TL;DR Summary
The Republican party took the Presidency, a majority of the U.S. Senate, a majority of state Governor’s, and is likely to have a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The electorate did not buy the product offered by the Democratic Party.
It was not a vote for Trump versus Harris – it was a vote for different policy directions and a vote against Democrat policies, as illustrated by the widespread voting for a Republican majority.
When a business’ product does not sell, it means the product is not what the customer wants. Blaming the customer – rather than the product – is not a successful strategy for winning back those customers. Yet blaming the customer is what many are doing post-election – calling those with differing perspectives “garbage”, “stupid”, “uneducated”, “sexist”, “misogynist”, “racist”, “Nazis”.
Pro-tip: This will not win their support.
In addition to the wrong product (meaning policies), Democrats made strategic blunders: notably “Biden is sharp as a tack” until he wasn’t, and then appointing, and not electing, a replacement. Another blunder was Biden holding an Electric Vehicle Summit at the White House – and inviting everyone except Elon Musk, and falsely claiming GM was the largest maker of EVs. After that, Musk endorsed Trump, and when Musk gets involved, he throws everything at it to achieve success.
I have significant concerns about policies promoted by both parties. Regardless, the country will do fine, long term, as it always has, regardless of who won the election. I hope the D’s retain some control in the House as a divided government is more likely to compromise and benefit from more diverse viewpoints, perspectives, requirements, needs, etc. However, it appears the Rs have a majority in the House.
Background – How I came to mostly avoid politics
During 2014-2016 I realized social media was a frictionless platform for the spread of propaganda. In the old days, you needed a broadcast license or a printing press to be a propagandist – now, anyone can post something and hope it goes “viral”. Entire organizations formed to leverage these free propaganda platforms. And politics – and more – flooded social media.
About 10% of the U.S. population is active in extreme left-wing politics and about 10% in extreme right-wing politics. These two small groups are both very vocal online – and exert a highly disproportionate share of online political discourse, and often with divisive political noise, and emotion inducing screaming, much of it illogical and nonsensical. And it gets our blood pressure going straight up!
In 2016, I decided I would not engage in politics on social media. Many social media “friends” posted political propaganda every day – I chose to unfriend them, stopped following them, put them on 30-day “snooze” or hid their posts as it was not mentally healthy for me to have this in my social newsfeed every day; that was not why I was using social media.
For many, politics is their life. They assume this is true for everyone else. Recently a news writer said those who do not follow politics (like me) are “political ostriches” – which is an intentionally derogatory put down for “burying your head in the sand”. She has a BA in political science – politics is her life, but it’s not mine and it was arrogant of her to assert those not like her are inferior. And here’s another reporter saying the same thing: Another one: If you do not closely follow politics you are a “political ostrich”
Due to multiple traumatic brain injuries, I do not deal well with angry people, conflicts and those afflicted with perpetual outrage. For my health, I turned off the political noise – and for that I am branded an ostrich with my head in the ground! Thanks!
I do not have politics on my Facebook posts (which are private/friends only) or my X comments or Bluesky account.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where if you do not have a public opinion, people assume or assert your viewpoint (and are often wrong). Therefore, I decided to write down my thoughts about the recent campaigns and election cycle, and the aftermath.
When Your Product is Broken
When a business offers a product or service – and customers do not buy the product or service – we do not blame the customer and call them names: We blame the business for not offering the product or service the customer wants.
In the aftermath of the 2024 elections, many are blaming the customers, calling them dumb, or worse, fascist, racist, misogynist jerks – probably Nazi’s too!
That is not a strategy to win customers, however.
The TL;DR summary is the Democrats became out of touch with American voters, said Sen. Bernie Sanders: ‘The American people are angry and want change’: Bernie Sanders slams Democrats for loss.
Yet, here we are
Rather than address that the product is not what consumers wanted, the educated elite are saying the problem is voters are stupid. And that democracy is a failure (democracy is a failure anytime the voters select something other than what you want!)
If you do not vote my way, then you are an idiot compared to us educated, elites!
She is super smart!
(Her arrogant posts resulted in my writing this essay. She took on nearly a quarter million in debt to earn degrees in what is widely reported as one of the lowest paid fields. She’s brilliant but you are the stupid one. RateMyProfessor ranks her as grading student performance based on political beliefs.)
This next item is from the Editor of Scientific American – she sounds dignified and professional, doesn’t she? (Update – she resigned about one week later)
The elite show disdain for everyone. This is not a successful strategy for winning those with differing views:
From the Boston Globe “Profound disappointment in my fellow Americans“:
- “I don’t like to be cynical, but I think most voted for him since they (sometimes secretly) share one or more of his negative traits…” (name calling)
- “I am NOT a fan of social media. It is truly destructive and has helped fuel the rise of divisiveness like Trump. That would be a better place to get tough, but Truth Social gives Trump one billion reasons to do nothing.” (We need the elite to do more censorship of others)
When Democracy produces a result that someone doesn’t like, it means democracy is broken and does not work.
Besides, Republicans are Nazi’s – and name calling will persuade them to vote differently
Republican leaning voters are stupid! Name Calling Works!
Everyone else is awful!
You are racist and sexist:
A professor at Princeton University – you are racist:
Actor Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin says voters are stupid: Alec Baldwin Dismisses ‘Uninformed’ Americans In The Wake Of Trump’s Reelection
Sharon Stone
For being smarter than everyone else, she has 100% of her facts wrong – and calls Americans stupid.
“Americans don’t travel” – 60-75% of the U.S. population has been to at least one other country (varies by surveyor). This study says 71% have traveled outside the U.S. 42% of the U.S. population visited at least one other country in 2018. 93% of U.S. adults with a college degree have visited at least one other country, and 70% to 3+.
“80% don’t have a passport” – as of 2019, half of the U.S. population held a passport. Prior to 2008, a passport was not required for U.S. travelers to most of Central and South America and the Caribbean islands.
“Uneducated”
Sharon Stone is wrong about every item she has shared – and calls everyone else stupid. Wow. Also, prior to 2008, most Americans did not need a passport to travel to many Central and South American countries, and many Caribbean islands. Most people do not know that.
Telling lies and calling everyone else ignorant and naive will surely get their future support?
Note – the major media ran stories about Stone’s quote and not one notes her facts are all wrong! So much for media’s layers and layers of fact checkers!
Trump Supporters Must Wear Public Identification
Perhaps a yellow arm band with a Star of David on it?
The elite have spoken – and they despise everyone who is not elite like them. Today, if you use the term “elite” – referring to wealthy, powerful, well connected, highly educated at elite universities, with global experience – then you, the person using the term “elite” are a stupid, right-wing extremist, white supremacist, fascist Nazi! (To some conservatives, ‘elite’ is just a word that means ‘them’ – The Washington Post – elite is now a descriptor and signal not of the target, but of the person using it!)
(I am going to continue using the word “elite” to refer to those who are often “wealthy, powerful, well connected, highly educated at elite universities, with global experience”. Because that is the definition of elite!)
There are white women posting videos on TikTok saying they will buy a gun and shoot random white males on the streets because Trump was elected. There are others in states of outrage and threatening violence, saying they will never speak to family members the rest of their lives. The degree of mental health crises is off scale.
This approach of name calling and calling everyone else stupid is not a successful strategy for winning votes. The hatred and anger towards others are non-starters.
The political-sphere has been flooded with messages like the above – before the election and now after the election. The negativity, outrage, doomerism and threats of violence are a turn off to most people.
What Happened in Election 2024
First, the backdrop of Covid policies had an influence on people’s values coming into this election. The government response turned decision making and control over to an authoritarian group of “experts”, who frequently made very bad decisions – using unverified disease models that were absurdly incorrect, closing schools for 18 months, closing access to health care (Oregon), driving numerous businesses into bankruptcy, borrowing trillions of dollars, and engaging in actions to allegedly “control the virus” but which did not work and caused actual harms.
Second, during the Covid era, the Biden Administration (and “elite”) sent censorship requests directly to Twitter, Facebook and others to take down factually true information that did not support the “official” narrative. Harris had argued in favor of censoring others. As long as you get to be the censor – and as an elite you get to be the censor! – then censorship is great! But supporting censorship does not resonate well with the non-elite plebians.
Third, in the spring of 2024, we went from months of “Biden is sharp as a tack”, to oopsy, may be not so much, and the appointment of a candidate who received zero primary votes. This was a major strategic blunder.
Fourth, the D candidate’s primary message (in terms of what I saw), is that Harris is not Trump. Thus, vote for me, because I’m not Trump.
On the other side was Trump: Trump had a ton of baggage with his past, accusations of sexual assault, a court conviction, a history of lies (but 100% of politicians lie so that doesn’t mean much anymore), the January 6, 2020, riot in the US Congress building, and questionable policy proposals (mass deportations, tariffs, clemency for Jan 6 rioters). On the other hand, the Russia conspiracy hoax, the censorship of the true Biden laptop story, and most of the lawfare cases against Trump being thrown out may have resulted in a loss of confidence in the claims made against Trump.
Fifth, Biden made a huge blunder when he held an Electric Vehicle Summit at the White House in the spring of 2024, and invited everyone except Elon Musk, and then proceeded to say that GM was the largest maker of EVs in the country. Musk seems to have responded by throwing his endorsement to Trump. And by the way, 83 billionaires supported Harris while 52 supported Trump.
Sixth, the media went all in for Harris/Walz – to the point that, surveys show, few people believe the media now: Trump’s return to power raises serious questions about the media’s credibility | CNN Business
Seventh, many Democrats say they are smarter than everyone else – and their views on government echo that, favoring rule by technocratic elite (see Covid again). Calling opponents “Garbage” or “Stupid” is not persuading those with other views to support you.
Eighth, it appears voters chose based on policies, not personalities. Trump has been an awful personality, and Harris is not much better. The evidence for selection based on policies is that Republicans won the Presidency, the Senate, the state Governorships, and probably the House of Representatives. In other words, Democrats lost on policy proposals – literally, the product was not what voters wanted.
Ninth, several surveys suggest the top 3 issues voters considered were (1) the economy, (2) Immigration, and (3) “cultural issues” – specifically, allowing biological males to compete in girls and women’s sports. Several leading Democrats have said this too. On the other hand, the progressive wing insists Harris/Walz lost as “a function of racism, sexism and America’s supposed love affair with “fascism.” They mark the loss down to “tactical” errors—the failure to court pro-Palestinian voters, a misallocation of door-knockers, poor timing in ad buys. The party just needs better “messaging” of its “historic achievements.””
Finally, the public does not like being called stupid or “political ostriches” (or sexist, fascist, racist Nazis) when they have differing viewpoints and perspectives on policy choices that have arisen from their own lived experiences. This is where extreme negativity (much of it “over the top” and not true) towards the opposing party may have backfired. The goal is not to trash your opposing voters – it is to convince them to vote for you! Calling them names is not a successful strategy, duh.
“The elites of this country alienated voters everywhere because they didn’t want to hear what working and middle class voters were screaming for four years—focus on us and our problems, not your agenda to destroy Trump,” Kofinis said.
….
It also supercharges deep questions that have been swirling on whether the party has become too elite and has lost its ability to appeal to the working-class voters who traditionally have backed Democratic candidates. “Something is definitely wrong with the Democratic brand,” said Matt Bennett, a founder of the center-left think tank Third Way. “Everyone believes there is a problem. But we diagnose the problem quite differently.”
Harris’s Loss Triggers Soul-Searching, Recriminations Within Democratic Party – WSJ
Watch what DNC political consultant James Carville (Bill Clinton’s political strategist) has to say – a short video clip – TL;DR is, from Carville, that the Democrats became an arrogant elite disconnected from the people.
Similarly: Democrats Need To Drop the Elitism if We Want To Win Again | Opinion – No kidding:
A particularly significant barrier to Democrats’ success is the pervasive elitism that alienates working-class Americans. Upper-middle-class professionals, especially those with advanced degrees, have created a culture that prioritizes academic credentials over practical experience. This hierarchy perpetuates the false notion that professionals with a degree are inherently superior, while those without formal education can be dismissed as “poor,” dispensable, or less valuable. Many individuals without degrees possess rich life experiences and practical knowledge, yet are often spoken to as if they lack understanding simply because they don’t have the right vocabulary, academic background, or pedigree. This condescension doesn’t go unnoticed.
The Democratic Party made a major strategic blunder:
Biden’s decision to initially seek a second term at the age of 80 and the party establishment’s aggressive efforts to discourage primary challenges last year will linger within the party in the aftermath of Trump’s victory. The president’s damaging debate performance against Trump in June led to waves of criticism about his mental fitness to lead and pressure within the party, ultimately leading to Biden’s decision to withdraw from the campaign on July 21.
Biden quickly endorsed Harris, who swiftly lined up support in the party and locked down the nomination within days, averting a primary process. Democrats said Biden’s decision-making deprived the party of an open competition that may have resulted in a stronger candidate.
The product the Democrats offered was not a great product that met the needs of sufficient customers – the voters – versus whatever Trump offered.
Voters had to choose between two not very good candidates, each with flaws and baggage, and two sets of policies (many of which on both sides are nonsense). Simultaneously many voters were told they – the voters – are stupid.
These were poor quality candidates: Trump, with wild statements and assertions and track record, and Harris, hiding from the media, often speaking oddly. People voted for the one they thought would be “least bad” for their own interests. Indeed, many voters make selections based on just one or two issues – such as freedom of speech or gay rights – and ignore other attributes, even if they might be viewed negatively.
Fundamentally, it was a product problem. Trump’s product (Republican policies) was supported by more voters than the Harris product (Democrat policies). Rather than address the product problem, there has been name calling and denigration of those whose support is needed (see sample posts above) ==> This is a terrible strategy.
The product problem was widespread
Voters chose red candidates for the Presidency, the Senate, the majority of Governors, and possibly the House (unknown at the time of this writing). It wasn’t so much voting for Trump but voting against a Party that became disconnected from the concerns of real people.
The Root Cause Failure
The root cause issue was the Democrats failure to listen to customers. Instead, they acted as an elite, telling everyone else to do as they are told, and if you question what the technocracy orders you to do, you are stupid (or a Nazi). (See many examples, above.)
The Harris positioning was economic opportunity through government subsidies, Federal rights to abortions, all over the map on immigration, regulations on guns, “social justice”, “Green New Deal”, advocating for regulated “free speech” – sometimes on all sides of an issue. Harris was hampered by association with Biden – whose favorability rankings were low – at a level that no incumbent party has won re-election. And hampered by the late switch in candidates.
Meanwhile, Trump positioned as the party of freedom: free speech, religious freedom, gun rights, protectionism plus immigration issues, government overreach and law and order.
Customers decided the latter was what they wanted to buy.
During Covid, Democrat operatives sought to censor, stifle and cancel opposing viewpoints – and positioned themselves as the party of the elite who are smarter than you. This was a strategic blunder and insulting to most voters.
What the party needs to do now is listen, listen and listen – and once they have done that, go listen some more. Stop telling, stop name calling and start listening. From that, craft a consistent, sustainable and believable product that customers want and support.
Trump won mostly because the Democrats lost the customer – and the customer became disinterested in Trump’s numerous weaknesses. They lost the customer because they adopted an arrogant, elitist “smarter than you” attitude that was disconnected from the people whose support they sought.
Republican messaging did not alienate as many voters as did the “I’m elite and your stupid” messaging.
Yet in the aftermath of this election, many Democrats, including the head of the DNC say there was nothing wrong with the Democrats platform or messaging – it’s that more than half the U.S. population is stupid. Seriously. They are still stuck on this meme.
I wrote this post before I saw this CNN video clip that says much the same.
Finally, this also sums up the problem – the Democrat’s product and marketing were a mess.
Long essay that explores some related issues: here
But ultimately, says an educated and elite Washington Post politics reporter and MSNBC contributor, it’s that the electorate wants Adolph Hitler because – the electorate are stupid people:
If the Democrat’s marketing approach, moving forward, is to continue calling everyone else stupid, they will not recover from this.
The Voters Spoke
The Voters spoke – and made their thoughts clear. Calling everyone who views things differently “stupid” is not a successful strategy to persuade them to adopt a different viewpoint.
Afterword
I do not belong to any political party. I was registered as a Democrat when I was young, and I supported (but was not a member of) a local Libertarian Party effort for a couple of years, over 20 years ago.
I first became aware of politics about age 15 – in May of 1973, I was at home from school for several weeks, sick with (simultaneously), a systemic Staph A infection, influenza and pneumonia and a fever that was measured in an ER at 104 deg F. During that time, the Senate Watergate Hearings were on TV every day and that’s what my Mom watched, so this is what I saw. My introduction to politics was that politicians are narcissistic crooks. Not much has happened since then to change my perspective.
I am concerned about Trump’s proposed policies; they are what they are but life will go on as it always does. I am concerned about his deportation plans, and his tariffs and trade protectionism, among a number of issues.
I have learned not to believe the media and bizarre assertions other said about both Trump and Harris. I have been lied to so many times by experts, officials and the media, that I no longer take anything they say seriously, and assume they are lying.
What many people think they believe, based on what they were told, is not true. Trump will not be building concentration camps, imprisoning you for your social media posts, separating interracial marriages, rape will not be made legal, gays will not have to go into hiding or be stoned to death, women will not be forcibly moved into baby making factories, pregnant women will not be implanted with tracking chips, ethnic minorities will not be rounded up into slavery, democracy will not be ended, there will be no future elections, and so on. Yet those are messages I saw – sometimes widely shared on social media (the frictionless platform for the spread of propaganda).
The above is what I think but I’m just a brain injured idiot so whatever.
Past Posts with Possible Relevancy
I rarely write about politics and then, it’s about policy, not candidates. As best I could tell, these are my total slightly politically related posts from the past many years (out of a total of 9,400 posts – most of which are no longer publicly visible on this blog – including some of these are no longer available – the point being, I have posted little on politics here):
- Demographics: Are Republicans living in a world that no longer exists? – Coldstreams
- Education: Harris will eliminate college degree requirement for many Federal jobs – Coldstreams
- Finance: Trump wants price-controlled credit card interest rates – Coldstreams
- Economy: There are at least two ways to cut costs – Coldstreams (Subsidies increase the cost for those not receiving subsidies – but efficiency incentives can lower costs for all.)
- Why not put price controls on health care? – Coldstreams (Price controls on rent, food, but not on health care or education? Somewhere I have a post on Trump’s tariffs, which is another non-starter.)
- Politics: Proposal to build 3 million new homes over 4 years – Coldstreams (How do we double the construction workforce?)
- Finance: Why Basic Income Studies Produce Useless Results – Coldstreams (UBI distorts market prices, but all UBI tests are too small to test that)
- Policy: Government revises race classification system – Coldstreams
- Immigration: Trump proposes stapling Green Card to college diploma – Coldstreams
- Public health: “25% of the US National Debt Incurred During Trump Administration” – Coldstreams
- @RealDonaldTrump has been permanently suspended by Twitter – Coldstreams
- Censorship: Make Censorship Great Again – Coldstreams
And a long time ago, I called Trump a buffoon: Democracy means the end of Democracy – Social Panic
