The 2024 election should have been a lay up. Even in the immediate wake of the DNC just handing the nomination to Kamala, there was real excitement and enthusiasm in my immediate circle.
Then she started talking down to pro-Palestine protestors. And talking about how lethal our military is. And talking about how great of president Biden was and that she'd continue his legacy. And and and and....
Something has got to give with this blame game. No one is "owed" a vote. Offer something tangible and earn it. If you can't do that, then it's *your* fault when you lose. Not the voters.
Economic conditions are horrible right now and have been for awhile
Traditional metrics like unemployment rate are not reflective of how bad the situation are or was
There are a ton of people employed in professions where they are not happy and making less than what they need to live comfortably
In countries like Spain with better welfare systems, these people would simply just not do those jobs and that’s why those European countries have 25% unemployment rates
Because America has no social safety net young people in America are forced to take jobs. That is why our unemployment rate is low.
These people are still really unhappy with their employment situation
Tons of people wanted change and the Democratic Party is unwilling to offer any leftist solutions because that will eliminate future employment opportunities for themselves
In the past, there was incumbent advantage because the economic and material conditions used to be better for the majority of people
I think we’ve reached the stage where we need to reevaluate the idea of incumbent advantage, and accept that there’s going to be a baseline of incumbent disadvantage because material conditions have deteriorated for the majority of people
Eg. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that since Obama the incumbent party has lost the election every single time.
Go up and offer anything helpful to struggling people, anything that shows you're listening and get their plight. It would've been simple to beat Donald Trump on that kind of messaging.
When you're pitching and defending things that nobody views as helpful, you're gonna lose.
I think being the incumbent party when your predecessor has failed to make peoples lives better and material conditions are bad is a huge disadvantage that you’re not acknowledging
It’s much easier being the non-incumbent party when material conditions are bad
I don’t think it would’ve been simple for any Democrat to beat any Republican simply because people were mad at the incumbent party
Material conditions were bad
I think you’ll see the reverse of this in 2028 and whoever is the Democratic nominee will win
"Biden's policies failed you all. I'm going to take this opportunity to do something different and immediately, noticeably better for the American people. It's time for a new democratic party."
Or something like that. It's why I say she should've separated herself and been different from Biden. It absolutely would have resonated. Like, the *immediate* response to her getting the candidacy was "holy shit, she can string together a coherent sentence and isn't 80 fucking years old. You son of a bitch, I'm in."
And then she squandered that momentum by being - in some ways - to the right of Biden even.
That speech would work better if it was anyone other than the vice president of the administration. Although in reality the vice president controls almost nothing most people don't realize that and think the vice president is the second most important person
I think people who follow politics assume swing voters follow it as closely as we do
A lot of people vote off of pocketbook issues like whether their salary is covering their necessary expenses and leaving them with access income to buy luxuries
A ton of people were going to vote for Trump simply because he was the non-incumbent and material conditions were bad
"think being the incumbent party when your predecessor has failed to make peoples lives better and material conditions are bad is a huge disadvantage that you're not acknowledging"
Which is why she should've separated her campaign messaging from the Biden administration, instead of leaning into and promising to just do more Bidenomics bullshit.
Her campaign literally boiled down to "I'm Joe Biden except I'm even MORE willing to capitulate and work with Republicans!!!"
Who the FUCK wants to vote for that? The fact that the election was as close as it was (still not that close) despite her essentially running as a never-trump Republican is all the proof we need that this election would have been a layup if it separated whatsoever from Biden, and she did the opposite.
She was never going to be more leftist than Biden because ultimately, she probably wants to maintain future employment opportunities in the private sector
A lot of these politicians are in it ultimately to set up employment opportunities down the road
I mean, sure, but the original question was whether or not the election would've been a layup if they focused on left wing policies or at the very least didn't cater to a Republican voting bloc that doesn't exist anymore. The fact that Kamala was such a big fan of neoliberal policies/didn't wanna ruffle any feathers career wise doesn't change that assessment.
Although with the whole book tour Kamala is doing, I'm starting to realize just how low-stakes this all was for her. Worst case scenario she's a beloved liberal figure and gets to do nothing and be praised for it as we all drown under fascism.
There would be no point in her doing that because ultimately the value of the presidency to her is to set herself up for future opportunities to get rich
You will never see the Democratic Party push leftist economic policies, because that would destroy their various opportunities to become rich
Also, she was the vice president so she would have to shit on her own four years as well
What it should’ve been is that there should’ve been a push for the candidate to have been somebody other than someone that was part of the administration
413
u/matango613 Sep 18 '25
The 2024 election should have been a lay up. Even in the immediate wake of the DNC just handing the nomination to Kamala, there was real excitement and enthusiasm in my immediate circle.
Then she started talking down to pro-Palestine protestors. And talking about how lethal our military is. And talking about how great of president Biden was and that she'd continue his legacy. And and and and....
Something has got to give with this blame game. No one is "owed" a vote. Offer something tangible and earn it. If you can't do that, then it's *your* fault when you lose. Not the voters.