To the Editor:
The results of this election are devastating. It proves that no matter how qualified a woman is, she cannot hold the highest office in our land. Can we change this, and if so, how?
I do not want to hear excuses as to why Harris lost – it was not because she got in the race too late; it was not because Democrats don’t understand the working class people; it is not because she didn’t have great plans for her administration, and it was not because she didn’t visit Wisconsin (which was the reason pundits gave for Hillary’s loss).
For those who voted against her, the main reason is that she is a woman, and a black/Asian woman married to a white Jew.
I do not want to hear how the Democrats need to do soul-searching or that Democrats are condescending to working class people or that the Democrats are the party of the elite. Any pundit offering these opinions needs to face the reality that the media have become overrun by lies and disinformation.
Instead of blaming Democrats, please look deeper and maybe remind Americans – urban and rural – that any benefits they have today is the result of the hard work of Democrats – Social Security – FDR; unions – Democrats; farm subsidies – the New Deal; health care – Obama. These are programs that Republicans fight against, and we need to remind people of this every day.
Then there are the 16 million people who didn’t bother to vote. Again, pundits blame Democrats for lack of enthusiasm or that the Democrats do not care about these people.
Both of these opinions are ridiculous! There were more volunteers, more door-knocking, more phone-banking in this election than I’ve ever experienced. When we talk to voters, we ask what issues are important to them or why they do not care to vote.
These non-voters need to take responsibility for their inaction. If there is something more that Democrats could have done to get these people to the polls, please let me know what that is!
Yesterday, I could not get out of bed and spent the day crying. Thanks to texts from my core group of women, I (kind of) snapped out of it, which now brings me to my original question – how do we get Democratic women elected at every level of government? I do not have the answer, but I know we need to keep fighting for it.
