A year ago, many Democrats believed a Trump nomination would depress Republican turnout, energize the Democratic base, and lead to an easy win on Election Day. But Democrats woke up this morning to a very different race, and they have only themselves to question.
10: Who pushed President Joe Biden to do such an early presidential debate?
Were senior Democratic operatives setting Biden up to fail? There was no reason to agree to a debate so early. Were they deliberately trying to create a reason to replace him on the ballot? Or were they legitimately blindsided by his poor performance? Should they have pushed him out sooner? Could they have? Why didn’t he ‘pass the baton’ a year ago?
9: Was it a mistake to take Biden out of the race?
They have to wonder if Biden could have won this race. More importantly, would he have done less damage to their brand? Vice President Kamala Harris has hemorrhaged support from working class and minority voters. Why did Biden really drop out? He wasn’t doing press conferences and media interviews, but neither has she. He wasn’t keeping a heavy schedule. Neither has she. He wasn’t coherent on policy. Neither was Harris. Should Democratic leaders like Nancy Pelosi have stayed their hand?
8: Did no one see how unprepared Kamala Harris was to be the nominee?
Surely her inability to articulate policy, think on her feet and connect with voters should have been noticed at some point in her political career. Why didn’t Democrats see her shortcomings in basic retail politics? What if Democrats had actually done a mini-primary to select the best candidate? Obviously, only Harris could access the Biden war chest. But would they have been better off with a less well-funded candidate who could actually take on former President Donald Trump? Why did mainstream Democrats just roll over and allow this to happen? What kind of shenanigans went into her installment as the party nominee?
7: What if Harris had chosen Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as her running mate?
Democrats have to wonder if the Jewishness of popular Gov. Shapiro would have been a bigger liability than the dishonesty of Minnesota’s self-described ‘knucklehead’ Governor Tim Walz. Should they have been more prepared to vet vice presidential candidates earlier? If they had picked Shapiro, would that assure a Trump victory in Michigan?
6: Why was President Barack Obama the last one to endorse?
Was he expecting a competitive primary? Why wasn’t there one? Did he know how bad Harris would be at campaigning? Why didn’t he speak up?
5: Why didn’t Democrats benefit from the federal response to Hurricane Helene the way Obama benefited from Hurricane Sandy?
The whole foundation of the Democratic Party is that government is the solution. But faced with a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the competence of government, the Biden-Harris administration fell flat. Sure, it was a terrible disaster. But so was Hurricane Sandy – yet Obama’s handling of that disaster was ultimately a game changer in the 2012 race. Trump handled disasters with compassion and competence, even when he wasn’t in office (think East Palestine, Ohio, and Hurricane Helene) What got in the way this time?
4: How did they so badly underestimate Trump’s appeal to their own base of voters?
Democrats have to be asking themselves if they really understand America. Polling shows Dems are losing union voters, minorities and youth in unprecedented numbers. With two former Democratic presidential candidates endorsing Trump, Harris found herself cozying up to Dick and Liz Cheney for endorsements. Nobody else had that on their bingo card for 2024. Did no one consider whether Harris could successfully distance herself from her radical past? Who did they imagine she would appeal to?
3: Should Harris have done more to distinguish herself from Biden?
She couldn’t name one thing she would do differently. Why not? Was Biden so selfish and insecure that he wouldn’t allow her to put any daylight between them? Roughly two-thirds of the country believes the USA is on the ‘wrong track’ and Democrats can’t name anything they would do differently?
2: How wise was it to put a target on Trump’s back with incendiary rhetoric and insufficient Secret Service protection?
Without a doubt, the assassination attempts on Trump helped him politically – as did the lawfare by partisan prosecutors and judges. Did Democrats anticipate how badly their plans might backfire? Did the Democrats really believe demonizing Trump as a fascist Nazi while simultaneously claiming to unite the nation as the party of ‘joy’ was going to resonate with independent voters? It was probably a feel-good moment for the liberal base, but it was not a good closing argument.
1: Do the Bidens secretly want Harris to lose?
Democrats will inevitably claim that is garbage, but ‘garbage’ is the point. Biden calling Trump supporters ‘garbage’ follows a long line of repetitive disdain for millions of Americans. ‘How could anyone support Trump?’ they bemoan in unison. Could Biden have done more to help her win, perhaps by just being silent? At least twice he stole the limelight from her, holding press conferences directly opposite national appearances she made, and the garbage comment could not have come at a worse time for the V.P. running to replace Joe. Perhaps they are resentful of being pushed off the ticket?