Democrats tend to appeal to issues of the head (common sense legislation) and the heart (compassionate immigration, universal health care, civil rights). The Republicans appeal to gut-feeling issues (safety, security, wallet). Out of fear, gut feeling rules.
Most Americans seem more afraid of losing their country—their “American way of life”—than Democrats probably expected. It seems that fear has exceeded the hope and possibility of what we could be as a nation. Democrats may need to start listening and addressing these issues more effectively.
Harvey Simkovits
Lexington
Working-class anti-establishment sentiment prevailed
As Democrats begin to explain what happened on Tuesday after their loss to Donald Trump, I hope they reflect on their miscalculation of the depth of anti-establishment sentiment among the American working class.
About 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. People are angry at the system for their economic pain. The Kamala Harris campaign prioritized moving to the center and reaching out to Republicans in an effort to expand its base. Harris often described herself as “a capitalist” who would reach across the aisle to work with Republicans. Little attention has been paid to the fact that we live in a time of the greatest income and wealth inequality in this country since the 1920s. There seemed to be a concerted effort to reduce the class divide.
Trump was good at finding an enemy for the economic problems of working people – namely immigrants. Although completely wrong and disingenuous, his demonization of “migrants” worked.
The American people wanted more “I’m going after the people who are causing so much pain” instead of “Let’s all work together.” Trump understood that; Harris, not so much.
Philip Fiermonte
Venice, Fla.
The writer retired in 2017 as a longtime aide to U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, including as his state director.
The party needs to look carefully at its platform and how it chooses its candidates
I said this in 2016, after Donald Trump was elected for the first time, and it bears repeating: the Democratic Party needs to take a long, hard look at itself and especially at the way it chooses candidates.
It seems like the Democrats are electing people because it’s “their turn.” Therefore, if they (successfully) appointed Joe Biden in 2020, it should have been determined from the start that he would have a one-term presidency due to his age.
Democrats need to take a closer look at the party platform and policies and who best represents the party, especially the next generation of leaders.
As I read in a comment this week: “It was the economy, stupid.” And it was immigration. The Democrats need to go back to their roots. Theirs was the party of working people, not of the elites. Time to sit at people’s kitchen tables and listen.
Sue Hoy
Taunton
Harris embraced fracking and lost the upper hand on the climate fight
Early in Vice President Kamala Harris’ compressed campaign for president, she reversed a position she took as a candidate in 2019. said she was for fracking. While this was an obvious attempt to appeal to the voters of Pennsylvania, a critical swing state, the decision was a strategic error of major proportions because it hampered its ability to address climate change. Donald Trump could freely discuss his plans to leave the Paris agreement, halt progress on renewable energy and increase the use of fossil fuels. Harris remained nearly silent with one hand tied behind her back.
That is of course not the only reason why she lost the race, but it was an important contribution.
In another four years, the climate crisis will be much worse. There is a chance – hopefully – that Democrats will finally wake up, realize the magnitude of the crisis and make it a major campaign issue. Aside from the fact that this may be Republicans’ greatest vulnerability, it’s also the only sensible thing to do.
Mike Dean
Swamp field
Now there is work to be done and a battle to be fought
Like many people disappointed with the outcome of the election, I’m struggling to find motivation for action after what feels like a crushing defeat. But I simply looked again at the list of Project 2025 policies and started thinking more deeply about how they would harm my communities and those I love. I think our mission, our goal, should be to prevent as many of these policies as possible from becoming reality. Organize, communicate how they will hurt your loved ones, donate to groups that fight these policies, volunteer with these organizations, do whatever.
Tim Cronin
Weymouth