When Kamala Harris finally conceded after Donald Trump’s decisive victory, she defiantly proclaimed “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign…That is a fight I will never give up.”
What is she talking about? Harris’ campaign focused on only two topics: Donald Trump is an unhinged, unstable dangerous fascist, and unfettered abortion is good. She was fluent about, and committed to, these concerns. But what else was fueling the fight?
When Harris ran for President in 2019, she vigorously supported decriminalization of illegal aliens, opposed fracking, offshore drilling and fossil fuels, condemned the border wall, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), deportations, and putting more police officers on the street. She endorsed a mandatory buyback for assault weapons, opposed the death penalty for cop-killers, promoted a bail fund that helped free violent convicts, and advocated free health coverage, including gender reassignment surgery for illegal alien detainees, and abolishing the filibuster to pass the Green New Deal.
She mentioned almost none of this during her campaign.
Throughout her career and as vice president she also strongly supported DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), reparations, transgender rights (see here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), and extreme measures to end the sale of gas-powered vehicles and efficient appliances.
Yet, she barely mentioned any of these core concerns during her campaign.
Instead, she feigned changing her positions, or, more often, deflected and refused to discuss her positions. She was fixated on her faux middle class upbringing in California, her lawn, Trump bad, abortion good, “turning the page” and “not going back.” She often added some version of her all-sides bromide that “Israel has a right to defend itself, and how it does so matters,” blamed inflation on corrupt corporations, and offered price controls and a child tax credit.
In their post-mortems, many progressive commentators blame Harris’ loss on a misogynist and racist electorate, with some blaming Joe Biden for waiting too long to step aside. MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Al Sharpton blamed the racism and misogyny of Hispanic and black men. Despite efforts by Barak Obama and other Democrats to browbeat minority men into voting for Harris because she is a woman, Trump won 55% of Hispanic men and 21% of black men, both more than any Republican in about 50 years.
Progressives including MSNBC’s Joy Reid and Alex Wagner claimed that Harris ran a flawless campaign. Reid’s proof is that rapper Queen Latifah endorsed Harris. Wagner blamed the loss on Harris being a “mixed race woman.”
While a few Democrats have admitted that progressives pushed them into extreme positions, they are drowned out by calls to start the resistance against Trump, and vitriolic attacks on any voter or Democrat who challenges progressive dogma. In an excellent analysis, Vox’s Andrew Propkop observed that the only previous time Harris faced a decent Republican opponent, her first run for California attorney general, she barely won. He acknowledged that Harris’ campaign was cautious and defensive, and her record unhelpful.
Trump not only won a compelling electoral college victory, but it appears he also won the popular vote. He received more votes and performed better among almost every demographic group, whether measured by age, sex, religion, or ethnicity than he did against Biden in 2020.
America remains a center-right nation. Fox’s exit poll found that 47% thought Harris had the right policy ideas, compared to 52% for Trump. 45% of Harris voters said they were voting for her, as opposed to against Trump, while 54% of Trump voters said they were voting for him. 70% thought the country is headed in the wrong direction, with 83% wanting substantial change. 51% approved of the way Trump handled his job as president, but only 43% approved of Biden.
Just 37% of voters are “very concerned” about climate change. Americans don’t want DEI (see here, here, here, and here). 77% of voters are concerned about crime. Even in liberal California, more than 70% voted to repeal laws that decriminalized theft below $950. Far left Los Angeles and Oakland threw out Soros-supported district attorneys. Harris, a Los Angeles, California resident, refused to disclose her vote.
According to the Fox poll, two-thirds of voters favor reducing the number of immigrants allowed to seek asylum, and 44% favor deporting illegal immigrants. 54% thought transgender rights have gone too far, and 47% oppose gender affirming care for minors.
Last week, far-left trans advocate Jay Michaelson threatened to walk off the set on CNN when conservative Shermichael Singleton referred to biological male transexuals as boys. Demonstrating the continuing disconnect, host Abby Philips asked Singleton to stop offending Michaelson. Progressives still don’t accept that most of the 99% of Americans who are not trans don’t want to pretend to be delusional, or are barred by their religious beliefs from doing so.
Harris told us her values have not changed. In their reactions, most Democrats are making clear that theirs too have not changed. If they continue to troll Americans as garbage, deplorables, misogynist and racist, it is unclear how they expect things to improve for them. And that’s fine with me.
Kenin M. Spivak is founder and chairman of SMI Group LLC, an international consulting firm and investment bank.
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