Opinion | Kamala Harris’ campaign didn’t ignore working class voters
Opinion | Kamala Harris’ campaign didn’t ignore working class voters
The Biden administration was staunchly pro-labor, subsidized Obamacare and managed to avoid a recession. But Trump and Republicans sold resentment, and it worked.
Summary
Following the Democrats’ recent election losses, some, including Senator Bernie Sanders, argue that the party failed by “abandoning” the working class.
However, critics counter that Democrats under Biden implemented one of the most pro-working class agendas in decades, passing union-supportive policies, job-creating infrastructure bills, and increasing wages.
Despite these efforts, Democrats saw little electoral benefit, especially among nonwhite working-class voters, as cultural grievances took precedence for many working-class voters.
Analysts suggest that the party’s best path forward may be to focus on college-educated suburban voters rather than attempting to win back working-class Republicans.
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They had been telling us nonstop from day one that we are not struggling, that everything's okay, that the economy is strong and And unemployment is low, which means nothing if people are not getting paid a livable wage. They Ignored our cries for help that we are struggling. We cannot afford food, we cannot afford rent, our wages are stagnant. Time and again they kept repeating the same lie, everything is okay, you are not struggling.
That is blatantly ignoring the working class.
I watched these too. But I didn't walk away with the same conclusion. I walked away with the economy is headed in the right direction. And they know people are struggling. Which is arguably true. Inflation was reducing and wages were going up. That's been happening for the last two years.
Can you show an example where either Biden or Harris said Americans aren't struggling?
During the Biden debate. Moderator asked Biden a question along the lines of, "what do you say to the millions of Americans struggling with high prices in this economy?"
Biden said, "No the economy is doing fine," and dismissed the fact that Americans are struggling.
Edit: I'm not sure where I heard this from. I could find it in the transcript either and I don't care enough to search where I heard him say it. It was a long political race and I'm tired.
When I first read this comment I actually believed I had missed where biden said this and I believed you. But then I went back and reread the transcript of the debate. Nowhere does biden say anything remotely close to this.
Here is Bidens respond when he is asked about the economy:
Let’s begin the debate. And let’s start with the issue that voters consistently say is their top concern, the economy. President Biden, inflation has slowed, but prices remain high. Since you took office, the price of essentials has increased. For example, a basket of groceries that cost $100 then, now costs more than $12; and typical home prices have jumped more than 30 percent.
What do you say to voters who feel they are worse off under your presidency than they were under President Trump?
BIDEN: You have to take a look at what I was left when I became president, what Mr. Trump left me. We had an economy that was in freefall. The pandemic are so badly handled, many people were dying. All he said was, it’s not that serious. Just inject a little bleach in your arm. It’d be all right. The economy collapsed. There were no jobs. Unemployment rate rose to 15 percent. It was terrible. And so, what we had to do is try to put things back together again. That’s exactly what we began to do. We created 15,000 new jobs. We brought on – in a position where we have 800,000 new manufacturing jobs.
But there’s more to be done. There’s more to be done. Working class people are still in trouble.
I come from Scranton, Pennsylvania. I come from a household where the kitchen table – if things weren’t able to be met during the month was a problem. Price of eggs, the price of gas, the price of housing, the price of a whole range of things. That’s why I’m working so hard to make sure I deal with those problems. And we’re going to make sure that we reduce the price of housing. We’re going to make sure we build 2 million new units. We’re going to make sure we cap rents, so corporate greed can’t take over.
The combination of what I was left and then corporate greed are the reason why we’re in this problem right now. In addition to that, we’re in a situation where if you had – take a look at all that was done in his administration, he didn’t do much at all. By the time he left, there’s – things had been in chaos. There was (ph) literally chaos. And so, we put things back together. We created, as I said, those (ph) jobs. We made sure we had a situation where we now – we brought down the price of prescription drugs, which is a major issue for many people, to $15 for – for an insulin shot, as opposed to $400. No senior has to pay more than $200 for any drug – all the drugs they (inaudible) beginning next year.
And the situation is making – and we’re going to make that available to everybody, to all Americans. So we’re working to bring down the prices around the kitchen table. And that’s what we’re going to get done.
TAPPER: Thank you.
You right. I thought it was then. Maybe it was a reporter question around the debate. That would explain the tone of what I remember. I don't care enough about this to search any more, so you can just say I'm misremembering.
Biden had to make the case that he has been successful AND he's the right person to continue to help people. Which is what both have done.
It's what Obama had to do in 2012. It was probably impossible to do this election.
Biden focused too much on his accomplishment (which are legitimate), although he wasn't going to make a eloquent case regardless given his speech problems and his ego.
Harris practically ONLY talked about how she would help people with inflation and other struggles like home buying. But she didn't make her case well enough (nor do I think she could have).
FYI Biden never said anything along the lines of what that comment above pins on him. Its exactly why I asked for an example. People will blatantly lie and make shit up because they know most people wont actually go check. This guy said Biden responded to a question in the debate saying "No the economy is doing fine" when that couldnt be further from the truth. Biden highlighted the shit econonmy he was given from trump then the work he has done to improve it then said "But there’s more to be done. There’s more to be done. Working class people are still in trouble."
Her plans were all tax rebates
Everyday, ad nauseam, the White House press Secretary repeats the lie that Americans are not struggling and the economy is good. She is the direct mouthpiece for the White House for the president.
Give me an actual example that I can look up because I dont think this is true.
There are years of WHPS events on YouTube. She says it every morning
I skimmed through a few of the whps economic focused ones and no one says anything remotely close to what you claim.
It's what happens when the idiots calculating your indicators of economic prosperity care only about aggregate levels of production, but don't give a shit how many are homeless.
And now, the billionaires who were the only ones doing well already are in charge of things. My only hope is that they might finally be eaten, French revolution style.
Why is this comment getting downvoted so much? Asking someone for evidence to support what they're saying doesn't seem unreasonable to me.
Because people want to be angry, they want their feelings justified, and there's no actual evidence for what the other person claimed.