didn’t happen. Now, people outside Trump’s base are staring at 2028 for solace. How long is it going to take for the losing side of America’s two-party system to get with the program? Every cycle, I hear “get out and vote” or that we must do our civic rights and responsibilities.
When are they going to fulfill their end of the deal? Why do I and America have to feel less and less represented by the party that’s supposed to represent us?
We’ve gone out and done our part. It just might be high time for Democrats to do theirs.