Popularity Doesn't Make Something Worth Fighting For
It's worth fighting for if it's the right thing to do.
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory, Democratic strategists and pundits were rampaging through the media landscape with torches in their hands.
The topic of discussion was a simple question: How did we lose?
Because it’s clear to all that it wasn’t a question of Trump sticking the landing; in spite of what MAGA Republicans might claim, there was no overwhelming tidal wave of new votes in support of the Felon-Elect’s agenda.
Rather, what seems to have happened is that the Democratic party foundered and fell to their knees in the middle of the race. And although they’d gotten plenty of signals as to why that might be, they disregarded them all. It was not in the interests of their bottom line to acknowledge the truth.
To them, the obvious answer was that the campaign run by Vice President Harris was too ‘Woke.’
In reality, it wasn’t nearly Woke enough.
The Democratic party has an enduring problem with misreading results and missing the forest for the trees. They continually swing themselves further and further right, doggedly chasing that most mythical of creatures; the moderate Republican voter.
The fact that they never manage to chip voters away from the Republicans and only succeed in alienating their left-wing base seems entirely lost on them.
For those of us following the story, we knew exactly what the pattern dictated would happen next. And sure enough, shortly after their loss was announced, Democratic strategists deployed their tried-and-true blame game. It wasn’t their fault, it was those pesky minorities!
Transgender people and immigrants, you see, are unpopular. We showed them too much favour, and that’s why we lost.
Bullshit. That is complete fucking bullshit.
I see a common refrain from pundits and commentators all over; Harris focused too much on trans rights and not enough on ‘kitchen table issues’ like housing and the cost of living.
Really? Where? When? Apparently, I missed it all while I was busy watching her speeches and taking notes on her campaign promises.
Is the Vice President a vocal supporter of LGBTQ+ Americans? Of course! As is Governor Tim Walz, who stood as her running mate in this past election. They both have an impressive record of standing with the queer community against discrimination.
But it is ridiculous to say that the Harris campaign was too focused on this and not on the everyday issues her constituents face.
First of all, LGBTQ+ Americans are her constituents. She was elected alongside President Biden to represent all Americans, including everybody wearing a rainbow pin. Whether you like it or not, LGBTQ+ people exist and we deserve the support and attention of our elected leaders just like cis-het-allo folks do.
And secondly, Harris did focus on working-class issues.
Housing costs, childcare costs, medicare costs, and raising taxes on the wealthy and major corporations. These are all campaign issues raised by the Vice President. She vowed to secure the border, reduce the costs of medications and give tax relief to middle and lower-income families.
She promised to protect reproductive freedom, ban price gauging at the grocery store, and erase medical debt for millions of Americans struggling under the burden of poverty.
Is that radical? Are any of these policies extreme, far-left Marxist ideology?
Please. As a Canadian, I fucking wish you guys had it that good.
But tell that to the strategists who just couldn’t wait to throw trans people under the bus.
“It’s too unpopular.”
Oh, really? Huh.
Do you know what else was unpopular back in the day?
Women having the right to vote. The Suffragette movement faced some pretty severe backlash, up to and including police brutality and even torture while in jail. Women stepping out of our ‘place’ was seen as unacceptable.
Black children attending school alongside white children was pretty unpopular when it was passed into law. Kids had to be escorted into school by police officers to prevent swarms of angry adults from throwing abuse in their faces just for existing.
There was an entire Civil War fought over the idea that America shouldn’t be enslaving people, too. You might have heard of that. Safe to say the end of slavery wasn’t particularly popular in some parts of the country.
Gay marriage and adoption for gay couples were also incredibly unpopular. Hell, during the AIDS crisis, the Republican President at the time was cracking horrific jokes and refusing to do anything to try and help the millions of American citizens who were dying.
Interracial marriage was similarly illegal for quite a while.
Since when is ‘popularity’ the reason we fight for human rights?
We do not fight for progress because progress is popular.
We make it popular by normalizing it.
We fight for human rights and recognition of identity because it is the right thing to do. Transgender people should have the right to live their lives with full bodily autonomy and dignity, just like everybody else.
Trans rights are human rights, full stop, end of sentence.
And frankly, the same goes for immigration. People don’t stop being human beings just because they cross a line drawn on a map. We can discuss the process of immigration all day, but what we can’t do is dehumanize them.
Throwing immigrants in detention centres, spending untold billions of dollars on mass deportation and tormenting people who are just desperately trying to find a better life for themselves and their families— when did Americans decide that was okay?
When did Americans decide to vote for the asshole who said he was going to do that?
Abuse is, apparently, more popular than human rights. Isn’t that a sign that something is wrong with your society?
And while we’re on the subject, you know what else lost Harris votes? Her refusal to take a hard line on ending the genocide in Gaza. And yes, it is a genocide. This was a commonly cited reason for people who decided not to vote on election day, and the Democratic party has nobody to blame but themselves.
People don’t want their tax dollars to fund the mass murder of children. Who knew?
So, no. The Harris campaign wasn’t ‘too woke.’ They didn’t lose the election because they focused on ‘unpopular’ issues like trans rights and took a pro-immigration stance.
They lost the election because they decided to chase the moderates of the opposite party rather than appealing to their base.
As long as they continue to do that, they’ll continue to lose, and marginalized people will continue to suffer in the United States of America.
Solidarity wins.
All true but it doesn't change anything. The U.S. and the world at large are stuck with the consequences of voting for change. Instead, they got the greatest grifter money could buy. Will the democrats figure it out? Not likely anytime soon. The U.S will continue to follow the same, tired old cycle over and over again until it all collapses.