We Have No Idea

As with any election defeat, there is a certain amount of navel gazing and finger-pointing about the factors in the loss. At this point, most of these analyses are based on hopelessly incomplete information and/or the implicit biases of the critic. After all, the standard explanation for the 2016 election was “economic anxiety” for months, even years, but was eventually shown to be anxiety that was far less economic and far more racial and cultural.

Per usual, the Democratic circular firing squad has begun. There are the usual suspects who this time want to throw trans people and/or immigrants under the bus. There are the usual complaints that Harris was too far left — too “woke” (whatever that means today) — or that Democrats have ignored the working class and don’t acknowledge their pain. There are the language police who claim that “defund the police”, “LatinX”, and pronouns drove voters away. There are the single-issue critics — the Gaza genocide, fracking, covid lockdowns, expiration of pandemic aid, etc. — take your pick. There are the ones who blame Harris for relying on identity politics and some who blame Biden for not dropping out earlier so there could be an open primary. Others who point to inflation and the data that indicates voters felt the economy was terrible. Still others rely on the usual (and often correct) suspects of racism and misogyny. But perhaps most annoying of all are the pundits who…