As a phone bank volunteer, I hoped to counter the Republican attacks and half-truths, but people really believed them, says journalist and podcaster Oliver Hall

Summary

Gender bias played a significant role in Kamala Harris’s defeat, with many voters—often women—expressing doubts about whether “America is ready for a female president.”

Some said they “couldn’t see her in the chair,” or questioned if a woman could lead, with one even remarking, “you don’t see women building skyscrapers.” Though some voters were open to persuasion, this often became a red line.

Oliver Hall, a Harris campaign volunteer, found that economic concerns, particularly inflation, also drove voters to Donald Trump, despite low unemployment and wage growth touted by Democrats.

Harris was viewed in conflicting ways, seen as both too tough and too lenient on crime, as well as ineffective yet overly tied to Biden’s administration.

Ultimately, Hall believes that Trump’s unique appeal and influence overshadowed Harris’s campaign efforts.

  • ByteOnBikes@slrpnk.net
    172·
    12 days ago

    I want to comment that you nailed so many valid points.

    I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this, and I know what I’m about to say sounds racist as hell. But Obama was a fluke and America in general is just not willing to elect a minority again.

    This one, I don’t think I agree that it was a fluke.

    Democrats are continuing to let the loudest crybabies take over the room. And then compromise. Conservatives are right on one thing: the message that Kamala put out to their people was, “You don’t want to vote for a fascist.” Which doesn’t resonate with them. What they instead saw was a person who was going to keep things the same.

    Can a minority run again? Absolutely.

    But only stop catering to the status quo and bowing down to companies. Do Bernie Sanders shit.

    • Nightwingdragon@lemmy.worldEnglish
      96·
      12 days ago

      This one, I don’t think I agree that it was a fluke.

      Fluke probably wasn’t the right word in hindsight. He won and got re-elected decisively. Maybe they consider it a “mistake”. I don’t know what the right word for it is. However you want to call it, they just will not allow it to happen again.

      Democrats are continuing to let the loudest crybabies take over the room. And then compromise.

      That is a decades-long flaw in the Democrat party that had little bearing on this election.

      Conservatives are right on one thing: the message that Kamala put out to their people was, “You don’t want to vote for a fascist.” Which doesn’t resonate with them.

      Actually, many of them were on social media actively advocating for him because of the authoritarianism. They were pretty open about voting for a convict/dictator/rapist over a nig…uh…blackperson…uh “Democrat”.

      What they instead was a person who was going to keep things the same.

      Here’s the problem. When 51% of your voting base is giving very strong signals they don’t want a minority as President and telling you they want things to remain the same, offering up a minority candidate who wants to change everything is not going to win you elections. Doesn’t matter how benevolent their ideas are. The American voters just said they are willing to vote against policies they like simply because they don’t like the person selling it.

      In the past 3 Presidential elections, the GOP put up the literal worst candidate in history. In two of those 3 elections, the Democrats put up women. Trump won. The only time he lost was when they put up an old white guy. Then they complained about him being an old white guy. Then, rather than vote for the black woman, they voted for another old white guy. And a whole bunch of people are here saying that we would’ve won if we just put up an even older white guy with the same policies.

      Which is basically the Democrat party as a whole saying that they may not want an old white guy as President, but they’ll sure as hell put a white guy in the White House before a they put a woman there, and certainly not a black one. They tried twice, and voters stayed home. And they stayed home knowing full well what that meant. What does that tell you?

      Can a minority run again? Absolutely.

      Assuming we have elections again, a minority will not sit in the Oval Office in my lifetime. And if they put one up in 2028, they’re going to lose just as hard. The American public – from both parties – have sent a loud and clear message that they will not put a woman in charge of the US, certainly not a black one. And if you think, especially after 4 more years of the Trump Hate Machine blasting propaganda 24/7, that a minority is going to have a snowball’s chance in hell, I’ve got beachfront property on Mars you may be interested in.

      But only stop catering to the status quo and bowing down to companies. Do Bernie Sanders shit.

      Then wonder why you lose again. Outside of his voters and the far left, people don’t want Bernie Sanders shit. We may disagree with them, but there’s more of them then there are of us.

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        31·
        11 days ago

        Outside of his voters and the far left, people don’t want Bernie Sanders shit. We may disagree with them, but there’s more of them then there are of us.

        Thanks. So many people here seemingly have never met a real person IRL before