Hawaii is unique and doesn't directly compare to the continental USA. I visit often, and the cost of living has been absolutely crushing the locals. Whatever inflation we experience in continental US, you can safely double it there. Add to that the housing crisis, the shutdown of tourism during COVID, the fires in Maui, and the inadequate response by the administration—it's not hard to see why the locals are not in a happy place right now.
2024 U.S. Elections | Trump wins
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Hawaii is unique and doesn't directly compare to the continental USA. I visit often, and the cost of living has been absolutely crushing the locals. Whatever inflation we experience in continental US, you can safely double it there. Add to that the housing crisis, the shutdown of tourism during COVID, the fires in Maui, and the inadequate response by the administration—it's not hard to see why the locals are not in a happy place right now.
Really? I think it’s a big reason why trump and others got elected. Might not show in the polls, but many people are annoyed by and sick of identity politics, myself included as an Asian American. I’m not even talking about white people. I’m in liberal California and liberal Los Angeles and most in my social and work circle are “minorities”. Many of them consider it lazy and patronizing being told to support or vote for a person because he or she is black, Asian, female, latino, lgbt. And said candidate assuming their vote is in the bag because “hey i look like you”. That and the constant in-your-face DEI in every aspect of daily life, it gets annoying.
So throwing in a Latino on the ticket just because “brown pride” isn’t going to have the desired effect you’re thinking. But you’re right that the economic messaging is top priority for majority of Americans. Unless trump is doing horribly on that front democrats will need to have something else to offer than identity politics. Kamala Harris was exactly that, the DEI candidate. It works for the most left leaning people. I’ve seen the cringey Facebook posts 4 years ago from girls i went to school with, crying tears of joy that a black woman became VP. But for the more center leaning people, especially minorities and women, they aren’t swayed by that pandering shit. Dems need to focus on the center, middle America folks. As has been mentioned already on here, people have been feeling the squeeze of inflation. Blame it on covid or not, people had it better under trump than they have for the last 4 years. Economy, crime/safety are areas that resonate with everyday working American families. Focus on that instead of pandering to the (fill in minority) vote.
In all seriousness though…
That’s going to make grocery prices f’ing skyrocket bud, which takes us back to my original comment…
The concept of being stuck on one side of politics is weird. Nothing to do with redcafe.
I agree that economy and crime/safety resonate across all demographic groups. Democrats provided policy positions on this, that was well-supported by economists, but you know what, teflon Don just says that he's the best and millions drink the Kool-Aid because he's the rich strong man.
On the main point of your post; Kamala Harris did not campaign on her "brown-ness", her "black-ness", her "Asian-ness", her being a female. Democrats learned that lesson in 2016 with Hillary. But you know what? There are so many people (it seems like you too) who are so obsessed with the idea of "DEI candidates" and "diversity hires" that completely coloured your opinion about her credentials completely on her merit and experience outside of her identity.
I'm an Asian-Australian living in the US, so I can't vote without being a US citizen. However, I would have certainly voted for Harris. Just like I would have certainly voted for Bernie Sanders. Just like I would have certainly voted for Joe Biden. I would vote for a Black/South Asian woman and a White man all the same on the quality of their policy platforms, their experience in politics and governance, and the trust I have that they would surround themselves with people of sound judgement and character to lead the nation I live in and pay taxes to.
Don't swallow the poison being sold to you that she's only there as the diversity hire, and take your own advice to look beyond identity.
You know he is not saying that.
The Jan 6 case. Bogus?
Having thousands of confidential documents, that you stole, stored in a public area of your golf club? Hardly bogus.
Nothing to see here...
The entire “investigation” was political theater. If they had real substance, they would be fighting to the bitter end. This was never about justice—it was about optics in an election year.
It has failed spectacularly.
Well said
Yeah, it was the Republicans who were making this about the candidates race more than anyone from what I could see. I didn’t see Kamala and her team talk about it that much. She seemed to be trying to appeal to everyone which is what you’d want.
At the end of the day, one thing is clear to me that people don’t really give a shit about things like racism, sexism, corruption etc as long as they like someone. These are not as important issues now to most as they are to some of us here. For those deeply ingrained in the RW culture, they revel and promote it and for a good chunk of those not so ingrained, they are “fine”’with it.
Insanely stupid campaign. Like mega-stupid. GOAT stupid. Stupidest campaign and candidate in the history of campaigns and candidates.
I bet you never read that either
Please don't embarrass yourself Amol, you're one of the sensible ones.
Harris ran a campaign defending a genocide, pandering to the conservative audience, condescended to her 'vote-bank' and the minorities, with zero substance, character or ideology to speak of. She lost 14 MILLION of her own party's voters.
This is all on her and the Democratic party's campaign, braindead, soulless and evil to the core.
I’m not saying that she was a good candidate. I can see why 1) she didn’t win hearts and minds given she’s a very formulaic and pretty robotic communicator 2) the democracts lost the digital footprint war as their game in this regard lagged significantly compared to their opponents 3) the Middle East conflict is a legitimate reason to be against the Democrats given they’re essentially complicit in the Israeli genocide (although I don’t see trump having done anything different this past year) 4) inflation and cost of living is a serious problem to blame the Biden administration for the factors under their control that they failed to manage and 5) immigration is something they are heavily criticised for as they don’t seem to have managed Trump’s biggest election golden goose well, and that’s their gift to him really.
At the same time, elections are not always about good vs evil but the lesser of the evils. Do you think the modern day extreme right wing Republican Party are are the less “evil” (just to use your wording) of the two? You’d know better than me as I just keep an eye on Us politics from a distance.
The EC maps looks like a landslide, but looking more closely to those 3 rustbelt states, Trump edged them out by a combined 250k or so votes.
In an alternative universe, she could have won them and the MagaTs would be crying about the EC.
In an alternative universe, she could have won them and the MagaTs would be crying about the EC.
She was a DEI pick. If Biden picked a better VP we would have a better candidate.
She's nothing but a token inclusions. Even if she merits being there objectively she's way below the list and many were better. They were better yet cast aside because of the inclusivity
No, definitely not. The only reason the charges are being withdrawn is because they don’t want to prosecute a sitting president. There is plenty of evidence it seems against him and he should be prosecuted whether he is president or not. It’s not political theatre as you put it, the man was responsible for trying to stage a fecking coup.
Obviously Garland is an incompetent cnut as well for not sorting the prosecution well before now. But now, he’s going to get away with all the shit he did where if anyone else had pulled that stuff then they would be in prison for a long time.
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Looking beyond identity is exactly why Dems lost the center vote. Look beyond Kamala’s identity and there is no substance. “Credentials, merit, experience”. I hope you’re joking because I don’t see it. Even if I don’t, most Americans (at least those she needed on her side) didn’t see it. I work in city/civic government so I know all too well how a good looking woman like her (back in the days) can get promoted and elected to the positions she’s been in. And merit has little to do with it. As a VP she flew home to LA almost every other week, straining our resources and manpower. And for what? What accomplishments or experiences can she be credited for during her years as VP? Seems like she would just fly home and chill and stay under the radar. Maybe she did do a lot of work when in DC. I don’t know. And that’s the problem really. Most people don’t know what she’s been doing the past 4 years while her boss was the center of ridicule and sleepy Joe memes.
I’m not the one swallowing or being sold poison. Yes she was the DEI hire. Did Biden not say he would choose a female running mate, or did I just imagine that?
Now, this is not to say trump has, or had prior to 2016, any merit or accomplishments himself. He and his cult are idiots. But he did a better job resonating with center and independent Americans. Which is surprising really with all the inflammatory shit-talking he does about certain groups. I was shocked and surprised at all the social media posts I saw from people I know who voted for trump. Shocked because I never would’ve thought in a million years that these people would vote for him. Immigrants, females young and old, Latino women, middle eastern, black. The few that shared their reasoning say it’s because things were just better under trump, especially economically.
This is all anecdotal of course. But that and crime/safety were focal points here in California and especially Los Angeles. Whichever well-supported policy positions you say that democrats provided for crime and safety didn’t work. Which is why we finally (thank god) got rid of DA George Gascon. These things mattered to these unassuming trump voters and Kamala probably would have gotten their vote if she was even a bit inspirational to them but she wasn’t.
I definitely think there are striking parallels with that late 1800s era. And we are in a second gilded age, on steroids. Of course there are some differences but the similarities are probably more so than late 20th century dynamics. Maybe that means we'll see an improvement like in the first decade of the 1900s.
Tough on crime, the homeless issue and to lesser extent immigration are why we got the results on Props 5, 6, 33, and 36. Not that any of those are going to help, especially not 36 and 6 is crazy to think about.
i mean, he's an open white supremacist, i don't know what you're expecting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jared_Taylor
I don't think we're going to see eye-to-eye on how we perceive Kamala as a candidate. Where I see experience in various elected offices from local, to state, to federal positions, you claim someone being elevated through special prvileges with thinly-veiled misogyny. I'm not going to keep discussing this point with you.
Also on your comment about what she was doing in the last 4 years in DC? She was presiding over the Senate, which is her primary role. Is it meant to make headlines or be flashy? No - just as governance is not meant to be. Flying back to LA a drain on resources and manpower? This is a problem with the scheduling of the government, not on Kamala Harris. The House and Senate are not in session 365 days a year; they average somewhere in the 160s days per year. What do they do for the other 200 days? All politicians go home at some point, whether it's to serve their consituents, to campaign, to fundraise - to levy this as a complaint against Kamala individually, rather than at the system of governance as a whole, is in bad faith.
Yes, Joe Biden said he would, and did indeed choose a female running mate. "DEI Candidate" is a white supremacist slur. Deliberately choosing a female running mate is valuing the experience and perspective that someone brings, complementing the presidential candidate.
I wholeheartedly agree with you that Trump did a much better job at resonating with moderate Americans in 2016. For the 2024 election, I think he did a better job at tricking Americans that he is their guy. Hence my jab about poison. The man is pure vanity with zero substance, as told through countless ex-staffers and cabinet members from his first administration.
Finally, on the points on the economy and crime/safety. These go hand-in-hand at longer time scales. No one chooses to just commit crimes out of thin air. Most crimes are economically motivated. Some fixes to economic problems don't show their fruit after only 4 years. Harris put out her policy document for housing and reducing costs to American households. Especially for housing, which is the largest component of any household's expenditure and cause of financial stress: you can't just build housing and have people move in at the snap of your fingers. While we disagree on the existence of policies regarding the economy and crime/safety - I do agree with you that she (and the Dems more broadly) campaigned poorly, and took it for granted that Trump and the Republicans' poor policy would be self-evidently bad (which it wasn't to many voters, who liked the revenge- and strong-man-driven idea of tariffs without considering the impacts on consumer goods' prices).
Bernie Sanders said it best - the Democratic party has completely failed and lost the American working class. However, that doesn't mean we must accept/endorse/embrace the bigotry, sexism, corruption, and moral bankruptcy that comes as a package deal with the Republican alternative.
Should stop putting all the blame on Garland. It's a fight he cant win
You cant charge an ex president and presidential nonimee without serious backing, even if the Dems fully behind it, not gonna happen. Even Trump dont jail Hillary or even trying to. There are things you just dont do Even for Trump
The whole charges backfired. If you can't walk the talk you better not talk the talk.
Garland or whoever appointed is well bellow their pay grade
Tell me what DEI means to you. If DEI just means token choice, then that's completely disregarding the experiences and perspectives of people with differing backgrounds. To me, that is blatantly close-minded.
She is a token choice. Let's not pretend otherwise. She lost out on a primary and she wont win one if there's one. And she did lost terribly.
Tell me again why Biden nominate her as VP. Let's hear it straight from the horse mouth
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/11/politics/joe-biden-kamala-harris-vp/index.html
The charge on Garland is not about now, it’s about the fact he did feck all considering he had 4 years to sort the shit out and bring charges. They must have had backing because they are now bringing those charges but it’s too late. They needed to strike whilst the iron was hot, straight after 2020. When the country was against Trump. They dithered and delayed and they are now paying the price.
So many pages of comments now slamming the Dems and their strategy including in the media. IDGAF what the Dems did or didn't do. As a human being I want to know why so many voted for someone with a list of traits, actions and words that is long enough to end up in the depths of hell or whatever God forsaken place you believe in.
This is the most disappointing thing to me about this. That so many of my fellow human beings would literally vote for one of the poorest excuses of one himself. There is nowhere near enough redeeming things out there to off set the bad. It once again emphasizes how selfish and short sighted many are. Then again, I guess Covid time and his prior term were already enough to lose faith in humanity.
This is the most disappointing thing to me about this. That so many of my fellow human beings would literally vote for one of the poorest excuses of one himself. There is nowhere near enough redeeming things out there to off set the bad. It once again emphasizes how selfish and short sighted many are. Then again, I guess Covid time and his prior term were already enough to lose faith in humanity.
This is insane shit. Guy is casually eating and basically telling other dude; "Get out of my country". Bloody hell.
How many primaries did Joe Biden win when he was chosen as Obama's running mate in 08?
What part of this argument makes sense to you?
Blame it on Covid or not…it’s self evident that Covid had a massive effect on the global economy. Part of that effect was directly caused by Trump’s stimulus. It was a necessary choice, you could argue around the edges of the execution of it, but it’s broadly agreed it was the right thing to do. But it was always going to come with the cost of inflation. The link between the two isn’t tenuous. Biden’s stimulus was the same, more argued against it, most argued in favour, but everyone knew it would drive up inflation. Exceptional events require exceptional acts, and it’s fairytale thinking to expect only positives from that.
The supply shock and huge increases in raw materials, semiconductors, shipping costs etc. as a direct result of Covid was unambiguous too. As was the effect of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
We know Biden didn’t cause that, because every other country in the world didn’t have Biden, and every similar country experienced the same pattern. Most of them suffered deeper and longer from the same problems.
Trump didn’t face any of those things, so how can you just wave your hands and say sure maybe this Covid stuff was important, maybe not, all we know is things were better under Trump. If they were better because he didn’t face these things he wasn’t in control of - and he inevitably would’ve faced them if not for the fact that he handled the pandemic so badly that people didn’t want him to - then how is that an argument for Trump?
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Thanks for providing a link that shows the complete list of why Biden chose Harris as VP that reads like this:
- She's Black and South Asian
- She's a woman
Oh wait, that's not what the link says. Silly me.
Token pick means someone chosen because they are of a particular demographic for the sake of the demographic and no other associated characteristics of the demographic.
An inclusive, wise, and empathetic pick means someone chosen because they are of a particular demographic, that therefore brings qualities, skills, experiences, and perspectives that strengthens the platform.
So she's the best Dems can come up with?
This. 1000% this. I don't know what else to say except we keep our heads up, and know that we will endure in the face of what Trump and his cult of cronies represents. There are still over 67 million who voted for Harris in the US. We will remember.
Was Biden the best Dems can come up with?
It's an asinine argument, the VP pick has always been to shore up some weaknesses of the nominee, that's the definition of DEI. Yet somehow when an old white man was chosen to assuage some mild racists to back a young black dude, that was taken for granted, and we are here debating about the merit of the pick when the opposite happened.
In a world where Biden was self aware enough to decline to run again, Harris probably wouldn't have won the primaries as Dem voters reject her to run away from the administration, just like how Dick Cheney wasn't even remotely viable in the 08 Republican primaries, or Mike Pence this year when he broke with and ran against Trump. She was the only choice because Biden dropped out with 108 days to go with Dems down double digits in polling and nobody else had the appetite to take on that challenge.
Excellent post. Looking from the outside, I couldn't agree more.
However, many are not going to think like this. Even more so if they've been fed loads of anti-Dem talking points for the last four years. I'm excluding the outright bigots and contrarians who want to own the libs or something.
At the end of the day, one candidate promised he'd make things better right away and the other said that there would be no changes at all (or if they were planned, she definitely didn't communicate it well enough).
The average person can't spare the time or resources to do a critical analysis of the impact of covid. Some states already have abortion rights sorted, so if I live there, I wouldn't care. Even otherwise, that's a problem for the future. The Jan 6 riots are also not a big deal because they failed anyway. If I'm struggling right now, I'll worry about democracy later.
If I'm annoyed at the state of things, it's either vote Trump in (which is akin to at least trying something even if its desperate) or vote for Harris (which is basically the same as not doing anything) or just sit out disgusted at the whole thing.
Not sure what merit was being talked about.
She is inconsistent in what she says (especially considering what she has been personally voting for in the senate over the years), she is a very poor public speaker, and her leadership skills are virtually non-existent.