It will be hard to pinpoint exactly when it all seemed to go wrong — again — for the Democrats.
It was not meant to be this tight. What happened?
Was it in the final days, when a frantic Trump energised the base with those extraordinary rallies?
Or this week, when voters saw pictures of shops being boarded up in anticipation of violence and unrest, thus stoking Trump’s message on law and order?
Was it two weeks ago, when Trump was given a do-over for the final debate and was able to look less unhinged, even as his lies often went unchallenged?
Was it three weeks ago, when he bounced back from coronavirus like a self-described Superman?
Was it the Democrats’ wimpy advertising campaign, despite the huge fundraising advantage to Biden? The toughest anti-Trump ads actually came from the former Republicans at the Lincoln Project.
Was it through the whole campaign, with the aggressive Trump attacks against Biden claiming the former VP was everything from senile to corrupt to on drugs?
Meanwhile, Biden’s team seemed to take their lead from Michelle Obama, following the high road even as Trump went low.
Was it back in June, when the Black Lives Matter protests exploded into civil unrest and the Democrats didn’t push the law and order issue as much as they needed?
Were they courting the Black vote at the expense of the equally important Latino vote?
Could it have been in April when COVID hit and Biden acted responsibly, keeping a low profile but playing into the Trump narrative that he was hiding in his basement?
Could it have been back in March, when Biden said he would pick a woman as his running mate rather than leaving room to pick the best candidate at the time? Imagine if he’d been able to choose Andrew Cuomo, the aggressive and experienced New York governor who won praise for his handling of the pandemic.
Perhaps the problem really went back to February, when the Democrats chose Biden, a 77-year-old-career politician, as they best they could do to take on Trump.
They had plenty of warning during the endless debates between the less-than-impressive range of candidates. Biden was seen as the best of a bad lot. A safe pair of hands was the main justification, even though that meant he was unlikely to inspire the base.
Did they learn nothing from 2016 that a well qualified candidate was not necessarily the best answer to the Trump phenomenon? Simply relying on the Anyone But Trump vote is not enough.
In February I wrote a satirical column for The Sydney Morning Herald saying there were only two people who could win the White House for the Democrats. One was Michelle Obama. The other was Oprah Winfrey.
Actually, I was only half joking.
Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey indeed. The results so far say it very clearly – the easily built up rage of the “have nots” and the fearful haven’t been convinced by a 77 year old who looks a bit doddery and should be putting his feet up with his carpet slippers. Sad but true… Far out… scarey stuff to think of Trump back in.
Every time they pick the ‘safe’ candidate, they lose.
Does your luck extend to horses too. Gladys might have backed Probity.
Whatever the result, let’s hope we’ve heard the last of the “when they go low, we go high” crap from the Democrats- useless against most opponents, but especially so against Funghi Phallus.
It must be devastating for Democratic supporters’ morale to see no aggressive comeback against Trump’s endless attacks. They needed a lot more aggression during the past four years. Please, no more Mr (or Ms) Nice Guy.
Ditto re Labor! They need an attack dog (male or female!) not the limp as a lettuce leaf Albo! I like the man but he is just never going to cut it!
Albo needs to go.
Labor will not win with him.
Morrison will beat Albanese and Labor has so many other ministers who could do the job of beating Morrison.
True, but now it’s too late. This was the last chance before the Republicans cement their hold and remove the risk of being voted out. The Democrats ignored what was going on for decades and even when they did win the presidency they persisted in making concessions to the Republicans and not retaliating for the cheating, fraud and other skulduggery. Obama of course ‘reached across the aisle’; he was left with a bleeding stump where his hand used to be, McConnel just laughed in his face, yet still the Democrats learned nothing. But their voters learned that even when the Democrats are in power they let the Republicans sabotage their every move. And after all this Biden promised that if he won nothing much would change.
So why would anyone vote for him? It’s amazing he even got this close.
O-bomber’s foreign policy possessed numerous ambivalences. His attitude to Iran and Syria were almost contradictory. Thus, his annoyance of the Russians could have been by accident (the design factor giving him too much credit).
Then (cough) Hillary as S.of.S deserves to be examined; her office admin proxing for her “conduct” in the field.
Despite a plethora of books written post presidentcy even Jimmy could be justly described as having screwed up.
You could await the messiah but, if anyone asks me, it ain’t gonna happen.
I was commenting on the Democrats lack of any response to the Republicans consistent and determined assault on the voting system which has left the democrats helpless even when 3% to 4% ahead in popular support, not on policy. The Democrats don’t need a messiah. They need to fight like the Republicans do instead of wringing their hands and saying oh dear.
But their policies do not help. The rot set in back in the 70s when they cleared out the old guard of Democrats; those who had real concern for working class voters and made a point of delivering policies they supported. Instead the Democrats became the party of Wall Street, expecing the working classes of the USA to follow along anyway on the grounds the Republicans were even worse. Well, didn’t that go well. And there are many more big mistakes, so now they are a party that cannot put up a credible show even when faced with an opponent as flawed as Trump.
The idea that any more than a tiny fraction of American voters gives two hoots about foreign policy is fanciful.
I am the first to agree (I have stated as much today!) that for the American electorate foreign policy isn’t even understood (much less considered) but as I have mentioned the real game *is* with foreign policy – for the commercial elites – which is the means by which the joint does what it can to remain “top dog”.
Obama wasn’t “left” – he said himself he’s more of a republican.
These guys don’t fight the right, they largely agree with them, they just want it less extreme and more, you know, decorum.
For the past 2 elections they have been trying to court republicans and it failed both times. Biden even said he’s considering republicans for his administration. Why vote republican lite whilst you can vote for a real one? Conservative dems in the house lost their seats, whilst the progressive won their seats easily. Will they learn? Nope.
I mean Biden had $15/h min wage in his platform, did you hear him mention it? Meanwhile in Florida, which went for Trump, overwhelmingly voted FOR $15/h min wage through a ballot.
The dems are incompetent – paid to lose. They fought harder against progressive candidates then they did against republicans. It will not change until the gerontocracy is dead, or a smarter right wing populist takes power – which is a very possible scenario for 2024.
Biden (take a look at his career) is something of a toe cutter and who has no tolerance for welfare.
Biden trashed Snowdon’s passport “assuming” that the Russians would hand him (and his girlfriend – small fry) over. Keep in mind that Snowdon’s ‘crime’ was blowing the whistle of the shreaders of the Constitution.
Perhaps wasting 4 years on russiagate didn’t help
Trump’s big advantage is, he’s different, although many Americans don’t seem to realise that his “difference” won’t do them any good. He’s not seen as a politician.
Biden is Democratic Establishment. He is a long-time politician. He’s old. (So is Trump, but that doesn’t seem to matter to his supporters.) These factors, I think, work against him.
It’s a pity that Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez was excluded from running because she’s too young. The Democrats would have had a much better chance of getting up with her, in my view. In this context, an American acquaintance said that if US voters don’t see a candidate they like, they just don’t vote at all. He went on to say that progressive voters are lots more picky about who they’ll vote for than right-wing voters.
Biden might still get up. But I reckon his chances are poor.