Why The Campaign Of 'Joy' Failed in America

The Trump - as former President Barack Obama - has won the US Presidential elections and will be in the White House in the new year. Democrat candidate and US Vice President Kamala Harris was left far behind, with her campaign of ‘joy’ unable to move the Americans beyond a point. Instead she lost crucial sections of the vote bank, and was unable to make up even as the support for Donald Trump remained unwavering.

The writing was on the wall. It was just that everyone did not see it.

Why? Is the question being asked. Again the answers can be provided in perhaps just five points explaining the reasons for the victory and the loss.

1. America has made its choice. As much of the world has as well, shifting gears rapidly to embrace the right even before the US Presidential elections, and will continue to do so after with perhaps the same pace. The far right is able not just to project a seemingly strong, authoritarian leader but also ensure his acceptance as the ‘best choice’ for a country. So in this increasingly polarised world, the Republicans who have shifted to the right rather dramatically in the last decade or so, projected Trump with vigour. Charges of felony, lies, fake and illegal positioning, violence - all dissolved in front of the authoritarian image with the Americans making it clear that they would rather have him in power than a President with a clean record. His threats to take revenge on all who opposed him, his open contempt for the legal procedures all became secondary considerations as the US elected its President despite his rather abysmal democratic record in and out of power.
2. Harris was fighting a tough battle - as a woman of colour, and as a woman. America is clearly not ready for a woman President, having rejected ‘white’ Hillary Clinton as well. Hence it is clear that her main campaign for reproductive rights for women, might have echoed in some isolated chambers, but did not move the male ( and to a great extent even female) bastions who remained unmoved by her expressed commitment to women equality. The US has not had a particularly great record in gender equality, with states continuing to pay different wages to men and women long after smaller countries in the world had struggled and come to terms with the issue. She had a rough time winning over the African Americans, and had to spend much of the initial weeks in wooing them. She succeeded to some extent, but her past eroded this posturing as she had never really worked on her colour equations before this campaign. And been part of the ‘mainstream’ preferring to stay out of crucial movements like ‘Black Lives Matter'.’ Her Indian connection too did not pay off, as much of the NRI business community like their compatriots at home continued to support Trump.
3. The corporate versus the worker. Bennie Sanders has lambasted the Democrats post election results for not standing with the workers, and he is right to some extent. Trump unabashedly stood up for big business, with hard capitalists (some would say amoral) like Elon Musk centre state in the campaign. Trump in his victory speech singled out Musk, describing him as a “new star is born” and making it clear to the corporate world that such support would be rewarded. Harris spoke of workers, enough to alienate big business, but not enough to get the workers of America on her side. Her arguments lacked depth and substance, and apart from a stress on her working class background and some generic assurances, was unable really to push forward a plan for workers rights through her campaign. This got Trump his vote, but did not get Harris hers as while he was seen as a champion for big money, she failed to project herself convincingly as the champion for American workers.
4. Gaza - the most important issue that drove the normal Arab-Muslim-progressive vote away from the Democrats in huge numbers. She was given several opportunities to strike a note different from her administration, in favour of not just an end to the war, but a solid push for justice and peace for the Palestinians. She did not do anything of the kind. And it was only at the very end, when it was apparent that this vote bank was not walking along, that she spoke a bit about just the Palestinians, their massacre and suffering, without equating it with Israel. It was too little too late. The supporters of Gaza have been on television since, and in print, as well explaining why they did not vote for Harris. Even though they knew that their decision would help Trump sail to victory. Their argument runs as follows : a) The Biden and Harris administration is guilty of genocide in Gaza and has to pay a price for this; b) the Palestinian Americans and their supporters in the US expected at least an ‘arm embargo’ assurance from Harris and that was just not forthcoming and this was taken as complete support by her as well of the genocide; c) they do not expect Trump to be any better of course, but certainly not worse as the depths of human suffering have already been reached under the Biden administration. It cannot get worse is their argument.
5. Trump was able to push the Republican Party over the brink with his strong authoritarian, brash, “I am me” agenda. He understood the pulse of his vote bank and catered to it unabashedly, understanding perhaps better than others that the extreme and moderate right is more mainstream in America than many would give it credit for. And all he had to do was keep hammering at it, with the corny one liners at his rallies that gave fodder to all the talk shows actually projecting him positively to the larger chunk of the polarised US. In hindsight it is clear that far from alienating the majority of Americans, his strange arguments, half lies, personal attacks, and narcissistic views actually got him the support he was looking for. Those who found him offensive in his party left, and while they appeared on platforms during the Harris campaign constituted lame-duck support at best. No one was convinced, as the Republicans did not rue the loss, and the Democrats did not appear too excited about the support.

On the other hand Harris was not clear what she stood for. The Democrats tried to hunt with the hounds but failed miserably as they were found wanting on crucial issues. Gaza and the economy being two of these. And on neither Harris could offer a plan, and remained unconvincing through all her speeches, interactions with the media, Town Hall appearances to put it mildly. So at the end of the day for the voter who asked herself why she was voting for Harris, the answer was a blank. To defeat Trump became the single driving point, and that did not attract or move voters who wanted more from the Democrats on all of the above issues.

The Democrats have to get their fading act together and forge an alternative that can withstand and outlast Trump’s four years in power.