In 2016, we warned that Hillary Clinton’s campaign was not resonating with Americans. In 2024, we warned about Kamala Harris, and we were ignored again. Now, the worst has happened. So, what do we do? A leftist analysis can help us chart a path forward.
Harris got a huge spike in popularity initially because she was NOT Biden. She then spent the remainder of her campaign explaining how she would be Biden exactly but less old, as well as trying to reach to the right. Her polling steadily trailed off as people realized it would be more of the same. If she had the courage to differentiate herself publicly in any way, (ESPECIALLY with respect to Gaza) we might be having a different conversation.
The media complex gushed over her. It was all manufactured.
And those whose brand would be hurt by endorsing her, shut up about her worst qualities (looking at you, John Oliver, you liberal dipshit) instead of highlighting third parties because, of course, the moguls would like very much to keep this managed democracy rather than risk an actual democracy, which can get rather messy to undermine.
You’re never going to get meaningful change voting third party under the American voting system. A first past the post voting system will ALWAYS result in a two party system. If we hurt the current parties by voting third party enough to kill one, we’ll just replace the dead party. It might be an improvement at first, but eventually, all the same forces push us back into the same end result after a while.
The US needs major reform to the electoral system. Switch from first past the post to something like ranked choice or approval voting. Abolish the fucking electoral college, which some states are attempting with a law to automatically grant all electoral college votes to the popular vote winner if enough states agree to make it guarantee the winner. Expand and guarantee access to mail in voting. And indirectly, reinvest in the fucking education system.
Of course, with full control of the federal government going to Republicans who benefit from all these problems, there’s no way any of it gets addressed now.
I suspect that the DNC and her donors told her specifically not to do that.