Since Tuesday’s disaster, I have heard a number of friends complain that Kamala Harris was responsible for her own defeat. The reasons varied—she did not articulate policy; she did not let voters know what she actually stood for; she did not give interviews; she was ineffective in interviews; she should have chosen Josh Shapiro instead of Tim Walz. Then there was the racism and misogyny component—the party should have known better than to pick a woman, and a black woman at that.
I agree with your point, the voters got what they wanted. Which begs another question, what about those who didn't vote? When all the votes are counted, it will likely be that more voters didn't vote than those who voted for Trump. Further, as you point out, those who did vote for Trump knew full well what they were voting for. I think these points bear on your question, "Where do we go from here?, more concerning. Perhaps Chemerinsky is right, we are on track for a secession of some states from the union. Perhaps that will be by mutual consent this time, and not by military conflict. Chemerinsky makes it clear that correcting the problems embedded in the constitution is nigh impossible. So, a constitutional convention may be more likely down the road. Then, perhaps, the delegates will realize there is nothing that can be agreed upon between the two Americas. In any event, this is the America we have and we are likely to have for a long time to come.
Chemerinsky and I were both guests on Sidebar and swapped books afterward. I thought much of what he said was obvious and other parts just silly. Nor did he explain how and why we got where we are, which is what I tried to do. In any event, don't hold your breath on secession. It will not happen. We must be merciless in describing where we are if we hope to change anything, and the fact remains that 70+ million Americans voted for someone who would have been too outrageous for the broadest political satire just two decades ago.
I agree with you in part. I don't think the electorate was fooled. The result strongly indicates that no Democrat could have won in the circumstances.
We'll never know, however, whether a normal primary process might have changed the result. The manner of Biden's removal and Harris's nomination was extraordinarily bad for Democratic chances, whether Harris or anyone else was the nominee.
It is true that we'll never know, but I can't see a set of circumstances that would have changed the result. This was an election of mood, not policy, and no Democrat, not Gretchen Whitmer, not Josh Shapiro, was going to be able to enunciate a vision for the nation that Trump voters would accept. If the margin was razor thin, then maybe that argument could be made, but given the enormity of the debacle, I just don't think any of this would have made a difference. The devastatingly sad reality is that Trump and what he claimed to be his vision--since he doesn't actually have one--is what the country wanted.
I agree with your point, the voters got what they wanted. Which begs another question, what about those who didn't vote? When all the votes are counted, it will likely be that more voters didn't vote than those who voted for Trump. Further, as you point out, those who did vote for Trump knew full well what they were voting for. I think these points bear on your question, "Where do we go from here?, more concerning. Perhaps Chemerinsky is right, we are on track for a secession of some states from the union. Perhaps that will be by mutual consent this time, and not by military conflict. Chemerinsky makes it clear that correcting the problems embedded in the constitution is nigh impossible. So, a constitutional convention may be more likely down the road. Then, perhaps, the delegates will realize there is nothing that can be agreed upon between the two Americas. In any event, this is the America we have and we are likely to have for a long time to come.
Chemerinsky and I were both guests on Sidebar and swapped books afterward. I thought much of what he said was obvious and other parts just silly. Nor did he explain how and why we got where we are, which is what I tried to do. In any event, don't hold your breath on secession. It will not happen. We must be merciless in describing where we are if we hope to change anything, and the fact remains that 70+ million Americans voted for someone who would have been too outrageous for the broadest political satire just two decades ago.
I agree with you in part. I don't think the electorate was fooled. The result strongly indicates that no Democrat could have won in the circumstances.
We'll never know, however, whether a normal primary process might have changed the result. The manner of Biden's removal and Harris's nomination was extraordinarily bad for Democratic chances, whether Harris or anyone else was the nominee.
It is true that we'll never know, but I can't see a set of circumstances that would have changed the result. This was an election of mood, not policy, and no Democrat, not Gretchen Whitmer, not Josh Shapiro, was going to be able to enunciate a vision for the nation that Trump voters would accept. If the margin was razor thin, then maybe that argument could be made, but given the enormity of the debacle, I just don't think any of this would have made a difference. The devastatingly sad reality is that Trump and what he claimed to be his vision--since he doesn't actually have one--is what the country wanted.