Day 3: First Steps to Recovery—Ballot Curing

November 9, 2024

I will return to commenting on the news next week. For the remainder of this week, I will focus on reader reaction to the election.

First, people continue to be in shock. Many readers report that they have withdrawn from cable news and legacy media outlets. Understandably so. Those outlets are falling over themselves to explain “why” the 2024 presidential election unfolded as it did. The only statement we can make with certainty is that whatever the political commentariat tells us in the short term will be wrong. Spectacularly so.

Don’t believe me? See Jon Stewart’s review of post-election analyses by pundits over the last two decades. See Jon Stewart’s Election Night Takeaway. Watch the entire three minutes. It will help you endure the onslaught of “hot takes” that purport to explain the election—mainly by blaming Democrats.

Before turning to the growing chorus of Democrats blaming Democrats for the loss, let’s acknowledge some good news. Voters in seven states approved state constitutional amendments to protect reproductive liberty: Arizona, Colorado, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nevada and New York. Newcomer Elissa Slotkin was elected as a US Senator from Michigan. US Senator Jacky Rosen was reelected in Nevada. Other races (Ruben Gallego, Bob Casey) are still open or awaiting ballot curing (more about that below).

In North Carolina, Democrats captured the offices of Governor (Josh Stein), Lieutenant Governor (Rachel Hunt), Attorney General (Jeff Jackson), and top schools official (Mo Greene). In addition, Democrats broke the GOP supermajority in the state house! (For those of you who participated in The States Project, breaking the supermajority in NC was a top priority.)

In Wisconsin, Democrats flipped ten seats in the state Assembly after the state supreme court approved new legislative district lines—setting up Democrats to take control of the state Assembly in 2026.

The above results were bright spots in an otherwise tough election season for Democrats. I encourage readers to post positive news in the Comment section on Saturday. (Open to all.)

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Blaming Democrats for losses in 2024 is not helpful, fair, or accurate

I spent much of the day drafting responses to readers who forwarded articles / posts claiming that Democratic losses in 2024 were due to the fact that they had “lost touch” or “alienated” or “failed to listen to” working class voters or male voters. I won’t link to those articles / posts. They are ubiquitous.

The notion that Democrats “failed to listen to” or “lost touch” with the middle and working classes is demonstrably wrong. Virtually every policy promoted by VP Harris was designed to help the middle class, blue-collar workers, and the working poor:

Childcare tax credits, earned income credits for the working poor, lower prescription drug prices, protecting affordable healthcare, increasing the minimum wage, protecting unions and workers’ rights, providing for in-home care for elderly and homebound, subsidizing first-time homebuyers, building affordable housing, student loan forgiveness, prosecuting price gouging, and a middle-class tax cut.

To the extent that the Democrats speak through policies, virtually all Democratic policies seek to improve the lives of the middle class, working class, and working poor. On a policy level, the assertion Democrats “forgot” or “abandoned” the working class is wrong and corrosive.

What, then, is the source of the false notion that Democrats have “forgotten” the working class? I don’t know for certain, but I have a guess. (I invite others to weigh in; I was an English major and a securities litigation lawyer. I claim no expertise in political analysis.)

Many (not all) in the middle and working classes disagree with Democratic support for women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, equal voting rights for Black citizens, and the fight against human-caused climate change. To the extent that Democrats have parted ways with the cultural and social views of many in the working class and middle class, those groups feel “alienated” and “ignored.”

But it is no answer to those feelings of abandonment and alienation to abandon the struggle for full equality for women, LGBTQ rights, voting rights for Black citizens, and protection of the environment.

So, yes, there is a growing gap between Democratic policies on social issues and many (not all) in the middle and working classes, especially males.

Case in point: Despite unprecedented support for unions by Biden and Harris, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters refused to endorse Kamala Harris. The only rational course of action for unions is to support Kamala Harris. Why, then, did the Teamsters refuse to do so?

My belief: A majority of Teamsters—largely male working-class voters—disagreed with Kamala Harris and Democrats on social issues, like women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, Black voting rights, and efforts to fight human-caused climate change.

So, the fiction that Democrats have “ignored” the working and middle classes is wrong on the merits. It is only on social issues at the core of the Democratic Party’s commitment to social justice that there has been a divergence of opinion.

The answer to the above conundrum is not to abandon the social justice values that are at the core of the Democratic Party but to expand the voting base that is the backbone of the party.

If anyone tells you that Democrats lost in 2024 because they “abandoned” the working class, ask them specifically how Democrats did so. Be prepared to list Kamala Harris’s policies designed to improve the lives of the working class. Ask them how extending the GOP tax cut for millionaires and corporations will benefit the working class. Ask them how the GOP plan to kill Obamacare will help the working class. Or how imposing a 10% tariff on all imported goods will help the working class.

The fiction that Democrats “abandoned” the working class is designed to set Democrats against one another. It is beginning to gain traction because gullible media is willingly spreading the lie. Don’t be seduced by the fiction. Democrats must remain loyal to their roots of social justice and dignity for all. It is the right thing to do. It is the only thing to do. Political victory without justice for all would be hollow and bitter. We are better than that.

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

I continue to receive requests for help in curing ballots. Some of the opportunities below are time-sensitive, so if you are interested in helping, please click through all opportunities:

Arizona ballot curing Saturday and Sunday, Nov 9-10

Post Election Ballot Curing - Swing Blue Alliance  For US House of Representatives, Senator Bob Casey, and Nevada

Post-Election Ballot Cure Phonebank · 2024 PA Victory

Come make calls to help cure ballots in PA! Cure in Pennsylvania continues until November 12. There are several races with razor thin margins - making these calls could make the difference. 

 

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Concluding Thoughts

The original draft of this newsletter was much longer. But the longer draft was not what readers needed going into the weekend. Suffice to say that several dozen readers disagree with what I have written over the last several days about why some voters supported Trump. I used the newsletter to respond to their criticisms. You don’t need to get involved in that back and forth—for now. Those are important issues we need to discuss, but they can wait.

The most important point going into the weekend is to realize that we must re-engage soon. But let’s keep two important points in mind.

First, do not collapse the unfolding future into a single moment. Our resistance will take place over time as Trump's administration runs up against the realities of governing the largest economy in the world. That’s a tough assignment even for the most competent, efficient, knowledgeable government experts. We will fight our battles in the order in which they present themselves.

Second, just because Trump says he will do something does not mean he will be able to do so. Part of his performance schtick is to keep us frightened by bluffing. Don’t fall for that gambit. While we should take Trump's threats seriously, do not grant him imaginary superpowers he does not possess. We are not potted plants, we are not sheep, and we are not helpless victims. We represent the majority of Americans, and the power of the presidency derives from the consent of the governed. Let’s not forget that fact. Ever.

Stay strong!

Note: Jill and I will hold a Substack Livestream discussion on Saturday, November 9th, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern/ 8:00 a.m. Pacific. You will receive a notice inside the Substack App when we go live. Alternatively, we have a Zoom for 300 readers (first come, first served) on this link: Today's Edition Reader Zoom.

Daily Dose of Perspective

Nebula NGC 7822, below, is a star-forming region that includes several massive stars hundreds of thousands of times as luminous as our sun. The nebula is 2,900 light years from Earth and 100 light-years in diameter.

Enjoy!