When you read this self-pitying emetic whine from Monica Palmer about how people were mean to her and called her a racist for trying to disenfranchise ALL OF DETROIT. Poor thing having to face the consequences of her actions. The move not to certify Detroit created a mild moment of panic online as Democrats and their ilk are just waiting to be disappointed and crushed by an election. From 2000 to 2004 to 2016, the default mode of Democrats is that there will be some way to deny them a victory. It's not illogical so much as it is manic.
However, while I think that we will never really know why the 2020 election was as close as it was, one thing is undeniably clear: both sides were highly motivated to vote. Perhaps this was simply because there were a lot more options for casting a ballot. America makes it hard for people to vote, especially if they're Black, so increased early voting SHOULD lead to more votes.
It is also very clear, however, that Trump found a lot more votes in 2020 than he had in 2016, and I worry that Ms Palmer's lament is at the root of it.
America is a country with white supremacy written into it's DNA. Of course, most nation-states have the same dynamic. The Emperor of China looked at Europeans with disdain until they showed up with steam powered gunboats. In-group/out-group dynamics are not unique to America. Many Americans, however, were raised on a myth of America as a "melting pot" and a "land of opportunity," where George Washington Carver proves that Abraham Lincoln erased racism forever. One reason why one of Trump's ending pitches for his campaign was attacking the NY Times 1619 project was because a large group of White Americans need to feel like whatever sins might have been committed in the past were likely exaggerated and certainly have no legacy today.
This is nonsense. The legacy of racism is still very much with us. Some Whites wish to grapple with this. Maybe they are skeptical of some claims or some solutions, but they frankly acknowledge that the past is real and the "past is not even past." I, for instance, am not a fan of "presentism" in the study of history. Thomas Jefferson WAS a racist, but the fact that he kind of felt bad about it, actually means he was ahead of the curve. To say someone was a "man of their times" does not so much excuse their behavior as indict the time they were living in.
Anyway, there are clearly a majority of Americans who simply do not want to look at racism. To them, simply discussing racism is racist against them. That this is nonsense does not make it less true for them.
The goal of socially progressive politics should be "fewer bigots." Instinctively, I think people who are socially liberal can agree with this. If there are fewer bigots, that will lead to a healthier, more inclusive, more equal and more equitable society. Whether you're advocating for LGBT rights or criminal justice reform for Blacks or immigration rights for Latine migrants or women's equality in the workplace or whatever, fewer bigots is the preferred outcome.
The current strategy to get to "fewer bigots" is clearly not working, or not working fast enough. Calls for Democrats to reach out to an empathize with Trump supporters are - very understandably - falling on deaf ears. The flag-waving, boat-rally, gear-wearing cultists are irredeemable. Fuck'em. But winning politics is usually accomplished by addition. The GOP is trying to win elections via subtraction, but it's unclear how sustainable this is. Democrats rode the politics of addition to the 2018 House Wave and the best showing by a challenger in a presidential race since 1932. Whether that coalition is sustainable or not is the pre-eminent question facing both parties.
I worry that the language used in anti-racism is effectively shutting out potential additions. How many anti-Trump, soft Republicans in the suburbs will shift back to Republicans with that shit-spackled moron finally ejected from the White House? How do we keep them in the fold? An escalating arms race of performative anti-racism will push them back to their former political home.
It strikes me that a great many slogans employed by - broadly speaking - the Left are politically counterproductive. "Defund the police" was a disaster. "Open borders" is political suicide. Even "Medicare For All" broke down under scrutiny. The language of "White Fragility" made it clear that there was no final redemption for Whites. It was Calvinism without the possibility of God's Grace.
It is all, effectively, preaching to the choir.
For decades, Republicans camouflaged a deeply unpopular policy agenda behind a rhetoric of patriotism, freedom and "opportunity." They campaigned on one set of values and largely governed by another. Trump was a right wing populist who was going to tear down the corrupt system; he gave the rich huge tax cuts and the Fundamentalists a bunch of judges and then went golfing for four years.
Biden tried, I think, to campaign on a politics of hope and inclusion, but there was so little message discipline from the rest of the party, it was drowned out by political rhetoric that was not very helpful.
Democrats need to campaign with one set of words and then govern to please the base. The true believers among activists need to push, but do so behind closed doors. Take the half or three-quarters of the loaf and then wait for the next opportunity to push for the rest.
Because if Democrats don't, the 2020 election showed that there is a substantial number of Americans ready to anoint another Trump (or maybe Trump himself) their new personal Jesus in 2024.
The fight is won; the fight isn't over.
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